May 16 2009
Horse Stables
Different Types of Horse Boarding
Two young Lipizzaner horses in a stable.
There are a few different options when deciding on what type boarding situation is best for your horse or pony. Of course, if you already live in a rural area and have the facilities, you can just keep your horse at home on your property. However, most people don’t have this luxury and need to find arrangements elsewhere. Some good places to look may be your local stables, who typically have the most amenities included in the boarding price. You can also find plenty of good horse boarding stables through private owners who have extra stalls and rent out the additional space.
Pasture Board – If money is tight pasture board may be a good option. In this scenario, your horse stays outside all year and supplied with feed and water. You may think a horse staying outdoors all year round is hazardous or unsafe, but these animals are naturally herd animals who live in the wild – of course they can stay outdoors! Pasture board situations often include what’s called a ‘run-in’. This is where your horse would go doing storms for shelter. A ‘run-in’ can be described as something of a carport. It’s a loose shelter with a roof sometimes closed on three sides and sometimes on two.
Self Board – Self board or as it’s sometimes called Semi board is an indoor situation where you get a stall and paddock. It’s called self board because it’s you’re responsibility to do the rest. You have to supply the grain, hay, feed, turnout, and clean your own stall everyday. This is usually half the price of full board and can be a good choice if you have the time to properly care for your animal. Consider this option if you live a reasonable driving distance to the stable.
Full Board – This is the best choice for horse owners who cannot make it to the stable everyday and excellent for children as they can spend their time at the stable in lessons. Full board can be considered a complete solution including: daily turnout, feeding, and cleaning of stall and paddocks. Stable hands that work at the facilities manage the daily routine of caring for your horse and your responsibility are only for things such as calls to a vet, special feeds, blanketing, etc.
Take a visit to your local stables, commercial or private, before making any arrangements to find the right one for you and your horse. There are many options and not all stables are created equal. Some have extra facilities which may be assets such as indoor arenas and round pens, while other may have different trainers and clinicians who offer specialized training. All these things should play a role in your final decision on where to board your horse.
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Janis Macintyre is a mother of two who has been horses her entire life. From pony club as a girl to owning and training three horses as an adult, Janis loves horses and shares her experiences on her site. For more articles like this please visit http://healthyhorsecare.blogspot.com |
Looking for a good boarding horse stable can be a real challenge. The easy thing to tell you would be to ask around, but not when it comes to finding the best place for your horse. If someone is keeping a horse in a lousy stable, do you really think they are going to admit that it is a crappy place to keep your horse? I don’t think so, they would have to admit that they are keeping her horse in a substandard stable just to save a few bucks.
The best way to check out a stable is to go there unannounced, and see what’s going on. Go to the stable at 7 a.m. are the horses fed or the stalls clean? This will say a lot about the stable management, if the horses are hungry or the stalls are a mess, move on to someplace different!
I spent about 20 years as a farrier, when I went to a boarding stable there were some clues that I noticed right off the bat. Does the stable manager show concern about helping you or do they act like you are bothering them? Many are only concerned about making money you can tell they really don’t care about you or your horse. Of course sometimes they will fool you so, I would ask a lot of questions how many times a day do you feed? What kind of hay do you feed? Have them show you the hay, how does it look to you? Ask them if they grain the horses or do they charge extra for that? how many times a day do they clean stalls? what kind of bedding do they use? Is it clean, is it deep enough?
Now I am assuming that you know good hay, clean bedding, if not ask someone who does to come with you. At one stable I used to go to the urine smell was so strong it made my eyes burn can you imagine what it did to the horses lungs? How anyone could have left their horse there is beyond my comprehension, and you did not need to be a rocket scientist to know that.
The horse boarding stable size and facilities, will be important if you want or need things like turnout in pasture, trails to ride, horse jumps, a big arena indoor and outdoor, round pen, wash rack, tack room, and trailer storage. Stable location should be close enough so you can easily see your horse on a daily basis if you want without taking too much time or gas.
Health and safety of your horse is a big issue, does the boarding stable have a mandatory inoculation and worming policy? Are the stalls safe, no sharp edges, in good repair, are the horses monitored at least part of the night? Are there runs for the stalls, perhaps pasture turn out during the day. Stay away from self care stables they really suck, some of the horses don’t get fed on time, it can be real chaos. Not to mention cheap people usually cut corner on their shots and worming too.
Some stables cater to special sectors of the horse industry like; jumping, dressage, show horses, trail horses, if one of those appeals to you, look for it. Also your age can be a factor, if you are past middle age like your serenity, are a little cranky and want intimate moments with your horse, stay out of stables that cater to “youths”.
At the same time if you are young, you might look for a stable that has kids you can horse play with.
Does the stable have a set of rules? If so read them to see if you want to abide by them or not? Can your farrier come there? Can your trainer come there. Some stables want you to use their horseshoer and other trainers are not welcome, as they want to be your trainer or give lessons to you, whether they are qualified or not.
Give your horse boarding stable search the same time and effort you give to finding your own home as the horse is your family too right!
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