I recently moved Gav for a number of arenas reasons. When I was looking at new barns, I was
determined to make damn sure that my new barn met all of my requirements (I
hate barn hopping and I hate the reasons behind barn hopping). So, without further ado is my boarding barn
requirement list. Do you have any have
or have-nots to add to this list?
Must-haves
1.
Feed at least twice a day (with choice of quality
grass, mix, and alfalfa)
2.
Safe living areas for horses (no loose wires,
nails, metal sheeting, etc.)
3.
Muck stalls at least once a day
4.
Relatively clean/mouse-free barn (I know no barn
can be totally mouse free, but a girl can dream, can’t she?)
5.
Clean water (either by auto waterers, or daily
water changes)
6.
Some system to secure the horses at night
(property manager, locked gates, etc)
7.
Owner/manager with good understanding of horses
8.
Good oversight of horse/human well-being
9.
Large-ish indoor arena (I do a lot of weeknight
and winter riding so a nice indoor is more important to me than an outdoor)
footing that gets groomed regularly and isn’t dusty
10.
Rules that seem fair and make sense for safety
of horses and humans and that others follow
11.
Designated wash rack
12.
Space for my tack (either in tack room, or in
locker)
13.
Trailer parking
14.
Harsh training methods are not tolerated (I
could tell you some horror stories)
15.
Regular vet/farrier work required for all horses
(vaccinations, worming, trimming, etc.)
16.
Bathroom available on-site (can be portapotty)
Nice-to-have
1.
Large outdoor arena with decent footing
2.
Jumps
3.
Trail/open space access
4.
Friendly barn culture
5.
Hot/cold wash rack
6.
Barn-hosted schooling shows or clinics
7.
REAL bathroom
8.
Washer/Dryer
9.
Fly/insect management
Boarding prices in Denver can vary wildly, but I'm used to spending about $450 a month for full care stall w/ run. The barn we landed at about a month ago is $540 a month. This includes a stall with run, any choice of hay, grain, fodder, etc, one large indoor, one extra large outdoor, several turnout pens, two large round pens (also used a lot for turnout), access to trails/open space, trailer parking, tack room (not mouse free I'm sad to say), actual real bathroom/club house, barn-hosted summer series of shows, and jumps/barrels/poles available for use.
It's been a month and so far I'm really digging it. It's significantly larger than the last barn I was at, but the arenas are heavenly to ride in (not so dusty I'm spitting dirt and large enough that it's not just one constant circle) and their hay doesn't have cactus (this is the real straw that broke the boarders back and made me go crazy horse lady).
I like both of your lists! My horses are pasture boarded only so I don't have to have mucking/stall-related stuff on my lists. I think I'd put the friendly people/good atmosphere on the must have list, I've boarded a lot of nice places were the people are awful (usually just one or two bad eggs). I don't think I'll really be completely happy anywhere until my horses are in my backyard hahah
ReplyDeleteI love real bathrooms lol
ReplyDeleteI miss having a real bathroom and a wash rack. And laundry!
ReplyDeletegood luck finding the perfect fit! if i've figured out anything over the past few years, personal preferences when it comes to the ideal barn are wildly individual lol. i love real bathrooms and wash stalls (esp wash stalls with hot water), but my current barn has none of them. it's got other stuff tho that is more important to me so that's what counts i suppose.
ReplyDelete