Need some advice/help

[naughty by nature]

Okay so first i have to give you some back ground info
Where i have my horse now is kinda a friends place a girl i grew up showing withs parents place. They are really nice people but.... it's a hunter jumper barn now that i'm riding western i find that i don't fit in at the barn at all. I end up riding by myself alot of the time because i'm the oldest rider there (at 26) and have to work till 6 pm. I don't mind riding by myself and if that was the only issue i wouldn't think of leaving. However I do barrels and poles now and the footing in the two out door arena's isn't good for that. The other riders are suppose to put the jumps away after thye are used but no one ever does so that means i have to take everything down to practice which is a pain. Also i find that thye treat thier horses alot better then the boards they have raised the board twice in the last year saying it was due tot he increased costs in bedding and hay. I would be fine with shelling out the extra cash (which i really can't afford). However they are cheaping out and reducing the amount of bedding they are putting in my horses stall to the point where he is laying in pee all the time I end up on top of paying higher board also buying extra shavings and hay to supliment the little he is getting there. They also say they are giving him 2 flakes of hay 3 times a day i have never once seen them give hay at lunch which they say the do (since no one is home during the day i don't know how this is happening unless the horses are feedeing them selves) the hay i see in his stall is like 1 large flake maybe 2 small ones where thye give thier horses more then mine including their old pony that doesn't even eat the hay just chews it and spits it out. On top of that my horse is in a small paddock with no grass just dirt and rocks they have one grass paddock but won't let him out there unless i'm there to supervise him since i work days it's not likely to happen other then weekends and they aren't allowed in it when it's wet (which i understand).
My mom boards there in the winter and the BO told her that in the next month or two they are raising the board another $20 a month.


So.... since i'm having some issues there i started looking for a new place to board i've found two different places that i like and i'm stuck not really knowing where to pick so here are some details.

place 1 is $50 less will be $70 less a month then where i am now it's about 10 minutes futher away in a different direct it's a really layed back place it's a converted cow barn with lots of air flow they get hay in side and round bales out side durnign the winter thye are out on pasture 24/7 in the summer on approx 20 acres. the down fall is again not many people to ride with everyone there is older then me and alot of them are competitive trail riders i just don't have time to hack for 3 hours every day on the weekends sure but the week days i wanna ride and get out as bad as that sounds. the arena there is horrible it's on a big slope and is kinda small.

place 2 is the same as where i am now will be $20 less a month when where i'm at raises their board. it is about 20 minutes futher away then where i am now they are arabian show barn have a small lesson barn have a small indoor arena and a larger outdoor arena they ride english and western there. there are alot of horses there approx 20 once mine is there. they feed haylage which i have never fed before ande thye don't vacinate for botolism (sp) they also bed in peat moss which i've never used before. my horse will go out in either place with a couple other horses he will have grass in either place with lots of room to run

I just don't know if i should save some money and go with the palce with out an indoor or the place thats the same price i'm paying now and have a place to ride all year round. What are your guys opinions??

[Fuego]

I'd seriously consider Place #1. It sounds as though there are many more benefits to #1 than the second, and sounds more suitable to your needs at the moment.

Just a few notes:
- Peat moss is VERY dirty. It's great for bedding for the ponies; great shock absorption and easy to muck out, but it's sticks like glue to their coat and will make blankets etc filthy. There is also a concern about the production of fine air particles from the material and it's resultant accumulation in the lungs (of both horse and human)
- consider tagging along with a trail ride once on the weekends as conditioning work for your horse. You'll be able to be social with the other barn mates, but make Mon-Fri your "training" days. Small arena or not, snow if you have it, is great for conditioning and working in!


I vote #1

[Flyin' High]

i agrewe with Fuego, place # 1 sounds like a much better spot for you guys. I'm also VERY against Peat Moss!! lol i've hads to work at barns that used it... not fun at all!!

[naughty by nature]

the problem with place one is the ring is really a mess right now it's on a major slope down hill which would make it hard to really school in I wouldn't have anyone to ride with there and acutally a friend of mine that boards there now is actaully leaving to go to the other place i'm thinking about going to cause she doesn't get along with the b/o of place one that well i don't know my mom thinks place one is better too but i just am not loving it i think place two is just alot better for me and my horse right now i'm waiting for a reply from place two on some questions i had and that will determine my decision on where to go i think.
Thanks for the help

[*Giddy Up*]

I'm thinking place 2 as it would more suit your riding goals. However, I don't have experience with haylage. Could you not have your own horse vaccinated for botulism? It's your horse, your choice.

Is there absolutely no where else? Seems neither places are quite perfect for you, though I'd say place two is almost perfect.

[Kaleena]

I would not be comfortable feeding haylage to my horse, especially if they weren't vaccinated against botulism.

Do they make their own haylage for their horses? or are they getting it from a cattle farmer? I would be curious to their reason of feeding haylage over hay.

[naughty by nature]

I beleive they feed it because it's cheaper because there are so many horses. they have a farmer that makes it for them but it's very high quality haylage. I could get Target vacinated but they have had horses eatting it for 30 years with out a problem and the call fee for my vet to do the shot would be double what the shot is on it's own. I might talk to my vet and see what they say but the b/o vet thinks it's not an issue.

There really isn't anywhere else in my price range with in 35-45 minutes of where i live. if i lived in the valley i wouldn't have this issue but because i live close to the city this is the best i can do without paying $600 a month for an indoor

[fusspot]

The haylage issue would probably be a deal breaker for me. Horses are very sensitive to botulism. I would never take a BO's word over a vets. Talk to you vet & get the shot if you move to Barn B.
Haylage, if originally packaged properly, is not the problem. The problem is if the plastic is punctured, secondary fermentation occurs and THIS is where spoilage (and Botulism) occur. Your BO cannot guarantee that each and every bale of haylage has not been punctured.

[Patricia]

I would never feed haylage either. S0, my decision would be made for me.

[naughty by nature]

So I decided on the barn with the indoor. I was worried about the haylage (fusspot it was the vet that recommended she use haylage with her horses and not vacinate) but everyone i've talked to around here seems to think he should be okay. I can't call my vet till tomorrow as she doesn't work on the weekends but I'll still see what she says. If she says to vacinate i will.
The more I thought about it the better it was for my situation the girl that is moving from barn a is moving to barn b with her horses she lives down the street from me so we can carpool together and I will have someone to ride with (which hasn't happend much in the last 2 years ). Also my coach/friend might bring her horse there for the spring to get him going as well so I'm pretty excited. I was nervous to tell my b/o i was leaving but they actually had someone else coming to the barn in march and the horse was going to have to live in a run in shed and now it doesn't have to so it worked out for everyone. Hopefully I made the right decision but you never know until you take the plung