Yes I'm cheating, I wrote Another barn for A and now I'm writing New Stables for N. Well that's what is going on right now in Dani and I's life. I'm checking out new stables for many reasons.
1) Dani is too far away from me
2) I'm not liking the really, really busy barn (galloping horses when I'm just trying to do little circles at the walk, though at times I have the barn to myself....)
3) I'm a little tired of cleaning up after others in the wash rack
4) Cost will increase another $50 starting May 1st!!!!
5) I want to regulate Dani's feed a bit more
5) I want to regulate Dani's feed a bit more
It's not a bad barn, it's just not where I think I should be, even though I love it and the people are really nice. The biggest issue is distance. I can deal with cleaning up after others to an extent, I think that will occur at any barn. The distance adds up when I'm driving way out to see her. Secondly I know that barns can be busy and you have to ride in arenas with other people. This is a show type barn I'm learning, a lot of the kids do jumping shows and the trainer that has a lot of students here that are often all in the arena taking lesson from her. I think a smaller barn might be nice for me. The other thing though is cost, this barn has high overhead because of the nice facilities. I'd like to reduce my cost a little bit even though it will be a bit of a hassle dealing with hay.
I love the indoor but I can sacrifice that, sometimes you have to do that to reduce costs and find a facility closer to your home. I also am really intersted in finding a place where I can regulate her amount of food intake better. I would love to get her on a slow feeder for hay so she more or less trickle feeds all day long instead of two unmeasured feedings of hay each day where she can grab huge mouthfuls.
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| Sharp edges in a shed....not good |
That's the goal right now. I've looked at three new places, I showed you one already for my A post. Another was dangerous in my opinion (lots of sharp edges and really hard riding ground!) and the last one was just way too bare bones for me with not much of an area to ride. I may revisit some barns I already visited before buying Dani since I did like several.
Hopefully we'll find something nice soon and I can move her....I hate the idea in a way. Wish I had a second horse that could always be with her since I don't like taking her from her new friends. I just have to think about her care, my pocketbook and the time I have to spend with her. Someday she'll be in my backyard and that will be perfect!
2 comments:
Moving barns is the worst which is why I feel so blessed to have my ponies at home. I hated how far my horse was from me and the fact I had to work at the barn almost every night to try and bring down the cost of board. And since I was working every night at the barn doing chores, I didn't have any time to ride. So basically I was working my butt off for my horse to live the good life.
Our mortgage now isn't much more than what I was paying each month for board and I get to run my barn the way I want. It's nice, BUT i miss the indoor arena. North Dakota winters can be so long and cruel!
I hope that you find the perfect place for you and your pony!
Good luck with your future barn endeavors. I looked at a couple barns and was so blessed to be able to find a great one so close. There are downsides, though. I'm not a huge fan of the stalls, although they are going to fix the problems, some of the horses are really rowdy and injure my own horse because he normally won't fight back, and random things like that. I've never had an indoor arena, which is one thing I wanted, but I've lived happily without it. The barn I was going to board my Red-man at had an indoor, but it was like, $150 more than the current barn I'm boarding at and way further away. It was less than 3 minutes from my church, but I kept thinking about it. Wouldn't I hate it if the only time I got out there was Wednesday's and Sunday's? And it would be really hard to change out of church clothes then ride, I'd have to pack lunch and have my little brother with me, which means I wouldn't get to ride long. :P It's hard finding a good one, but once you do, you'll be SO thankful!
Kalin from Sittinginthesaddle.blogspot.com
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