Moving Barns the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.....
   At the beginning of this winter, I found myself in a bit of a difficult situation. The boarding situation I had been using for Ruh throughout the summer and early fall just wasn’t working anymore. There was no grass to speak of on the 40 acre lot he was kept on, and hay was a bit of a sparse commodity. For a quarter horse, the situation may not have been so dire, but for an OTTB it quickly became apparent that 24/7 turnout at our old facility wasn’t going to work. Thus began my frantic hunt for a new place to keep him before the weather turned bitterly cold.Â
   To begin, I set aside criteria that I desperately wanted to have in a new boarding barn that I hadn’t found in the other. Below is an inclusion of the list, which I hope may be helpful to some people.Â
Facility Criteria Â
1. A small facility to reduce dramaÂ
2. Pastures with lush grass
3. Partial care board for more dietary control
5. An indoor riding facility
6. Trail accessÂ
7. A stall- no pasture board this time aroundÂ
8. Hay for sale on siteÂ
9. Trailer parking for when I purchase a trailer later this winter
10. Close to my home
   Overall, it was a pretty basic list that any number of decent facilities could have met. Through Facebook and other sites, I searched and contacted a number of barns throughout the city to learn more information. Many of them were wonderful facilities, but in many cases they were either too expensive or too far away. In the end, I went with our current facility which meets every criteria, especially the last one. Since the barn is only a 10-15 minute drive from my home, I can easily get there every day to perform my barn chores or have my family jump in when I am sick.
  Since moving there, Ruh seems more relaxed than I have ever seen him and has actually begun to take a vested interest in his surroundings. While this definitely makes me happy, it also brings a little sadness. At our other facility, I had become blind to how shutdown and withdraw he had become, and had instead convinced myself that I was doing the right thing. Now I know better and hope to be more receptive to Ruh’s needs in the future and act accordingly. Sometimes our human interests can overtake the needs of our equine friends and that is never ok. As their caretakers and partners we need to do better. Our new facility will allow me to do that.Â
If you have any questions or need support in your barn moving endeavors feel free to reach out to me. I understand the struggle and am more than willing to help.Â
See ya next time, friends!Â
- CarlyÂ
