Barn Drama

There is a good bit a drama at the barn right now. What barn doesn't have it? Anyway, my trainer is moving to a new facility which will better suit the needs of her business. This is going to be a really good thing, but right now only her horse is at the new barn. Most of the rest of the horses (including mine) will be moving on June 1 when there will be stalls available. She is leaving the current barn on good terms, so that's not the problem. The problem is with the current employee situation. The old barn manager, who did a great job and gave great care to the horses, quit a few months ago. Since then the barn owner has not been able to find a suitable replacement for her. He has hired many people, but nobody has been able to step up to the job.

That's when Mowin' Man decided to get involved. This is a guy who has worked for the barn for years mowing the grass and doing other maintenance type jobs. He was not, however, involved in any horse care at all, although he has worked at the racetrack and other barns and thinks he knows a lot about horses. The old barn manager did not allow him in the barn, mostly because she didn't trust him, but also because he has a nasty streak in him which often is directed at women. So now Mowin' Man has been allowed to do turnouts and stall cleaning on the weekend, unbeknownst to the boarders. This weekend I personally witnessed him putting a horse in a very dangerous situation (cross tying a horse that is known not to cross tie, who also has a sign on his stall stating such), which I quickly put a stop to. I also found out that he put another horse in a stall that was under construction and had a large deep trench dug out all around the walls creating a leg breaking hazard. The horse was spotted by another boarder and quickly moved before she could get hurt.

Nobody wants him touching their horses anymore, but unfortunately on the weekends sometimes there is nobody else to do the work. We have all decided that rather than have him do turnouts and stalls that we would all rather do the work ourselves, so that is what we are going to do. I just keep thinking to myself that it's only 2 more weeks, but a lot can happen in two weeks. I just have to keep calm and trust that he won't do anything he's not supposed to. I hear that he has been asked not to come into the barn anymore, but I don't know if that is true, or if he will do what he is told. I guess we'll just have to see. But I know one thing - if I hear any more horror stories involving horses getting hurt or compromised I'm going to move my horse THAT DAY to my friends barn. She told me I could move there anytime as a backup. I just might have to take her up on it.