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[RC] bucking the property owner (was: bucking convention) - k s swigartAlexis Mills said: Because I didn't give in to their bullying and got a second opinion from a vet who declared him sound (and said his feet are so tough he doesn't even need boots), I was evicted from the stable and will now have to drive more than an hour to see my horse. To me, this is not a question of "bucking convention" by choosing to keep a horse barefoot despite receiving a veterinary opinion that the horse has sore feet by going to find a different vet to give a different opinion, but rather it is a question of "bucking the property owner" and a difference of opinion as to whether the horse is sore and if anything should/could be done about it. I cannot find fault with the property owner here; I know many boarding facility operators who have called up owners and insisted that the owner call a vet or come out and do something about a horse's poor condition because they cannot stand watching it any more. Of course, boarding facility operators cannot require owners to treat their horses, but they can tell them that if they don't they need to go somewhere else. And these weren't questions of conventional hoof care: there have been horses in poor condition that need to be wormed, foundered horses that stand there in agony, arthritic horses that cannot stand, a horse with a scratched cornea that was getting infected... If I were running a boarding facility and had a boarder who had a horse that I thought had sore feet (whether barefoot or not) and the owner refused to do anything about so I went to the trouble of consulting a veterinarian on the horse's behalf and the vet agreed that the horse was sore but still the owner refused to do anything about it, I, too, would ask this owner to take their horse somewhere else. Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, even your unconventional opinion, about proper horse care, but you had better be able to convince the property owner where you keep your horse that it is adequate if you want them to let your horse stay there. I can remember the first place I went to look for boarding for my 3 y.o. colt. After the manager showed me all the available stalls I mentioned that the one on the end looked to be a good choice because I had a colt. He said, "Is he cut?" And I said, "No." Then he asked, "Are you gonna cut him?" And I said, "No." To which he responded, "Well, you ain't keepin' him here." Yes, I was bucking convention by not gelding my horse but rather keeping him entire. And no, I don't tell other people who choose to geld their horses that they shouldn't. I respect their decision while at the same time not all of them do the same with mine. But even many of those who respect my decision to keep my stallion will still tell me, "You ain't keepin' him here." And they are perfectly within their rights to do so. It is, after all, their place. Alternatively, you can just board your horse at a facility where the owner doesn't care about the condition of the horses. kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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