Okay, I've been keeping a wee secret because I didn't want to talk about it until it was certain and everyone who needed to be was informed. But I have found a new barn to try for the winter! It's further away than the old one which was inevitable because that place is so close. But it's an easy drive, pretty much straight out a single country road and then a couple turns and you're there. It's a little more than twenty minutes from home, so that's not bad at all. Plus my vehicles really do need to get driven more. So there ya go. It's a win-win!
The new place is more of a boarding barn than a show barn, which I think will be a better fit for us. There are fourteen stalls, so it's pretty quiet, and I believe it's all adults there. There is no in house trainer, but there is a dressage trainer that comes in twice a week. I am also welcome to bring in anyone I want. Also, my friends can come ride my horses with me, or if I go away I can get a friend to come ride them. Jumping is allowed whenever I want, no need to be supervised. And there aren't any hours, so they are open 7 days a week. I'll still give them Mondays off but if for some reason I need to switch that up for an appointment or something, it's doable. And I can have my saddle fitter come whenever. Best part? I can bring my own care team with me. Vet, farrier, body worker, whoever. OH! And no rules about blankets or saddle pad colors. Ha! (The things you put up with...)
I do know one person who had a negative experience at this barn, but it was when they first opened and her horse was literally the only one there at the time. So I'm feeling confident that it will be okay. It's always a little scary trying a new place and having to put your trust in new people to care for your horses... But I really think it's going to be good. They feed Proelite products, which I've been interested in trying, so that's another bonus. I really didn't like what I had the horses on but went with it because that's what the other barn fed and it's worse to switch grain twice a year than feed something that's just okay. They don't eat much grain anyway.
There's a nice indoor with Travelite footing and also an outdoor with the same footing, AND an outdoor grass ring. You're allowed to just ride out around the property, too, which is lovely. Though probably only Shiny will be interested in that... Haha! We aren't allowed to free lunge which might make for a wild winter, but we are allowed to lunge on the line so I'm sure we'll be just fine. Just Eros won't have a chance to do that since his legs will fall of. They go out full days when the weather is good and half days when it's not, which will be so nice for them.
There are a couple of things I don't love (because no place is perfect). First, they have a hay loft. Having already lived through a barn fire that was exacerbated by a hay loft... I hate that. But options are slim around here, so I'm going to swallow my fear. The other thing is that the stalls are a little dark. One of mine will get a window, but the other two will have inside stalls. But they can hang their heads out and they're pretty close to the end of the barn, so they'll still get some sunlight. Plus they'll be outside most of the daylight hours anyway. There are a couple horses that might be moving out west (with their humans) who have window stalls though, so if they go, I can have those. So that might be a temporary concern. And the last thing is that they have automatic waters outside. I'm just a little worried they won't figure them out. But I saw one horse outside with buckets because he flunked that test too, so I'm sure if mine have trouble they can get buckets too. The stalls have buckets thankfully. I don't like automatic waterers because you don't know if they're not drinking.
So that's my confession! I've been making new winter plans, and while I'm angsty about change, I'm also excited.
