How to Choose a Stable

When choosing a stable, it's important to have one with proficient horse trainers who are available at the facility 24 hours a day. Discover how to find a stable with a riding ring that is conducive to a certain discipline with help from a horse riding trainer in this free video on horse stables.

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This is Maggie with Hawthorne Stables and I want to just take a moment to talk to you about the qualities of a good boarding facility. A lot of the feedback that I get from people basically is that they want to have a horse person or someone who is proficient in horse care in charge and available at the facility 24 hours a day. That is probably the biggest thing that I hear back that is really important to the discriminating boarder. Obviously the amenities are also important. Is the riding ring conducive to the type of discipline that I'm looking to do? Is the footing good? Does it hold up in inclement weather? Is there lights in the arena because I work during the day and in the Winter it gets dark at four o'clock and will I be able to ride? You know so those special amenities will be something that you want to take care of. Turn out is big. Horses that are in stalls or that are in stringent disciplined or harsh discipline performance type schedules getting out and having the chance to be a horse and getting out on green grass is very important, finding one that has a turn out schedule that's conducive to your needs is important. The stable construction, I've been in wood frame barns and I have been in cement block frame barns. Obviously that is your preferential treatment. We here, this is a concrete block barn. We are also known as a hurricane shelter here so in St. Petersburg when there is a storm that is lingering out we do open up our facility for a hurricane because the concrete block obviously is going to be more conducive to holding up to hurricane type winds. We do have a tendency in a concrete block barn to be a little bit cooler inside in the Summer and a little bit warmer in the Winter. Wood frame barns have a tendency to kind of do the same thing. It just depends on your preference there as far as what you want. Those are the main components. People are concerned with the structure of the barn. Is there a fly spray system? We happen to have a fly spray system to try to keep down the control of the flies that is embedded. Those are some of the extra special amenities you want to maybe keep an eye out. Watering is important. We do have an automatic watering system but I also have a back up bucket system. You always want to make sure that your horse has access to clean water all day long so that's important that that always be something that you make sure your that your horse always has access to. Obviously an automatic water system always makes sure that there is fresh clean water available for your horse 24 hours a day. As far as the other amenities that might be important to you might be just, you know hours of barn operation, the types of food and hay that they serve. My facility in particular, we're kind of open and receptive to the type of grain food that somebody wants to offer. Some barns may only offer one of two or only one type of food for you and that may work for you and that may not work for you. We also offer two to three different types of forge, i.e. hays. So there may be some barns that only offer one type of hay. So by all means most people that I have found in the horse industry are very open and receptive and want to be customer service orientated. Here at Hawthorne Stables we're very customer service orientated. We want to make sure that we have happy boarders here and we provide a lot of fresh turn out and I know that turn out as I said in a horse care professional in the barn and available 24, 7 have been the two most important criteria that has come back to me since I have been in this industry and had the pleasure of working in this industry. That's Maggie Connolly, I'm with Hawthorne Stables.