What is Your Barn Pet Peeve?
By: Brittany Bevis
Earlier this week, we reached out to our The Equine Chronicle social media fans to ask the question: What are your Barn Peet Peeves? We received A LOT of responses.
As it turns out, our readers are sticklers for hanging up halters and bridles properly, keeping the barn aisle clean, being courteous to fellow barn mates, and ensuring the safety of horses and riders.
Scroll below to see if your pet peeve is on the list.
Hanging Up Halters and Bridles and Caring For Tack
Anna Horn- “Hanging halters upside down. Refilling hay bags in the aisle instead of the feed room. Powdering legs after using hoof black. (They will turn blue.)”
Jacob Thelander- “My wife and I used to run a full care boarding facility. When I turned horses out, the halters were hung in the barn in a precise order as the runs they were in. If the horse showed up and their halter was on the third hook, their horse was in the third run. My wife… whichever hook it landed on is where she put it!”
Megan Blanton- “Throwing bridles on hooks all messy, instead of hanging nicely with the reins draped correctly.”
Kimberly Bisson- “Leaving bridles out, halters on cross ties, and not picking up poop right away elevates my blood pressure!”
Daisy Rakan- “Leaving halters attached to the cross ties and hanging or laying on the ground.”
Taryn Leigh Morgan- “Definitely halters hung by the noseband. Also, the hose not hung neatly in even loops.”
Sabine Lazo- “Leaving halters on the ground or still attached to the cross ties when you go out to ride.”
Nikki Coates-Schultz- “Definitely not hanging a bridle properly and, for our trainer, Chuck Briggs, not putting the cover on your saddle at the end of the day!”
Katy Jo Zuidema- “Not tucking the billet strap into the girth.”
Anna Scheitel- “Leaving the halter on the ground and attached to a cross tie.”
Alan Payne- “Not hanging the bridles up the correct way.”
Safety and Health
Stephanie Burns- “Not using cross ties and leaving horses standing loose in the aisle. Feeding other peoples’ horses treats.”
Christine Meng- “Cross ties that have the panic snap on the horse end instead of the wall. I prefer the panic snap on the wall, so I can grab the release without getting squished under a scrambling horse.”
Kathleen Wood- “There are so many annoying activities, but I would have to say not having a horse’s welfare in mind. Showing when sick, leaving a sale horse without blankets in the winter, not calling a vet when necessary, and not cleaning poop.”
Anne Platten Lembke- “Leading a horse by the halter with no lead rope or shank.”
Christine Gillett- “Polo wrapping the legs wrong, the wrong direction, uneven across the leg. All of it.”
Claire McCauley- “Walking under the cross ties rather than unclipping the tied horse and moving him/her aside. Huge safety hazard!”
Amy North- “When a trainer’s assistant mishandles your horse and even kick them while in the cross ties. That has to be worse than any trash left on the ground.”
Brittany Musgrave- “Not wrapping legs the correct way.”
Michelle Mulher- “Not pushing the latch on the door back all the way, so a horse doesn’t catch their side on it.”
Organization and Cleanliness
Jill Finley- “Not putting things back where they go, or where you found them.”
Angela McCordic Stanhope- “Leaving poop in the wash stall.”
Shelly Phalen- “Not cleaning up after yourself, leaving lights on in the indoor arena when you’re the last one out, and the biggest pet peeve is leaving barn doors open when it’s cold out!”
Adriana Grimm- “Any type of tack or items being used by someone else and not taking proper care of them.”
Taylor Wheaton- “When people don’t sweep up or clean up after their horses in the aisle way or grooming bay.”
Kassie Voelpel- “I don’t like anything in the aisle beside halters, lead ropes, and blankets, if neatly hung. Everything else should be in the tack room.”
Nicky Stanley- “Being messy. Blankets everywhere, nothing ever swept, trash lying around. It’s so easy to clean up after yourself.”
Tabitha Somers- “Leaving mess/poop in the barn aisle. Leave things as you found them, or cleaner, when you leave.”
Kelly Lazo- “Not cleaning up the mess after you clean your horse’s hooves.”
Sarah Phelps-Yayle- “People leaving stuff out in aisles and not sweeping with a small broom. I hate it when people use a push broom and don’t sweep up next to the stall doors. I hate dust, but using the blower leaves the barn so clean.”
Sara Talley- “Not cleaning up after yourself or using others’ equipment without permission.”
Diane Gibson- “Not cleaning/sweeping up after yourself and your horse.”
Debi Nicholson- “Any tack dropped on the ground.”
Sandra York- “Leaving any tack on the ground.”
Being Courteous
Susan Cassel Milkie- “Checking the barn at 11 pm to find a boarder feeing extra hay to her horse.”
Yvette Clay-Rouch- “At the show, leaving stall doors open into the aisle where it feels like an obstacle course just to get through. Close your dang doors… please!”
Erin Swantner- “Letting your horse’s head hang out when you know he’s going to lunge at people who walk by. Not cleaning up the community grooming stall. Everyone should help empty the vacuum. Tossing extra hay into the barn manger knowing he’s not going to eat it and just track it into the shavings. Insisting on riding during lessons and bringing annoying dogs who don’t know how to act.”
Jeri Kay- “Leaving horses in the cross ties unattended for long periods of time and making it difficult for others to saddle their horse.”
Feel better now?
If you have a great idea for an article on EquineChronicle.com, email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com.
