Boarding Barn Options

I went and looked at a barn yesterday that I really liked! I have one more barn on my list to look at, but it seems that I may be moving here...

Barn #1

• 5 minutes from my current barn so I can still see my friends. It's kind of out there, at the end of a very long gravel road, though I don't think it will be too, too bad to drive the trailer down it.
• The owner is super nice (actually reminds me of my favorite high school teacher!) and is very accommodating.
• She has a PhD in animal nutrition - awesome!
• She mixes her own feed since she decided she couldn't find one to her liking that was high fiber, high fat, low sugar and low NSC's. Double awesome.
• She has a handful of Lusitano broodmare that she breeds (my first thought - I get to be around babies!!).
• The barn is small, she has a separate one for her horses and the boarding horses. There is a max of 9 boarders.
• The tack room is heated and locked at night, plenty of room for all my junk tack.
• The stalls are 12x12 and she is installing runs. She estimates that they'll be done in three weeks. They will be fenced with no-climb wire and footing of your choice will be added - hogsfuel or pea gravel.
• Stalls cleaned daily, horses fed 3xdaily. She normally beds with shavings, but also has pellets, especially for the messy horses (*cough*Jetta*cough*)
• Washer/dryer for horse paraphernalia - major win!
• Horses are turned out daily in groups, she has three pastures for boarders and the horses are in groups based on their personalities.
• She has a small flock (herd? group?) of German Shepherds, but they're only out when she's working around the barn. She also has a barn kitty :] Not necessary, I know, but I do so love animals!
• She buys a load of local hay 10 tons at a time. Can supply alfalfa or orchard grass if wanted.
• Owner lives on the property so someone's there all the time
• There are llamas! Jetta will have to get used to them, which will help with her future trail competitions, lol!
• Indoor arena is 60x120. Footing (just plain dirt) looks a tad deep, but again, the owner is accommodating so she said she can make it less so.
• There's a round pen outside which would be nice occasionally so that I can work Jetta's crazy out.
• She's ok with holding a stall for me during the summer
• Hot water washrack is in the other barn
• 5 acres of trails in the back and access to public land which you get a permit to ride on.

So, are there really any cons? Well...

• The barn is all dirt floors (the stalls are matted) and since it's been dry I'm not sure if it will get muddy at all.
• No cross ties, which is ok, since I can just tie her in her stall to tack up, etc.
• Not a super fancy barn, which isn't necessary at all, but moving from a brand new barn to an old one... But I'd much rather that my horse is comfortable than me!
• I forgot to take a look at what she uses for watering, but I think they're just regular buckets on the wall which would be a good improvement over the stupid tubs my current barn uses!

Barn #2

This is the barn that Katy's owner moved to. No current openings, but I could be on the waitlist.

• Small indoor arena
• Only 7 boarders.
• Outdoor wash rack with hot water
• Heated/locked tack room
• Large runs with gravel footing in each
• One set of cross ties for saddling/grooming
• Open front stalls
• Co-op care system - people feed mornings, evenings and clean stalls once a week each
• Acres of pristine turnout
• Not really any trails though you can haul 5 minutes to trails

I am really excited about moving. I'm going to give my BO 30 days notice so I'll be moving February 1st to Barn #1 possibly. I really do want to take a look at the other barn because it also sounds incredibly nice - indoor and outdoor arena, covered round pen, stalls cleaned 2x per day, year-round turnout, two hot water wash racks, etc. Sounds fancy! It's a tad bit more expensive than the two above barns, but if it's nice I'd be willing to pay for it. I'm just waiting for them to get back to me!