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Laney, I vote with my feet.   Once I figure out that things weren't going to 
be hunky dory at a boarding facility any more, it doesn't take me too long 
to find a place and clear out of there.

I spent a whole year at a place in Cupertino that had hot-tape for pasture 
wiring and fed grass hay, but not enough to keep my horses in condition. 
Every winter they get a visit from the SPCA.  Those two conditions were 
there when I got there, but they changed management, and the new guy was 
always saying rude things about endurance riders and telling me I couldn't 
tie my horses to my trailer.  I had already had a letter on file with them 
releasing them of liability for me tying to the trailer, but he still pushed 
the point.  This is after 6 months of having my pasture horses munching 
blissfully on the my own hay because they were underfed, tied to my trailer. 
He absolutely did not understand the concept that my horses will spend the 
whole night tied to a trailer without going into a panic and pulling like 
his horse does.  Then he started  having people park in front of my trailer, 
Then he had someone park at my trailer so I couldn't tie my horses there. 
This was after many instances of  stuff happening, like my mare getting out 
of the hot-tape and being put into a stall without water, several pasture 
escapes, verbal abuse by the management...

Obviously this place wasn't working for me anymore,.  The final straw was 
when he enslaved the girl that was riding Beau to do chores for him after 
her lesson because he knew that she and her mom were going riding with me 
next.
They also told me that they couldn't tie my horses to my trailer....  That 
was the final straw.  I started calling around for a new place, I wrote him 
an e-mail with my grievances and told him I was looking for another boarding 
facility,  He called me the next morning and threatened to make life 
miserable for me the rest of the time and "evicted" me but I owed him money 
for the next two months (his fantasy, of course).  This was the week before 
the AERC convention.  I found a place to board and moved them there on the 
1st.  He wrote me a letter that I owed for the whole month following.  I 
totally ignored that letter and didn't pay him of course.  Then he told 
Sheila to tell me that he was going to send his lawyers after me.  For what? 
$300 bucks for the difference after a 30 days notice?  Sheila asked me if I 
was going to get a lawyer, and I just said why?  I didn't do anything wrong, 
it's a small claims thing if anything, and I have a good case to be excused 
because he threatened me.  All I was doing was voting with my feet. He was 
already losing boarders, and when I left I took three horses.  He shot 
himself in the foot financially.   I never heard a peep from his lawyer.  It 
was an idle threat or his lawyer told him it wasn't worth it.  Do you think 
it was worth it for me to stay there?  Not on your life.

I gave notice at Lightfoot right away, and found the place in Cupertino 
after the owner evicted Becky and Judith with a 3 days notice a couple of 
years ago.  This owner threatened to not feed my horses after I gave notice 
because I didn't pay board to him because I had already paid last months 
board.  There was no way I was going to stay there either.  I had no plans 
on plans on ever leaving Lightfoot, but Lightfoot's not there anymore.

But usually when something bad like that happens, it just pushes me into a 
better situation.  I love it at Indian Hills.  They have no climb fence, a 
covered arena, lights all over, no real curfew, several round pens and two 
other outdoor arenas.  My horses have a bloom on them and are just fat 
enough from just feeding large quantities of hay.  Plus it's next to Ed 
Levin Park and I could escape into the East Bay hills from there.  The 
management actually looks at the horses every night.  They have full service 
stalls, self-service paddocks, and for me, good, safe pastures with no-climb 
fence.  I've made a lot of good friends there already.  Almost to the point 
of being ridiculous and not getting things done because everyone wants to 
socialize.  Even at Whispering Creek, there was a silver lining, because I 
fell back in with the Parelli people so that I could work with Drako, and I 
met Pam Fury who is an extraordinary horsewoman.  Life is too short and my 
energy is now too limited to deal with the clueless.

I miss being around real endurance folks, a lot, but maybe its a good thing 
because it doesn't hurt as much that I don't have anyone that's 50 ready 
right now.   After being at Lightfoot I just smile to myself when the career 
LD riders at Indian Hills Ranch try to pass themselves off as being the 
"experts" in endurance...

K.



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