States across the nation are cracking down on residents’ movements amid the continued spread of the coronavirus, instituting “shelter-in-place” or “stay-at-home” orders. The directives differ by location but generally require residents to avoid all nonessential outings and stay inside as much as possible.
So what does that mean for those of us who board our horses? That’s a question on the minds of many, including reader Kimber McKay. Kimber wrote to us:
“Can you please consider an article on what the shelter in place order means for horse people? I board at a facility that doesn’t provide turnout from now until June as the fields green up — and we all event — so the horses are worked (by their owners) six days a week. Otherwise they are in very small dry lots. We clean their stalls and groom and exercise our own animals. The owner/trainer doesn’t have staff to do all that, let alone buy all our grain and supplements, exercise our athletes, change blankets, hold for vet, hold for farrier, etc etc — what is to be done? Does shelter in place prohibit boarders from going and caring for these animals? Not all boarding facilities have staff that do all these things for the boarders!”
These are uncharted waters we’re navigating, and sadly we here at EN have no hard-and-fast answers. So we’re punting it back to our community: chime in with your thoughts and experiences in the comments section!
Go Eventing, and stay well.
