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January 5, 2008
Sorry Bruce, just now getting to responding to my emails: There are very limited resources for "lay-up" boarding. Your barn was only one of two I could find offering this specialized service in the area. There were many full boarding barns willing to take Chili, but only one other that claimed to specialize in lay-ups. The other barn offering lay-up was further away and did not have anyone that lived on the property. Without someone living on the property, I was not willing to consider it. As for the other full board facilities, none gave me that "warm fuzzy" feeling that someone would actually look at him and call me if something went wrong. With Kim putting Chili up front, I knew if he started freaking out, I would be called. Of the other full boarding facilities I checked into, none of them had experience with a horse on full stall lay-up. After all I have been through the last 5 months, I sure did not feel comfortable leaving him in the care of someone not used to a horse that had been cooped up for 5 months. Especially knowing that I might not be there often enough to insure he was maintaining good health. Also, so you know, I did get a very good referral from a personal friend whose daughter took lessons from Kim. She said that Kim had a way with horses, to quote her, "Kim could put her hand on a horse and it really seemed to calm the horse." That meant a lot to me, since I knew that I would not be able to get to Chili as much as he is used to. Again, I can not thank you enough for offering this service and taking such great care of my little horse. I could not leave him for more than 24 hours at my prior barn and not find him in knee deep manure and his temperament in shambles. I have been at Manakin Sabot at odd hours, never the same time, and have always found him in great conditions and calm and comfortable. Your instincts for keeping him in the middle of attention were dead on, and your continual care is excellent. If there is anyway I can assist in spreading the word on your lay-up services, please let me know. I am more than willing to help in any way I can, in addition to giving references. All my best, Kathleen |