Cob Jockey

This month is the four-year anniversary of creating the co-op, and gosh, I don't think I've ever been prouder of anything I've created. 

Canadian wildfire smoke making for an ethereal sunset

We have proven that it works. Not only that, we have proven that it works under so many different configurations: anywhere from 2-5 boarders and from 24/7 turnout to stalls/turnout hybrid. Not one forgotten shift in all that time.

We've had two people leave in four years, both for good reasons unrelated to the co-op, and we've added three, including the first person that I didn't personally know before they started boarding here. We've also expanded upward in age, and currently have people from their mid-30s to mid-70s participating.

Even with the added workload of the chores only I can do, it still feels sustainable

The crazy part is, almost nothing has changed since I first imagined the way it would work when I had to scramble to find a way to keep the barn open after my trainer announced she was closing her program with very little notice. 

It has worked exactly like I thought it would, with a system of checks and balances so that multiple eyes are on anything that's important, a group of grateful boarders that treat the facility like it's their own, and a workload that is sustainable over the long haul and doesn't leave anyone, including myself, feeling tied down to the horses.

Cold hosing a fellow co-op member's horse who of course had a fat leg while she was out of the country

The only thing that's changed is that I've instituted a probation period for any new boarders after we took it very slowly with our newest boarder and that worked out really well. Any new boarder will have the opportunity to shadow as many shifts as they want before they move their horse in (at least over a couple of weeks), and then once they move their horse in and start taking shifts, they'll have a mandatory 30 day probation period during which either of us can terminate the arrangement for any reason. 

Newest boarder (12.2hh Icelandic) continues to be the cutest ever

That said - for the first time now, we are actually full, not "fake full so I can properly screen potential new boarders." So I don't expect or hope to be adding any new boarders for a long time now. 

Here's to four years down and many more to come!