As a horse owner and boarder, I feel like it's my responsibility to educate others in the horse…read morecommunity on how terrible this facility really is. I moved there originally because I needed a fast, short-term solution. However, in the short 3 months it was never ending care problems, stealing, lawsuits/scandals, and I learned that borders do not have a voice about their own horses.
Recently, Potomac Riverside was taken over by new "management" and I use that term loosely. Rebekah and James's knowledge of horses and care is below zero - in the sense that boarders had to step up to teach them what a halter was, how to clean a stall, fill water buckets, feed grain, and lead horses. That does not even cover lameness or any medical issues. They wouldn't know what to look for if a horse were to colic or even know what colic is.
A couple of other issues that I would like to also share. The first being that they ignorantly ordered oak shavings instead of pine. Oak shavings are toxic to all livestock and can cause colic, liver and kidney failure, and even death. When multiple boarders tried to educate them about this, they decided they were going to use the oak shavings anyway. Several vets had to be involved in order to correct this detrimental mistake.
James and Rebekah also decided (without informing any horse owners) that they would be corralling the horses in from the fields instead of leading them. They refer to it as their "gate system", but it's corralling. This was tried a couple of years ago, by the owner of the farm herself. A horses ended up breaking its leg because it was trying to run to keep up with the mixed heard. It was euthanized the next day. Again, when boarders voiced their concerns about this system being implemented, they were either kicked off the property or asked to move their horses.
I would go every single day to see my horses to make sure they had enough food and water, to clean my own stalls, and bought my own shavings because I had to make sure they were safe. I also moved out two days early and never received my money back for those two extra days I paid. James and Rebekah are unethical in more ways than one.
I am sure this barn will try marketing tactics such as rebranding, but do not let a new farm name, low-level trainers, and other tactics fool you.
