My horse addiction has been life long & I am now in my 70's. I have been fortunate to always live with my horses but strong bonds have been forged over the year with other horse folk. Back Country Horsemen & other horse organizations have provided me with life long friends and support. Both people and horses benefit via these organizations.
This is so true about the atmosphere that exists in a barn. They can be wonderful places of companionship and mutually-beneficial retreats from the big, bad, outside world. They can also be home to hostilities and tension when one or more "trouble-makers" exist and are allowed to bully other horse owners. Nobody enjoys working with their horse in a facility permeated by contentious circumstances among its boarders and/or staff. In my personal experiences as both a boarder and trainer, I have certainly noticed that in the worst of situations, a "barn family" comes together much in the same fashion that a related family would. Mary Ann Simonds is a true gem in the horse world and my coauthor, Dr. Allen Schoen, and I are forever grateful to her for her wonderful contribution to the Foreword of our book, The Compassionate Equestrian (2015 Trafalgar Square Books/Horse and Rider Books). The 25 Principles of Compassionate Equitation encourage those who ride and handle horses to undertake a period of quiet self-reflection before entering the barn in order to calm busy, distracted minds and soothe uptight bodies before any interactions with their horses and fellow barn-mates. It really works!