Am I being mean?!

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emma.is

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For a few months now I've had Charlie. We've got into a nice little routine where the Y/O feeds him and gives him his haynet in the morning, I get up at 3pm after school and ride straight away. Then he goes out for two or three hours with another horse. By this time he wants in desperately!

But while the beast was colicing and I was up at all hours with him I noticed that two or three owners came up before work to muck their horses out.

am I being mean leaving him in his stable un mucked out through the day? He has a big straw bed in a largeish stable.

And please no suggestions about him going out in the day, not allowed at the yard yet :(
 
It's not going to kill him but its not something I'd do or want doing with any horse of mine unless it was an emergency. Can't you just go up & muck out before school?
 
I start work a t 7.30am, i have 3 horses,i muck out before work if they need to stay in for any reason,i personally wouldnt leave overnight and all day without mucking out and checking.
 
If my horse is in 24 hrs or thereabouts they are mucked out twice, once in the morning which involves getting up at 6, walking 3mile to the yard, mucking out, possibly walking in hand and then 3 mile back in all weathers... And then once again on the night
 
Yes, I used to muck out three and exercise each one twice a day if they had no turnout.
However, as the lack of turnout was unacceptable to me, and pretty exhausting, I moved them.
 
I wouldn't do it! If mine has to be in (we are on a flood risk area so it does happen in winter) I'd never not muck out twice in 24 hours.

I start work at 7.30 am with an hour commute so I'm up very early to do it! (DIY)
 
I don't think that's right to leave him stood in all day without mucking him out. Can't the YO at least skip out for you in the morning whilst she's feeding and haying him? Does she do his water too and his rugs? You must get through so much bedding this way too?
 
When I was away for 4 days recently & my son was in charge of horse, he was only mucked out in the morning & in for the rest of the day ( not allowed out cos of lami & I'm the only one who can catch him) I don't think he was skipped out in the evening either. He's on straw over mats & he survived!
 
Agree with Padderpaws, as long as he is mucked out daily he will be fine. No, it's not ideal but when you are on a yard you abide by their rules. Or leave ;)
I presume he will be going out in the daytime in the summer? Is this situation just because of the winter weather?
Anyway, just make sure he has plenty of bedding, so he is not standing in puddles of pee and poo, make sure you keep his feet clean and he'll be ok. xx
 
My YO feeds and hays in the morning too, sometimes I'm down at 11am, sometimes 2pm. Mine get mucked once when I'm down and don't get turned out all day cause the fields are ripped to shreds. They all get turned out in the school if not ridden or lunged once a day and when weather is suitable, they go out for two or three hours. It doesn't bother them in the slightest, you're not being mean!
 
When mine was in he was mucked out in the afternoon but skipped out in the morning. As long as you muck out well at least once a day he will be fine x
 
I don't see an issue to be honest. If he has a big bed anyways I can't see it being a problem.

If his bed is small and soaked through daily with pee then yes I think that'd be unfair but your mucking him out everyday anyways.

A girl I knew (not anymore thankfully!) used to leave her horses in for days on end not mucked out, layers of rugs on, no hay... Despite having access to 24/7 turnout and one being a youngster...

So no I don't see a prob ;)
 
Your horse, you do should know how he copes, how clean his stable is and what his needs are.

Personally I wouldn't leave my horse on a stable in mucked out for that long.
But also I would not be on a yard with such little turn out.
Some horses cope, mine wouldn't and I wouldn't ask them too.
 
Yes. It is unhygienic and unpleasant. Get up and muck your horse out before school. Either taht or turn him out during the day (better option)
 
When my lad was stabled during the day, I used to cycle up before school and skip out/feed/hay/water (only was there max 3/4 hour) and then evenings muck out fully

(I then later moved him to another DIY livery to all day turnout)


Having said that, if his bed is deep enough it won't kill him if you leave it to the evening - I just think it makes your life harder :)
 
I have had the same situation as you in the past and I didn't lose sleep over it. It was impossible for me to go and muck out in the mornings and the horses were not allowed turnout during the winter. My horse had a good sized stable a very deep bed and he was a clean boy so he wasn't standing in wet straw and **** all day. He very tidily deposited in one corner.

The fact that you are worried about it says to me that you are a caring owner and if this is your only little area where you can't be perfect owner of the year then you are doing just fine and you have a lucky horse.
 
I wouldn't personally do it but doesn't mean its going to kill him. In the snow a couple of years ago we could only get there once a day so they were only mucked out then and fed by somebody else morning and night.

could the person in the morning at least skip out a bit? takes 2 mins.
 
We all want the best nowadays and treat them like babies. I have known a horse being thrown hay, water and straw and mucked out only once a week during very cold weather and it did no harm what so ever
Would I do it - no never but I admit to not letting them out in the rain, unless they are out 24/7
 
Mine would go stir crazy with that routine.Why can't you get up early,muck out and turn out like most people do.I am at the yard at 6 am to muck out my three,prepare the beds,do the hay and water.This takes me about one hour as i am in a strict routine and need to be at work for 8.It is doable so no excuses really.
 
In a perfect world the horse would be mucked out twice or turned out during the day. However, OP doesn't have the option of all day turnout at the moment so she is doing the best she can with the time she has. i.e. riding every day followed by a couple of hours turnout. As long as his bed is nice and deep so he is not standing on wet bedding I don't see a problem. Getting the YO to skip out is a nice idea, but will involve extra expense and she may not want or have time to do it!.
 
I personally like to muck out before work, am up at 5.30 to do it, I would rather do it before work and not be faced with a mucky stable when I finish, if OP has to rely on lifts (am assuming they don't drive) then it is fair point to be unable to get down to stables before school
 
Tammytoo said:
In a perfect world the horse would be mucked out twice or turned out during the day. However, OP doesn't have the option of all day turnout at the moment so she is doing the best she can with the time she has. i.e. riding every day followed by a couple of hours turnout. As long as his bed is nice and deep so he is not standing on wet bedding I don't see a problem. Getting the YO to skip out is a nice idea, but will involve extra expense and she may not want or have time to do it!.
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Exactly!

Some people seem to think that early rising is a virtue in itself. Horses are amazingly resilient. So long as this one is adequately fed and watered, which he apparently is, with a good bed, I'm sure being mucked out once a day will be fine.
I wouldn't want so little turnout for my horses but yard rules are the main reason I keep my horses at home. I don't suppose OP is in a position to be able to do this. OP obviously needs to be in a position to concentrate on her school work, during the day, not too tired to do so because she's been up at the crack of dawn, mucking out.
 
I have only one (assisted) DIY livery and he often doesn't get mucked out until around 5 pm, He goes out for the morning and I feed him, hay up and he has automatic water. Whilst it is not the ideal, he doesn't suffer for it. He is quite tidy in his stable and is never stood in wet muck. My own horses and the others that are on full livery get skipped out several times a day whilst they are in, but that is because I am here all day.
 
I dont think its an issue, so long as there is plenty of bedding in there so its not wet through then he will be fine! Some people who brings un-handled foals in will leave them in for days without mucking out while they are getting handled, im sure once a day wont hurt, doesnt hurt mine when they are in :)
 
Depends on whether the horse is neat, in that his poos and wees are out of the way of where he stands during the day, and how the stable drains.

Keep an eye on his hooves, make sure he doesn't get thrush.
 
Not at all. When my Horse is in. She comes in at about 7, if she spends the next day in, I don't muck out until 6pm as thats when I get there. My yard owner will feed, hay, water top up if needed and rug. I could do this myself but the yard is about 20 mintues drive from me and its all such a rush, I suffer badly with migranes and one of my triggers is lack of sleep. So I will not get up at the crack of dawn when my YO does all the jobs needed to be done. My Horse has never had thrush. Shea living out at the moment though so not an issue.
 
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