Am I being paranoid

[andytiger]

Hi
I’m being stolen from, I have been at a small livery yard for 2 years and i’m very happy there, apart from this problem. it’s been going on since I got there and I don’t know what to do about it i think it may be to late as i should have nipped it in the bud from the beginning.
I am the only DIY livery, on a yard of full livery’s i buy my hay from yard owner and have a separate feed area from other livery’s,
i first noticed about 2 years ago my expensive feed balancer was going missing it usually lasts me 5 weeks but only lasting me 2 I did tell YO and she said it must have been one of the livery’s 2 of the livery horses were on same balancer as me but all feed is included in there full livery price. (I now have to keep it padlocked)
I also leave a haynet to be put in when horses are fed in a morning I would go down the yard and all the horses would be munching away except for mine he wouldn’t have a scrap i mentioned this to YO and she said she just fed early (I should also mention he suffers from ulcers )
I started leaving traps to see if i was being paranoid like looping the tie of the haynet around the top if you were just trying the hay-net up you wouldn’t need to undo it sure enough it was undone in a morning and my horse has no hay.
so I started using lockable tie-wraps around the top of my haynet this solved the problem, YO did ask me why I was doing this and And I told her someone is taking my hay and she just said why would anyone do that, but if it makes you feel better ect ect making out i was being paranoid and made me feel bad for doing it.
anyway been a bit lapse about it I suppose you have to have to take the rough with the smooth there arnt that many good livery yards around us
anyway ...fast forward to now I left a haynet I would say it was quite a large one I was competing and had to go early So it was about 6:10am horses are fed at 6 and low and behold all horses are munching away my horse just had a empty net not even haydust on the floor and the horse in the opposite box with just hay tipped out on the floor (they all have haynets)
So i’m tie wrapping again yesterday when I got down there he had Half haynet left I cannot afford to feed other people’s horses.
Do you think i’m being paranoid,Ive even thought of getting spy cameras. and what would you all do,I shouldn’t have to feel like this never been stolen from before at other livery yards, I think i’m a good livery always helpful, always pay my money, or am I just a mug.

 

[ycbm]

Did you mean this to be in New Riders? More answers in Tack Room.

I'd get a camera.

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[D66]

Is it the YO? If so I’d move.

 

[Equi]

my Old yard would do the same re haynets. They didn’t like people feeding too much because it made the horses “hyper” and fight. Actually the opposite was true but there we are. I would set traps too and when I confronted them they denied it. I left not long after.

 

[Widgeon]

Is it the YO? If so I’d move.

Yes, this. From what you've said I can't really see a motive or an opportunity for any of the other liveries to be doing this - which leaves the YO. There's nothing you can do about that, so I would start looking for a new yard. Bizarre behaviour if it's true (and from what you've said it sounds like there is definitely something funny going on) - aren't people weird sometimes!

 

[be positive]

If the others are all full liveries then the only person who can be doing this is the YO which makes it worse as you are buying the hay from her in the first place, why not leave your horse with two nets overnight so he never runs out and the YO has no need to put it in, I don't like any of mine to have no scraps left in the morning so will give an extra net if required.
As you are the only DIY I wonder if she actually wants you there and is trying to make you move on in a rather unusual way.

 

[andytiger]

Thanks for reply’s it’s nice to know that i’m not going mad.
i’ve always been happy at yard and always had a good relationship with YO but definitely think i’ve been taken for a mug
perhaps it is time to look for pastures new but there is not much choice around here

 

[splashgirl45]

i would go down early every day and make sure my horse had his hay, when i was diy i did all feeding myself and never relied on the yard.my friend and i would feed each others if one of us couldnt get there early etc, i trusted my yo and know she would have fed but diy means diy as far as i am concerned and i would only use the YO if it was an emergency..

 

[meleeka]

You can buy small cameras that you could hide. I’d want to catch them, but then If it is the YO you’ll need a plan to leave quickly.

 

[WandaMare]

I would start turning up at unpredictable times, sometimes early enough to give the hay and sometimes later. The best thing would be to catch her in the act. Its awful that you should have to do this but it sounds as though it is the YO from what you've said. Hay started going missing on my yard when I had liveries and I thought it was one of the younger liveries who didn't like me much. It turned out to be the wealthiest owner of the bunch, a lady with 2 expensive horses who I would never have thought would have touched other peoples stuff, so that taught me a lesson. I found out by arriving at the yard mid-afternoon when she was usually there on her own and caught her in the act, it was a horrible situation.

 

[Bob notacob]

If the others are all full liveries then the only person who can be doing this is the YO which makes it worse as you are buying the hay from her in the first place, why not leave your horse with two nets overnight so he never runs out and the YO has no need to put it in, I don't like any of mine to have no scraps left in the morning so will give an extra net if required.
As you are the only DIY I wonder if she actually wants you there and is trying to make you move on in a rather unusual way.

Sadly not true, in fact quite the reverse. A livery who feels that her horse isnt getting enough hay might "top up" from yours rather than ask the yo for more.

 

[Red-1]

You are not being paranoid. It is because of stuff like this that we stretched ourselves financially, and moved far to a cheaper area, so we could have horses at home.

I was at one yard once and was debating feeding an expensive hoof supplement when the YO suggested I use X's as they wouldn't notice! Others where my hard feed would go down so quickly. had to move the bins home and bring bagged feed every day.

For hay, I went to big bale haylage one winter as it was outside and no one much bothered to untie the big bag and wrestle the stuff off.

In your situation I would use a camera. Poor horse, not getting hay when everyone else does.

 

[JennBags]

Sadly not true, in fact quite the reverse. A livery who feels that her horse isnt getting enough hay might "top up" from yours rather than ask the yo for more.

All the other horses are on full livery, and the YO has told her that the horse was fed it's hay, yet there isn't any 10 minutes after they've been fed. Therefore it has to the be YO doing this doesn't it?

 

[ycbm]

Does the yard owner think your horse is too fat? There's no excuse for her handling it this way if she does, I just thought maybe she has a reason.


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[be positive]

All the other horses are on full livery, and the YO has told her that the horse was fed it's hay, yet there isn't any 10 minutes after they've been fed. Therefore it has to the be YO doing this doesn't it?

Unless another livery was there at 6am to take the net and the YO didn't notice the horse belonging to the OP had none ready there can only be one culprit, the YO has said they were fed and all the others had hay except the OP's, if she has a reason to give less hay then she needs to say and put the half not given back into the store not give it to another horse and pretend the horse is just a fast eater.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would stop using haynets, by all means use a net to measure how much you are giving, give at least a haynet and a half to ensure that your horse has plenty and then feed it loose, so if anyone wants to steal it, they will have to gather it all up and there is a greater chance of them being spotted.

 

[JennBags]

I wonder if the YO simply doesn't want to hang a hay yet up, it's quite time consuming especially if every day. On my old yard we had a rule that first one up fed in the mornings, but the DIYs who didn't want to get there before 9/10am started leaving hay nets out. It's annoying being the first up every day, feeding 16 horses but having to hang hay nets as well was taking the piss, so the YO said they'd charge for hanging hay nets and suddenly everyone started leaving trugs of hay which we a lot easier and quicker to dole out.

I'd not be able to simply leave extra overnight for my horses, they would drag it round the stable and then not eat it, all my horses have been the same. They like fresh hay to nibble on after they've had breakfast, spoilt brats!

 

[Bob notacob]

All the other horses are on full livery, and the YO has told her that the horse was fed it's hay, yet there isn't any 10 minutes after they've been fed. Therefore it has to the be YO doing this doesn't it?

yes ,i see where your coming from ,hadn't quite taken that on board.

 

[Jules111]

Doesn't sound like a great place to be. Moving seems to be the best option really, it's horrible to have to worry about your horse being fed, especially if you're spending more than enough money to ensure it's getting enough feed and somebody is taking it. I would assume YO. If it's not them they are doing nothing at all to prevent your things being taken. Either way I'd search for a better environment for both your and your horse.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

You've said there are not many nice yards in your area but this one sounds awful and your horses welfare is being compromised. If it was my horse I would move. You shouldn't have to be worrying about a YO stealing your feed and hay. It's totally unacceptable behaviour in their part.