Am I over reacting??

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Koda

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I know this is long post but please bear with me...
I have recently moved a horse into a yard which was appealing on the basis of location, cheaper price than others, and it appeared to have all the facilities I needed; grazing, indoor arena, outdoor arena, muck out included in livery etc.
But I am only there a few weeks and my concerns are mounting. The stable muck out done by the yard is more like just removing any poo in the surface and sprinkling shavings once a week. I had to remove 3 barrows of stinking soaked blocks of solid shavings last week and and go buy more to put in. I showed this gross wet stuff to the owner who said 'oh right, so you like a dry bed then?' Hellooo???? I don't mind mucking out but if I'm paying for it to be done I feel like it should be done right...right?
Then I found out that the large field that is rented for grazing has no water source. I insist on taking her in at night on that basis, whereas others go ahead and leave them out overnight and look at me like I'm anal. Am I?
Then the other day I went to bring her in from field after work and discovered they hadn't taken off her stable rug.
My friend and I save two hundred euro a month by using this place but I'm not sure its worth all this, or am I overreacting? I don't know if my friend will be keen to move as her hours at work were just reduced.
So am I over reacting or being anal?
 
Poor mucking out ok well we all have different standards so maybe this one is up for discussion.

No water in the field.....Unacceptable.

Stable rug on in the field....Unacceptable.

What are they playing at, i would be worried that these people were handling my horse full stop.

If your friend has had her hours cut then maybe she could be down a little more to keep an eye on things if you really can’t afford to move.

All sounds very strange to me....
 
U most certainly are not over-reacting. no matter how much or how little you pay to keep your horse they should have standards.However maybe you could come to an agreement that they say bottom your bed twice a week and there just is no excuse for turning your horse out in her stable rug, UTTER COMPLACENCY. If I employed them they would be looking for another job.Tact and deplomacy needed here to get them around to your way of thinking.Chin up
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No your not over reacting, no water in the field?! mucky stables and leaving stable rugs on when there turned out, sounds like a shambles sorry.

I'd be moving asap.
 
Re the shavings......I poo-pick my bed daily and clean the wet out at weekends....do they not take the wet out at all for you? or are they leaving it until the wet shows through to lift the bed? Theres several ways of managing shavings and you dont necessarliy have to get the wet up every day, but if you paying for aservice you need to know exactly what is being done for your money.

Out in the stable rug....sheer incompetence if you ask me, can they not tell the difference or do they only change the rug if you ask?

When you say no provision for water, do you mean there is no trough/bath/buckets etc ?? We end up barrowing water to the field on occasion if YO is not about to tow the water-containers up but not having anything to put water in is out of the question.

This is why I am DIY....it means early mornings anda hard slog in winter looking after 3 but I cant blame anyone but myself......
 
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Poor mucking out ok well we all have different standards so maybe this one is up for discussion.

No water in the field.....Unacceptable.

Stable rug on in the field....Unacceptable.

What are they playing at, i would be worried that these people were handling my horse full stop.


All sounds very strange to me....

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couldn't agree more
 
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Stable rug on in the field....Unacceptable.

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*shifty eyes* I leave PF's stable rug on when she's turned out
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Course, that IS my choice and we've not had any rain for 3 months.
I do agree with you on the other points. The strain of worrying about my horse having water ALONE would be enough for me to fork out the extra 100 euros.
 
No, you're not over-reacting at all - that's a very poor standard of care, particularly the no water in field aspect! I'd be livid!
 
Thanks for replies.
Yeah I figured they would just take the poo out on the weekdays and go underneath and take the wet on the weekends or something. But after two weeks, nothing. so I had to do a big over haul on the stable.The urine underneath was kicking the back of my throat and making my eyes water. It was not cleaned since the previous occupant I think.
To those asking about the water. There is zero water source. The field is right next to stables, but they don't bring buckets over or even fill up an old bath tub. And if I do it, I'm the new anal retentive girl who is complaining. The reason I am asking am I over reacting is because everyone there acts like no water in the field is commonplace. So I start thinking, "am I going mad?" Plus I don't think my friend sees these concerns as deal breakers for leaving the yard. I really appreciate the replies as I am very concerned and was feeling a little alone in my concerns.
 
No water in the field is probably the one and only thing the RSPCA would go mad at!!! They pretty much ignore all the other awful things!!!
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I don't think you are over reacting at all!! Look at it this way, you pay for a service, you expect a level of service for that money, if this has been agreed in advance and it is not being carried out, then, you have every right to complain!!
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I would advise the YO to do something about the water supply though, I've never heard of a yard where they don't have some form of water supply in a field!!!
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So...how long do you reckin they would leave the wet shavings??? Until your horse has a respiratory problem? Not good hun, not good.

I really don't think you are being anal at all re the water situation.....its massively important. If the yard is ok location/price wise and you want to stay there, then I would probably be dragging an old bath down there and filling it up myself....at least you know your horse has water and it might all stir up the others to think about providing water for their horses....

If our YO has gone off eventing and water tubs are empty ( she tows them up on a little trailer to the field gate and we fill the bath with a bucket every time we take a horse out/in) then we all wheelbarrow water up the hill......I can't believe they are happy for them to have no water......

........phew, turned into a rant there sorry, but to answer your question no- you are not being anal OR over-reacting at all.....
 
think to your self could you go for several hours with out a coffee or tea. Yo taking everyone for a ride and shame on the other owners.you are what I call a decent owner and as soon as you find somewhere else the better plus why doesn't your friend help out if she's on shorter hours.
 
The lack of water issue is enough in my opinion to move sharpish. proves cheap is not always worthwhile.
 
agree with most of other posters. No water in field is unacceptable, turned out in stable rug is unacceptable. Mucking out issue not terrible but would certainly discuss with owner the level of standard that you expect...
 
Just to give you all an update... I went straight from work to stables and met my friend. Poor thing has lost her job now, but her other half is happy to help her keep her hobby by paying her half of livery. She feels the same about the yard being dodgy, but the plan we agreed on is this; she will have lots of extra time to keep an eye and make sure all is well while she is unemployed. If she gets a job, then we will move the horse immediately since we are both willing to pay extra for decent care for the horse when we both have an income.
Thanks so much for the replies, much appreciated. It gave me the boost I needed to sort it out without feeling like I'm a drama queen
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Oh, also I did not have to convince my friend at all about how untrustworthy the yard is cos she texted and then spoke to owner the previous night to ask horse to be taken in from field and left in following morning, and it wasn't done. She was livid, having received the owners promise she thought it would be done, but instead they just left her with no water for the night. Grrr. Definitely will only keep horse there so long as one of us has extra time to keep a sharp eye and let's face it, just do it all ourselves!
 
I think you have just found out why it is cheap and why they had a free stable! I would move just as fast as you can. What other things go on that you haven't found out about yet? I bet they don't worry too much about the state of the grazing, fencing, poo picking, and a proper worming program either. I'd be doubly worried that the other liveries have such poor standards too. This is common around my area where many are town-dwelling, unsupervised teenagers who know nothing but like to think they know it all. Frankly its frightening.
 
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