Am I Wrong?

T

Tia

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I'm not one for mentioning much about my liveries on here, however I am in the middle of having a disagreement with 10 year old daughter. I'll give you the scenario and let me know your thoughts.

One of my liveries bought a horse last June, against my advice. The horse is way too much for him and it really did concern me (my business insurance, more to the point). However I don't worry about this any more as he bought horse back in June and hasn't ridden it yet....doubting he ever will to be honest.

I only ever see this livery at month-end when he comes up to pay livery bill. He rarely takes horse out of field (mainly because the horse runs away) but does appear to enjoy watching it in field.

Anyway, he came up yesterday and actually got the horse out of the field and appeared to have a nice time grooming him....so much so, that he has returned today. I am pleased that he is finally starting to do things with the horse.

The dilemma comes now; daughter is livid that he is out there cutting horse's forelock and shaving it's whiskers and long whisker lashes. She said I should go out there and tell him to stop. I said no I wouldn't as firstly it is his horse, and secondly it is only the second time in 9 months that he has taken the horse out of the field and I don't want to put a damper on his enthusiasm.

Right now is not too bad to be doing this but in a month or two's time it will be boiling hot here, flies and mosquitoes will be out and horse will need natural protection. So I have appeased her by saying that when the Summer comes I may say something, although equally I may not.....but I am loathe to get involved in the management of horse ownership when neglect is not involved.

Comments?
 
You may not agree with what he's doing, but it is his horse and as long as it's not harming the horse in any way, really have to leave him to it!
 
Its his horse; he isnt going to hurt it. Personally I find nothing more annoying than YOs voicing their opinion, when they have no right to do so! Id let him get on with it!
 
Thats the sort of situation that would really annoy me, but that I probably couldn't say anything to stop it
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. If I was a livey I wouldn't want someone telling me what I could and couldn't do. On the other hand, if I was doing something that would lead to the suffering of my horse, without realising I was doing it, I would prefer someone to subtley point it out in a way that wouldn't make me feel stupid and useless
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Personally I find nothing more annoying than YOs voicing their opinion, when they have no right to do so!

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Well I would actually disagree with your comment I'm afraid. The horse lives here on full care. The owner visits it once a month. Any ailments or disease that it may come down with rest on my shoulders. I am the one who has to physically deal with any unfortunate ill-effects of someone's ignorance.
 
I don't have any problems with mentioning things like this to the liveries I see most days; it's just I didn't want to say anything as he appeared to be having such a nice time with him yesterday.

The only thing that makes me wonder whether I am wrong to turn a blind eye, is that the last time he took the horse out (back in August I think) he put it in the round pen for 40 minutes and made it gallop around and around and the horse ended up beggaring up his tendon.....which then caused loads more time and work for me (unpaid as usual). So daughter does have a point.
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His horse at the end of the day BUT ..... I would possibly have a chat with him, start of by saying how nice a day it is and have a nice friendly chat , tell him how well the horse is looking, and just subtly tell him the bad points of what his actions are ...ie cutting the whiskers off , Just being careful what way you phrase it .


Leave the conversation with something like ... Its nice to see that your horse is bonding with you and he is looking fab .

At the end of the day all it is , is just a friendly bit of advice nothing more .
 
Well I have plenty of time to decide whether to say something or not as he has pre-paid up till July so I won't see him again till then. I might not have to say anything then as hopefully he will have forgotten about it, LOL!!
 
On one hand...the bloke obviously means his horse no harm, has paid for it to be looked after (in your excellent yard!) and is finally starting to develop a relationship.
On the other hand...horses do need their whiskers and hair!
I'd be inclined to start 'helping' him more to encourage him to do stuff with said horse, then slip in some horse knowledge and care info gently into the conversation....
Hope this helps
S
 

You are doing the right thing Tia, at least he is taking an interest in the horse and hopefully from this starting point a better relationship will form.

I agree, unless it is a neglect/welfare issue it isn't worth getting involved. I have, in the past, with my liveries and it's always come back to bite me, I now keep well out of things.
 
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Personally I find nothing more annoying than YOs voicing their opinion, when they have no right to do so!

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Well I would actually disagree with your comment I'm afraid. The horse lives here on full care. The owner visits it once a month. Any ailments or disease that it may come down with rest on my shoulders. I am the one who has to physically deal with any unfortunate ill-effects of someone's ignorance.

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Oh I see.... Fair point. I live in the world of DIY livery; I didn't realise the horse was under your care so to speak.
 
I know. I found it a bit odd when I first came over here but I am used to it now and it doesn't bother me if the owners (who live locally) don't turn up for months on end. I completely understand with my long-distance boarders not being able to get here so frequently....having said that, all of my long distance ones DO actually come more than many of my local boarders LOL!!

I doubt I will say anything to be honest - it really goes against the grain, so I will just put a full face fly mask on him over the summer - hopefully that will stave off any infections.
 
Difficult dilemma. I would try the friendly approach if possible (not sure how approachable this guy is) as he may just be unaware. I don't doubt you do a fab job looking after them Tia - but it seems bonkers to me not to want to spend time with your horse !! Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick, but the 10 year old - is it his daughter or do you mean your daughter ?? If it's his daughter, then surely she would say something to him anyway ??? Could horse wear fly mask ??
 
LOL!! It's my daughter who told me off for not saying anything to him. She told me if I didn't then she was going to go and say it, LOL!! She's quite a vocal child
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LOL!! It's my daughter who told me off for not saying anything to him. She told me if I didn't then she was going to go and say it, LOL!! She's quite a vocal child
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hmmmm I wonder who she gets that from
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Hmm, tricky one... I would possibly mention something in passing "oh doesn't x look lovely all prettied up - of course it will grow back in time for x to use it to keep the flies off come May won't it" on the offchance the person doesn't actually know what they are doing or something of that ilk. I generally found when liveries were doing things they shouldn't it was out of ignorance, and the other liveries would hound me until I said something to them - the general responses were 'oh does it' or 'I didn't know that'.

Of course having a vocal child does have its advantages, and you 'can't possibly' control what your child says, and oh isn't it terrible that they can be a little blunt at times........
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Haven't read all the replies, but it is possible that the owner doesn't realise the significance of what he is doing regarding the whiskers. I know a lot of show horses in the UK have their whiskers removed, and I do think it is a shame - they are there for a reason! Maybe you could subtley say something in conversation, along the lines of 'my, hasn't *insert other horse's name here* got amazingly long whiskers/forelock? They will be a great help in the summer', whilst pointing at some very hairy horse. I suppose many hogged and trimmed horses do survive...
 
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LOL!! It's my daughter who told me off for not saying anything to him. She told me if I didn't then she was going to go and say it, LOL!! She's quite a vocal child
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hmmmm I wonder who she gets that from
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LOL Boy have you got trouble coming if your daughter is this vocal at 10
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Good on her though for standing up for what she believes in. I thinks its really sweet that she cares about the horse so much
 
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