Are your horses left alone on a night?

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Sally-FF

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hi

I am thinking of moving one of my horses to a friends small yard (3 other horses) - long story!

The only thing is there is no one there on a night and not houses close by! The gates are all locked etc i just still feel a bit nervous! I live about 1 mins drive away, its just i am used to them being at home on my yard you can see out of the windows!

Am i being stupid? Do lots of you have yards that are not near houses, where no one is there over night? I know when i am driving around i see horses all over in fields that don't seem to be near houses?

Thanks :)
 
Yes me,mine are in a field/stables 1/4 mile from the house. I do them 4 times a day,8am 11am at dusk its 4pmish at the moment, and then check on them at 11 pm at night just to make sure all ok and that they have enough hay and water. When they are out 24/7 ie may to nov i just go 2 or 3 times and miss out the late night visit.
I wish the house was right next door and i could do them in my pj's but that wont ever happen sadly.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
Yes me,mine are in a field/stables 1/4 mile from the house. I do them 4 times a day,8am 11am at dusk its 4pmish at the moment, and then check on them at 11 pm at night just to make sure all ok and that they have enough hay and water. When they are out 24/7 ie may to nov i just go 2 or 3 times and miss out the late night visit.
I wish the house was right next door and i could do them in my pj's but that wont ever happen sadly.
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I would go in my pjs anyway - especially at night!
 
Mine live about 200m from the house...I can see the field but not the yard.

It is however right next to a main road / bus stop and several houses.....anyone doing anything untoward would be spotted. I'm also on good terms with every dog-walker and baby-pushchair walker that goes past.

The yard is as secure as I can make it, there is nothing of value left there. I have CCTV and Farmkey signs up and *touch wood* no bother- the horses are fine and dandy.

TBH....if anything is gonna happen, its gonna happen no matter close by your house they are. I think horse thefts are relatively rare- especially if they are freezemarked etc.....it mainly yard equiptment that would go missing. Hence why I keep nothing hanging about the yard other than the odd bucket.
 
I always worry about electrical fires I'm afraid. Did stable horses alone for many years and it was fine but now my OCD has kicked in I couldn't now. Even when I leave them in daytime for farrier I am worried sick.
 
No, I wouldn't dream of having my horses without someone living on site. What happens if there's a fire or a horse has colic or another emergency occurs? My horses and my liveries are all within 20 metres of my bedroom.
 
Wagtail said:
No, I wouldn't dream of having my horses without someone living on site. What happens if there's a fire or a horse has colic or another emergency occurs? My horses and my liveries are all within 20 metres of my bedroom.
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If someone lives on site, they still probably wouldnt hear a horse colicking at 3am anyway......not when you're in the house and the horse is in the stable block. Not without going out to check.

I kept my horses at a livery yard for a long time....someone did live on site, but there was no way they would have heard a horse in trouble.
 
CuriousYellow said:
If someone lives on site, they still probably wouldnt hear a horse colicking at 3am anyway......not when you're in the house and the horse is in the stable block. Not without going out to check.

I kept my horses at a livery yard for a long time....someone did live on site, but there was no way they would have heard a horse in trouble.
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I guess it depends on how far away they are. I have often got up in the night to check on a horse that is banging about. So far, luckily it's been fine. But then I'm a very light sleeper. However, I am up at the crack of dawn to feed and check on them late at night too, so there is more chance that I would spot a horse in trouble than if I just went up a couple of times a day.
 
Wagtail said:
No, I wouldn't dream of having my horses without someone living on site. What happens if there's a fire or a horse has colic or another emergency occurs? My horses and my liveries are all within 20 metres of my bedroom.
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I have to be honest and say that when we had ours at home the stables were 40m from the house and visible from all the back windows but had a fire started in the middle of the night the chances are that it would be too late by the time it was discovered (nor would we have heard a colicking horse) I suppose late night checks might have made it easier to discover any potential problems. Many yards are miles from anywhere and unfortunately things do happen but they are usually accidents that could happen even if someone was on site, we certainly didn't constantly watch ours in the fields when they were out. I a not sure I would move them away from home if I had the choice though, I would prefer them closer because at least it is easier to make checks if you 'get a feeling'.
 
Yes, the only way I would wake up if there was a fire is if they banged about and neighed or if the dogs (who sleep next to the stables) started to bark.
 
I dont have electric either ,I used to have stables in the garden where I lived years ago. they had elec and tbh i worried more about rats or mice chewing cables and causing a fire. my yard and fields are remote,down a private lane used by only a handful of people. i go several times a day,others not for weeks on end,eg farmer haymaking or something. I recently heard of stables burning down which were next to someones house,she said thankfully the horses were out as she'd have never have got to them to get them out it all went up so quickly, she was in the kitchen at the time and the first thing she saw was a great sheet of flame , terrifying.
 
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Yes it is scary and I don't sleep that well when mine are in (stables really only 30m from house and face bedroom. I've got every cut off and RCD known to man but even then its just such a bad environment, dry hay, dry shavings etc. TBH probably a contributing factor to why mine live out 24/7.
 
Mine used to live about a mile from the nearest house, all of us owners got together and set up a rota system for late night checking.

He's now in a field opposite the farmhouse and I occasionally get told that he and his mates have been silly and galloping about but don't think he's any more or less secure because of where he is.
 
Luckily my YO lives on site and the stables are attached to the house - she can usually hear any banging about in the night etc.

However, I think if my horse were on it's own somewhere I would leave a laminated sign with a mobile tel no on it. Pin it to the stable door, the field gate etc. Just put on it that it's a number to call in case of emergency - don't put your name or address, just the number. Also if there is a house or houses nearby then write a polite letter to the householder including your phone number and just ask them to ring you if they see anything untoward - point out that you are not asking them to look after the horses as such, just to keep the number safe and call if they have any concerns.
 
thank you for all your replies, you have made me feel a little better about it!

How risky are fires? The stables/electrics etc are all new, have only been there about 2 years. It does worry me there is only so much you can do before you get so worried and worked up that you drive yourself mental!
 
I keep my girls living out on a farm about 3 miles (as the crow flies) from home. The land owner is there about half of the week give or take, but she has cctv everywhere and electric gates that you have to call from a mobile, so its is limited access. Even when I had my neds on the farm where I live (long story why I dont now!!) I wouldnt have seen or heard if anything was wrong at night.
There are houses all along the lane where I have the neds now, and its a horsey community, so they are as secure as anywhere really.
As an aside, the yard I work on is attached to the YO's parents house, and the YO's house is 20m away, before they had all the cctv and motion detectors put in someone cleaned out her tack room whilst she was schooling and was obscured by a hedge! Just because pople are on site it doesnt guarantee nothing will happen!
 
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