Arghh YO and hunting - rant!

Not the hunt, but we had a shoot on our farm six times a year and we were asked to keep the horses in. We all did so, we are in the country after all, wasnt much hassle and kept the local bods sweet. You all have to live with each other, cant see what the problem is.
 
LIZ66 said:
Haha PaddyMonty you make me laugh...the hunt is not going past the yard on a bridleway.
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I believe that PM meant that it is not the yard owners fault or responsibility if your horse does not have the worldly experience to not do its nut because the hunt goes past.

fwiw one of ours does do its nut if she hears the hunt (she has never been).. we therefore kindly ask the secretary to let us have a meet card so that we know when they are meeting locally (neither of us hunt with the pack) and if any changes occur so that we can stable and sedate her. It really is no biggie every so often and am surprised how much of an issue this seems to be. Not saying anything and leaving horses to gallop about while the hunt passed through would surely be more irresponsible.
 
Just move yards to a more urban area that will sort it.
OR ask the YO if your horse can stay out .
You dont sound happy there , seriously move the YO will probally be delighted.
Honestly I cant see the issue with a day in the stable.
 
FWIW, I am inclined to go a bit against the grain here. No, I don't think the YO should have no life simply because she chooses to run a livery yard. I don't think she should be denied the chance to have a day off and have some fun.

BUT, she does have some responsbilities. One day is not really enough notice for most people in full time employment to organise a day off work or alternative cover of some sort if they need to be there to check on their horse. Most people I know who keep their horses on livery wouldn't put their job in jeapordy by p'ing their boss off in this economic climate asking to take time off at such incredibly short notice for a non-emergency. And the reason for that is that they rely heavily on their job: they need it because they hand a very sizeable chunk of their salary over to their YO every month to look after their horses.:)

It's all very well saying that the horses should be able to cope, but what if some of the liveries are youngsters or new horses who have never seen the hunt before? If one of them breaks a leg in the process of demolishing a stable or trying to get over a door, then the YO will end up being out of pocket now she's one livery cheque short every month, no?

IMO a reasonable compromise would have been for the YO to have given far more notice and/or employed a reputable freelance groom for the day to keep an eye on the yard. If the hunt didn't give her enough forewarning that they were coming over the yard for her to let her liveries know earlier, then that's an issue she should really take up with them.
 
I do think it interesting that people who would otherwise be up in arms that a member of this forum has to keep her horse in and that something noisy was going to happen and the YO would not be about, somehow think it is okay because it's the hunt. The YO has a duty of care. OP I would get the day off and make sure my horse was okay if I were you. Then if she is fine you needn't worry next time.
 
Yard owners responsibility very much depends on what you pay. If you are full livery on one of the very few yards that the yo gets a decent wage from it, I would expect more. If you are paying the usual pittance, & the yo as a result earns a pittance, their duties are somewhat less.
 
Wagtail said:
I do think it interesting that people who would otherwise be up in arms that a member of this forum has to keep her horse in and that something noisy was going to happen and the YO would not be about, somehow think it is okay because it's the hunt. The YO has a duty of care. OP I would get the day off and make sure my horse was okay if I were you. Then if she is fine you needn't worry next time.
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The clue is in the name of the type of livery DIY.
 
I must admit to being a little baffled by this whole thread. Yes, it's up to the YO, to some degree, what happens to the horses when the hunt comes through cubbing . . . and it seems this YO has decided they'd be safer in. Not how I (or my YO, thankfully) would handle the situation . . . the RMA Sandhurst Draghunt comes right through our yard two or three times a year . . . YO simply puts a notice on the board and we all turn out as usual and might boot up as a precaution.

The horses do get excited and run around . . . and it probably isn't wise to choose the day after the hack has been through to attempt your first solo hack on a new yard on a horse that hunted twice a week before you bought it - as I found to my cost - but all seem to cope fine being out and I suspect my own nutjob gelding would try and climb out of his stable if he heard the hunt going through while he was in.

Surely, this is down to the YO and individual liveries. I'm really not sure where all the vitriol and sniping on this thread has come from . . . or what purpose people feel it serves.

As I said . . . baffled.

P
 
littlelegs said:
Yard owners responsibility very much depends on what you pay. If you are full livery on one of the very few yards that the yo gets a decent wage from it, I would expect more. If you are paying the usual pittance, & the yo as a result earns a pittance, their duties are somewhat less.
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That's true Littlelegs. I don't know if the OP has specified her circumstances anywhere, but I guess I was thinking more from the POV of a part or full livery.

Still, if it's an approved DIY yard, I would hope for a wee bit more organisation and advanced warning. If the YO herself didn't know on time, she really should ask the hunt for more notice if possible next time.
 
Reading this in disbelief... We live in an area where there are several meets (cubbing and hunting) each season and have always been on yards where the hunt will go right through. One even hosted the meet! We used to get up early and ride out so they were tired, then stick them in the stable with lots of hay and water and leave them to it. Last year, Reg was turned out in a field the hunt went through- we shut him in the little yard bit and he'd stand and merrily watch them jumping in past him and galloping off.

It was never a fuss, and these were horses who'd go utterly schiz when actually out hunting. They might fuss for the first bit, but tended to forget about it after about 5 minutes!
 
Going a little off topic here, I see this a lot all over the forum and I never quite understand it.

What's the big deal with keeping your horse in every now and then?

Plenty of horses live in, some rarely ever go outside so what harm does one day do?

I own a very stressy, very forward and sharp pony and yet this summer he has been turned out 4 times a week max and only for 4 hours at a time. This is due to the flies, he has severe problems with them and comes up in an enormas rash if they start hovering round him and I have yet to find a fly spray (either shop bought or homemade) than can last more than a few hours.
Am I a bad owner for doing this?

Someone earlier mentioned about their horse being stressy in a stable, without being awful that just screams mad manners to me although that is my own opinion and I understand that not everyone will agree.
Is it a fear thing? Do people expect their horse to be naughtier, flightier or more energetic because they haven't been out?
Wether my boy has been in 1 hour or 5 days I expect him to behave the same as always, and he does. I've ridden across big open fields even though he's not been out for 5 days and he was a good as ever, no difference whatsoever.

I don't understand what harm the odd day in can do to a horse, not all horses live out 24/7 :rolleyes:

ETA!!:
Just re read this, I don't mean that everyone who keeps their horses out 24/7 is scared of them or whatever! I didn't mean that at all, the whole point of my ramblings is just to mainly ask why do others seem to think that keeping your horse in for one day is one of the deadly sins?
Hope that cleared it up! :D
 
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Lolo - might be a bit early for them to ride out first, it will be autumn hunting/trailing/cubbing which usually starts at 7am ish this time of year ! good idea though ! hehe
 
Puddock said:
That's true Littlelegs. I don't know if the OP has specified her circumstances anywhere, but I guess I was thinking more from the POV of a part or full livery.

Still, if it's an approved DIY yard, I would hope for a wee bit more organisation and advanced warning. If the YO herself didn't know on time, she really should ask the hunt for more notice if possible next time.
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most of the DIY yards near me are certainly not approved!

as for noisy.. well the hunt are quieter than our local pub (s) and occasionally the village hall but the horses enjoy the odd bit of rock music and put up with the fireworks.. both are a bit of a pita if I'm honest but much better to have peeps enjoying themselves :)
 
This is one of those stupid stressy things that are annoying just because they are so easily avoided.

I know very little about hunting, but I imagine that hunts decide where they are going to be hunting several days, if not weeks, ahead of the actual day. This being so, I assume that someone planning to hunt with them (in this case, YO) would be in a position to share this information with a bit more than 24 hours' notice.

I agree that it is not reasonable to expect the hunt (or YO) to change their plans to suit the liveries, but equally it isn't reasonable to expect liveries to re-organise their day at the drop of a hat. When the hunt used to meet at our old yard, or was going through, a notice would go up a week or so earlier so everyone could organise someone to bring in/turn out for them if they couldn't get to the yard at the relevant time. That would have been perfectly possible in this case and no-one would have been peeved. Ho hum...
 
Lollydolly- although my post pretty much said one day doesn't matter, **** happen, so I may not be the poster you are referring too, I did indeed say mine stresses in during the day. When your fine to be stabled horse has done 12 mnths box/ tiny individual outdoor pen rest, you can tell me its down to bad manners & my fear. And nothing personal but I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that she is better mannered than yours. Just because she is better mannered than the vast majority of horses & ponies. Whilst its entirely your right to do so, I personally would be making a link between your description of him being stressy, sharp etc & the restricted turnout. Without meaning to be awful, those who live in glasshouses etc.
 
The hunt come through our place quite a lot, over the years I have decided that my horses are safer out in the field but I realise this is different on livery yards. Funnily enough I have just seen the status of somebody round here going out clubbing tomorrow announcing how drunk they will be getting - clearly they have no clue of etiquette!

On the amount of notice, we are only finding out the day before where hounds are meeting atm because the harvest isn't in yet so it maybe the YO has given as much notice as she can and I know I wouldn't be able to get a day off at that notice either but I'm sure the horses will be ok, the YO will be back pretty early for those who can't get there until later but there will always be the potential for a horse having to stay in - injury, floods, ice etc so one day really won't hurt imo. Do you have a friend who could pop up to check them for you op?
 
nosenseofdirection said:
This is one of those stupid stressy things that are annoying just because they are so easily avoided.

I know very little about hunting, but I imagine that hunts decide where they are going to be hunting several days, if not weeks, ahead of the actual day. This being so, I assume that someone planning to hunt with them (in this case, YO) would be in a position to share this information with a bit more than 24 hours' notice.

I agree that it is not reasonable to expect the hunt (or YO) to change their plans to suit the liveries, but equally it isn't reasonable to expect liveries to re-organise their day at the drop of a hat. When the hunt used to meet at our old yard, or was going through, a notice would go up a week or so earlier so everyone could organise someone to bring in/turn out for them if they couldn't get to the yard at the relevant time. That would have been perfectly possible in this case and no-one would have been peeved. Ho hum...
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Not ATM, it's decided the day before for us until the harvest is in.
 
meesha said:
Lolo - might be a bit early for them to ride out first, it will be autumn hunting/trailing/cubbing which usually starts at 7am ish this time of year ! good idea though ! hehe
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Yep... Early enough to make your teeth hurt! Luckily, that's only once round us, then about 2/3 more actual hunting meets which are at a more civilised hour. Luckily, Reg is super-chilled about the whole thing (he's is, you know, a wild ex-racer... Lol!).
 
nosenseofdirection said:
This is one of those stupid stressy things that are annoying just because they are so easily avoided.

I know very little about hunting, but I imagine that hunts decide where they are going to be hunting several days, if not weeks, ahead of the actual day. This being so, I assume that someone planning to hunt with them (in this case, YO) would be in a position to share this information with a bit more than 24 hours' notice.

I agree that it is not reasonable to expect the hunt (or YO) to change their plans to suit the liveries, but equally it isn't reasonable to expect liveries to re-organise their day at the drop of a hat. When the hunt used to meet at our old yard, or was going through, a notice would go up a week or so earlier so everyone could organise someone to bring in/turn out for them if they couldn't get to the yard at the relevant time. That would have been perfectly possible in this case and no-one would have been peeved. Ho hum...
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At this time of year it isn't always possible to know more than a few days in advance; it's entirely different once after opening Meet but for cubbing, sometimes meets have to be changed for various reasons.
Where you can go in the country many times it's dependent on harvest time which varies from area to area and sometimes, even a death in the area can postpone things for the sake of decency; so many reasons why meets can be changed or arranged at very short notice. Many farmers expect their harvest to be done and dusted when they agree to have hounds but then the weather puts things back or the contractors are held up at other farms before they can get to them so they can't have hounds until that's done. Some countries are lucky and don't have to rely on harvest time or have stock to worry about and they are the ones who usually can have a few days to let everyone know but not everyone has that luxury.
 
When your fine to be stabled horse has done 12 mnths box/ tiny individual outdoor pen rest, you can tell me its down to bad manners & my fear.
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I will hold my hands up here and say that I totally understand and agree with you, I didn't mean it to sounds like I was saying that every horse must do it because they are naughty etc.

And nothing personal but I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that she is better mannered than yours. Just because she is better mannered than the vast majority of horses & ponies.
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If that's what you chose to believe, I understand that without seeing my boy you can't make a fair and unbiased judgement. However, I do have to wonder why you are taking this so personally when I was actually asking about why people seem to think that it's terrible to leave your horse in for one day?

Whilst its entirely your right to do so, I personally would be making a link between your description of him being stressy, sharp etc & the restricted turnout. Without meaning to be awful, those who live in glasshouses etc.
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Perfectly logical point, however he has lived out 24/7 since I've known him and there was no change in him whatsoever. He also was never, ever stabled before I owned him so that was 5 years of living in a field with no restrictions.
It is just his disposition, you get quiet horses and you get sharp horses. Not all horses are born the same and there is a huge variety in temperaments, constant turnout doesn't make every horse less spooky or excitable.
 
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I'm generally pretty anti YO's and like to fight the fight of the little people, but do you seriously have a problem with your horse staying in its stable for one day, where it is less likely to hurt itself than tear-arsing around the field while the hunt's about, and without the YO hanging around all day in case of what exactly? The horses might be unsettled, but what is the YO supposed to do about it if they are and they stayed there? :confused: All they could do is shut the horses safely in stables, which they've done already. You could always go down and hang around with your horse if that's not good enough.

This really isn't something to moan about IMO. I hope your YO enjoys her day's hunting.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
If one never wants to be put out or have things not quite as you would wish all the time, there is only one solution - and that's to buy your own place.
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Even if you do that, you may find that a pack of hounds moves in next door - we did! Hounds are exercised in the fields adjoining ours every day. Not that our horses care, they barely lift their heads now, although the fact that it is a foot hunt might have something to do with their reaction.

I do think there's a bit of over-reaction going on here.
 
carolineb said:
I would be very, very surprised if your YO was going to get drunk cubbing - noone takes hipflasks with them cubbing. Hunting yes, cubbing no. Not surprising considering we start at 6 or 7 a.m.
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Hehe, this made me chuckle, I am usually the ONLY one passing the hip flask around at 7am... Thankfully most decline, more for me!! As soon as the harvest finishes I start taking out shares in Cockburns Port.
 
I'd be quite happy my pony was getting a new experience.

Shut the top doors so they can't see if it's such a worry. I would be more worried about what they could hurt themselves on in the stable :confused:
 
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