Bad outcomes/luck linked to a specific place?

I've got a stinking cold, my field has flooded (again) and I had to mend a broken fence in sideways rain this morning - I am not living the dream!

Things like sarcoids can spread and I had a laminitis case this time last year when there was zero grass and my usual hay. Cushings negative and the only thing we can think of is 1) something else underlying caused the insulin spike or 2) it wasn't actually laminitis but something that presented like that. Never got to the bottom of it but the horse is rugged to the eyeballs this winter to try and keep her insulin levels lower.

Its very, very easy when things are going wrong for no apparent reason to blame the environment and I would probably do a soil test as a starter to make sure it wasn't massively short in something. My summer field showed up as really low in manganese and I'd had some odd issues with the horses so have started to supplement it. I already knew we were low in copper and selenium so was on top of that.

There are definitely places which give off quirky vibes but if your friend is otherwise happy - and it sounds like on paper it is perfect - then I'd plod on regardless
 
Orangehorse said:
I haven't any good suggestions to offer, sorry, but it does sound really awful. It seems with horses that there often runs of bad luck, injuries and we scratch our heads and wonder what on earth is going on, when we are doing everything we can to keep them well and healthy.

I think the suggestions here have been good. Get the water tested, see if she can have a break away. The only other thing I can think of is a sort of blessing of the place - sorry about that but it is the only thing I can think of.
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What a nice, positive idea - covered all the empirically- testable bases, ensured your friend has a break - and even if she has no supra-natural beliefs whatsoever, the experience of so much positivity and well-wishing is bound to be a psychological lift.
Think she’s just been unfortunate, ‘runs of ill luck’ are common enough if you keep numbers of livestock, or farm.
 
Not having read all the replies I have to say sometimes I feel similar. I feel like since being where we are, which should be heavenly that just everything go's wrong.
Last year alone, In fact in less than a year I lost no less than 3 horses. Since being here I have had 9 pts and retired a further 2. Have problems with current horse that have again been going on for a while.
None of it linked, eg one was a broken leg

It's pretty soul destroying. I secretly look forward to having to leave and the possibility of starting fresh because in my head I know its not this lovely place but.....
 
Barklands said:
A little woo-woo of me but I'm sure a bit of sage and some evil eye jewellery wouldn't do any harm!
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I was gonna say - it does no harm to wave a bit of sage around & maybe have a session with a Kinesiologist or a Reiki session for herself or her horses aswell. Sometimes when things all seem to be going the wrong way, changing your mindset can help - woo-woo or whatever works but sometimes it takes just feeling like you've cleared out old patterns to allow new ones to form. And doing something you have never done before can help with that - placebo effect can come into play aswell - its just something to feel like you've changed something!

Also while there are lists of things that have gone wrong - has she made a list of things that have gone right in her time there, like could it be perspective??

But no harm in also doing things like getting soil or water tested - something mineral wise could be adding issues that are unseen.

I think when you feel something is wrong - no amount of sane suggestions can help sometimes - sometimes you have to change something, anything to make it feel like you have affected change!
 
I do believe In bad vibes in certain places or situations. I used to work on a race yard that had awful luck and what looked like a stunning yard but extreme dust in the stables despite what looked like good ventilation. If an horse was in for a few nights without a stable sheet on you could write your name on it with your fingers they gathered so much dust and the water tasted like shite. I guzzle tap water when I’m thirsty and it was undrinkable.
I also have kept hold of my old mare much longer than I would have otherwise because I know 2 of her previous owners who have had horrendous luck scince selling her. I think she is a good luck charm and is going nowhere.
So yes I am superstitious.
 
Sometimes I wonder whether it’s the fact you notice that is the reason you feel bad luck.
For example, some people’s horses get sarcoids or asthma or ulcers or whatever and the rider doesn’t take a blind bit of notice just carries on until the horse dumps them (from pain) once too many times then it gets shot or sold …. and replaced. How many shows or adverts have you seen with a noticeably lame horse and a totally unaware rider?
So if you are the type who notices every cut (which might or might not heal itself if untreated), every runny poo etc, then you do tend to find horse care harder than a ‘chuck it in the field until it’s useful’ type.
 
I've got nothing particularly useful to say but I hope things improve for your friend. I agree with some of the previous posts, more horses could just equal the probability of more issues, and it is easy to focus on the things that go wrong. That said, sometimes people just seem to have all the crap stuff dump on them at once.

A break away from the yard, a mind reset (sage or something woo woo) won't do any harm and may help her feel better.
 
nettle said:
Are they on mains water or a private supply? Definitely get water tested if on private supply.
Have the vets made any comment re ongoing issues?
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Mains water I think, though I’ll suggest testing. I’ve not been at many of the vet appointments, I’ve been emotional support on a couple of PTSs and it’s always been comments of no one could have done more etc. I’ve spoken to one vet aside and they’ve said they’ve never known so much bad luck, lots of use of ‘odd’ etc. I know there’s been several cases the vets haven’t ever seen before and have had to consult niche specialists even then with no conclusion. There must have been six different ‘one in a million chances’ conditions.
 
Ceifer said:
I would agree with the sensible posters on here in that it’s bad luck.

But I have also worked on a yard that seemed cursed. Beautiful yard but a huge amount of illnesses and injuries that were odd.
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Thank you for sharing that. It’s at the point now where maybe she is better leaving just to get a fresh start away from a place associated with so much bad luck and oddness, even if it’s not actually anything more supernatural. Cursed is the word she keeps using about the yard.
 
Orangehorse said:
I haven't any good suggestions to offer, sorry, but it does sound really awful. It seems with horses that there often runs of bad luck, injuries and we scratch our heads and wonder what on earth is going on, when we are doing everything we can to keep them well and healthy.

I think the suggestions here have been good. Get the water tested, see if she can have a break away. The only other thing I can think of is a sort of blessing of the place - sorry about that but it is the only thing I can think of.
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Thank you. The suggestions have been great - I’m very appreciative. I know she’s already tried a reiki type thing for the land, but I’ll maybe delve more into whether there’s any other blessing-y methods out there with her as a (last last last) last resort!
 
AppyLover1996 said:
I went through a stage when I first got Baggs where it seemed like we had endless bad luck/ weird things happening/ injuries and issues that were totally unexpected and had no logical way of happening x

I joked to my vet one day that perhaps I'm either cursed or the yard must have a spirit somewhere with a grudge to bear, and she said how that whenever she visited the yard and no matter who had the vehicle that she was driving, it would always cut out half way up the lane and be a pain to get going again. They took the car into the garage to get it looked at, had the thing entirely rebuilt, different drivers drive it - and you could count down to the exact place where the vehicle would cut out.

We even did a run of driving the car in from a completely different direction and each time it got near the red zone as we called it - you guessed it - clonk and the car would cut out.....

It never did it at any other yards she visited and continued to do it, even when it became her personal car and she had her horse on livery at the same place x

I'm not one to go 1000% into the supernatural side of things, but I do believe that certain things happening to people before they pass, can have an effect on their spirit being left behind etc x

I would say that maybe it's worth your friend getting some freelance help in (even for a few days) so she can step away, breathe and gather herself whilst having a break and knowing that her horses are all sorted and then go from there x
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Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting indeed. Did things improve for you there in the end with Baggs, or did you move on?
 
I can absolutely empathize and I very nearly did give up and sell my land a couple of years ago. I lost 2 very young ones to cancer- something so rare it's almost unheard of- years apart, but they had grazed the same field and then my absolute pride and joy was referred to horspital with suspected cancer too. It turned out not to be that, but I honestly would have jacked it all in if it had been as I just couldn’t face the sorrow again.
I have reflected a lot (said pride and joy has also had 2 massive traumatic wounds) and improved my management in every way I can, but sadly horses are fragile and tragedies will happen
 
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