bangs head against wall.... YO's and turnout

[alsxx]

Why is everything so complicated!!??

I need to move fields at the yard I'm at as the grass is much to lush for my pone's, despite being muzzled 24/7 they are imo seriously overweight...but it appears to be a nightmare!!

My mare was on box rest for 8 months and was turned out 5weeks ago into a small paddock, with my other for company. The plan was for them to go back out into main field after a couple of months. In hindsight I wished I'd just turned her straight out into main field now...but there's me trying to do what's best by her...

So after 2 weeks YO asks me to move them into another field with 2 other horses so that nothing is left out by itself (mine are out 24/7) and also as he says there is not much grass left in paddock. Despite the fact there was plenty of grass left, I agreed as for some stupid reason I try to be accomodating...

So the field they are now in has been rested since august!!! And they are seriously overweight. Have asked to move back into main field but YO not keen as one of the horses will then be by itself a lot. Argh I could just scream!!

So I'm left with basically three options, stay where they are, start bringing in (I want to leave mare out until next spring in a hope the rest fixes her) or move yards.

Sorry for the rant I just needed to get it off my chest!

Oh and if anyone knows of any DIY yards that do 24/7 t/o in the edenbridge/ lingfield area, please let me know!

 

[Booboos]

Is it not possible to fence off part of the field with electric tape? This seems like a reasonable solution for everyone, i.e. helps the YO out with turn out arrangements, everyone is within sight of each other and your horses do not get too much food. Would the YO object to that?

 

[Enfys]

As a YO I guess it is difficult to please everyone all the time (everyone has different requirements) it must be hard keep the balance and peace, the only way to really do it is to provide (or at least offer) individual turnout paddocks.

I have a hard enough time organising my own horses:

The stallion can't go with this mare, that mare, the mini or the gelding.
Gelding can't go the Paint mare because she hates him.
Mini can't go with ANY of them because they all hate him.
In-foal mare can't go with the stallion OR the gelding!

That's why I have lots of smaller paddocks.

I hope you get it sorted. I've been where you are and it IS frustrating, so you have my sympathy.

 

[the watcher]

I have a good - doer out in what amounts to little more than a play pen in the corner of a big field. she is happy because she is out, the other mares are happy because they can still talk to her, I am happy because her grass is very restricted.

 

[alsxx]

Well hopefully, after an hour and a half of negotiating (with about 6 people involved!), things are now sorted!

I'm not really the kind of person to stamp my feet and demand everyone fits around me, which makes thing harder for me (and I end up in situation above!) and I hate being difficult as I dont envy YO's job!

One of the other girls was up tonight and she doesn't want hers to be left with the gelding as its a bully, so we have put my 2 and hers in one field, and the two horses out of that field are going in the one we have just come out of with the bully gelding...and the electric tape is hopefully going up at the weekend for my mare to have a corner so at least the muzzle can come off....YO doesn't like electric tape so has reluctantly agreed...I just hope he doesn't change his mind! However the field they are now in has a lot less grass, and what there is more rough, course grass rather than the lush bright green stuff they have just come off of!

Fingers crossed....

 

[WishfulThinker]

Well, whether he likes it or not, if your horses are overweight they need restricted grazing and if he didnt want to lose you he would have to provide something - duty of care goes for fat horses as well as thin - as what happened at a yard I was at.