DIY livery - breakfast feeding regime

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kanter

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Just curious - do all the horses on your yard get fed at diferent times by their owners, and do they get used to this ? Our yard has a rule that whoever gets there first in the morning has to feed everything, which is great in principle, but it's always the same people who are there early and it is quite time consumng when you're already working to a tight time schedule. It's also extra annoying if you are rushing round at 6.00am because you have a full time job and the ones that get there later are rich housewives that have all day to do their horses. Some of them have started leaving haynets to be hung up as well! Grrrr.

Yeah yeah I know I'm over-reacting, but if you can't over-react on a Sunday night, when can you?!
 
We all feed our own when we get there. This system actually suits mine much better. He used to be on full livery where they were all fed at the same time. Atleast 30minutes before some of the horses would start getting excited and mine caught on. kicking his door with front hooves, kicking walls with back ones, running round his stable, etc.. just generally stressing out. Now he just dosen't care. Even if I am late feeding him he will often be stood asleep in his stable! So really it suits him much much better.
 
Im not on livery but I wouldn't be happy to feed other peoples horse! The idea of DIY is surely to look after your own horse and not other peoples! I personally would put my foot down over this. The other horses aren't your responsibilty and I would imagine it would open a whole can of worms if you got injured feeding someone elses horse.
 
I have a rule where the first one up feeds, however as part of the DIY package is that I turn every horse out in the morning - it is me that feeds everything. My diy's only come up once a day as I turn all out 7 days a week to ensure non are left just standing in till the owner decides to get up. I hate horses left standing in without feed or hay. if someone want's theirs in then I will leave it in with feed while i turn the others out. If someone wants to turn out early then they can - but they have to feed the others. I prefer them to ride early and then leave their horse in and I will feed and turn out.
 
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Im not on livery but I wouldn't be happy to feed other peoples horse! The idea of DIY is surely to look after your own horse and not other peoples! I personally would put my foot down over this. The other horses aren't your responsibilty and I would imagine it would open a whole can of worms if you got injured feeding someone elses horse.

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I feel just about the same as Moodiestmare on this.

Before it was just me and my two at the Farm where I keep them, it was my old boy and a friends horse. We fed ours separately and neither horse was bothered as they knew their routine
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The feeds are all left ready, so they only have to be popped in or over the door, so I don't think there is much chance of injury. It's hanging up the haynets that winds me up . Tbh I quite like the idea that they are all fed at the same time as I think its better for the horses, and it can work in your favour if you're late one day, it's just that some people are NEVER there early.
 
Difficult one. I agree with you and at my last yard ( I have just moved) we all fed our own, the horses never minded and got used to waiting till their 'own mum' turned up to feed them.

At my new yard I was told that who-ever turns up first feeds. I am usually second there but feel sorry for the girl that gets there earlier as she has to feed a lot of horses and as you quite rightly say she and myself have to work full time and are already rushing about to get to work on time.

I wouldnt be happy feeding the whole yard unless it was at the weekend. But as I am new I just do what I am told!
 
When i was on DIY, the 1st person to arrive in the morning would put the feeds in for the horses, but only for the ones in our block (6) but at night they all got fed at different times and they were all fine with that, no stressing or anything like that.
 
There aer 60 plus horses on our yard so no one could feed them all, but a lot are on full livery. Everyone is split into barns, we are in a DIY barn where there are a few full liveries because were bursting at the seams with horses!
We have a day each to feed Mon to Friday, (there are about 7 of us so you sometimes get a week off), and at weekends we feed our own, although I often get down there on a weekend to find mine has already been fed, which is great.
Takes about 10 mins and then people come in dribs and drabs to turn their horses out, and some are out over night (I wont turn my out o/n due to the spate of recent horse thefts and my horse is very easy to catch!).
We have a good system and this is down to last year ppl getting p'd off about having to feed all the horses as they were the first there, and there was a huge argument which led to this agreement, and few people have missed their days now, especially as one girl who point blank refused to come up to feed in the morning (and then complained when her horse didnt get fed! Grr), got kicked off the yard by the YO, which was good as she was a massive trouble causer.
Going on with myself now so Ill shut up!
But... Id be very annoyed to be in your position, its not fair on ppl there early. Why not suggest a rota , then you can get on with your jobs in the morning and only have to get up super early once or twice a week?
 
I keep my four at home, but I have two DIY liveries as well.

Only one of them feeds a breakfast, I never have given breakfasts to any of mine. I got into the habit of setting my alarm earlier to get up so that the one who had breakfast was fed and waiting to be turned out by the time his mum arrived. Saved her having to wait for him to eat it before she could turn him out.

None of mine were bothered by the one horse having his breakfast, as their routine dictates they don't have it anyway. The feed was ready made the night before.

The only reason it would unsettle mine, I think, is if I were to enter the feed room and make breakfast for one horse only. As soon as they hear the feed room door open (it catches on the floor as it opens - making a distinctive noise) they're all over their doors looking expectantly towards the feed room. Pretty sure there might be a bit of door kicking in that instance, if they were left out of being fed.

I do understand why some yards suggest the first one there feeds them, but can also understand why it feels unfair if it's always the same person who gets to the yard first. It's always me here, 7 days a week. However, I only have a couple of liveries so it's no big deal. Would be a pain if I had 20 or more. In those circumstances I am pretty sure I'd charge for the "service", whereas it's free now.

On ice cold, miserable and dark winter mornings I might occasionally be heard whispering that I wish I was the one having a lie in at a weekends whilst someone else was making sure my neds had hay........but then again, I might also occasionally make whisperings asking for reminders on why it was I even wanted horses in the first place during the depths of winter!
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I'm the YO, and feed all the horses at 6am every morning. Works really well as the horses don't get stressed out that they haven't been fed. Also means they chill out straight after and owners don't have to get here that early at the weekends.
 
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Just curious - do all the horses on your yard get fed at diferent times by their owners, and do they get used to this ? Our yard has a rule that whoever gets there first in the morning has to feed everything, which is great in principle, but it's always the same people who are there early and it is quite time consumng when you're already working to a tight time schedule. It's also extra annoying if you are rushing round at 6.00am because you have a full time job and the ones that get there later are rich housewives that have all day to do their horses. Some of them have started leaving haynets to be hung up as well! Grrrr.



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Sounds like you are at our old yard! It was always myself or one other girl who did the whole yard, 7 days a week. I actually drew the line at hanging up haynets as well as feeds TBH.

Now each horse is fed by his or her owner and it works fine.
 
I wouldn't expect anyone to feed my horse for me unless I paid extra for the service, or had made an arrangement with a friend. There's only us two DIY liveries and we're separate from the main yard, we feed at totally different times and it's never been a problem. They know their own routines and don't bother door kicking as they know theirs will be along in x amount of time.
 
We have this rule at our yard too - I actually like it and I think it is less stressful for the horses. I can see it could get annoying on a big yard if it was always the same person though.
 
We have a general rule that first on the yard feeds, we have 18 horses when full. I am first on the yard at least 6 times a week, and I feed, which is a pain but thems the rules. What is really annoying is when someone else arrives first and doesn't bother to feed!
 
at the yard im on the first up in the barn feeds them only - usually me and whilst I dont mind putting feeds in I would say no to hanging haynets( though have been asked to throw a slice of hay in occasionally). But I certainly would not agree to feeding the rest of theyard - the term DIY says it all!
 
First person on the yard has to feed all 40ish horses, it would be chaos if one was fed and the others weren't. Each part of the yard has a morning feed cupboard so it doesn't take too long to feed them all. If you leave hay outside the door that'll get thrown in too although people can't be expected to hang up nets or tip feeds out into mangers.
 
Eveeryone feeds their own - thank god - as I am usually the first one there at 6.30am - for a reason, Ive a job to go to !! I have enough on sorting out my 3 before getting home, sorting out kids for school and me for work. I know for a fact also that if we had the arrangment that first down feeds all, it would still be me every day and also on a weekend.... also I wouldnt like anyone else feeding my horses, even just putting a bucket over the door, I like the fact that they know I do the looking after/feeding and in my head its me they are pleased to see on a morning, not the feed bucket.. LOL!!
 
I'm on a diy yard and its either myself or another livery who does the morning feeds, everything is ready and we just pop it over the door, if and only if we have time having done ours , ie let out ,muck out , water etc, i will pop the haynets in.

I don't mind doing this as all the horses are done together and someone does it for me at the weekends.I think its part and parcel of being on a livery yard.
 
I don't think its a rule at our yard, more an unwritten one, but the 1st person there in the morning does all the feeds. These days that person is often me and TBH I find that it has made the horses on our yard incredibly bad mannered. The minute you arrive a storm of door kicking and general racket is unleashed. It probably sounds mean but I've started leaving them for 10 minutes while I potter around and do some jobs, just to try and break the association - and therefore the habit.

Not sure its working too well though
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- as its not always me who does the am feeds.
 
First one there feeds all the horses - but ONLY feeds, no haynets or water as the yard manager gets there soon after and does the rest of what's needed.

I am usually first because I go to sort my daughter's pony on the way back from taking her to the village for her school bus. The feeds are all ready stacked in order in the feed room and I just pop them over the doors - probably 12 horses to do.

I don't mind doing it, I don't have to go into any stable and I prefer that they are all fed together, it seems more fair. Especially as some liveries don't turn up until noon.
 
I think it can be making a rod for some poor souls back... I personally prefer my horse to know it is me that feeds her and others to know that I DON'T feed them... all you need is for one owner not to leave a feed out for whatever reason and you have a stressy horse on your hands...

at our yard we each do our own unless we sort it between ourselves...
 
Our whole yard is fed by the yard manager in the mornings but one livery does it at the weekend so she can have a lie til 7am!! I think she may get a bit of money off her bill for doing it. Works out well.
 
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