DIY Owners who don't check their horses daily?

I go daily to check my mare every morning and pay YO to check her each evening. Unless she is having a feed I don't go to the yard - just straight to the field (& get out of the car and physically check her !). I certainly wouldn't want to be detouring to the yard just to sign a sheet to say I'd been there
 
G&T said:
Isn't it a bit irresponsible to free-ride off other liveries? - what if they were all assuming the same thing?

If you keep your horse on DIY livery you do have a responsibility to make completely sure that someone has checked it every day, not to just assume that you'd hear if there was a problem - the horse is your responsibility. Otherwise fork out for part/full livery!
Click to expand...

No it's not irresponsible at all of the yard is so big that it is a certainty that other people will be coming and going all day. I personally also wouldn't keep a horse where staff were not on duty or resident all day and late into the evening.

As I said before, my experience in a very big livery yard is that other people take too much notice of what's going on with other people's horses, not too little. I've had horses injured several times in livery yards some time after I left. I never, in many years, had an injury go unnoticed by other people so that it was old before I knew of it.

This whole thread depends entirely on what kind of a yard you are at. Blanket condemnation of anyone who doesn't visit their own horse once a day (as has happened on this thread) seems, to me, very unreasonable.
 
Last edited:
ycbm said:
No it's not irresponsible at all of the yard is so big that it is a certainty that other people will be coming and going all day. I personally also wouldn't keep a horse where staff were not on duty or resident all day and late into the evening.

As I said before, my experience in a very big livery yard is that other people take too much notice of what's going on with other people's horses, not too little. I've had horses injured several times in livery yards some time after I left. I never, in many years, had an injury go unnoticed by other people so that it was old before I knew of it.

This whole thread depends entirely on what kind of a yard you are at. Blanket condemnation of anyone who doesn't visit their own horse once a day (as has happened on this thread) seems, to me, very unreasonable.
Click to expand...

I keep my horses at home, and agree with you that I would not keep horses in a situation where someone was not resident most of the time. However there is quite a jump to then also assuming other people will keep an eye on your horse without you actually arranging for that to happen. We've had liveries at our place in the past, and I would have considered it quite rude if they'd just assumed their horses would receive essentially part livery at grass care/assisted livery from me if they didn't show up, without them needing to pay for it. We had an assisted DIY set up and people paid accordingly if they needed extra help
 
G&T said:
I keep my horses at home, and agree with you that I would not keep horses in a situation where someone was not resident most of the time. However there is quite a jump to then also assuming other people will keep an eye on your horse without you actually arranging for that to happen. We've had liveries at our place in the past, and I would have considered it quite rude if they'd just assumed their horses would receive essentially part livery at grass care/assisted livery from me if they didn't show up, without them needing to pay for it. We had an assisted DIY set up and people paid accordingly if they needed extra help
Click to expand...

It depends a bit on the yard I suppose - I'm on a small yard and it very much is assumed that the yo checks all horses twice a day (when she checks hers anyway, and she says as much when you go) but also assumed that all liveries look over all horses when walking down the fields (obv only going to spot big stuff but thats the stuff that needs sorted asap), which includes looking over the yo's horses in return.

I would never expect anyone to do a thorough, hands ran down legs type check unless specifically asked to (and paid for when I ask yo to feed/pick feet out or favour returned if asking a friend to do it) but the major stuff that needs sorted quickly tends to be pretty obvious. All the ones I've picked up (degloved leg, abcess, wrenched joint, bad colic etc) have all been spotted from the other side of the field and something has made me unhappy about the horse so I'll go check and bring in if warranted (certianly at current yard, have been on yards where suspision is reported to onsite staff and you leave it to them)
 
JFTD said:
Surely there's a huge difference to splitting trips with a mate (I didn't check one of mine for a 36 hour period while I was at a tournament with the other one - because fellow livery was looking after him, as we'd arranged in advance, just as I'm now looking after her boy while she's away), and just not bothering to go up because you're presuming one of the other liveries will tell you if there's a problem, even though you've not asked them if they'll be there / cast an eye over yours / let them know you won't be up...

The former is completely normal. The other is, in my opinion, a ridiculous attitude to keeping horses.
Click to expand...

Completely agree with this. Can't believe you would have a horse on DIY livery and not check it twice a day unless you were assuming someone else had (or had legitimately arranged for someone else to check). In this circumstance it seems the DIY liveries in question are assuming someone else will check (or just don't really care either way). Even when I was on a staffed livery yard I have had to point out an animal in distress to the staff because they were too busy sorting the part liveries out to notice the DIY livery who's colicking or stamping furiously (to the point if drawing blood) at the bandages that had been put on over some sort of cream.
 
wills_91 said:
As a single full time working mother I don't have the time to see my horse every day, should I sell her as clearly I'm not a dedicated owner ��
Click to expand...

ycbm said:
I missed this one earlier. Is your comment serious?

1. Working in a job where the hours, including motherhood, do not allow you to see your horse every day.

2. Having a relationship you care about and want to spend quality time in, when you can't do that if you visit your horse every day.

3. Not being able to afford the petrol for the journey to see your horse every day.

4. Having more than one horse kept at different yards in different directions.

5. Having sick relatives to look after.

6. Having to get to the yard on a bike and simply being too knackered to go, for any number of reasons.



I'm sure I can think of a dozen more but I think I'll go and look at a horse instead :)
Click to expand...

But then surely you wouldn't have your horse on DIY livery, you would be on part/full livery or pay ad hoc for your horse to be checked/looked after?
 
PorkChop said:
But then surely you wouldn't have your horse on DIY livery, you would be on part/full livery or pay ad hoc for your horse to be checked/looked after?
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Just because you can't see your horse every day it doesn't mean they shouldn't be checked properly. Assuming someone else is going to do it is irresponsible and you've no come back if something was missed.

Mine aren't on livery and are checked twice a day, without fail (I remember seeing them at 11pm on Christmas Day). If I can't do it I'd ask someone else too.
 
If the rule is unwritten, are liveries actually aware of it? I highly doubt you can enforce an unwritten rule. Also, if you charge a pound to check the horses, it will likely work out cheaper for liveries to have you check their horses rather than pay the cost of fuel to drive there for a quick check, so you may find that you give yourself more work.
 
Micropony said:
That is true, but the thread is about DIY so I think it's fair to assume that's the context in which people are commenting?
Click to expand...

Threads move on. It was clear that the responses were made by taking the post at face value, not to defend irresponsible owners who don't check their animals.
 
Horses should be checked at the minimum once per day by either owner or someone knowledgeable and responsible who the owner has made firm arrangements with. Owner should also be checking with that person daily IMO that everything seems OK. It's not good enough to just assume someone else will check your horse for you. Lazy ownership is despicable.
 
ycbm said:
Threads move on. It was clear that the responses were made by taking the post at face value, not to defend irresponsible owners who don't check their animals.
Click to expand...

Ah I see where you are coming from! I wasn't reading it like that, makes much more sense now!
 
Not read all 8 pages but this drives me nuts . I don't understand why people don't think they should check on them once a day or at least ask someone else to! Yes we all have busy lives and can get caught up at times but a simple message to fellow livery or yo to ask them just to check is all it takes . There is someone relatively new at our yard who has an extremely obese cob who lives out , she's been advised to get it in and off grass but has decided it's staying out 24/7, however this is beside the point , I highly doubt she has been up in the last week as her stable has now acquired a layer of dust and bird feathers and her bill is still in the same place as last. Very lazy and irresponsible .
 
My only concern is whether you are inadvertently setting yourself up to be the only person checking their horses. If I were that way inclined, I'd happily pay £7 a week (it's tiny amount really) not to have to bother to go and see my horse. If you're happy with doing that, it's fine but, if you intend to encourage them to take for their horses, I think you need to charge more.
 
el_Snowflakes said:
If the rule is unwritten, are liveries actually aware of it? I highly doubt you can enforce an unwritten rule. Also, if you charge a pound to check the horses, it will likely work out cheaper for liveries to have you check their horses rather than pay the cost of fuel to drive there for a quick check, so you may find that you give yourself more work.
Click to expand...
Yes they are aware of it, I've made it quite clear that it's not acceptable to not attend to their horses at least once daily. I am always looking over them all day when I'm home, but I'm not physically going up to each and every horse on the yard and checking it over for any sign of injury. My own are having their rugs changed according to the weather, fly masks on in the day off at night, and I'm spraying all of them at least once a day with fly repellent! In my opinion, this is basic good care. Mine also come in for a few hours every day as they are in diet paddocks which could not sustain them 24/7, for a small feed and a slice of hay. We are an assisted DIY yard where clients have to pay for any extra services needed, but in summer, I just feel like one or 2 virtually 'abandon' them! I guess for me, I just love spending time with my horses, they are the best therapy IMO! The reason I only charge a £1 is because there is a principle involved, I don't want to make money out of it want to encourage people to actually come and see their horses every day themselves! And in any case if they are wriggling out of paying that princely sum, I've got no chance if I charged more have I? I just know I can't go a day without knowing mine have all had their needs met. Clearly we all have different opinions in this subject reading through all the replies :-(
 
chocolategirl said:
Yes they are aware of it, I've made it quite clear that it's not acceptable to not attend to their horses at least once daily. I am always looking over them all day when I'm home, but I'm not physically going up to each and every horse on the yard and checking it over for any sign of injury. My own are having their rugs changed according to the weather, fly masks on in the day off at night, and I'm spraying all of them at least once a day with fly repellent! In my opinion, this is basic good care. Mine also come in for a few hours every day as they are in diet paddocks which could not sustain them 24/7, for a small feed and a slice of hay. We are an assisted DIY yard where clients have to pay for any extra services needed, but in summer, I just feel like one or 2 virtually 'abandon' them! I guess for me, I just love spending time with my horses, they are the best therapy IMO! The reason I only charge a £1 is because there is a principle involved, I don't want to make money out of it want to encourage people to actually come and see their horses every day themselves! And in any case if they are wriggling out of paying that princely sum, I've got no chance if I charged more have I? I just know I can't go a day without knowing mine have all had their needs met. Clearly we all have different opinions in this subject reading through all the replies :-(
Click to expand...

Wait, so you mean you already do the count legs from a distance type of check as standard anyhow, without any charge? And the £1 charge would be for an actual up close check? In that case, I say implement the sign in sheet strategy that I suggested but put up the charge for your checking the horse in lieu of owner accordingly - maybe about £3.50 per day :)

Mine are checked twice daily minimum, btw. More when stabled because there's skipping out to do as well then. If something's important, you either make the time to do it or you pay to have it done for you! And if you can't/won't spare enough time or money to care for them, then you shouldn't have horses, end of.
 
Chocolate girl this is just pretty typical day to day yard management.
If an owner is DIY then it is their responsibility to check their horse or arrange suitable cover. You just have to enforce it!
If you are 100% sure that they aren't coming up then you need to have words, lay out expectations and consequences and follow them through.
Either by applying a charge (fwiw I think £1 is way too lenient) or by just giving marching orders. It shouldn't be up to others, either YO or liveries, to be relied on for free visuals because the owner is too poor, tight or too lazy to look after their own horse.
 
Quite surprised at some of the responses! Chocolate girl, I do the same as you, mine are in for a few hours a day in summer. I keep mine at home so they are easy to check on...actually they keep an eye on me and are often calling for room service!!! My question is....lots of posters don't appear to ride their horses?? Or they would be doing a daily check at that time surely?
I would go for a written contract and I'd also be charging £3-4 a day for a check.
 
cavalo branco said:
Quite surprised at some of the responses! Chocolate girl, I do the same as you, mine are in for a few hours a day in summer. I keep mine at home so they are easy to check on...actually they keep an eye on me and are often calling for room service!!! My question is....lots of posters don't appear to ride their horses?? Or they would be doing a daily check at that time surely?
I would go for a written contract and I'd also be charging £3-4 a day for a check.
Click to expand...

Most people don't ride daily.
 
I don't see my two every day due to my working hours, but I have them on grass livery where they are checked twice a day by the YO. Any checks I do on the days I go are extra to that. I know in theory they would be fine not checked for a few days, but I wouldn't feel happy knowing no-one was keeping an eye on them.
 
The livery yard owner should for their own protection ensure that each of their liveris signs a contract which includes having to check on their horse each and every day.
The livery yard owner needs to also ensure that this is done.
If liveries are unable to do this then they should find a yard where this service is provided for them and the yard owner takes on that responsibility.
Under the recently amended animals act by implication the yard owner is obliged to take on the duty of care for each animal on their yard in the absense of the owner checking their animal on a daily basis.
In other words if the owner of the animal fails to provide adequate daily care for their animal then it becomes the yard owners responsibility and it is the yard owner that could become the victm of a prosecution by an animal welfare organisation if the animal is found not be be cared for.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I have read some of the comments on here, and frankly am shocked!

I don't care what excuse FFS there is, however valid, if you have a horse, then surely the bare minimum is to go see it and make sure the animal is OK at least ONCE a day. Is that asking too much?? And that IMO is bare minimum. Anything could happen in 24 hrs, you could have a field injury, colic, whatever, and the owner wouldn't be aware.


I wouldn't have anyone on my yard on DIY livery who refused to come and see to their horses TWICE a day. Period. No excuses. I'd give marching orders to anyone who didn't and if in OP's position would charge for services rendered, not a token amount, a realistic amount, i.e. what the going rate is for Full or Assisted livery if YO has to "do" other people's horses.

If you don't have time for a horse then don't have it! OR (best idea) pay up and look sweet for Assisted or Full Livery. Or if you can't/won't do that then get a budgie, or a cat. Sorry but horses NEED their owners, neglectfulness makes my P!ss boil.......... :(
Click to expand...

This entirely. Ours are checked twice a day, around half an hour in the morning and one and a half in the afternoon/evening. And guess what? My driving licence has been revoked due to medication and I definitely don't always feel like it, but I damn well WALK to my horses each and every day. They didn't ask to be kept by me, they are the light of my life and no way could I ignore or not see them, no matter the personal cost.

If we didn't do these checks I would currently have one mare who would have lost one eye and had acute laminitis and the other possibly dead from a colic attack.

FGS if you can't do the minimum of have a trusted friend to step in and check then buy a hamster and leave horses to those who actually give a damn.

Sorry.. this has turned into a real rant but over the years I have seen too much and know how important it is.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I have read some of the comments on here, and frankly am shocked!

I don't care what excuse FFS there is, however valid, if you have a horse, then surely the bare minimum is to go see it and make sure the animal is OK at least ONCE a day. Is that asking too much?? And that IMO is bare minimum. Anything could happen in 24 hrs, you could have a field injury, colic, whatever, and the owner wouldn't be aware.

As a YO, I had a livery once who (thank god) was only here for a month, and the first weekend she was here she shut her pony in the stable and just went off for the weekend! Just left it, no food or water, nothing, and Yours Truly hadn't a clue where she'd gone, or where she was coming back. The pony wasn't the easiest to handle, and I had to deal with it. Thankfully this livery didn't stay long, but it wasn't fair, not at all, either to me as YO OR more importantly, the pony.

I wouldn't have anyone on my yard on DIY livery who refused to come and see to their horses TWICE a day. Period. No excuses. I'd give marching orders to anyone who didn't and if in OP's position would charge for services rendered, not a token amount, a realistic amount, i.e. what the going rate is for Full or Assisted livery if YO has to "do" other people's horses.

If you don't have time for a horse then don't have it! OR (best idea) pay up and look sweet for Assisted or Full Livery. Or if you can't/won't do that then get a budgie, or a cat. Sorry but horses NEED their owners, neglectfulness makes my P!ss boil.......... :(
Click to expand...

^
I couldn't have put it any better than this l usedto have mine on full & part livery when my children were young & needed help. But when l needed to save money they went on a DIY yard where everyone had to go up everyday or if you couldn't you got a relative or pay the YO to help you.
Since l've rented a field l've always gone up at least twice a day to ensure they are OK & l don't live locally to it. l know another girl who used to rent a field who didn't always pop to see her gelding everyday & one particular day l noticed her horse had colic, l knew the owner hadn't been so l texted her friend to let her know, l dread to think what the outcome would have been. She left but her friend got a couple of ponies although she tends to pop up daily there can be times that she comes every other day instead as she says she's her children to care for. There has been occasions when l've had to fill their waters up as they have ran out l don't tend to interfere but can't see ponies without water. l have four children & work part time she doesn't go to work & her children are school age so surely if she just lives five minutes drive away in the next village she can find the time to visit her ponies. l often think some people have horses just for the sake of it. But l've learnt to keep my opinions to myself
 
7 months pregnant, toddler at home, working full time high pressure job, long commute.
I see my big guy once a day. About 6 other liveries in the field, maybe 20 in total. I park at the gate to the field and he toddles over for a scratch and a mint. No rug, no head collar, no feed. He's getting ridden by my trainer once a fortnight to keep him ticking over, other than that he is one very lazy content horse! Will get a shock in September when brought back into work ;)

I don't like the signing in idea. That would annoy me.

What about when people turn out ponies on the moors or hills?

I found a liveries horse with its foot stuck in the fence the other week. I freed it and sent her a message to check for pulled muscle etc. I am quite sure anyone of us would do the same if we saw a horse in distress. Not that i condone not checking at least once a day.
 
When I can I'll always check twice a day but sometimes my work only allows me to visit once a day. On days where I absolutely can't go, I'm always in touch with a couple of trusted people at the yard to check and feed her. Has to do this a couple of times lately after getting my finger trapped in the car door and needing surgery...definitely couldn't make it that day!

100% agree there should be a charge for checking though...£1 fine if pre-arranged (absolute bargain) but £3 if no arrangement made.

I'm actually changing to part livery at the end of the week with the owner living on site so my mare gets checked throughout the day and I don't have to panic if I can only make one trip. Costs me double but it's better for both of us
 
Wow! I pay for my horse to be looked after on livery and yet I still feel guilty if I don't check her daily. How on earth do these people live with themselves!?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top