DIY yards - BRING IN TIME

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BubbleDog

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I'm just interested to hear what other yards/people do about the last horse in the field when it's bring in time when the last horse in the fields owner has not arrived at the yard yet. I fully appreciate the usual yard policy of no single horses left out on their own but at the same time but often the last horse is the same old last horse and am mindful that this policy of no horse left out on it's own can be milked by people not turning up on time but being able to rely on the fact that some other poor livery will have to fetch their horse in for them.

What do people think about this and also I'm interested to hear about what people's yard policies are on this topic, and how this problem is dealt with. I've just moved my two to a new yard and as I have two I am able to leave them out longer without worrying but I am finding that there are a couple of people who continuously don't turn up on time and I then either have to bring their horse in or hang around waiting for them to turn up before I am able to bring my own two in. It's driving me mad. Spoke to one yesterday who said she was unable to get there by a certain time but quite honestly I really don't see why this should be my problem, and why I should continuously be getting someone else's horse in. I really don't mind the odd time or doing a prearranged favour for someone but with no arrangement in place I just think it's a bloody cheek.
 
It's been done to death and the general consensus always seems to be that if you don't bring in someone elses horse you are mean spirited :(

My view is that it should be the YO/YM's responsibility to bring in the last horse - and charge for the service.

I've been in the situation when I had a loan that I was expected to bring in my horse, and the other horse at the same time - I ended up getting injured by the other horse due to it being generally rude. Big 17h2 warmblood and me and my pony trailing behind it with our little stumpy legs :(

I now have my own place and both of my horses are fine with being left out on their own. They generally create for about 30 seconds but then settle down to graze. I got them to be happy at being separated by alternating who I brought in first and leaving the other with a big feed. They soon learned that being left was associated with good stuff and once the separation anxiety had been stopped the feeds could stop.
 
In my horses field we just bring in our own. I dont finish work till 7 , and my horse, if last out, will just stand near the gate area where he can see other horses .If he is not last and another horse is, they do the same.At the moment one horse is out all night on his own , but he is ok as can see horses in other field- really no different to individual turnout. Same in the morning- one horse will be first out , and if I am working a weekend day and most peeps are riding , he may be out on his own for a while, he just stays the yard side of the field till another horse is out with him when they go down the field together.
Our yard provides a bring in service , so anyone who has a horse that needs to be in with the others can be brought in. In the winter I bring in at 4 during the break in my split shift. I do find it a pain , though , if a horse in the winter is left out and looks unhappy, but the stable is not done, so you cant just bung them in.
There is no point blaming people for being later than you, we do not all work 9 - 5 , or come late to annoy.
 
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At my previous yard if the owner hadn't arrived by 5.00 to bring the horse in, it was brought in for them by YO and they were charged.
 
DIY = just that.

See to your own horses, if there's an issue with the last horse being left out that's between YO and relevant owner.

It's not your responsibility to see to anyone else's horse....it's the owners, and if they are working they need to make specific arrangements :)
 
The DIY livery yard I have been on has always had this unwritten rule amongst the liveries that we would bring the last horse in if it's owner wasn't there. I have times when I have had 2 horses of my own and agree that sometimes it was a little bit inconvenient to have a third one to bring in, BUT I consider that I have been very lucky to have my horses on DIY yards where all the owners looked out for each other (no YM and YO was completely non-horse person so no way they had anything to do with the horses). I should add that if there was any possibility of there being a difficult situation handling a particular horse other liveries would usually offer to help to bring the last one in. It was never really a big deal.
 
On our yard DIY is just that. Unless you pay to have your horse brought in, if your horse is the last one out it is the last one out. YO doesn't live on site and bringing in times can vary so it's unpredictable. I've been up at 6pm and tons of horses were still out and I can come up at 4pm another day and my pony is the last one out.
 
This is why yards with part livery providing turn out and bring in work so much better than DIY. A much better routine for the horses, No horse is left out so risk of injury reduced
 
Hippona said:
DIY = just that.

See to your own horses, if there's an issue with the last horse being left out that's between YO and relevant owner.

It's not your responsibility to see to anyone else's horse....it's the owners, and if they are working they need to make specific arrangements :)
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^^^agree.

Lady at ours is always last as she works later, she has two so they stay out together.

Before I could drive I missed a bus once and she called me to check where I was- because his stable wasn't done yet, she popped him in the school for me so he was right by some of the Shetlands they are out 24/7- was really lovely of her. But I wouldn't have it happen on a reoccurring basis!!
Ax
 
BubbleDog said:
I'm just interested to hear what other yards/people do about the last horse in the field when it's bring in time when the last horse in the fields owner has not arrived at the yard yet. I fully appreciate the usual yard policy of no single horses left out on their own but at the same time but often the last horse is the same old last horse and am mindful that this policy of no horse left out on it's own can be milked by people not turning up on time but being able to rely on the fact that some other poor livery will have to fetch their horse in for them.

What do people think about this and also I'm interested to hear about what people's yard policies are on this topic, and how this problem is dealt with. I've just moved my two to a new yard and as I have two I am able to leave them out longer without worrying but I am finding that there are a couple of people who continuously don't turn up on time and I then either have to bring their horse in or hang around waiting for them to turn up before I am able to bring my own two in. It's driving me mad. Spoke to one yesterday who said she was unable to get there by a certain time but quite honestly I really don't see why this should be my problem, and why I should continuously be getting someone else's horse in. I really don't mind the odd time or doing a prearranged favour for someone but with no arrangement in place I just think it's a bloody cheek.
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I think it depends what time "bring in" time is . . . if it's a reasonable sort of time (e.g., all horses must be in by 5.30 p.m.) then owners who can't be there due to work/family commitments, etc., need to make formal arrangements which may include taking advantage of yard-offered assistance, or making some deal with a fellow livery.

If, however, "bring in" time is some arbitrary time determined by liveries (I kept mine at one yard where bring in times were determined on a field-by-field basis and the other two horses in my field came in at 2.30!!!!), then either a fair amount of compromising needs to happen, i.e., perhaps adjusting the time to suit all parties . . . or, if that's not possible, consider moving yards.

Yes, it's a pain to HAVE to bring someone else's horse in all the time - but, as someone else has said above, not everyone lives a nine-to-five life. What's required, IMHO, is dialogue and compromise to see if suitable arrangements can be made - and, if they can't, an honest conversation about whether the yard is actually suitable for liveries' needs. However . . . in the meantime, I really couldn't leave someone else's horse out alone - especially if it was stressed.

P
 
I often work quite long hours (8am - 8.30pm in busy Jan season) which means I don't get to the yard until 9pm to bring mine in. I have two so they are usually happy out together but if there was a problem or something then I would pay one of the girls or other liveries to fetch them in for me.

If it's always the same person bringing in the same last horse then I can see that this could be problematic but would rather that than horse have an injury it it was unhappy in the field on it's own.

It gets tricky again if you start to charge too.....no easy solution although not something that bothers me too much unless I am in a rush and I'm the one bringing in an extra horse.
 
I don't see why the panic at some yards of a lone horse being out....maybe I am daft but to me they should be able to cope and indeed all of the ones I have had and have known have been fine and have been made used to being out alone by increasing the period they are left for, to me its part of their education.

To me a horse should be left out for the owner to deal with, most people work nowadays so a bring in time of 5pm (for example) to me is unreasonable especially in the summer

If I were a YO my rule would be 'bring your own horse in, if it tears up the ground I will charge you for that so you'd better make sure yours isn't the last one in if it cannot cope with being alone'

In this case if the horse is a quiet sort I would ask the YO if it can be left out so that the owner is forced to deal with it
 
AnyChance said:
This is why yards with part livery providing turn out and bring in work so much better than DIY. A much better routine for the horses, No horse is left out so risk of injury reduced
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I don't necessarily agree with this. When I had my two on part livery, all the horses were brought in for their dinner at the same time and there was no end of fighting at the gate, horses were injured on a few occasions.

I definitely wouldn't mind bringing in another horse on occasion, however as a regular thing I would definitely be saying something. Can you have a quiet word with the owner of the other horse? You don't have to be rude, but you could just explain how it is difficult for you to bring your two in (presumably together?) and then have to go back for her horse. I assume her horse is left out alone for a few minutes whilst you go back for it? How does it behave?
 
When I had my old horse on DIY, because I worked full time about 10 miles away I had agreements either with a friend or YO that they would bring my horse in for me, when I first moved my horse got left out but I buddied up with my fieldmate and it worked perfectly.
 
WelshD said:
I don't see why the panic at some yards of a lone horse being out....maybe I am daft but to me they should be able to cope and indeed all of the ones I have had and have known have been fine and have been made used to being out alone by increasing the period they are left for, to me its part of their education.
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I managed to train my old tb to be turned out alone and wait for the others but you couldn't leave him out alone and bring the others in, he would gallop about sweating up, risking injury and totally loose his mind, trying to lead him in would be dangerous as he'd be up on two legs. He was a flighty horse and it caused total and utter panic.
 
OP I agree with you that it's a bloody cheek.
In your shoes I'd do one of 2 things (depending on your preference)
1. Tell the livery you do not have time for an extra trip to the field and that they need to make arrangements with YO to either have their horse brought in for them, or if the horse is quiet then permission to leave out solo
2. Arrange with the livery that you will bring theirs in, in lieu of them helping you in some way (e.g. turning yours out on the weekend so you can have a lie in!)
 
No one leaves horses out alone at my yard, it's considered extremely bad practice. No one thinks it's a big deal to bring an extra one in, it's just part of livery yard life.
As mares and geldings are separate, I sometimes end up bringing 4 horses in, but I'd rather do that than leave a horse stressed and hungry.
Owners that are unable to be there everyday, either arrange for a friend or pay the staff to bring in, which is good manners really. Any horse that is known to be bargy and a hazard is brought in first by the staff by arrangement. It prevents accidents and keeps everyone happy.
 
Think it would depend on how far the fields are from the stables- if it was a real trec then I wouldn't be happy constantly bringing other horses in.
our yard works by the "no horse left alone unless owner is happy for their horse to be alone". The horses are all out in pairs/threes so if I want to bring my horse in I will just give the other horse's owner a quick text to see if she wants hers brought in. They lead well in pairs so it makes no difference to me to bring in one or two :)
 
dogatemysalad said:
No one leaves horses out alone at my yard, it's considered extremely bad practice. No one thinks it's a big deal to bring an extra one in, it's just part of livery yard life.
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Exactly, it's just as easy to bring in two as one (although gates are a bit trickier). Some horses think it's the end of the world if they're left out on their own, others couldn't give a monkeys!
 
Meems said:
Exactly, it's just as easy to bring in two as one (although gates are a bit trickier). Some horses think it's the end of the world if they're left out on their own, others couldn't give a monkeys!
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Not if there are 3 left out and you own 2 of them .... with perhaps a 5 minute walk to the field (meaning 2 trips) and you are on a tight time schedule ...

Once in a while, fine.
But there are rude lazy liveries out there who will deliberately be last up to avoid bringing in!!

If you cannot be there to do your horse on DIY according to the yard routine then it is only fair to have to expect to pay for services or buddy up with another DIY levery.
 
i was on a yard that they had a rule - "no horse to be left out alone". this was difficult for me, as the majority of owners didn't work, and brought their horses in earlier and earlier so they didn't have to bring in 2 horses.

Because I was always first at the yard, I made arrangements with someone else in my field, that I would turn out for them and they would bring in for me. Everyone was happy and it worked.
 
Thanks for the comments there are some interesting thoughts. I am an experienced horse owner and so for me it does feel wrong to leave a horse out on its own and virtually every yard that I have been at has had this either written or unwritten rule about not leaving a horse out on it's own, and I fully understand the reasoning behind this.

It's just that our fields are a 10 minute walk away (if not a bit more) and because I have my own two to bring in it means that I end up having to do two trips. I'm not unreasonable and I really wouldn't mind doing someone a favour on the odd occasion or if someone had a genuine reason to be late on the odd occasion but to me it seems totally unreasonable that I should have to bring someone else s horse in on a very regular basis. I think what has annoyed me is that when it happened a couple of days ago I did try to say something to the owner but she got really rude with me and said that she can't get there till XYZ time, and just went off at me as though it was her perfect right to leave her horse out for someone else to have to bring in. To me DIY livery is a big commitment and is not the easiest thing to manage but if the shoe were on the other foot I wouldn't dream of expecting someone else to have to bring my horse in every night and if I really couldn't make it down to the yard before the others are brought in then I would have to either make an arrangement with another livery there or pay the yard to do it (which is an option there). I don't really understand why this owner seems to think that it's my responsibility to sort her horse for her.
 
BubbleDog said:
I'm just interested to hear what other yards/people do about the last horse in the field when it's bring in time when the last horse in the fields owner has not arrived at the yard yet. I fully appreciate the usual yard policy of no single horses left out on their own but at the same time but often the last horse is the same old last horse and am mindful that this policy of no horse left out on it's own can be milked by people not turning up on time but being able to rely on the fact that some other poor livery will have to fetch their horse in for them.

What do people think about this and also I'm interested to hear about what people's yard policies are on this topic, and how this problem is dealt with. I've just moved my two to a new yard and as I have two I am able to leave them out longer without worrying but I am finding that there are a couple of people who continuously don't turn up on time and I then either have to bring their horse in or hang around waiting for them to turn up before I am able to bring my own two in. It's driving me mad. Spoke to one yesterday who said she was unable to get there by a certain time but quite honestly I really don't see why this should be my problem, and why I should continuously be getting someone else's horse in. I really don't mind the odd time or doing a prearranged favour for someone but with no arrangement in place I just think it's a bloody cheek.
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What are you classing as turning up 'on time'? Is there a set bring in time set by the YO?
We don't have a set bring in time but mine is often the last to come in because there is no way I can get to the yard at the same time as everyone else (even if I leave work at 5 on the dot). Some people are bringing in in winter at 3:30 - 4pm so impossible for people who work full time to be there.
Generally we are all good and bring in the last horse(s). This year I've solved my problem by pairing up with another livery, I turn our 3 out am and she brings in PM as she can get there earlier than I can.
Not being there early is not lazyness on my part - just it seems most other people on the yard work PT / flexi time and can come and go as they please.
 
ihatework said:
Not if there are 3 left out and you own 2 of them .... with perhaps a 5 minute walk to the field (meaning 2 trips) and you are on a tight time schedule ...

Once in a while, fine.
But there are rude lazy liveries out there who will deliberately be last up to avoid bringing in!!

If you cannot be there to do your horse on DIY according to the yard routine then it is only fair to have to expect to pay for services or buddy up with another DIY levery.
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Totally agree with this. At my previous yard my two were in with one other horse who couldn't be left alone. I ended up bringing him in every night - before going back to get my two in and guess what.... yeah, the owner turned up just as I had got everyone in - it was like she was parked at the end of the lane waiting and watching :) To top it all off, she never once said thanks or asked if he had led in ok - I felt like an unpaid member of staff.

Strangely, on the evenings it was hissing down with rain or she was going out for the evening, she could get herself there early... never brought my two in though....
 
I brought in someone else's horse for the whole winter once and it didn't bother me. She worked late and couldn't get to the yard as early as everyone else. She got her stable ready in the morning, so I could just pop the horse in and it had a clean bed, hay and water. The owner would then feed, groom, check the horse etc... when she came to the yard later in the evening.

One of my horses has run through a fence, so I know what damage that causes. I would always rather bring the lone horse in than risk it injuring itself, unless the owner said that it's fine on it's own and they would rather it was left out.

The key is communicating with your fellow liveries and working out what's best given people's restrictions eg the time they finish work.
 
AnyChance said:
This is why yards with part livery providing turn out and bring in work so much better than DIY. A much better routine for the horses, No horse is left out so risk of injury reduced
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This a hundred times! I can't believe how much more structured and organised my current yard is, it's a full livery yard with a few DIYers like me. I'd never go back to a solely DIY yard now they are the stuff of nightmares.
 
wiglet said:
Totally agree with this. At my previous yard my two were in with one other horse who couldn't be left alone. I ended up bringing him in every night - before going back to get my two in and guess what.... yeah, the owner turned up just as I had got everyone in - it was like she was parked at the end of the lane waiting and watching :) To top it all off, she never once said thanks or asked if he had led in ok - I felt like an unpaid member of staff.

Strangely, on the evenings it was hissing down with rain or she was going out for the evening, she could get herself there early... never brought my two in though....
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Well exactly, this is what I am worried about to be honest. I had all this about 4 years ago at a different yard with a feckless livery who repeatedly didn't turn up leaving me to get her horse in. I lost count of the number of times that I did it and yet whenever I did bump into her she could barely be bothered to speak to me let alone say anything along the lines of thank you or can I repay you in some way. I'm not even sure that she even cared enough to know who had brought her horse in.

But I've just recently moved to this yard and I am happy with everything it has to offer and on the basis that I can meet all the commitments for my own horses I wouldn't even go down the road of thinking about moving yards - why should I? Obviously I don't want to get embroiled in arguments and stuff with other liveries but I am just wondering how I can put my foot down with this person without it having to continue to affect my routine.
 
I would feel bad as a livery if the same person kept having to get my horse in. If it happened more than a few times I would be checking it wasn't upsetting anyone and offering to pay a bringing in charge if I couldn't get there on time. If they were happy to do it then that's fine but I wouldn't just assume its OK.

I would ask the YM to speak to the other livery and make a more suitable arrangement.
 
I'm on a DIY yard and there is no bring in time.

There are owners who work full time/part time/shifts/dont work/have sharers etc & there are some horses/ponies that winter out... in winter some horses go out at 6am others dont go out until 11am, some come in as early as 2pm or as late as 6pm, some get brought in one night but not another...

There is no rule about bringing last horse in, unless your asked to bring their horse in as a favour or you have an arrangment with another livery you dont bring other horses in.
 
dogatemysalad said:
No one leaves horses out alone at my yard, it's considered extremely bad practice. No one thinks it's a big deal to bring an extra one in, it's just part of livery yard life.
As mares and geldings are separate, I sometimes end up bringing 4 horses in, but I'd rather do that than leave a horse stressed and hungry.
Owners that are unable to be there everyday, either arrange for a friend or pay the staff to bring in, which is good manners really. Any horse that is known to be bargy and a hazard is brought in first by the staff by arrangement. It prevents accidents and keeps everyone happy.
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Completely agree.
 
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