Do you change routine when your ill?

F

flump

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 April 2010
Messages
1,328
Location
the yard
Visit site
Just wondering if you change your horses routine when you feel rough?

I'm asking as horrified someone earlier by saying that I had shoved all work horses out with rugs and double hay, left stables to muck out and then got my horses in at 12 (usually 5.30)!did evening rugs and doubled up hay, paying someone a bottle of wine to chuck feeds over and a few extra hay slices at 5.

Is this such a crime?! Really feel like pants and just want bed! Lady obviously thought horses would die! ( oh and to add work has 24/7 security so they will b checked on regulary and liveries will pop a look in on mine!)
 
Beans2000 said:
Just wondering if you change your horses routine when you feel rough?

I'm asking as horrified someone earlier by saying that I had shoved all work horses out with rugs and double hay, left stables to muck out and then got my horses in at 12 (usually 5.30)!did evening rugs and doubled up hay, paying someone a bottle of wine to chuck feeds over and a few extra hay slices at 5.

Is this such a crime?! Really feel like pants and just want bed! Lady obviously thought horses would die! ( oh and to add work has 24/7 security so they will b checked on regulary and liveries will pop a look in on mine!)
Click to expand...

as long as they have enough hay, water, are warm enough and someone does a visual check then thats fine! I was ill for five days the other week. Shoved a rug on and chucked my boy out. I did pop down twice a day to see he was okay but left him other than that. I literally dragged myself off the sofa, went down, got home then collapsed on the sofa again :) Hope you feel better soon
 
If I was paying for a service with my horses which would be changed, yes I'd be annoyed. There should be a back up for if you personally can't do them.

My own? They're out 24/7 and would have no problems doubling hay up if feeling rough also unrugged. If rugging I'd leave them to shiver over night in day rugs rather than put heavier rugs on at midday and risk over heating if I couldn't get someone up to do them. Or go back again.
 
It depends on the situation - if I can turf mine out and leave them out (as I do in my field) I will do and just go back to check they're still alive / present and correct. If they're in stables I will go back up at pretty much usual times to let them out / provide hay, feed, water. I will deep litter if I feel really rough though.
 
So long as they get food, water, shelter, rugs or no rugs and sufficient turnout, companionship you meet their needs. If very ill I get someone else to do mine but they will not get ridden and field will not be poo picked but they will not suffer as a result. Once I could not do them for nearly 3 weeks. I got cover but they did not get anything beyond the absolute basics partly my fault for trusting the YO too much but they did not die just not kept to the standard they normally would be.

I did learn from that to make sure I got as many people as possible on stand by to help out with no notice so that in future I would have options to ask more than person to keep an eye out for them.
 
In a word... no.

I may get there an hour later in the morning or an hour earlier in the evening, in which case he is supplied with adequate hay to make up for it but otherwise life goes on.
 
I don't mean deep litter & keep in. I mean as opposed to doing a full muckout of huge straw beds. Still turnout as normal. But tbh mine only stay in overnight for the worst weather, mainly out 24/7 so rarely have to do that.
 
Work horses aren't livery btw they are just private pets ATM so no one paying me for a service bar the boss who told me to shove out and get out!
 
I would try not to change it much, in winter he is in at night out through day, i would go up feed and turf him out and then come back at night to skip out bring him in, i maybe wouldnt brush or be as thorough in my mucking out as usual..

If i felt so bad i couldnt do that then i would ask a friend on yard to do him, we are all DIY so no YM or part livery service available.
 
littlelegs said:
I don't mean deep litter & keep in. I mean as opposed to doing a full muckout of huge straw beds. Still turnout as normal. But tbh mine only stay in overnight for the worst weather, mainly out 24/7 so rarely have to do that.
Click to expand...

Ahh okay get you now :) Mine would still trash the place and he would probably be through the roof. He is such a messy boy. I do not know how so much comes out of him!!! Though he is big and eats a lot. lol
 
Last edited:
I usually carry on as normal but just do the essentials. However my OH or daughter are just as capable to do the horses as I am and following my surgery, they were fantastic.
 
If I'm that bad that I can't do them myself, I send my husband up! Can't remember the last time I had to do that tbh...very rarely ill, touch wood!
 
It depends. If I have an event coming up then I force myself to ride and groom like normal. If not then they'll getting the basics done, maybe deep litter just no/minimal brushing and exercise. They get turned out/brought in like usual.

But I can be very tough when I have to be lol, I had a horrendous flu bug the last week at my old job, I hadn't taken a day sick whilst I'd been there and didn't feel I could do it in my last week. Now my mum has caught it and she's barely left her bed. (and she never gets ill)
 
Either the husband does her, the joys of having a horsey other half, or I am very thankful that I'm on a livery yard with services!
 
*Touch wood* I haven't been properly ill for 7 years. At the time I tried to carry on as normal but was so weak that it actually became dangerous (having to sit on the floor for a break when leading two in as I was too weak to stay standing :o) so gave up after a day. I think mum helped get them sorted for me, the routine probably changed slightly but as long as they had hay and water they were happy.

If I was in the situation again and mum couldn't look after them I would rug up and leave them out with plenty of hay.

(Mine are kept at home over the Winter so it does make it slightly easier - Over summer they are out 24/7 so it wouldn't make a difference to them if I was there or not)
 
My horses routine is not completely set in stone but they do have a vague structure to their day which I aim to always keep the same. You can't always though, last winter I was ill and my horses had to be turned out rugged and left to their own devices (much to my horror I was in hospital under the impression that the yo was taking care of them!)
 
No, but then I always go on the rule (think it comes from having it instilled at a young age, but about school) that if I am we'll enough to go to the yard, I'm well enough to go to work so turnout and bring in will be the same times. If I'm so sick I can't go to work (not happened for at least 3 years) then hubby will do her, and he is also at work so times stay the same.

I don't like messing with her routine as it upsets her, an hour or so either way doesn't matter, but if I got in really early she would just trash her box and I would then have to fix that the next day, probably while still feeling rough - so the short term gain wouldn't be worth it.
 
I always find even if im on deaths door...to drag myself to do the horses makes you feel so much better.i think in 29 years i havent made it 3 times! Howvever i may not do things quite as thoroughly as i would normally do.But i do agree as long as they have got grass/hay/water & someone visually checking they will be fine.
 
It would depend on how ill I was really. I am also fortunate that I have Mini TX as well to do our two as well. If its just a cold, sniffles or the like then no, I just get on with it. However, I had norovirus really badly a couple of christmasses ago and could not leave my bedroom, apart from going to err bathroom pretty regularly and there was no way I could drive the 2 miles to the yard, let alone do my horses. Mini TX got my OH to drive her up and mine went out in the field for a few days and was checked upon daily.

I personally have a mega busy life and my horses have to fit in around me, not vice versa. Although we are on DIY livery, the other liveries are great and will help us out, and we of course wil reciprocate.
 
Nope. When we had a bad winter 2 years ago i stood for the bus for an hour there and an hour back twice a day with flu. I had it for about 2 and a half weeks as a result but i kept the routine as there was noone else to do him for me as i hate asking!
 
My horse is so low maintenance as she lives out, still plenty of grass, no rug so far and a token feed she could live without at a random point in the middle of the day, I'd be hard pushed not to manage to keep up with that! Two mins from my house so my BF can do it if needed, he even poo picks sometimes bless him which is the one thing I wouldn't bother with if ill! I'm not riding at the mo due to injury so its all pretty holiday like for pony :-)
 
TheoryX1 said:
I personally have a mega busy life and my horses have to fit in around me, not vice versa.
Click to expand...

^ This for me too.
Even when I ran the yard as my living, they still had to fit in - how many times we went/came back from competitions in early hours & the yard still had to be done for the inmates left behind.
On (very, very) rare occasions, I have called friends/neighbours/pony clubbers for the odd bit of help & its been gratefully received.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top