do you check your horse twice a day

personally i check them twice a day, whether in or out. i understand when out they wont run out of food and are not as confined, so not so desperate, but personally my routine is morning and evening, although timings can vary a little.

i do have issues with people who assume someone else is checking their horse, but with no clear agreement. it is fine if like many people you actually have an agreement with a friend or livery that they will (i sometimes do with my friends if either of us are busy)- but just someone from a distance looking will not always spot things.

but i also completely agree that, sods law, a horse will injure themselves 10 minutes after you leave even if you have been with them all day!

everyone does the best they can
 
Spring Feather said:
I'm not! I bet they are terrified to say so on this thread now :biggrin3:

In the defence of Moomin, I do get exactly what she's saying. I honestly don't know how people can only check their horses twice a day let alone once. It would give me palpitations if mine went for hours without being checked.
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because not all of us have horses as our business/at home so we have to do that damn inconvenient thing called work ;)
 
pippixox said:
personally i check them twice a day, whether in or out. i understand when out they wont run out of food and are not as confined, so not so desperate, but personally my routine is morning and evening, although timings can vary a little.

i do have issues with people who assume someone else is checking their horse, but with no clear agreement. it is fine if like many people you actually have an agreement with a friend or livery that they will (i sometimes do with my friends if either of us are busy)- but just someone from a distance looking will not always spot things.

but i also completely agree that, sods law, a horse will injure themselves 10 minutes after you leave even if you have been with them all day!

everyone does the best they can
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That's the thing though - not everyone DOES do the best they can. A recent livery who has now left was a prime example of this (ok, not talking about whilst out 24/7, but in terms of general attitude towards care and visiting). They were tight on cash for a few months, and so their pony was being left 24/7 indoors (horses had to be in due to drenched fields) with only one visit every 24 hours. Bedding was wringing wet, and food none existent for hours per day. Yet, as soon as they got money, what did they do? They went out drinking on a night out, then shopping the next day, bought a load of luxuries for themselves, before waltzing up late that day to sort pony, who still had no clean bedding. Bedding was bought a few days later. This sort of thing seriously grates on me.

Grr, sorry - think it's pregnancy hormones on over drive tonight!! Lol!
 
Ibblebibble said:
because not all of us have horses as our business/at home so we have to do that damn inconvenient thing called work ;)
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Yes, I work full time 40 - 50 hours per week. My horse still gets checked every 12 - 14 hours by myself, and also kept an eye on by YO and other liveries in the meantime.

If we have animals, we have a duty of care to them, whether we work or not.
 
I'm not on 24/7 turn out but am on mainly DIY livery, but P gets fussed & jobs done twice a day.

Usually I see him twice a day but sometimes due to work or life commitments I might only see him once a day (or if I'm away, not at all) but if I don't do the second visit then I'll either pay my YM for assistance and she'll do him, my parents will do him for me or a trusted friend at the yard.

All of the above know P & I have a list of contacts for me (my mobile number, my direct work landline number, my work mobile number, work switch board number & even a trusted colleague ...!) as well as my vet, my trimmer - so I've no worries if I don't get up to see him twice a day.

I'm on a large yard, so there is always someone there in an emergency - so if he injured himself in the field, they would bring him in and contact YM (if it wasn't her that found him) who would in turn contact me. I've done it for others & know they'd do it for me. No biggie.
 
Moomin1 said:
Are people really so thick as to not get the point here?!

It's not about the fact they can injure themselves at any time. It's about the amount of time they are then left to suffer without anyone noticing and intervening.

Saying they may still injure themselves and be left 16 hours does not make it acceptable or right to say that you may as well just then leave them 24 hours instead as it won't matter.
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Not thick and please don't imply I am! I do think it is acceptable to check once a day, I bet a fair few more people do only check once a day but daren't say so for being shot down on here!!
 
I'm still waiting to be shot..! lol.. and still nothing..?! lol (which is confusing tbh, after lurking on here for a few or so months..?) but then maybe.. If you have a good argument as to why, then they can not shoot you down hun..x
And, just for reference, I agree with you.. some maybe too scared to admit that they only check their horse once in24/7 (when out!) stabled is a whole different senario...
Ax
 
Spring Feather said:
I'm not! I bet they are terrified to say so on this thread now :biggrin3:

In the defence of Moomin, I do get exactly what she's saying. I honestly don't know how people can only check their horses twice a day let alone once. It would give me palpitations if mine went for hours without being checked.
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I get exactly what Moomin is saying too, and as I said I agree with her :D - I was just making the point that twice a day is still a compromise on welfare, so until someone is in a position where they keep their horses under constant surveillance, I just think it's a bit unfair to judge others too harshly for making a compromise in a different place. If that makes sense!
 
julie111 said:
Not thick and please don't imply I am! I do think it is acceptable to check once a day, I bet a fair few more people do only check once a day but daren't say so for being shot down on here!!
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Yes clearly you do think it's acceptable. There are many people who do. Sadly.
 
Moomin1 said:
That's the thing though - not everyone DOES do the best they can. A recent livery who has now left was a prime example of this (ok, not talking about whilst out 24/7, but in terms of general attitude towards care and visiting). They were tight on cash for a few months, and so their pony was being left 24/7 indoors (horses had to be in due to drenched fields) with only one visit every 24 hours. Bedding was wringing wet, and food none existent for hours per day. Yet, as soon as they got money, what did they do? They went out drinking on a night out, then shopping the next day, bought a load of luxuries for themselves, before waltzing up late that day to sort pony, who still had no clean bedding. Bedding was bought a few days later. This sort of thing seriously grates on me.

Grr, sorry - think it's pregnancy hormones on over drive tonight!! Lol!
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I can see where you are coming from OP and do agree, but I do think this is a slightly different point from your original post about checking twice a day. When I was at school my pony only got checked once a day by myself - it was not possible for me to get down before school to do so - she lived out with YO horses and so was checked on the morning. I FORTUNATELY had no problems - though not to say there couldn't have been.

Now I have my horse that lives in, I check her twice a day as they are still in at night. Now if she wasn't in foal, when they go out there would be days when she would only get checked once due to work commitments (3/4 jobs means that I litterally go from one to the other without stopping or time to check her inbetween).

Now I agree your POV OP that the less time spent suffering for a horse the better, but for those who work hours 9-5 please tell me how they are supposed to check more than twice a day as I'm sure most will not have the luxury of working from home or having work next to where they are kept. OK you may be able to have some arragement if on a livery yard, but what about those who have theirs in a field. Also bear in mind that for some people their horses may be kept over 30mins away from home so one check may take them over an hour which some people just dont have a spare in the day.

However,as people have said, just because you check more than once every 24hours doesnt mean nothing will go amiss as I'm sure you know. I did an evening check on the horses at work at around 5/6pm. I got a call the next morning at 9 to say that the young horse had got stuck in the fencing and was badly lame. Even if I had gone up at 9 or 10pm it still wouldnt have prevented the incident as she did it in the early hours of the morning when no one would have been up.

Please don't take this in a bad way as I completly get what you mean, just simply stating as to why some people may not check more than once every 24 hours
 
Moomin1 said:
Yes clearly you do think it's acceptable. There are many people who do. Sadly.
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Where do you draw the line though? If someone was with their horses all day, because realistically they could, then they may be shocked you only check them twice a day. Yes, people buy horses and thus should take care of them, but I think it's harsh to imply that people who only check their horses once a day are being irresponsible owners.
 
vikkiandmonica said:
Where do you draw the line though? If someone was with their horses all day, because realistically they could, then they may be shocked you only check them twice a day. Yes, people buy horses and thus should take care of them, but I think it's harsh to imply that people who only check their horses once a day are being irresponsible owners.
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Ask yourself a question. Would you leave a dog at home 24/7, with plenty of food and water, and only check it once in every 24 hours?
 
Moomin1 said:
Ask yourself a question. Would you leave a dog at home 24/7, with plenty of food and water, and only check it once in every 24 hours?
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No, but then again I wouldn't just check them twice a day either. Dogs are completely different animals and crave human attention, and would also need taking on walks. A horse out in a field in herd is perfectly content being without their owners. Yes, an accident may happen and in that case yes, you want to be there as soon as possible, but an accident could leave 2 mins after you leave. By your logic shouldn't you do a nightly check, or set up CCTV so you can check them at night to make sure no accidents have occured?
 
If I rented a field for my horses and checked them twice a day, I'd be worried. Leaving them unsupervised for lengthy periods would be risky.

That's why I keep them on a livery yard with the sort of YO's who feel the same responsibility for every client's horses, as they do for their own.
They know every lump and bump on the horses, every inch of their land and check any sick horses 2 hourly during the night -or sit with them. All for no charge.

Everyone's circumstances are different, sometimes you need to check them 2,3,4 or more times a day. Sometimes, once a day is fine. It's just daft to criticise people's management without knowing the specifics.
 
MerrySherryRider said:
If I rented a field for my horses and checked them twice a day, I'd be worried. Leaving them unsupervised for lengthy periods would be risky.

That's why I keep them on a livery yard with the sort of YO's who feel the same responsibility for every client's horses, as they do for their own.
They know every lump and bump on the horses, every inch of their land and check any sick horses 2 hourly during the night -or sit with them. All for no charge.

Everyone's circumstances are different, sometimes you need to check them 2,3,4 or more times a day. Sometimes, once a day is fine. It's just daft to criticise people's management without knowing the specifics.
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It is daft to only check a horse once per 24 hours.
 
Moomin1 said:
It is daft to only check a horse once per 24 hours.
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For you maybe. When you are able to. Like MSR said you don't know all the details of everyones life and it may not be possible for them to visit and do a proper check more than once a day. And untill you do know the specifics it is unfair for you to criticise those who do only check once every 24 hours
 
BethanT said:
For you maybe. When you are able to. Like MSR said you don't know all the details of everyones life and it may not be possible for them to visit and do a proper check more than once a day. And untill you do know the specifics it is unfair for you to criticise those who do only check once every 24 hours
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No it really isn't unfair. What is unfair is people who take on animals and don't provide for them. If they can't get up more than once per day, they should get someone who can check them when they can't. Simple. That's exactly what I, and most other people I know who are responsible do. It's not hard.
 
Moomin1 said:
It is daft to only check a horse once per 24 hours.
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How many people does it take to check a horse or as an owner do I have magical powers that my YO and fellow liveries don't have ?

Incidentally, what does a check entail ? Is it looking across the field or is it a physical check complete with hooves picked out, pulses checked, etc .

How much time should you be there for each time ?

I suspect I spend longer with my horses even on the days when I might visit just once than many people spend in a week.
 
Mine are in 24/7 at the moment but even when they're out they are checked twice a day. In fairness my husband is fantastic and will do the morning 'shift' if I've got to leave early for work. I'm quite particular and they have to be mucked out twice a day (I can't stand people who leave them standing knee deep in **** all day!) and have fresh water morning and night. I know somebody (not near my yard) who has a pony that's covered in sarcoids and leaves it without being checked for days if not weeks at a time. Vile creature she is.
 
Moomin1 said:
No it really isn't unfair. What is unfair is people who take on animals and don't provide for them. If they can't get up more than once per day, they should get someone who can check them when they can't. Simple. That's exactly what I, and most other people I know who are responsible do. It's not hard.
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I think you may be getting worked up over something a bit different. I provide well for my horse, she will never go without anything in her lifetime. But there will be times when she will only be checked once a day by myself. I am lucky and am on a livery yard so people will see if there is a major problem, and yes I will get shot down for that but I don't really care as I know my horse is extreamly well looked after, even if it does mean I spend time with her once a day.

As for getting people to check for them, I know people - myself included - who is the only horsey person or person able to check a horse, so who do you suppose checks them? As they may not have friends who are willing or horsey, and some people may not be able to afford to pay a freelance groom to do it. I supppose your argument there would then be to not have a horse but you would then be denying them the wonder of having a horse that may be their only escape. Some people may earn enough to supply well for their horses so that they need for nothing but then to add an extra £10/15/20 a day every day amounts to a lot. I sure couldnt afford to pay that.

I think, OP, that you need to accept that for some people checking once every 24 hours is acceptable and in some cases the only option. No one is saying that they wouldnt check more if they had the means to. Not everyone is fortunate to be able to spend hours every day with their horse to check 3,4,5,6 times a day etc. There are always going to be people who don't do things the way you may deem "responsible", thats just life in both the horsey world and the non-horsey world.
 
Very silly to say people who only check their horses once a day shouldn't have them! I have owned horses for over 40 years, I am very responsible as I'm sure most other people who only see their horses once a day are.
 
I check mine once a day when he's out, bring him in for haynet/feed/ride/groom etc and then sometimes pop back for a cuddle again. I work 12 hour shifts so sometimes checking twice isn't an option. I do, however, have a friend with her horse in the same field so we always check each other's horses when we go up (we are liking passing ships in the night so I'd say that works pretty well). If I go away for a few days then my friend brings him in during the day for his feed and I do the same for her so he's never left a full day without being seen.

I'd like to think that people do the best they can - horses aren't just a hobby, they're a lifestyle choice and it frustates me so much when people enter into having a horse lightly.
 
Moomin1 said:
No it really isn't unfair. What is unfair is people who take on animals and don't provide for them. If they can't get up more than once per day, they should get someone who can check them when they can't. Simple. That's exactly what I, and most other people I know who are responsible do. It's not hard.
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I think you are being unfair. My horses are at home and are constantly at my supervision, so I could say the same of you - that your checking twice a day is woefully insufficient.
 
My horses are currently out in the morning and in at night so I'm at the yard twice a day. When they go out I will check them on my way to work, and they will be either ridden in the evening or checked/fed on my way home from work. I have known people who have had the OK from the YO to turn out for summer and have lobbed the horses in a field and not been seen for 2 weeks - this I find unacceptable. In fact a previous YO laid down a rule that you came and checked your horse at least once a day and signed the check in sheet or you got charged £3 for her checking your horse, because she felt it was unacceptable to not check your horse at least once a day. And that didnt mean a drive by, check they are still in the field
Checking a horse once a day when its out 24/7 is fine - unless you are camping in the field you cant keep an eye on them all time time.
 
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Once a day mostly.....
Mine are in a secure field, with an automatic waterer and an extra trough that I fill myself each day. They get a handful of hay and a balancer when I go up to check on them. They have access to a shelter, a concrete yard and their 1-5 acres ( depending on time of year).
They are not made of china and have both survived 18 yrs without being wrapped up in cotton wool.
 
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