do you check your horse twice a day

I think this is the longest thread I have started.

I have many times spotted things with other people's horses and gotten them in and then contacted the owner, I would never leave a horse suffering, however I don't apply fly repellent or physically touch other people's horses unless I am asked too. I was just shocked that these mainly young girls think its ok not to get there bums out of bed to see there horse's are ok.
 
Goldenstar said:
Here's another way to look at it ,how long is it reasonable for a horse with colic to cope alone .
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Last horse with colic on my yard was last week. Noticed by another livery whilst owner was still on the yard. Horse was fine after being walked but YO checked the horse every two hours through the night just in case, as he does with any horse.
I'm getting the feeling from some of the posts that on some yards, no one looks out for anyone else.
 
Pudster said:
I cannot believe how judgemental this forum can be. WOW I really wish I could afford the 24/7 grooms that you all seem to have working for you.. Unfortunaltly have to work bl**dy hard for a living.
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Judgemental or people offering their opinions as was the point of this thread?

I also work Bl***y hard for a living as a full time Nurse in an acute setting, my husband has a manual job and my daughter is at Uni, but between us we MAKE time.
 
flojo said:
Judgemental or people offering their opinions as was the point of this thread?

I also work Bl***y hard for a living as a full time Nurse in an acute setting, my husband has a manual job and my daughter is at Uni, but between us we MAKE time.
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This... And if I couldn't make time I wouldn't have a horse - and I have come close to giving up
 
flojo said:
Judgemental or people offering their opinions as was the point of this thread?

I also work Bl***y hard for a living as a full time Nurse in an acute setting, my husband has a manual job and my daughter is at Uni, but between us we MAKE time.
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That's great.. 2 free grooms.. But for us alone.. I work hard for me and my horse only.. no one else to help.. DIY.. means do it yourself.. and I do in sickness and health.. (if only once a day in Summer) but I do it and I am at the end of the phone & 30 minutes away at a push for me to get there.. it would take my vet longer.. Everyone has an individual case, and it is wrong for anyone to make assumptions either way, if I have then I apologise. :/

I give every care I can and do to my horse. If I could get to him twice a day then, great.. but unfortunatly this is not possible.. in Winter, my work will make allowances and yes twice a day without question, come summer I need to make up the time, which is where my friends come into it.. I still have a very good employer that allows me to leave for any problem as they would if I had children.
Sorry again If I have come across as brash.. I didn't mean to.. :)
 
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Pudster said:
That's great.. 2 free grooms.. But for us alone.. I work hard for me and my horse only.. no one else to help.. DIY.. means do it yourself.. and I do in sickness and health.. (if only once a day in Summer) but I do it and I am at the end of the phone & 30 minutes away at a push for me to get there.. it would take my vet longer.. Everyone has an individual case, and it is wrong for anyone to make assumptions either way, if I have then I apologise. :/

I give every care I can and do to my horse. If I could get to him twice a day then, great.. but unfortunatly this is not possible.. in Winter, my work will make allowances and yes twice a day without question, come summer I need to make up the time, which is where my friends come into it.. I still have a very good employer that allows me to leave for any problem as they would if I had children.
Sorry again If I have come across as brash.. I didn't mean to.. :)
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I am on DIY. I work full time up to 50 hours per week. My horse gets checked more than once per day. By me. And yes, it does mean that sometimes I am getting home at midnight and beyond.
 
Mrs B said:
From one of the earlier posts: yes. Keeping a horse properly IS a massive commitment. If they're on DIY, that means twice a day, every day, 365 days a year. For ever, until you cease ownership though selling, loaning or death. They are - through our intervention - entirely dependent on us for everything.

I am on DIY. I've run my own DIY yard. I think checking twice in 24 hours is reasonable if you keep one of these animals.

And to say "Oh - there are lots of people up at the yard every day - I'm sure someone will tell me if there's a problem" is lazy, selfish b*ll*cks.

Why the hell should someone be responsible for your horse? So you can have a lie-in on a Sunday because you can't be arsed? Or had a late night? Or something else in your life seems (other than in a crisis) to be more important? Then stick to a riding school. Please.

No, you can't be there 24/7 and no, you can't wrap them in cotton wool, but you can be there in reasonable time to prevent excessive suffering if the worst happens.

I've owned and cared for many horses in 40-odd years. On my regular checks I've discovered 2 eye injuries, 3 potentially fatal wounds, found (and sadly had to have destroyed) 2 with colic and had numerous minor cuts in that time.

The outcome for these cases would probably been much worse, painful and cruel if the 'I'm sure someone will call me if there's a problem' owners had been in charge.

They're not toys to shove in a cupboard until you have time in your life and feel you'd like to play with them again!
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Well said, when we went to collect our new horse, the YO mentioned he had been injured 3 days prior, his loaner hadn't been up for a while, so nothing had been done about a huge injury to the inside of his hock, if I was a YO could I ignore such an injury? Don't think so, he was very lucky not to get an infection in it, neither owner nor loaner cared enough to do right by this lad, I had to insist on the owner coming to check the wound prior to the vet being called, horse now has a home for life, just because I care
 
Moomin1 said:
I am on DIY. I work full time up to 50 hours per week. My horse gets checked more than once per day. By me. And yes, it does mean that sometimes I am getting home at midnight and beyond.
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So you don't have any good friends that know your horse well enough to tell you that something is wrong.? I love my boy.. Believe me.. people are bored by conversations, as they are all about my horse.. What would happen if you physically could not make it there.. for whatever reason.. (not putting it here, but you know what I'm saying.. Is there anyone that you would trust to say yeah, your horse is good..?
If not.. well that is really sad..
 
_HP_ said:
My way or the highway eh?

Once a day works for me and mine... I may spend 3 hours up there or 5 minutes. My horses are tough and sensible, relaxed, stress free and healthy.
IF I felt they needed checking more often I would ie unusual weather, but generally I don't feel the need to...

Personally I'd rather mine were out 24/7/365 and checked once a day than stuck in a12x12 with no freedom, unable to express natural behaviours and likely to develop unnatural ones and having to work hard instead of getting turnout as many horses have to for many months of the year...but is apparently ok as long as they are checked twice a day :p
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Get yourself a budgie, then you can just turn your head and check it, once a day for animals that love to hurt themselves is totally un acceptable
 
So how do Defra deal with the ponies on the new forest or on Exmoor or in the welsh mountains?

There are over 3000 ponies out on the new forest and there is no way the rangers could check each pony twice a day in the way that many people would feel would be acceptable e.g. not a visual check but a check that involves touching the pony all over.

I check my pony once a day during the week this is normally after 6.30 as I work full time. None of the other liveries who I share the field with work so they tend to come up during the day but not in the evening. None of the ponies/horses in the field are checked twice in the way that most people would think would be acceptable [eg touched all over} but they are visually checked as YO, and the other liveries go down in the day and I am normally around in the evenings when I physically check my pony. We don't have a formal arrangement but I always check the other horses visually when I get my pony in or go down to check him. I also have an informal arrangement with another livery who does not work that she will fly spray her horse and my pony in the summer during the day and then I will spray them both again in evening when I come up, as in the summer the flies stay around until sunset so are annoying for long periods of time.

We also have a public footpath running through one of the field so lots of dog walker and other around too and as we all have a bit of team spirit if we noticed there was anything wrong we would of course help each other.
 
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Pudster said:
So you don't have any good friends that know your horse well enough to tell you that something is wrong.? I love my boy.. Believe me.. people are bored by conversations, as they are all about my horse.. What would happen if you physically could not make it there.. for whatever reason.. (not putting it here, but you know what I'm saying.. Is there anyone that you would trust to say yeah, your horse is good..?
If not.. well that is really sad..
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There is only one other livery at the yard. Funnily enough, they have their own lives, and guess what....my horse is MY responsibility, not theirs to check and deal with on a daily basis.

As for emergencies, of course I have people able to go up and sort her.

Do you not have any good friends to check your horse more than once per day?
 
SO1 said:
So how do Defra deal with the ponies on the new forest or on Exmoor or in the welsh mountains?

There are over 3000 ponies out on the new forest and there is no way the rangers could check each pony twice a day in the way that many people would feel would be acceptable e.g. not a visual check but a check that involves touching the pony all over.

I check my pony once a day during the week this is normally after 6.30 as I work full time. None of the other liveries who I share the field with work so they tend to come up during the day but not in the evening. None of the ponies/horses in the field are checked twice in the way that most people would think would be acceptable [eg touched all over} but they are visually checked as YO, and the other liveries go down in the day and I am normally around in the evenings. We don't have a formal arrangement but I always check the other horses visually when I get my pony in or go down to check him. I also have an informal arrangement with another livery who does not work that she will fly spray her horse and my pony in the summer during the day and then I will spray them both again in evening when I come up, as in the summer the flies stay around until sunset so are annoying for long periods of time.
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It would not be reasonable in all the circumstances to be checking 3000 ponies living feral twice per day, would it? Clearly not.

I don't know how many of those people who have commented on this thread that they only go once per day actually have 3000 ponies......
 
doriangrey said:
Not a bloody second, so as I'm on hand 24 hours I should condemn every horse owner who isn't by this thread?
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Of course it's not reasonable to expect people to be there 24 hours a day. Just like it's not reasonable for someone to have a horse and only shift their backside up once per day to see it, without making suitable arrangements for someone else to check it either.
 
How those of you who insist on checking your horses yourselves manage when you are away or sick ? Do you trust someone else then or are you there twice every day of the year ? Surely you ask the YO or another livery ?
 
Moomin1 said:
There is only one other livery at the yard. Funnily enough, they have their own lives, and guess what....my horse is MY responsibility, not theirs to check and deal with on a daily basis.

As for emergencies, of course I have people able to go up and sort her.

Do you not have any good friends to check your horse more than once per day?
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Yes, my friend does the morning and I do the evening.. so twice a day.. but, it seems this is not enough for you.. so argue to someone else.. I'm bored of you now.
 
MerrySherryRider said:
How those of you who insist on checking your horses yourselves manage when you are away or sick ? Do you trust someone else then or are you there twice every day of the year ? Surely you ask the YO or another livery ?
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Are you seriously still not getting it?! I thought I had explained this? There is NO problem with an owner not attending twice a day, IF they have someone else doing it instead.

Yes, if I go away, my mother looks after my horse in the mornings, and I pay someone to come in and look after her in the evenings.

She still gets dealt with twice per day - for hours each time.
 
But if it acceptable for the semi feral ponies not to be checked twice a day and touched all over then why is this different in terms of welfare? In implying that it is not reasonable to expect those with large numbers of equines to check them twice a day, then it is not about welfare it is? If horses need to be checked twice day then this should be happening regardless of the number of horses someone owns?

Moomin1 said:
It would not be reasonable in all the circumstances to be checking 3000 ponies living feral twice per day, would it? Clearly not.

I don't know how many of those people who have commented on this thread that they only go once per day actually have 3000 ponies......
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_HP_ said:
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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This thread is boiling my p, with the general it won't happen attitude, an accident in the field only needs to happen once, for it to be life changing, due to a field accident, I had a beloved horse die having his forehead scratched during a colic attack, I will never forget the desperation I felt watching this horse keep going down in his box, I even asked the vet, at what point will you worry, even the vet was pleading with the horse to stay down and rest, easing his injured leg from trying to rise, I worked 12hr shifts at the time and got up at 4 30am to check the horses before work my neighbor checked them through the day till I got home at 8pm
 
Pudster said:
Yes, my friend does the morning and I do the evening.. so twice a day.. but, it seems this is not enough for you.. so argue to someone else.. I'm bored of you now.
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I have NOT SAID anywhere that a friend doing one shift, and you doing the other is wrong have I?!! I have said it's perfectly acceptable. I am talking about people who only have their horses checked once in 24 hours by ANYONE.
 
SO1 said:
But if it acceptable for the semi feral ponies not to be checked twice a day and touched all over then why is this different in terms of welfare? In implying that it is not reasonable to expect those with large numbers of equines to check them twice a day, then it is not about welfare it is? If horses need to be checked twice day then this should be happening regardless of the number of horses someone owns?
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Oh seriously, get a grip.

I don't understand how this concept of someone taking responsibility for their own horses is so difficult to grasp on this thread....
 
Moomin1 said:
I have NOT SAID anywhere that a friend doing one shift, and you doing the other is wrong have I?!! I have said it's perfectly acceptable. I am talking about people who only have their horses checked once in 24 hours by ANYONE.
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Ooohh, okay lovey... no need to shout. Just seemed that you were of the thinking that anyone that didn't check their own horses twice a day was to be dammed.. thats all. :)
 
Pudster said:
Ooohh, okay lovey... no need to shout. Just seemed that you were of the thinking that anyone that didn't check their own horses twice a day was to be dammed.. thats all. :)
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Jeez - if you read back I have repeated numerous times that that is not the case.

I give up.
 
What a strange thread and some strange opinions .
I am shocked that there are people who think it's acceptable that their horses are only seen once a day .
I don't get the point about semi feral horses at all just because some horses live feral lives does and no one gets prosecuted does not mean I should be happy to have mine checked once a day .
It's MY horses I am bothered about they are my responsibility how other people chose to muddle through has no bearing on what I think is acceptable for mine.
 
SO1 said:
So how do Defra deal with the ponies on the new forest or on Exmoor or in the welsh mountains?

There are over 3000 ponies out on the new forest and there is no way the rangers could check each pony twice a day in the way that many people would feel would be acceptable e.g. not a visual check but a check that involves touching the pony all over.

I check my pony once a day during the week this is normally after 6.30 as I work full time. None of the other liveries who I share the field with work so they tend to come up during the day but not in the evening. None of the ponies/horses in the field are checked twice in the way that most people would think would be acceptable [eg touched all over} but they are visually checked as YO, and the other liveries go down in the day and I am normally around in the evenings when I physically check my pony. We don't have a formal arrangement but I always check the other horses visually when I get my pony in or go down to check him. I also have an informal arrangement with another livery who does not work that she will fly spray her horse and my pony in the summer during the day and then I will spray them both again in evening when I come up, as in the summer the flies stay around until sunset so are annoying for long periods of time.

We also have a public footpath running through one of the field so lots of dog walker and other around too and as we all have a bit of team spirit if we noticed there was anything wrong we would of course help each other.
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And how many NF ponies are injured by cars each day and struggle on three legs, infected injuries etc, you have just clerified the need to check as often as possible
 
MerrySherryRider said:
How those of you who insist on checking your horses yourselves manage when you are away or sick ? Do you trust someone else then or are you there twice every day of the year ? Surely you ask the YO or another livery ?
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I have checked my horses even when I could hardly stand due to breathing problems, even my doctor told me off for going to the surgery, I should have called her out apparently, my horses, my responsibil;ity.
 
You see personally I feel my ponies are far less likely to be injured or ill while living out I could never condone and would never keep a horse or pony that had to spend more than 8 hours in a stable on any one day never mind for months on end I may only visit mine once a day for several hours in that day but they are happy, settled , well fed and content I have been keeping horses for over 40 years and only once had one with colic that was last week when the numpty pony ate a lump of tail hair he was fine after about an hour but he went down while we were there and he wasnt left until he was contentedly grazing He was checked by me several times that day to make sure he did not relapse.
I have seen many livery horses severely injured and die painfully of colic when they were stabled so I guess it is not such a safe place after all. Horses and ponies can and do get colic and recover in the hours the owner is in bed sadly some dont but they are the ones that it is unlikely would have recovered if you had been there. Cuts are the same if a horse is cut and bleeding the injury will either resolve or bleed out in a very short space of time either scenario is unaffected by the owner being there an hour or 8 or 16 after the event it is highly unlikely that if they are going to injure themseves they will do so while you are watching that is about as rare as a lottery win
 
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