do you check your horse twice a day

Mrs B said:
I'm afraid I can't agree. I don't believe daily checks are fine in the slightest, even if you take my case out of the equation. If once a day is all someone can manage/be arsed to do and there's no one else to do another proper check within 24 hours, then don't have them on diy. Or at all.
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The beauty of being a big grown up person is that I can decide what's best for my horses and whether or not I should have them and on what regime :)
Honestly, what a bunch of judgemental people some of you are!
 
_HP_ said:
The beauty of being a big grown up person is that I can decide what's best for my horses and whether or not I should have them and on what regime :)
Honestly, what a bunch of judgemental people some of you are!
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Haha I've heard many people say that. Some which have neglected their horses
 
Twice a day. There are liveries coming and going at various times of the day, and we are on a farm so the farmer is usually always there - he also does early morning and late night checks. One of the liveries lives just next to the yard too, so it definitely feels like there are several eyes kept on them for most of the time!
 
I also wonder sometimes at the quality of the checks I only go to mine once a day but I am there for hours each one is checked from top to bottom come for a fuss are groomed and ridden or just petted. They are fed, hay and water checked they are in a small well established herd they have been in all their lives the oldest addition being a weanling so they were either born in the herd or joined it a very early age. They only chase about if we swap fields around are settled all the time and are generally speaking very well. When I was on a yard many moons ago the owners would arrive put a headcollar on their horse change its rug while chatting to a mate over the door without really seeing their horse or use turnouts 24/7 so didnt look under the rug chuck said horse into a field to do a mad bucking and kicking session quickly muck out and then without even looking at their horse disappear to work in the evenning they would make a coffee get horse in and leave to chat with friends ok they had been there for two visits but most had never even laid a hand on the horse. If they rode they unrugged and rode barely noticed if the horse they were riding was sound and put it back into a stable hot, wet and sweaty after all rugs are breathable now
I know very well which regime my ponies would chose.
So guess what I will continue to adore my ponies providing them with every thing they need and let them be horses but as they are some miles from my house they will still only get one visit ok others will see them during the day but they wont have an official check until I return
Maybe I am a bad owner maybe I have been extremely lucky but in over 40 years I have only ever had one with laminitis when he was let into the rested grass by well meaning walkers late one evening and the same pony had colic it was my first owner experience of it last week he was fine before the vet got to me an hour and a half later but I still had him checked over. Reading the Horse and hound vet mag I would guess a lot of colic cases go unnoticed even when the horses are checked more than once as they make spontaneous recoveries. Like everything you have to weigh up the risks I hate stables I would never confine mine to a stable for more than 8 hours unless it was on medical grounds Most of the liveries I have been on horses have been left for hours without food as they eat their hay in a short space of time and then have nothing to eat. there are far worse things that can happen to a horse in a stable than can happen in a field. I have told the story of the horse who pulled his foot off in a stable before so wont repeat myself bet his owner wished he had lived out 24/7
 
windand rain said:
I also wonder sometimes at the quality of the checks I only go to mine once a day but I am there for hours each one is checked from top to bottom come for a fuss are groomed and ridden or just petted. They are fed, hay and water checked they are in a small well established herd they have been in all their lives the oldest addition being a weanling so they were either born in the herd or joined it a very early age. They only chase about if we swap fields around are settled all the time and are generally speaking very well. When I was on a yard many moons ago the owners would arrive put a headcollar on their horse change its rug while chatting to a mate over the door without really seeing their horse or use turnouts 24/7 so didnt look under the rug chuck said horse into a field to do a mad bucking and kicking session quickly muck out and then without even looking at their horse disappear to work in the evenning they would make a coffee get horse in and leave to chat with friends ok they had been there for two visits but most had never even laid a hand on the horse. If they rode they unrugged and rode barely noticed if the horse they were riding was sound and put it back into a stable hot, wet and sweaty after all rugs are breathable now
I know very well which regime my ponies would chose.
So guess what I will continue to adore my ponies providing them with every thing they need and let them be horses but as they are some miles from my house they will still only get one visit ok others will see them during the day but they wont have an official check until I return
Maybe I am a bad owner maybe I have been extremely lucky but in over 40 years I have only ever had one with laminitis when he was let into the rested grass by well meaning walkers late one evening and the same pony had colic it was my first owner experience of it last week he was fine before the vet got to me an hour and a half later but I still had him checked over. Reading the Horse and hound vet mag I would guess a lot of colic cases go unnoticed even when the horses are checked more than once as they make spontaneous recoveries. Like everything you have to weigh up the risks I hate stables I would never confine mine to a stable for more than 8 hours unless it was on medical grounds Most of the liveries I have been on horses have been left for hours without food as they eat their hay in a short space of time and then have nothing to eat. there are far worse things that can happen to a horse in a stable than can happen in a field. I have told the story of the horse who pulled his foot off in a stable before so wont repeat myself bet his owner wished he had lived out 24/7
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I totally agree with you. I have owned horses for over 40 years, the majority of that time horses have lived out 24/7 in established herds, we have never had a problem. We go down once a day and spend at least three hours with them, they are thoroughly checked over and I am sure they are are very happy.
Definitely far more problems arise from horses being couped up for hours in a stable then being turned out for a few hours to hoon about. To say those of us that see our horses once a day are neglecting them is a ridiculous statement!
 
Moomin1 said:
Haha I've heard many people say that. Some which have neglected their horses
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Maybe you have .....

I've come across many that seem to devote their lives to their horses but are so ignorant to their needs and their body language that they wouldn't notice their horse was unhappy if it smacked them in the face ......and?
 
Faracat said:
I think Moomin works in animal welfare, so I wouldn't dismiss their comments so flippantly.
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That doesn't mean much, some of these welfare organisations are totally useless!
It is very offensive to say people who see their horses once a day are neglecting them or shouldn't own them, absolutely ridiculous!!
 
If the horse welfare charities decided to prosecute every horse owner that only checked their horses at grass, once a day, the back log of cases would keep them occupied for many years.

How ridiculous.

I also disagree with Moomin's opinion on clipping horses.
Though I often agree with her on various topics, her opinions are just opinions, and not necessarily fact. Just like the rest of us.
 
One of the things that always causes me concern on these threads is the attitude that 'some' people who do x y or z don't do it right, so I don't do that, but what I do is better than that, even if some people feel it is insufficient. Surely we should all aim for the maximum benefit for the animals we are responsible for?
 
Shutterbug said:
Thats so sad to hear - but the honest truth is that could have happened even with a twice or three times daily check - the colic could have struck immediately after checking and horse of an evening and horse could have suffered till morning. We can only do our best but for the best part, daily checks are fine and we really should not judge and lambast those who choose to check their horses once a day, who provide good care and love their animals just as much you or I love ours. The people we should be mad at are the people who throw their horses in a field and disappear for 2 weeks at the first sign of sunshine, or those who dont provide even the basic of care to their animals - there is much much worse that a horse owner can do or fail to do beyond checking on their animals just once a day and I do think a little perspective is needed. Which is why I mentioned the girl I know who only checkes her horses once a week all year round. Some of the posts on here would have onwers hung for failing to be at the yard every 5 mins to check their horses and I think that its incredibly unfair of people to bash others for only being able to get to the yard once a day - which in my experience is the norm for most owners.
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Most sensible and balanced post of the thread.
 
I love HHO.


I go up once a day now out.

YO and YM very good at being around so if anything happened it would be picked up.

My old pony, Toffee, ripped her nostril open between 1830-1900 I left the field at 1830.... Got a phone call at 1900 from a friend to say her nose was hanging open. So daily checks or twice daily checks make no different in my view.
 
Moomin never said that people would be prosecuted for only checking their animals once a day. However if an animal was hurt and was left suffering for 23 hours, that length of time between checks could go against the owner.
 
Toffee44 said:
I love HHO.


I go up once a day now out.

YO and YM very good at being around so if anything happened it would be picked up.

My old pony, Toffee, ripped her nostril open between 1830-1900 I left the field at 1830.... Got a phone call at 1900 from a friend to say her nose was hanging open. So daily checks or twice daily checks make no different in my view.
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But if your horse did have an injury/come down with grass sickness/atypical myopathy an hour after you saw them- surely then seeing them 10 hours later is preferable to 23 hours later - when every hour both in terms of the horses suffering and it's prognosis is time dependant.? Of course anything can happen at any time but checking more than once a day can minimise the consequences of certain injuries and illnesses.
 
I don't think there's much excuse not to check the horse twice a day. I work 8 hours a day and I don't get home til after dark in winter and don't have lights where I keep my horses and it still go down twice a day; if I'm working. If I'm off work it's at usually more than 3 times. Why have horses if you can't be arsed to even check them or spend time with them? For one thing they need feeding don't they?!
 
Ponycarrots said:
I don't think there's much excuse not to check the horse twice a day. I work 8 hours a day and I don't get home til after dark in winter and don't have lights where I keep my horses and it still go down twice a day; if I'm working. If I'm off work it's at usually more than 3 times. Why have horses if you can't be arsed to even check them or spend time with them? For one thing they need feeding don't they?!
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The question was about visiting them when they're out 24/7 in summer, so feeding/watering doesn't really come into account, it's more in the case of injuries I think. Surely though, if it's pitch black when you do one of your visits, you couldn't really notice injuries/illness anyway?
 
Well we will have to agree to differ my horses are not left for 23 hours I visit once a day today I was there for over 4 and a half hours I am often there longer every one was caught and felt over to make sure they were no hidden injuries. I know for a fact that horses suffer far more from only seeing a brief glimpse of the sky as they leave an american barn or stable to work in an indoor school or walk to a horsewalker for twenty minutes of interminable boredom. Yet is is considered ok to do this to what is essentially a domesticated wild animal if it is seen more than once a day it is a despicable way to treat a horse as is 24 hour stabling or individual penning my opinion and you wont change my mind even two consecutive days in a stable are very wrong never mind months of it so if anyone needs prosecuting it is those owners who condone this by owning horses who cannot be horses who do not have the freedoms according to the welfare rules and are brainwashed into accepting it or expecting it
Yes I do have very strong views on it and every horse I have ever owned has spent at least 16 hours out of a stable every day of its life unless it had to be confined for medical reasons even in this they were left for 16 hours a day roughly between checks When the pony was on box rest she was fed 6 times a day as she wasn't allowed to move and her only joy was feeds and a bit of fuss she was fed every 4 hours like a new baby day and night. The thread on livery yards also surprised me with the livery yards closing at 6 and not opening again until 9 in the morning so 15 hours without checks is ok 16-20 isnt
what a load of codswallop
 
vikkiandmonica said:
The question was about visiting them when they're out 24/7 in summer, so feeding/watering doesn't really come into account, it's more in the case of injuries I think. Surely though, if it's pitch black when you do one of your visits, you couldn't really notice injuries/illness anyway?
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Obviously I bring a torch lol
 
windand rain said:
Well we will have to agree to differ my horses are not left for 23 hours I visit once a day today I was there for over 4 and a half hours I am often there longer every one was caught and felt over to make sure they were no hidden injuries. I know for a fact that horses suffer far more from only seeing a brief glimpse of the sky as they leave an american barn or stable to work in an indoor school or walk to a horsewalker for twenty minutes of interminable boredom. Yet is is considered ok to do this to what is essentially a domesticated wild animal if it is seen more than once a day it is a despicable way to treat a horse as is 24 hour stabling or individual penning my opinion and you wont change my mind even two consecutive days in a stable are very wrong never mind months of it so if anyone needs prosecuting it is those owners who condone this by owning horses who cannot be horses who do not have the freedoms according to the welfare rules and are brainwashed into accepting it or expecting it
Yes I do have very strong views on it and every horse I have ever owned has spent at least 16 hours out of a stable every day of its life unless it had to be confined for medical reasons even in this they were left for 16 hours a day roughly between checks When the pony was on box rest she was fed 6 times a day as she wasn't allowed to move and her only joy was feeds and a bit of fuss she was fed every 4 hours like a new baby day and night. The thread on livery yards also surprised me with the livery yards closing at 6 and not opening again until 9 in the morning so 15 hours without checks is ok 16-20 isnt
what a load of codswallop
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Two wrongs never make a right! I did try and point this out earlier on the thread, but was perhaps too opaque. 20 hours without checks, either in or out is too long IMO, but if it makes you feel ok about it because some horses are kept in worse situations than yours, then so be it.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
But if your horse did have an injury/come down with grass sickness/atypical myopathy an hour after you saw them- surely then seeing them 10 hours later is preferable to 23 hours later - when every hour both in terms of the horses suffering and it's prognosis is time dependant.? Of course anything can happen at any time but checking more than once a day can minimise the consequences of certain injuries and illnesses.
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I fully agree MOC. If I couldn't see my horses twice a day, I'd make a proper arrangement so that they were checked when I couldn't get there.
 
I only go up once a day, but she's on assisted so YO does her the other end of the day :)
They are checked early (6ish) then again around 7/8, then got in any time between 3-7 and there's usually someone on the yard for most of the day too.
We all check each others horses, bonus of being on a small yard is we all know what's normal for each others horses so i know the minute she's even acting slightly out of character :p
 
Ponycarrots said:
I don't think there's much excuse not to check the horse twice a day. I work 8 hours a day and I don't get home til after dark in winter and don't have lights where I keep my horses and it still go down twice a day; if I'm working. If I'm off work it's at usually more than 3 times. Why have horses if you can't be arsed to even check them or spend time with them? For one thing they need feeding don't they?!
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Grow up! Going once a day for a few hours means you are checking them and feeding them!
 
I don't see this thread from the same point of view as others seem to, ie the question of once a day versus twice a day checks. I see another question which is what's the alternative if once a day checks were theoretically banned? Most horses seem to me to have an ok-to-brilliant (depending on who their owner is) standard of care even if only checked once daily. If the attitude of 'if you can't manage to check twice daily either yourself or a designated person then you shouldn't have a horse' became law, that would be a lot of people giving up horses. Where would they all go? To slaughter or PTS I suspect, since the UK is already over run with horses nobody wants. I don't think the majority of these horses with their ok-to-brilliant lives and their once daily checks would prefer to be dead.

To answer the title question I'm currently a twice daily checker but have in the past been a once daily person and its likely I will be again at some point in the future.
 
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It's not relevant whether the horse is in or out once checked a day is not enough .
It's also got nothing to do with what's banned or not banned I have little interest in that sort of thing now it's do with me and what I think is acceptable and judgemental or not I don't find once a day acceptable .
But as I said before it does not need to be the owner .
 
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The twice-a-day-or-else-you-shouldn't-have-them mob don't seem to take into account several factors.

If I kept my horses in a private field without others owners and staff around, a couple of 5/10 minute daily checks would not be sufficient.

The owner who arrives once a day, spends several hours with her horses and keeps them on a well run yard with on site YO is more likely to be able to point out every bump on their horse than the twice a day owner who waves at her horses across the field.

This thread is so full of rubbish. Quality of total care, environment, hands on interaction and involvement is better than a couple of quick checks from the gate.

Perhaps some of the bullish twice a day people should change their livery yard and move to a yard with experienced staff and responsible fellow liveries, then they wouldn't be so quick to condemn other people's management.
 
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