do you check your horse twice a day

YorksG said:
Can I just also point out that the suggestion that owners who check twice or more each day are likely to neglect other aspects of their care, is as ridiculous as the assertion the all lighter riders put more pressure on their horses backs, another assertion we see on here regularly!
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I think the point is, that checking a horse twice a day means different things to different people, as does those who go once a day but are quite confident that there horses are well cared for in their absence.

If you go twice, but don't take rugs off or turnout/over reach boots off or pick feet out, is that better care than one visit where the visit is more through, and the owner is confident that when they aren't there, in case of an emergency, someone will notice and take action ?

I do think that accusing people who have a very good system of monitoring in place of being unfit owners, is unreasonable.
But then, I've only had horses for more than 40 years. What do I know ?
 
dogatemysalad said:
... the owner is confident that when they aren't there, in case of an emergency, someone will notice and take action...
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But this is taking advantage of others' good natures. It isn't their responsibility and they shouldn't be made to feel like it is...

I've been in the situation on a livery yard where someone only bothered visiting once a day and the horse was rugged up to the eyeballs on a blisteringly hot spring day, as when the owner went at 8am it was 'cold'. I resent having to deal with things like this where the owners don't care enough about their horse to make another trip. For one it eats into my time with my own horses... I wouldn't ever leave a horse in distress but why should I deal with it just because the poor horse doesn't fit into their owner's busy schedule.

Again - why should i use my precious time to look after someone else's horse just so they don't have to bother visiting?

Perhaps it's a good thing I have my own place as I would be seen as one of those with no 'community' spirit...

And out of interest - those who only visit once a day, how do you repay the kindness of these other liveries who you expect to check on your horses for you? There's certainly no chance of like-for-like, only visiting once a day. Can you not see that quite likely the other liveries consider you to be one of those taking advantage?
 
Fides said:
And out of interest - those who only visit once a day, how do you repay the kindness of these other liveries who you expect to check on your horses for you? There's certainly no chance of like-for-like, only visiting once a day. Can you not see that quite likely the other liveries consider you to be one of those taking advantage?
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People in my field often did their once a day check in the morning, where they would check my two, and then I would go up in the afternoon/evening and check their horses to repay the favor, so no one ended up taking advantage of anyone else. Everyone was happy to sort out rugs/fly masks if they had slipped etc., and as everyone did it for other people, it wasn't just one person doing it all so no one was taking advantage. So yes, it is perfectly possible to have a like-for-like arrangement when only visiting once a day.
 
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dogatemysalad said:
I think the point is, that checking a horse twice a day means different things to different people, as does those who go once a day but are quite confident that there horses are well cared for in their absence.

If you go twice, but don't take rugs off or turnout/over reach boots off or pick feet out, is that better care than one visit where the visit is more through, and the owner is confident that when they aren't there, in case of an emergency, someone will notice and take action ?

I do think that accusing people who have a very good system of monitoring in place of being unfit owners, is unreasonable.
But then, I've only had horses for more than 40 years. What do I know ?
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I too have had horses for more than 40 years and have no concerns if the horse is checked by a competentt person, by arrangement, more than once every 24 hours. The ones that worry me are those who are left for 20 or more hours without checks. That along with the presumption that those of us who do check more often will only do a perfunctuary check, is what is annoying me on this thread
 
I go twice - force of habit, I'm quite hands on as well, they get moved around in the morning, so the welsh will come out of his diet pen and have run of the back paddock - not much grass but enough to keep him interested, rugs may be changed depending on season, they all have a carrot and fly spray if needed, then evening time I move the welsh back, feed, hay those that have hay, and poo pick......I am very lucky as I have teamed up with 2 friends and between us we have 5 horses and ponies, we have a bit of a system going so that everyone gets a couple of mornings off and evenings if wanted....although we love going to the yard in thye evening for a social!!

Horses thrive on routine so we wouldn't have it any other way, the couple of horses at the yard that can cause trouble are the ones who have no routine and sometimes are just "checked" from over the fence.....I can't see the point in owning a horse if you can't be bothered to even check on it's welfare...
 
YorksG said:
I too have had horses for more than 40 years and have no concerns if the horse is checked by a competentt person, by arrangement, more than once every 24 hours. The ones that worry me are those who are left for 20 or more hours without checks. That along with the presumption that those of us who do check more often will only do a perfunctuary check, is what is annoying me on this thread
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I think we're all getting a bit annoyed on this thread.

Fides. How it works is this. - I check my horses, I check the others in the field while I'm there. I know them well. I notice one is not quite right. I look more closely. If not happy, I look again, bring it in or call some one else over for a second opinion.

I do not resent this. I love horses. It is not a nuisance.

I know, the other owners and staff will do the same for mine. It's a nice and supportive atmosphere. The horses are very settled because they know when they need help, there's always a human nearby. No long waiting for the owners next visit.
This means that my horses are observed continually through the waking hours.

Who looks after yours when you leave the field ?
 
Fides said:
I actually think it is a perfectly reasonable comment to make.
I didn't own horses until I knew I could give them the appropriate level of care.
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Appropriate according to who? You or me? Lol :D

I am still finding it difficult to understand why anyone would think one check a day would be acceptable :(
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Once a day is acceptable to me...I really don't care whether it is acceptable to you or anyone else.
 
What an epic this thread is turning out to be!

As I see it there are two issues being raised, a) the quantity of checks and b) the quality of those checks.

Taking all the rights and wrongs out of it and looking at it objectively it is patently obvious that the more decent quality checks a horse receives during the day the less the chances are of it suffering for any length of time if anything does occur. If owners are happy checking once daily then that is up to them, but I wouldn't be happy personally, even automatic waterers can break or fencing become damaged.

Poor quality checks by a fellow livery glancing at a horse in a field can often miss serious problems as shown by several posts on here, whether that is once daily or five times daily.

My dad is in his seventies now, but his horses are checked religiously at 5am, he spends most of the day with them and they are checked just before he goes to bed, just as he always has done. I check mine twice daily as a minimum.

I do keep mine beside a footpath, and have a neighbour with horses so things have been brought to my attention by neighbour/passers by on occasion, which I look on as an additional bonus, but I wouldn't rely on that. If I could only check once daily I'd be sure to find someone to do an additional check for me being left for 12 hours with something wrong is bad enough, but 24 hours is unacceptable.
 
_HP_ said:
Once a day is acceptable to me...I really don't care whether it is acceptable to you or anyone else.
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And that is the route of the problem - not caring... You think once a day is OK and don't care what anyone else thinks. I actually see that as you not caring that you don't give a level of care to your horses as what is considered minimum to others... I care too much about my horses to only check them once a day.
 
Fides said:
And out of interest - those who only visit once a day, how do you repay the kindness of these other liveries who you expect to check on your horses for you? There's certainly no chance of like-for-like, only visiting once a day. Can you not see that quite likely the other liveries consider you to be one of those taking advantage?
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I would never expect anyone to check on my horses for me...if they offered or It was arranged specifically then I would be extremely grateful of course.
I pass several fields of horses on my way to mine. I ALWAYS look out for all of them ...albeit a fairly quick glance as I drive past...and will report anything unusual to either the owner or the farmer to pass on. I have caught loose horses, freed horse trapped in their rugs or fences etc....I don't expect them to do the same for me even if it were likely (they don't pass mine except for when they ride past occasionally) and certainly am not doing it for any, likefor like.
 
Fides said:
And that is the route of the problem - not caring... You think once a day is OK and don't care what anyone else thinks. I actually see that as you not caring that you don't give a level of care to your horses as what is considered minimum to others... I care too much about my horses to only check them once a day.
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Lol...I don't think me not caring what you and others think, in anyway relates to how I look after my horses :)
If I cared about things like that my horses could end up stuck in stables and paddocks, rugged up to the eyeballs, fed allsorts of garbage and having shoes nailed onto their hooves, being worked hard with all kinds of gadgets on etc, etc. These are all things I've been frowned upon about in the past.
Don't mistake my not caring What you think with not caring about my much loved horses
 
I must be the BEST! ;) I check mine about 30 ( or more!) times a day. I look out the window and there they are! I also go out among them numerous times to give hay and poo pick etc. but at night I go to sleep and hope for the best! :D
 
amandap said:
I must be the BEST! ;) I check mine about 30 ( or more!) times a day. I look out the window and there they are! I also go out among them numerous times to give hay and poo pick etc. but at night I go to sleep and hope for the best! :D
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You go to bed at night that's terrible .
 
amandap said:
I must be the BEST! ;) I check mine about 30 ( or more!) times a day. I look out the window and there they are! I also go out among them numerous times to give hay and poo pick etc. but at night I go to sleep and hope for the best! :D
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Wot, you sleep and leave them unchecked all night ?

I've just nicked my elderly mother's emergency alarm pendants for the horses. Now the mare can alert me if my gelding is annoying her, and he can buzz me to let me know it's not his fault.

Twice daily checks ? Nah, pendants are the way to go.
 
amandap said:
I must be the BEST! ;) I check mine about 30 ( or more!) times a day. I look out the window and there they are! I also go out among them numerous times to give hay and poo pick etc. but at night I go to sleep and hope for the best! :D
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But if you only checkedonce per day, you would do a quality check :p :p :D
 
I have to say that those that reckon they check their horse a minimum of twice a day (so suggesting several visits) get the time?

Twice is plenty especially when you work or have other commitments which means you have other things to do other than horse watch. They can hurt themselves at any time and sometimes no you wont be there you just do what you can. I can't say iv ever felt the need to check my horse 3,4,5 times a day unless on box rest or something had happened that needed monitoring.

When out though just twice for me.
 
Today
Saw them at six in my pj's
Around eight thirty groom checks all of them in the stable indentifes cut on H's leg washes trims back hair .
Nineish I turn up dressed this time look at cut sprays then I check them .
I ride one then
Groom checks trough give it a quick clean .
Three get turned out .
Ride another
I turn him out having a quick look at the others .
Groom leaves just after two and checks before she goes .
I am going across there now so will have a quick look.
Between six and six thirty I will do a proper check headcollar hoof pick and spray for H's cut.
I will see them over the evening but will walk across and look at them just before dark.
Thats pretty standard day for us in summer .
 
i check mine twice a day - morning to muck out/chuck out and ride

night to either bring in or someone else does that for me...

during the day any problems im sure i will get called



when im really busy in work i only go down once a day but then get someone else to check/feed/bring in - whatevers going on

i have no issue with people going down once a day/doign jobs and going - as long as they have food and water :)
 
Checking Fly 5-6 times a day now. She has other horses in the same field that she can scratch over the fence, but between Molly going yesterday and me being all caught up with a vile woman that I am trying to have her horses removed from, I am being extra vigilant!

Fly isn't minding it, lots more cuddles and treats :)
 
My horse is checked at least twice a day, but not necessarily by me. I keep her with my sister's horse so we share duties. Today I went up to turn them out and she will go up later to bring them in. My YO keeps a good eye on them through the day (lives on site) and also checks them early morning (when they are fed) and last thing (when they get more hay). They can't live out in the spring as they are both lami risks, but when they are out 24/7 later in the summer and part of winter as well we only go up once a day but the YO checks them several times during the day (she checks her lot and they are all turned out in adjoining fields, so no trouble to look at our two as well).
 
Personally, at least twice a day. Although I also share my yard with two others who will also cast a quick eye over my two and give me a call if they saw anything of concern, as I would for them.

I have however worked at several places where a group of horses, turned out in a decent sized field were only checked once a day. Time constraints on a competition yard meant there wasn't enough hours in the day to check the youngsters/broodmares/off with injury horses fully over twice a day, although everything within reason was done to ensure the chance of injuries occurring was as low as possible such as proper fencing, adequate food and water placed in several places, hind shoes off those who had shoes and horses grouped accordingly.

I personally prefer to check horses in my care at least twice a day, but I know many people who only check theirs once and in the case of an old client who keeps forest run ponies they only get checked if she happens upon them out riding.
 
What do once a day owners do with regards to rugs in the early spring and late autumn where the day time temperatures are far removed from the night time temperatures? What about when there is snow on the ground and the horses need haying; how does that work? I also thought most people fed hardfeed twice a day during winter. As I say, it doesn't bother me what anyone does with their horses, I'm just curious is all.
 
Spring Feather said:
What do once a day owners do with regards to rugs in the early spring and late autumn where the day time temperatures are far removed from the night time temperatures? What about when there is snow on the ground and the horses need haying; how does that work? I also thought most people fed hardfeed twice a day during winter. As I say, it doesn't bother me what anyone does with their horses, I'm just curious is all.
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My number of checks depends on their needs, not mine.

Summer time, if rugs need changing, I go to do that twice a day. If a horse needs time of the grass, I do an extra visit.
If the farrier is coming at midday, I might come 3 times that day. If one is one box rest, I bring a book and stay there.

If its a nice day, not excessively hot or wet, I may only need to come once.

When mine were on winter grass livery, they were fed once a day because they were getting fat. The snow was too deep for riding and they stood round the hay bales all day, not moving.

Some of us really do stable on yards which cooperate as a community. Not as people just looking out for their own.
 
MerrySherryRider said:
Depends on the quality of grazing, type of horse and level of work. Equine obesity is endemic, so probably a lot of people ease up on bucket feeds during the grazing season.
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But if you half the feed and feed twice daily it suits the horse's digestive system more considering they're a grazing animal. That's what I've always been told anyway.
 
MerrySherryRider said:
My number of checks depends on their needs, not mine.

Summer time, if rugs need changing, I go to do that twice a day. If a horse needs time of the grass, I do an extra visit.
If the farrier is coming at midday, I might come 3 times that day. If one is one box rest, I bring a book and stay there.

If its a nice day, not excessively hot or wet, I may only need to come once.

When mine were on winter grass livery, they were fed once a day because they were getting fat. The snow was too deep for riding and they stood round the hay bales all day, not moving.

Some of us really do stable on yards which cooperate as a community. Not as people just looking out for their own.
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See, I don't really view you as a once a day owner tbh. You've clearly got people around you who can, and will, genuinely help out when needed, and you're no sloth in getting down to sorting out your horses yourself if more visits per day are necessary :smile3:
 
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