do you check your horse twice a day

Ponycarrots said:
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.
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Depends on the size of the feed. for those receiving a token feed to carry a supplement or balancer, it is not necessary to spilt it, is it ?
Some horses may need feeding 3 -4 times a day, so there is no 'rule' as such. Follow the horse's individual dietry need.
 
Always twice a day hands on check without exception, anything can happen in a 24hr period from trees falling on fences to puncture wounds that aren't obvious without a proper close up check.

I know plenty that think it's ok to expect the other liveries to notice if there is an issue with their horse and even to notice that they've left a feed or haynet outside their door and expect others to feed & water too having left the horses stabled for 24hrs with just one visit.

My personal opinion is that if you can't be bothered then don't bother at all. I've read the above posts and they don't change my view on this one iota, twice a day minimum - I will always do it myself or arrange for a specific & named person to do it for me regardless of the size of yard.
 
Spring Feather said:
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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Yes, maybe so. I follow what the horse's need rather than a set routine. I've no problem with going once a day but generally there is a reason to be there more than once. Once a day checking is pretty usual on a lot of yards.
 
Blimey, bit of an epic read. Some of the replies reinforce my decision not to have liveries and why if I was in a position to have to go onto a livery yard I would sell up and quit.

My view is we all keep horses for pleasure and we all do our best to provide them with care and a safe environment. My horses survived most of last year with minimal supervision, not ideal but circumstances dictated.

Twice daily checks are the norm for most full time working owners, before and after work and I would think that is all the majority of owners can manage unless the horse is kept under the bedroom window. My advice is do your best, enjoy what you do and provide the animal with the safest environment you can. If you are unfortunate enough to be on a yard of experts make sure the advice is relevant.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Blimey, bit of an epic read. Some of the replies reinforce my decision not to have liveries and why if I was in a position to have to go onto a livery yard I would sell up and quit.

My view is we all keep horses for pleasure and we all do our best to provide them with care and a safe environment. My horses survived most of last year with minimal supervision, not ideal but circumstances dictated.

Twice daily checks are the norm for most full time working owners, before and after work and I would think that is all the majority of owners can manage unless the horse is kept under the bedroom window. My advice is do your best, enjoy what you do and provide the animal with the safest environment you can. If you are unfortunate enough to be on a yard of experts make sure the advice is relevant.
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Wise words
 
I thought about this thread today. Especially the fact that for some of those who only checked once a day argued that the field was a safer environment for their horse and less risk = less need for checking. Now Ben gets checked twice a day, once by yo in the morning and once in the evening by me, although there is nearly always someone around on the yard should something happen. Currently Ben is out at night and in at day, however, were he on 24/7 turnout, he would still be religiously checked twice a day. This morning, yo went to get him in and he had gashed his leg, the fields are as safe as can be, not death traps, simple little paddocks with the correct fencing, overnight (or should I say this morning as the blood was still fresh when she found him) Ben had cut himself up on an electric fence post trying to break through into his neighbors paddock despite having more grass in his own. He is ok, but sore and slightly lame, I would have been absolutely mortified if He were checked once a day and this happened, to think that if that were the case he could have gone all day without it being washed, tended to and treated, or god forbid if it had gone deeper and been more severe. As it is, because he is checked twice daily, it was spotted not long after it happened and was treated right away.

I don't particularly judge anyone for what they do with their own horses, but I know that I rest far easier knowing that he is checked twice a day, and I know that whilst Ben was lucky in the sense that he was checked just after the incident occurred and that just as easily he could have done it last night and gone all night with it, the fact is this did not happen. The bottom line is that a horse can go down at night with colic or a broken leg, and go all night without being spotted -and this is the case for those who check once a day and for those who check twice, but the bottom line in my mind is that two checks a day minimise the risk significantly in comparison to one check a day, and that can only ever be a good thing.
 
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I have thought about this a lot. I am a once a day person during the week because of my long commute mornings are very difficult and I doubt the YO would appreciate me being at the yard at 5.30am. The first person on the yard also has to feed all the horses that live in breakfast which adds another 30 minutes and I am not sure that the liveries would want their horses fed so early either.

It is not ideal that I cant check my pony twice a day and I accept that is a risk that I take to enable my pony to live out. When I bought my pony I had intended to have him on part livery but it turned out he did not like being stabled and there are no full livery grass livery options in my area where my pony would be caught and physically inspected twice a day. He would not be happy stuck in stable for 16 hours a day or in some cases longer if winter turnout is limited so part livery is not really suitable for him as he needs a full grid up to prevent him from jumping out of his stable. YO does a basic field check in the mornings but it is not the same as me checking my pony myself as is it a brief visual check not a full on inspection. None of the other liveries in the same field come twice a day so I am not taking advantage of anyone who is coming twice a day to help keep an eye on my pony. In fact I have often been the only livery that has come every day and I am the only person that comes in the evening as I am the only person that works full time. We have a community spirit amongst the other liveries and we look out for each other.

At the moment I cannot provide my pony with the perfect home which would enable him to live out and be inspected every few hours and I have to rely on YO noticing something is wrong when she does her basic field checks in the morning or one of the other who go up during the day whilst I am at work. In the evenings after work I can give my pony a good inspection and his dinner and as well as do a quick visual check on his field mates. However if everyone who cannot provide the perfect home for a horse {and that includes horses that get very little or no turnout in the winter or have to spend large amounts of time stabled or on individual turnout} did not have horses where would these horses go? I think there are a lot of competition stallions who do not have a great quality of life as they don't get group turnout or in some cases any turnout. This may be a very safe way of preventing injuries or illness but it does not mean that the horse is having a great quality of life.

Over the years I have meet lots of people with horses and only 2 of them have the perfect homes where the horses live out in company at home they have field shelters and the owners don't need to work so the horses are checked every few hours during the day and they can do a late night check at 11pm and change rugs according to the weather every few hours if need be.

I think we need to accept that the majority of horses are going to be kept in less than perfect conditions and that different people have different ideas of what is acceptable and what risks they are going to take.

My pony probably has a better quality of life than a lot of horses that have to spend lots of time stabled. Even though I cannot at the moment provide him with a perfect home I feel I can provide him with a good quality of life, even if I am having to take some risks to be able to provide him with the lifestyle he likes.
 
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Ponycarrots said:
Sorry but I like to feed twice a day; thought most people did. No disrespect or anything.
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My ponies certainly don't need feeding twice a day, one feed is ample thank you very much. I don't want to end up with two laminitic ponies, I think you will find most good doers living out 24/7 get one feed a day if that. You really come out with some rubbish!
 
julie111 said:
My ponies certainly don't need feeding twice a day, one feed is ample thank you very much. I don't want to end up with two laminitic ponies, I think you will find most good doers living out 24/7 get one feed a day if that. You really come out with some rubbish!
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Wind your neck in poppet, not everyone does the same, nor do they all have 'good doers'
Take a breath and save your aggression for something else eh :)
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
Wind your neck in poppet, not everyone does the same, nor do they all have 'good doers'
Take a breath and save your aggression for something else eh :)
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No not everyone does, I do what is best for my ponies. I'm not being aggressive but there are plenty of aggressive posts on here bashing people who see their horses once a day.
 
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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Generally, I don't rug in winter . They are hardy , have plenty of space and grazing, a big shelter and a concrete yard to stand on out of any mud. They get fed a balancer all year round and get a bit of hay each day if required (in winter).
I'll happily go up a hundred times a day if required ie snow/ exceptional weather / drought/ or whatever.
 
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MerrySherryRider said:
Depends on the size of the feed. for those receiving a token feed to carry a supplement or balancer, it is not necessary to spilt it, is it ?
Some horses may need feeding 3 -4 times a day, so there is no 'rule' as such. Follow the horse's individual dietry need.
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Well I've always heard that because the horses stomach is so small; if you feed more, smaller feeds, the stomach can handle it better and gets more out of them. So say, 2 feeds that weigh 1lb each are better than than 1 feed that weighs 2lb.
But I do own an ex racer who's a very poor doer so I try and do as much as possible to get weight on him lol. :P
 
Well actually because the horse's stomach can only hold a small amount, they do get more out of 2 or more smaller feeds as opposed to one large feed. Even if your ponies are good doers, it's better for them if you split your one a day feed into two, as they can use the nutrients they are eating more.
I own an ex racer who is a terrible doer so I do try to read up on feeding to find out what's best for him. But my previous horse was a good doing cob who I needed to keep weight off of as he had laminitis once. I still preferred to feed him twice daily for the same reason.
It may be rubbish to you (I have no idea what your reasoning is lol but whatever) but it's worked for me anyway. And everyone I know (no exaggeration here; I mean everyone; from poor doer owners to fat lami-prone pony owners) feed their horses twice a day. Besides I don't want my horse to get colic. :P
 
Not if they are feeding balancers Ponycarrots :smile3: Balancers are often only fed at rations of around 1lb to 2lbs per day depending on the horse. Any feed under 4lbs is perfectly fine to be fed in one sitting. It's when people feed a huge bucket of feed once a day that they are simply throwing money down the drain.

Thanks H_P, somehow I feel the once a dayers are doing themselves a bit of a disservice in that they don't rigidly stick to once a day, every day. They are flexible too when needs must.
 
Spring Feather said:
Not if they are feeding balancers Ponycarrots :smile3: Balancers are often only fed at rations of around 1lb to 2lbs per day depending on the horse. Any feed under 4lbs is perfectly fine to be fed in one sitting. It's when people feed a huge bucket of feed once a day that they are simply throwing money down the drain.

Thanks H_P, somehow I feel the once a dayers are doing themselves a bit of a disservice in that they don't rigidly stick to once a day, every day. They are flexible too when needs must.
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i know, I feed my horses balancers. Ok fair enough. It's upto the owner but I personally don't see the point in having a horse if you only go once daily. I love them and would miss them too much lol! Fair enough if some days you're busy and can't make twice daily visits so you get some one else to do it for you, but I would feel bad if I didn't. I'm just a softy I guess lol
 
Ponycarrots said:
Well actually because the horse's stomach can only hold a small amount, they do get more out of 2 or more smaller feeds as opposed to one large feed. Even if your ponies are good doers, it's better for them if you split your one a day feed into two, as they can use the nutrients they are eating more.
I own an ex racer who is a terrible doer so I do try to read up on feeding to find out what's best for him. But my previous horse was a good doing cob who I needed to keep weight off of as he had laminitis once. I still preferred to feed him twice daily for the same reason.
It may be rubbish to you (I have no idea what your reasoning is lol but whatever) but it's worked for me anyway. And everyone I know (no exaggeration here; I mean everyone; from poor doer owners to fat lami-prone pony owners) feed their horses twice a day. Besides I don't want my horse to get colic. :P
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In summer time, if the horse has decent grazing, it isn't always necessary to feed buckets of hard feed. There is a stud near me with TB brood mares with a value going into 6 figures, certainly not fed bucket feeds. They winter out, unrugged, fed only haylage and according to my vet, are amongst the healthiest horses in the county.

Its fine to feed twice a day if you wish to, but for me, splitting a mug of balancer into 2 feeds seems a bit pointless for my WB X TB and the cob.
 
MerrySherryRider said:
In summer time, if the horse has decent grazing, it isn't always necessary to feed buckets of hard feed. There is a stud near me with TB brood mares with a value going into 6 figures, certainly not fed bucket feeds. They winter out, unrugged, fed only haylage and according to my vet, are amongst the healthiest horses in the county.

Its fine to feed twice a day if you wish to, but for me, splitting a mug of balancer into 2 feeds seems a bit pointless for my WB X TB and the cob.
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fair enough. I do though. As do all the people I know. the grazing here isn't that great right now so I do need to feed him a fair bit. As well as hay.
Although, Even when my horse was on great grazing, he needed two feeds with topline cubes and balancer. However he was in work; hacked out or schooled most days so was probably using more calories than broodmares.
This is kind of besides the point; I don't get why you wouldn't want to check your horse(s) twice a day or more. They are kept for pleasure; it's not that you have to have them, so shouldn't you want to see them?!
 
Ponycarrots said:
They are kept for pleasure; it's not that you have to have them, so shouldn't you want to see them?!
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Yes ...I want to see them once a day:)

It's not a contest...' The more you see them the more you love them or the better you are' 😄
 
Ponycarrots said:
fair enough. I do though. As do all the people I know. the grazing here isn't that great right now so I do need to feed him a fair bit. As well as hay.
Although, Even when my horse was on great grazing, he needed two feeds with topline cubes and balancer. However he was in work; hacked out or schooled most days so was probably using more calories than broodmares.
This is kind of besides the point; I don't get why you wouldn't want to check your horse(s) twice a day or more. They are kept for pleasure; it's not that you have to have them, so shouldn't you want to see them?!
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There is a lot you don't get :) but please get this, I love my ponies very much and I enjoy spending time with them :)
 
Apologies, I've not read the whole thread (it's flipping EPIC), but here's my two pennyworth. My boy is stabled at night so I HAVE to go up to muck out/do at some point in the day (no assistance) . . . and I generally go up twice a day. However, on some afternoons, a fellow livery brings him in for me - checks him over, rugs him, gives him his tea . . . and some mornings I don't go up at all and Z rides him, rugs him up and turns him out (this is extremely rare). If he lived out 24/7 on current yard there are soooooo many people about that if he were hopping lame or gushing blood it would be noticed . . . however I don't happen to think it's their job to keep an eye on my horse - plus, I genuinely enjoy his company.

I like to be able to see the little things . . . is he leaving all his hay or is his net empty? How much is he drinking - more than usual or less? What does his stable/bed look like - and what sort of night did he have? Are there any new nicks/cuts/rubs/lumps or bumps? I like to have a good look at him . . . is he unusually grumpy or cuddly or tired or sharp? Are there more skid marks than usual in the field? Did he and Rog eat up their field hay? Are they drinking more or less water than usual?

Of course I am not the only person capable of noticing these things . . . but I don't why I would ask someone else to be so vigilant - he is mine after all, and I know him better than anyone else.

P
 
Ponycarrots said:
fair enough. I do though. As do all the people I know. the grazing here isn't that great right now so I do need to feed him a fair bit. As well as hay.
Although, Even when my horse was on great grazing, he needed two feeds with topline cubes and balancer. However he was in work; hacked out or schooled most days so was probably using more calories than broodmares.
This is kind of besides the point; I don't get why you wouldn't want to check your horse(s) twice a day or more. They are kept for pleasure; it's not that you have to have them, so shouldn't you want to see them?!
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I must be very lucky to have had a lifetime of keeping horses of all types in work on minimal hard feed. Of course they aren't in hard work, but they are worked daily.

How much time do you spend with yours ? Whether my visits are singular or multiple, the length of time is much the same. I'm working directly with them for between 4-5 hours most days. Sunday, was 8.30 am to 1pm and then again at 5-7pm. Another day, it might be one visit from 1pm to 6pm. It depends on what we have planned and what their needs are on a particular day.
 
PolarSkye said:
I like to be able to see the little things . . . is he leaving all his hay or is his net empty? How much is he drinking - more than usual or less? What does his stable/bed look like - and what sort of night did he have? Are there any new nicks/cuts/rubs/lumps or bumps? I like to have a good look at him . . . is he unusually grumpy or cuddly or tired or sharp? Are there more skid marks than usual in the field? Did he and Rog eat up their field hay? Are they drinking more or less water than usual?
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I think this is a very important point. Yes, if you are on a busy yard you would hope someone would notice if there was something very obviously wrong, like horse colicking badly or non weightbearing on one leg, but it is the more subtle signs that things are wrong that can be easily be missed by someone just passing through to catch their horse. If I couldn't check twice a day I would want to know that someone (whether yard staff or fellow livery owner) had specifically agreed to do an individual check on my horse, rather than assuming that someone might notice all was not well.
 
Have read through most of the thread an here is my opinion.

I am completely by myself on my own yard, i have 3 horses i work full time and have a disabled partner whom i care for.

Personally im a twice a day girl if my horses are out 24/7 my horses are checked in a morning, if im at work im usually there for 7am and leave at 7.50am ish they are moved around, hayed, fed, rugged etc according to each horse. If im not at work i am there for 8.30 to do the same.

Then i return after work at 5pm to ride, groom, feed etc and im usually there 2-3 hours. Same if im off work.

I am lucky that there is a yard next door where people visit during the day and it is agreed they will keep an eye out over my yard and horses whilst there and i do same for them when im at my yard.

There is also a lady on the next yard up who walks her dog at night around 11pm so she glances over everyones horses. If she is away then i make a visit before bed around ten to check mine for a third time.

personally i dont think once a day is enough and even with my busy schedule i will always make time to fit in 2-3 visits to my horses, if i am sick i still go unless im rendered unmovable in which case either my sister will do them or i pay someone responsible to do as i do for them, same if i go on hols, but that is my opinion and what others do is up to them.

Fyi: my horses are not at home. x
 
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