does anybody own have ocd (obsessive compulsive disorder) and have horses /animals?

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tuppence's fortune

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sat here with my pot on not being able to do much but surf the web and watch repeats of corra and eastenders im just wondering how many people like myself have ocd with animals?

i have had it for as long as i can remember and was diagnosed officially abot 9 years ago. i have a "habit" of checking that windows and doors 4 times before i leave the house. i have to turn the gas on then off 7 times before i cook. the kettle has to be boiled 3 times before i can make a cup of tea. the tea bag has to go in the left side of cup and sugar in right side and 5 tea spoons of milk! my food is mapped out like im going into battle and dont even get me started on the cleaning! :rolleyes:

down at the field.... my buckets for feed are washed out before and after they have been fed, but not just rinsed out, they are actually WASHED. and placed in colour order into the stall ready for next time. the hay has to be evenly distributed each hay net in field is 10 strides from the other. the trough is filled to a certain level. the horses rugs are washed and re-proofed every few weeks (unless muddy then it is taken there and then and they are rugged back up with a fresh clean one.) i poo pick every day and if i can twice a day (sometimes 3 times if i have a day off) my tack is spotless every single bit of it. and after a cuddle with each horse i wash my hands. i must wash my hands about 30-40 times a day. there is alot more but if i wrote it all down i would be going on for pages! i think my horses give me that little touch of reality that not everything can be clean all the time on of my geldings in particular adores rolling in mud :eek: i feel i handle it pretty well most of the time, but sometimes i just cant get things looking clean and tidy enough and at points have been in tears as i get that frustrated lol

so i am just wondering if anyone has a form of OCD? or is as bad as me or worse? and you can share how you cope with having horses and or other animals. just wondering as i have not met anyone that has it like i do. and i have all day for the next few weeks to sit infront of pc asking questions that have just popped into my head.

thanks for reading xxx
 
Hi there....OCD is an awful and debillitating illness and I really feel for you. My brother has suffered for years but fortunately has it down to very minimal now.

I think, if most of us are honest, we all have 'little' rituals...but obviously when these become pivotal to our daily life, then obviously then its a whole, different, ball park.

I hope that you, in the future are able to be free of these issues, I really do. It makes everyday tasks a mountain to climb.
 
Iam sure I have it without knowing it, Iam obsessive about cleaning up, ironing and hoovering, when I have been away for weeks on end house sitting and come home to a dirty house (my Mum died in the summer and my Father does NOTHING) I HAVE to start cleaning before I can settle no matter what time of day on night it is.
Cant help it, its like when I start a house sitting job I hoover up and clean the house before I start, dont know why because all the houses I go in are clean anyway.
 
I can attest to SteeleyDan's, she is super-tidy, she irons EVERY SINGLE DAY to keep on top of it, it is amazing how methodical and disciplined she is!
I'm fussy about certain things with the horses but not at all about others, so I don't think I've got OCD. I do the colour-coded feed buckets thing, but only because it's the only way to make sure the right horse gets the right feed if I'm not here.
Of course, if you've really got it, you'd call it CDO, in alphabetical order as it should be...! ;) ;)
 
Hubby has a 'touch' of OCD as part of his HFA/AS. Its probably far more to do with the autism and anxiety than anything that could actually be diagnosed as OCD, but its.... a challenge. Here are his 'rules' that must not be broken on pain of having to sit in the car while he re-does everything including feeding :O

1) We have to park at a right degree angle to the stone wall. If this isn't possible upon first approach, we will re-park as many times as necessary.

2) We must water first, feed second, check blankets third, then feet (both front before hinds)

3) Each horse must have the feed bucket which is color co-ordinated to that horse's halter and lead

4) The hose, after watering/mixing sugarbeet, must be coiled 8 times exactly and hung on the spigot in the stable, NOT the one by the field or the one by the barn.

5) When tied for grooming the horses must be lined up smallest to tallest

There are loads of other little things, scoops have to be level and each scoop used only for that bucket of feed, then washed, he won't touch anything yellow, including the yellow hosepipe or the yellow lunge line (God knows what we'd do about hi viz if he actually rode)...

I do feel for him but it would be easier if it didn't take so much time to keep him happy. He's definitely high maintainance.
 
kerilli said:
I can attest to SteeleyDan's, she is super-tidy, she irons EVERY SINGLE DAY to keep on top of it, it is amazing how methodical and disciplined she is!
I'm fussy about certain things with the horses but not at all about others, so I don't think I've got OCD. I do the colour-coded feed buckets thing, but only because it's the only way to make sure the right horse gets the right feed if I'm not here.
Of course, if you've really got it, you'd call it CDO, in alphabetical order as it should be...! ;) ;)
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i like that! lol so now i have OCD and CDO :D i feel so much better thanks x:D;)
 
I have dreadful OCD, especially when it comes to the yard.

I can't leave a job unfinished - and have been known to be out on the yard cleaning hunting tack at half eleven at night after a 22 hour day!

Headcollars must be hung up with ropes wound up, and bridles must must must be put up properly (throatlash crossed over etc.) and cleaned every time they're used...

My boxes are all exactly the same, with straight banks and straight fronts...

No horse ever walks into a dirty box, even if they just come out for 5 mins hand grazing when on box rest, their box is skipped out, swept, and hay and water topped up before they go back in...

The yard is swept all the bloody time...

My muck trailer could be measured with a spirit level...

Manes and tails are all kept pulled and trimmed, as are whiskers and ears! Tails are also washed once a week (especially the bloody greys!)

Everything is labelled...

Everything has a place...

I could go on for hours...

I know my OCD irritates some people, but I've actually found it really useful! My liveries often comment on how tidy the yard always is, and how they never come up to find dirty boxes or mess anywhere...I think that as OCD is normal for me, it doesn't make me any slower than anyone else - in fact I'm a very speedy mucker outer! - it actually stands me in good stead. I find people aprecciate the way I work!
 
hiya,

i don't have ocd any other place but the yard. OMG its all got to be colour coordinated, including my riding kit when I am riding...how ridiculous. Even going for a hack we have to be matching. Feedbuckets have to be washed completely. Haynets have to match the colour of the feedbuckets....tack gets cleaned religiously and has to be hung and stored in the same way every day... I mean everythign matches to saddle racks, bridle bags...its getting beyond a joke really

....I mean what is that about......
 
Starzaan said:
I have dreadful OCD, especially when it comes to the yard.

"I can't leave a job unfinished - and have been known to be out on the yard cleaning hunting tack at half eleven at night after a 22 hour day!

Headcollars must be hung up with ropes wound up, and bridles must must must be put up properly (throatlash crossed over etc.) and cleaned every time they're used...

My boxes are all exactly the same, with straight banks and straight fronts...

No horse ever walks into a dirty box, even if they just come out for 5 mins hand grazing when on box rest, their box is skipped out, swept, and hay and water topped up before they go back in..."



I'd love to be on your yard Starzaan. Girl after my own heart and all that!

I especially like rugs hanging over rug rails with front on show and the rug must be level. My tack room must be swept out and tidy. Supplements on shelf. Empty haynets hanging up.

Stable must be mucked out in the morning and rested while I do other chores. Then bed down. Bed must look neat, tidy but fluffy and all feed and hay in stable ready for evening. Stable door must be left open until Jamin is back in there too!

All buckets clean....oh I could go on forever.

May I also point out, none of this is for show or for any example but simply because I love to do it and take pride in it! As anal as it all may be!

not sure whats happened to my post. Hope everyone understands it :(
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i think everyone has a touch of OCD otherwise the world would be a complete poo hole. i dont see it as i have OCD as i have had it as long as i can remember and it is just part of my daily life. sometimes i like having it as i know whoever comes to see me at my home or down to the field, i know it will always be clean and tidy and in no way messy. :)

it makes a change to hear about a tidy well kept yard some of the yards i have visited are in my opinion shocking days worth of poo in stables getting wadded out onto the yard people chucking rappers on the floor rather than asking where the bin is, dumping tack here there and every where, and the tack looking like it hasnt had a clean since it was bought in the first place. and dont even get me started on the saddlecloths and girths! lol

totally agree, haynets and feed buckets same colour and match rug colour and headcollar to! rugs folded with one corner folded over 1 third of the way feed in tubs going from youngstock to old faithful then straw, hay , haylage.
and if it gets messed up there is mayhem, god help anyone who spills the feed! lol
 
santaboooogypie said:
i think everyone has a touch of OCD otherwise the world would be a complete poo hole.
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I disagree, I'm not sure everyone has a touch of Obsessive Compulsive DISORDER, as otherwise it would be Obsessive Compulsive Order? ;):D Added to which, OCD is not necessarily related to cleaning/tidying/coordinating so the world could still be a poo hole, lol.

I've realised that I could probably never have any animals if I lived alone, I become such a paranoid wreck and it sends me crazy with worry about such stupid little stuff and my stupid rituals go up the wall... I need someone normal to reassure me that the animals are just fine :o
 
I dont but I do have everything colour co-ordinated but only for fun!
I have thought about OCD and keeping animals, I used to wonder whether they could actually keep them without getting frustrated, and how well trained the animal must be etc.
It was just one of many thoughts running through my head!
 
OCD is a horrible thing, i have an aunt with it on quite a major scale and it has made her life a misery.

I get teased that I have it by the other liveries. I don't think I have, i'm just particular. My horse has to be spotless, everything has to be clean and in the correct place, my part of the barn has to be immaculate without even a tiny bit of hay on the floor. My stables bankings have to be level and the front has to be rolled and not 1 piece of straw sticking out. It looks beautiful, yo says it is like a show home lol. Even my wheelbarrow gets cleaned. At home I am manic about any electrical appliances being left on and will check the straighteners are off about 3 times before i go out. I am only this bad if the dog is being left in. The house can burn if it's empty, but not with my little angel in it lol.
 
Part of the definintion of OCD is that it negatively affects your daily life, by preforming unnessesary and illogical actions.

Lots of people are super neat and tidy and take pleasure from seeing things being in order/co-ordinated etc but that's normal. But if untidiness (or being unable to preforms a certain action) stresses, upsets and makes you anxious then it's starts to be OCD. And when the actions you preform are unreasonable and often illogical - spacing out haynets so they don't fight is common sense: having to have them at exact 10ft intervals is not 'normal'.

I like to keep things in order and things to match (colour co-ordinated horses ;)) but it doesn't negatively affect my daily life and, having known someone with just mild OCD, really feel sorry for sufferers as it can be such a disability :(
 
festnuttyfairy said:
I get teased that I have it by the other liveries. I don't think I have, i'm just particular. My horse has to be spotless, everything has to be clean and in the correct place, my part of the barn has to be immaculate without even a tiny bit of hay on the floor. My stables bankings have to be level and the front has to be rolled and not 1 piece of straw sticking out. It looks beautiful, yo says it is like a show home lol. Even my wheelbarrow gets cleaned. At home I am manic about any electrical appliances being left on and will check the straighteners are off about 3 times before i go out. I am only this bad if the dog is being left in. The house can burn if it's empty, but not with my little angel in it lol.
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If it's affecting your daily life negatively (eg being unable to leave the yard until everything perfect) and upsets and stresses you if things aren't 'perfect' then yes, it's OCD.
 
I have had proper OCD, it used to be debilitating in that it took me hours to get out the front door between rituals and checking things.
I still do have touches in that I have jumped out of bed at 3am and gone to check I have put the dogs away properly etc.
My father has it too, I have known him spend 45 minutes 'fixing' the mats in the car, but that means, if he doesn't do it the 'right' way, IE perform the correct ritual, in his head, there is a negative connotation.

Colour co-ordination and having things neat is not OCD.

ETA - mine started with hand washing, OP!
 
CaveCanem said:
Colour co-ordination and having things neat is not OCD.
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I think this is an important point.
So many people say "I'm a bit OCD" just because they are neat and tidy :confused: It's like someone saying "I have a bit of depression" because they get sad at times.
OCD is a disorder.
 
OCD now a thing of the past for me thank goodness. Though compared with some mine was minor.

Everything cleaned whenever used, sweep yard AFTER others have swept it because they left a few pieces of straw behind, it would drive fellow workers insane and got me into trouble at work more than once. Everthing colour coded, ropes wound up, grooming kit had to go in it's holder in a particular order, nearly crying with frustration when working on a big stud where mucking out meant putting as much of the muck on the barn floor on the way to the muck heap as you could - you could always tell which ones I'd done by the fact there was no mess outside the door.
I'm a lucky one though as one Prozac a day banishes most of my problems and I can now leave the odd piece of straw on the yard, walk away and tell myself convincingly that I can sweep it up later.
 
I wonder if it is one of those things that it is relativley easy to slip in to without realizing it.

I go through stage where I start to get very wound up if things aren't done properly and look right, and if I do something to one side I have to do the same to other side. As I have an obsessive nature I have had to learn to recognize the signs and make myself relax. I work away from home a lot, so cannot have control over our home (or the state it is in!) or the yard; the learning to relax out of that anxious stage has been my life saver.
 
CaveCanem said:
I have had proper OCD, it used to be debilitating in that it took me hours to get out the front door between rituals and checking things.
I still do have touches in that I have jumped out of bed at 3am and gone to check I have put the dogs away properly etc.
My father has it too, I have known him spend 45 minutes 'fixing' the mats in the car, but that means, if he doesn't do it the 'right' way, IE perform the correct ritual, in his head, there is a negative connotation.

Colour co-ordination and having things neat is not OCD.

ETA - mine started with hand washing, OP!
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yes i take exactly 20 mins from when i want to leave to when i actually do lol. i have to make sure the bed is made PROPERLY and all the taps are off. windows are closed and all doors are closed apart from one at the top of the stair, that has to be just wide enough to put your hand through. i have to walk up and down the stairs 6 times and lock then unlock then lock the door 9 times before i actually get in the car lol.

sometimes it really affects me and does make me frustrated and very emotional. it is also very annoying if you have to go somewhere fast like the hospital for example...i still have to do all my routine lol.

i think everyone with horses have there on little routine, doesnt mean it is OCD it just means you like the place to look tidy.
i think if you think you have got it you should go to your gp, he will be able to help you with it and determine if it is OCD xxx
 
While I was in my undergrad, I had a pretty full-blown problem with this. I was not officially diagnosed, but some years later when being investigated for panic attacks, I described what I had gone through to my doctor, and he confirmed it, insofar as possible that much time later. Interestingly, some studies have linked some incidents of obsessive behaviour, panic attacks, depression, and migraines to a deficiency of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is presumably why SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) can sometimes be used in the treatment of all of these conditions. I have had (small) brushes with all of these, and it was a big step for me to stop blaming myself for what I knew at the time were irrational thoughts. In the odd way that brains work, simply recogising that these problems might be linked, and probably had a physical cause, went a long way towards mitigating them. Now, I'm medication-free, and so long as I get enough exercise (and chocolate), feel pretty good!

About the OCD symptoms: mine weren't related to cleaning and the like at all. Instead, there were extensive, completely silly rituals that I knew at the time were completely irrational, and behaviour like checking locked doors, etc. I got past it by simply stopping cold turkey, and making very strict rules for myself re. the doors: I got to rattle the door handle 3 times exactly, and then I had to walk away. The doctor later told me that I was extremely lucky to be able to do that, and that most cases, medical treatment would be required.

I was of two minds about posting this, as it's rather personal for a public forum. But it may help someone else recover!
 
Steeleydan said:
Iam sure I have it without knowing it, Iam obsessive about cleaning up, ironing and hoovering, when I have been away for weeks on end house sitting and come home to a dirty house (my Mum died in the summer and my Father does NOTHING) I HAVE to start cleaning before I can settle no matter what time of day on night it is.
Cant help it, its like when I start a house sitting job I hoover up and clean the house before I start, dont know why because all the houses I go in are clean anyway.
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I'm already feeling your pain ;) Shall I leave the ironing mountain then? Actually, it's not a mountain, it's a whole range of mountains!!
 
OMG I am not the only one...horah!

I have to triple check the plug switch's are all off, cooker is off door's locked, nothing left on...
and stables....well I have to literally check stable door about 4 times to reassure me that it's closed the way it's meant to be, and horse has haynet and water and been fed....i say it out loud so I know it's been checked that things are put away, although this really isn't that much of an OCD but checking that stable doors are shut and lights are all off....yard gates are secure etc...then I can settle.
 
Not sure if it is OCD but I have a thing about checking things.
Before I go to bed I have to check the back door is locked (a few times) then check the oven is off count all seven knobs are off three times, if the fire has been lit I have to put the both guards round and check there are no gaps 3 times, then go to door count both guards are round fire, turn light off and check front door is locked, turn light on again to check fire guards again then light off and check door again and off up to bed. Also check all corners of my room three times for spiders before I get in bed.
At the yard stables have to be swept and lines of bed straight, haynets up a certain way, I check rugs are done up correctly a number of times, then do Mystics door up, go and do Montys door up (he isn't rugged), then go back to Mystic look at the front of his rug over the door to check it, then turn his light off and check door again, then back to Monty to check his door again before I go home. As mum is waiting for me to do all this On the second times of checking doors I always ask her 'They are shut up aren't they' even though i'm stood there looking at it.

Sounds worse now its written down :o
 
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I have various mental health problems and I have an occupational therapist that helps me. She pointed out recently that i have OCD tendancy's particualrly when it comes to horses. Feed had to be made up the exact right way in the right order or else quite clearly my horse will die. I have to muck out, hay and water in the right order, or else again he will quite clearly die. My lastest thing recently is hands have to be washed 4 times, shaken off 4 times, I need to rinse mouth out while cleaning teeth 4 times. My meds have to be lain out in the right order and the leds MUST he standing up on their edges (which takes for ever when they are all round) and can only be taken in a certain order. however I am pretty sure that most people who have horses have these tendancy's and so it is normal! She just laughed
 
Yeah Dooble leave me your ironing to do, glass of wine ironing watching tv i'll do it.
I once house sat for a lady and have done several more times. I arrived at her house they went, I checked horses were ok, and saw a HUGE pile of ironing, my hands were itching to do it, I thought no Ruth leave it. OCD got the better of me, it was summer and hot so I moved the ironing board outside on to patio and ironed the whole afternoon!!! I did 25 shirts!! And got a nice sun tan too, how sad am I?
Unfortunatly Dooble I dont think I will be doing your ironing outside when I come judging by the weather!!!
 
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