Does your yard close early on Christmas?

[JoJo_]

I've just found out that my yard is closing at 2pm on christmas day which means everyone has to have done their horses and put them to bed by then. I've never been on a yard that has done that before. Its a DIY yard.

Does anyone else's yard have early closing times on xmas?

 

[QassiaDeTouzaine]

How bizarre. Surely this can cause corruption to the liveries christmas day plans and mean s the horses will be in for a vey long time? x

 

[monkeybum13]

Sounds strange.
I would not be happy leaving my horse with her night time hay at 2pm!
I'd be sat down eating my christmas dinner at 2pm!

 

[thatsmygirl]

Well I wouldn't be happy with that at all. Some people will be working and I wouldn't be happy leaving mine in from 2pm. My yard is a " come any time" which suits anybody and it's great no silly rules. Most yards round my area have stupid rules in place which seem pointless and no good for the working people.

 

[JoJo_]

There is about 16 liveries and the YO lives on site with her family so my guess is that they want the place to themselves when they have their lunch etc. But I was planning my day around my horse as there is just me and mum spending xmas together so we were going to go bring in and put Cooper to bed about 4pm like normal.

Cant do that now so have arranged with another livery that she will turn them out and i'll bring in about 1pm. But its going to mean i'll have to put a mountain of hay in for them! I think i'll have to ask my YO if she will put feed buckets in for them later if we leave them outside stables.

 

[miss_c]

I couldn't be dealing with that! Mine have their routine as normal on Christmas day - they don't know it's a different day and would NOT be happy being in from 2pm until the next morning.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

hope they dont colic or anything. very bizarre unless YO is doing the teatime feeds/skip out/hay and water topping up. and late check and top up as req. mine go out at normal time and in at normal time and fed as normal, and our lunch/dinner is fitted in around the horses. at least no hunting the next day so will be easier this year. my liveries are welcome 8am til 8pm as normal.

 

[spotty_pony]

I wouldn't like that at all! Surely, you are entitled to see your horse whenever you want to! I wouldn't be happy leaving my boys from 2pm one evening until the next morning... is anybody going to check on them/give them more hay later? I worry about mine being left at 4.30 when the staff finish and so I always check them at about 6pm.

My yard is open the same as normal, although no staff are working so YO is just doing basics and there will be no turnout as there won't be the staff to do it, so I will be up both Christmas Day and Boxing Day sorting out my boys.

 

[kateelliott]

Im not surprised by this strategy from YO tho i wouldnt like it if it was my yard. I think its likely to create more work for them with liveries asking for later feeds etc to be put in.

Im afraid we have been bringing in around 1.30-2pm anyway as i have a stressy TB who has to come in with the others. Plus in this horrid weather there is nothing outside for them to eat and my old boy seems reluctant to eat hay in the field (fine eating it in stable?!) Today i fed him at 3pm and he will have brekkie and go out about 7 in the morning. He has a big mashed fibre feed which lasts him an hour or so plus ad lib hay and he seems to be doing fine. Its not ideal but Winter is just about surviving til the long Summer days are back!
Have a good Christmas everyone.

 

[JoJo_]

Im going to ask tomorrow but i'm guessing YO will check on horses and give feeds sometime after they have had their xmas lunch as i'm not feeding before 2pm. At the mo he has been coming in around about 3pm so gets his feed before I leave between 3.30-5.

I'm not sure if YO will hay later. She only came out of hospital last week after having a cerebal bleed so has been told to rest and if she has to do anything with horses then to wear a hat as another knock to the head will be a bad thing. Shes been doing a few things but we've all been relying on each other instead of asking YO for services. I think i'll leave another haynet out with his feed so its easy for her to just give him another net if he's running out of hay.

This is making xmas a little more stressful!!

 

[wellsat]

Thats ridiculous, especially on a DIY yard. If I was YO I might be tempted to put up a note saying that I would like to enjoy the day with my family and could people please not come to the house after 2pm but other than that I'd let people do as they normally do. I've never yet been on a yard with opening hours, general principle round here is that you can come at the time that suits you unless its the middle of the night.

 

[fizzer]

Seems a bit harsh on a DIY yard, I could understand if YO asked for no one to interupt her or even no visits after dark. How weird!!

 

[CrazyMare]

I find the idea of yards 'closing' and 'opening' very bizzare...

 

[Brontie]

It'd make a bit more sense if she said the yard would be shut from 12-2 for example. That way they'ld have their peace, without majorly disrupting you and the horses.

 

[Muchadoaboutnothing]

It'd make a bit more sense if she said the yard would be shut from 12-2 for example. That way they'ld have their peace, without majorly disrupting you and the horses.

I agree with this. Fair enough that they want some family time but that's really not fair on the horses.

 

[hackinharry]

How very odd.....My yard has no "closing times" as such, but you are expected to be quiet and respectful if very early or very late.....I can understand a full livery yard doing this but a DIY?? I hope someone is there to hay and water for the night, I wouldn't want mine in from 2pm right around until next morning...

 

[JoJo_]

Its worse for the liveries that have family/lunch comitments around the 2pm mark. I've agreed to put their horses to bed for them but they intended to come back later on. I definitely wouldnt have been knocking on the YO's door or anything. I'm very respectful of the fact they live on site. Their house is sort of between the two barns of stables so yes we are walking around outside their house.

They only started a livery service in Sept after the family moved there. Apparently YO was heard commenting on how busy the yard is and said it was 'getting too busy'. So maybe they want one day where we arent coming and going. Although there is only about 10 owners and a few kids who see to the horses.

 

[lizzie_liz]

A previous yard I was at was like that, they closed at lunchtime on chistmas day, but they yard and their house was almost on top of each other and they fed the horses in the evening. The owners in normal circumstances always gave the horses hay in morning, afternoon and late night. It didnt affect me as I had put my horse on full livery over xmas whilst I was at home, whilst horse was at uni.

 

[hadfos]

Wouldnt bother me tbh for the sake of 1 day,would just give my lad plenty of hay,he dosnt give a toss what time he gets his feed as long as he gets it And tbh all our guys routine's are to pot due to the state of fields anyway,snow covered and iced over,(some fields dangerous due to the frozen hoof holes)he spends 2hrs stood at gate,so in my opinion he may aswell be in munching,he's happy,warm and dry..all that matters to me x

 

[Vix1978]

My yard will be shutting at 1pm on Christmas Day. DIY liveries are welcome to come back in the evening and finish their horses off the ensure they have sufficient hay etc. My head girl will be finishing off the full liveries. However, all horses will be in before the yard shuts and I have to say not one of my liveries has complained about this. Both myself and my staff deserve to have a quiet Christmas afternoon without having to be concerned about dealing with clients etc (although they are all friends ) and the horses will still be well looked after. To me, any yard has the right to impose closing hours on Christmas day as long as it ensures the horses have sufficient hay/water to last the night

 

[SusieT]

Have to say if you're walking around their house I can see their point, but as YO would have put a no go time, say 12 til 4pm, but can see they just want to enjoy their family, on the other hand they chose to run a business from their house..

 

[zoelouisem]

I could understand if it was a full livery yard but for DIY it is kind of hard, i for example am working in the morning am opening father christmases pressies after that, then going down to the pony for morning duties at 2-3 im having Christmas dinner, at 4 ive got to go back to work then ill go and finish my pony. If the put a closed time of 2pm id be bu***ered to be hoenst cos i couldnt phiscally (spelt wrong) i know!! Although when i go back in the evening ill be quiet quick and want to get back to family asap too.

 

[JoJo_]

My yard will be shutting at 1pm on Christmas Day. DIY liveries are welcome to come back in the evening and finish their horses off the ensure they have sufficient hay etc. My head girl will be finishing off the full liveries. However, all horses will be in before the yard shuts and I have to say not one of my liveries has complained about this. Both myself and my staff deserve to have a quiet Christmas afternoon without having to be concerned about dealing with clients etc (although they are all friends ) and the horses will still be well looked after. To me, any yard has the right to impose closing hours on Christmas day as long as it ensures the horses have sufficient hay/water to last the night

That sounds reasonable and I wouldnt complain about that if DIYs can come back later. I just wondered if anyone else had been on a yard where it closed early on xmas. I thought it wasnt the norm. Will just have to talk to YO and ensure she will be putting extra hay and topping up waters later. Auto drinkers are frozen

 

[hadfos]

I could understand if it was a full livery yard but for DIY it is kind of hard, i for example am working in the morning am opening father christmases pressies after that, then going down to the pony for morning duties at 2-3 im having Christmas dinner, at 4 ive got to go back to work then ill go and finish my pony. If the put a closed time of 2pm id be bu***ered to be hoenst cos i couldnt phiscally (spelt wrong) i know!! Although when i go back in the evening ill be quiet quick and want to get back to family asap too.

Our yard is full and DIY and is closing early,I too am at work in the morning(friend will put a net in for me),have to get back for little boy opening pressies,then down yard,let boy out for an hour,make sure everything is plentiful and back home...then I too have to go back to work,after having xmas dinner
It'll all be a rush but hey ho,its only once a yr,and yard owner is entitled to her afternoon of xmas after having to deal with the morning at the yard....and as long as my boy has plenty of hay etc he really couldnt give a stuff if he saw me twice,lol x

 

[Witchy]

Its a DIY yard.

Um, if it's a DIY yard I wouldn't have thought they'd have any right to close it in the first place? If they were Liveries then fair enough so they have half the day for themselves but DIY... well ya do it yourself so its down to you how much of your Christmas Day you take doing your own horse!?

I think that's a bit off....

 

[Ebenezer_Scrooge]

2pm stuff that....it is just another day for the neds and me x

 

[hadfos]

That sounds reasonable and I wouldnt complain about that if DIYs can come back later. I just wondered if anyone else had been on a yard where it closed early on xmas. I thought it wasnt the norm. Will just have to talk to YO and ensure she will be putting extra hay and topping up waters later. Auto drinkers are frozen

We too have frozen water drinkers...bloody nightmare
I am sure if you made sure ponies had plenty of hay she wouldnt mind checking waters for you all,after all she wants to close early so doubt she would object with been on site,the family would probably help her x

 

[hadfos]

Um, if it's a DIY yard I wouldn't have thought they'd have any right to close it in the first place? If they were Liveries then fair enough so they have half the day for themselves but DIY... well ya do it yourself so its down to you how much of your Christmas Day you take doing your own horse!?

I think that's a bit off....

If they live on yard and own said yard,then they are more than within their rights to close yard early,DIY or not!Some people will be fine with it,others will dislike alot,only answer is to rethink were you are and move to a yard without restrictions on xmas day!
Be honest...How many of you,when you went to view the livery yard you are on,asked about opening times on xmas day?No-one i bet!

 

[Rachellouise1]

I'm in work till 3 so that wouldn't do at all!!! Our YO is really flexible, no time limits ever and if ponies unwell she will keep the tea brewing etc despite hour of day. The earliest I'll put mie to bed is around 5ish, makes her night too long xx

 

[JoJo_]

If they live on yard and own said yard,then they are more than within their rights to close yard early,DIY or not!Some people will be fine with it,others will dislike alot,only answer is to rethink were you are and move to a yard without restrictions on xmas day!
Be honest...How many of you,when you went to view the livery yard you are on,asked about opening times on xmas day?No-one i bet!

I am moving to a yard which i'm pretty sure doesnt have restrictions on xmas day but I might ask Oh and this xmas closing has nothing to do with my reasons for moving lol. New yard has 2 indoor arenas and 2 outdoors, competitions on site. Cant wait! About 50 liveries though so will be a big change.