etiquette when horses move fields

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narkymare

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Im on full diy and today our horses changed fields.
i purposely left my cob till late afternoon in the own field because he is fine on his own (normally) and i have to muzzle him when he goes into a lush field.
When i arrived at yard there were 3 horses left in old field, not yet moved. One was going berserk - he is hard to handle and his owner hardly ever visits - im not sure she even knew they were being moved.
This poor chap was so agitated, galloping around at full pelt, nostrils flaring - hes a big lad and it was actually quite scarey to bring my chap in.
Anyway it made my chap nervous - he was whinnying, trying to get back - i tried to ring the owners but they didnt answer their phones.
I also made YO aware of how distressed this one horse was and she saw it for herself .
Another livery turned up and moved her horse while i was there so this poor horse was left on his own while all his friends were in the next door field.
I feel so guilty - hes not fully broken, huge - and i darent transfer him.
As i said the owners werent answering their phones.
He was galloping around like an idiot - i feel so sorry for him -

So my question - when moving a herd wouldnt it be better for liveries to be given a set time to move them, not a full day???

Also - what would you have done in this situation ???
- noone was bothered about the poor horse left, i tried to talk to him and calm him but he doesnt know me from adam!

I really wouldnt have dared to put a collar on and lead him out and transfer him, - hes known to be aggressive, is huge and was so agitated - very upsetting .
 
Ours moved fields today, and we did move them all at once. Any owners that weren't at the yard were happy for a group of us to move the lot together. Def agree a set time would be easier.
 
It would make sense to me to have a set time so all liveries could be there to move smoothly. I think you did what you could by making the YO aware. Personally, if I was the YO, I would have taken the initiative to move the horse myself but as a fellow livery, it's not worth your possibly getting hurt or angering the owner.
 
Thanks - im going to ask YO if we can do this the next time - id rather my horse me muzzled for longer than go through this again - the other horse being so upset really upset him xxx
 
baymareb said:
It would make sense to me to have a set time so all liveries could be there to move smoothly. I think you did what you could by making the YO aware. Personally, if I was the YO, I would have taken the initiative to move the horse myself but as a fellow livery, it's not worth your possibly getting hurt or angering the owner.
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exactly - i even felt uncomfortable ringing the owners, it shouldnt be none of my bussness but the poor horse really was frantic - hes very attached to one of the mares and was very very distressed, galloping up and down, i was really worried he would hurt himself .

Although, i would like to think if someone saw my horse in that state someone would ring me
 
I don't think the horse should have been left on its own. i think the YO should have arranged a time and if people couldn't make it, then the YO should move them, charging them if nec.
 
narkymare said:
Although, i would like to think if someone saw my horse in that state someone would ring me
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Yup, me too. And in fact, I've called a couple of people when I noticed things. I saw a horse get a leg caught in a hole in the wall of her stable one day - she kicked loose and didn't seem lame but I called the owner and let her know. She was quite grateful as she was able to check the mare over carefully.

Another time, I called one of the pasture boarders when I saw their horse had thrown a shoe and torn his foot up in the process. It's nice to know that someone is noticing things when you're not there so yes, I think it was good of you to try.
 
When we move fields we all try to get together as owners and do it or 2 people will move all of the horses, so no horse is left by itself. In this situation, you did all that you could. Its not wirth getting yourself hurt over.
 
Previous yards, if horse were being moved, we did it as a group. If an owner wasn't there, then we moved their horse. In this instance, it sounded like it would have been too dangerous for you to do so if he can be aggressive.

This is why I now have a paddock for my 2 and I have 2 paddocks to move them between. I don't have to worry about new horses being fired in with mine and my older pony is soo much happier.
 
The horses on our yard are moved as a group. All fields are connected via a gate so no need to catch them or go on roads etc. We aren't told when they're going to be moved but have an idea depending on the grass levels. This doesn't bother us as it tends to be on a Sunday night as no one rides then so it doesn't matter as much that we can't catch them.

In my opinion, that horse should not have been left alone. The YO should have given more warning or moved him themself to avoid further stress.
 
the move had been forewarned for 2 weeks - yo wrote it down on our notice board 2 weeks ago, unfortuantely the owners dont come to see him, another livery had to phone the owners when she noticed his overgrown feet - its all very very sad but i agree the yo should have done more x
 
narkymare said:
the move had been forewarned for 2 weeks - yo wrote it down on our notice board 2 weeks ago, unfortuantely the owners dont come to see him, another livery had to phone the owners when she noticed his overgrown feet - its all very very sad but i agree the yo should have done more x
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Difficult situation. We're lucky in that we only have 2 or 3 horses per field and we all know each other and help each other out on a daily basis so no horse should ever have to be stressed by leaving it on its own. I am concerned to hear that the owner of this youngster at your yard rarely comes to attend to her horse. Does she pay the yard to see to it or just trust to good fortune and the kind nature of other liveries?
 
kirst its a mum and daughter share - it must be paid for i presume or else it wouldnt be there but i think unfortunateley its lef to other liveries to keep an eye day to day
I know - its so sad, trouble is he looks well and healthy so is not a welfare case.
Im more upset i rang both muyma nd daughter at 3 pm today - no answer but noones even rung me back.

Its horrid - 2 of horses on our yard are like this, noone gives a damm but honestly what can you do?

One livery got so peeved she wrote on general notice board in huge letters a while back that both horses feet needed doing - they were done but nothing since.
 
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