fed up :(

C

clares

Member
Joined
2 December 2013
Messages
28
Visit site
i have my horse at a livery yard. no complaints about the yard or people. except my mothers friend has a horse at the same yard. she has been there for nearly 2 years now and not once has her owner come down to see to her. she is on working livery but the yard owner refuses to use her in the lessons as she is too dangerous. he wouldnt reccomend her to any of his clients. she is such a lovely mare and i do feel really sorry for her. if it werent for myself and one other livery then she wouldnt get anything done to her. she has her feet done when i get my horse's feet done and wormed when mine does. other than pay her livery fees the owner has done nothing. i have had words with the owner before about selling/loaning her in which she keeps telling me she is looking for someone/advertising her but so far there is no evidence. i have, with her permission, written up adverts for her myself but she wont follow through when people show interest. im at my wits end! and the yard owner is always asking what is happening to her. she is wasted out in the field and is always standing by the gate trying to get everyones attention. last summer i made a deal with the owner that if i get the mare back into work, fit and managable then she would do something with her or find someone who would even just ride her every now and again. i stuck to my end of the deal but come september as agreed i stopped working with her as my own horse/work needed my attention. unfortuantly she has been out in the field since and getting fatter and more miserable. i spend as much time with her as i can but with my own commitments i cannot take her on. her problems lie in the fact that although she is brilliant to hack or school on her own, but when there are 3 or more horses together she panicks and bolts blind. i had been working on this problem, gaining her trust etc. and she had been getting better but no one else at the yard will ride her (rightfully as yard owner/instructor has advised against it) and i have'nt got the time.

i dont know what to do, do i carry on as i am now or do i/can i report her? technically she is not neglected as i am caring to her needs (feed, feet, jabs etc.) but as i am short of time over the winter it would help if i didnt have to. as i said its a friend of my mothers that owns her and i dont really want to report or cause problems with their friendship but ultimatly the horse comes first. what would others do if faced with this?
 
Horses don't actually need to be ridden. If she is unsafe it sounds a pretty bad plan to try and get someone to take her on, who she may injure. Provided the livery owner is keeping an eye on her she's not likely to be taking any harm.
 
Tell the owner and the YO that you have your own life to manage, and leave them to it. Horse is there on working livery, up to them whether they work her. They do however have a duty of care, and can presumably arrange any basic care themselves. If they fail to do this, report them, obviously.

The mare is probably perfectly happy in the field and just at the gate for a bit of attention.
 
As she is on working livery, even if the yard does not make use of her, she is the responsibility of the YO and owner to provide her needs, if the yard cannot use her they should change the arrangements not rely on your good nature to deal with her.
I am not sure that a horse that panics if in a small group of others if safe to sell on, I would certainly not risk it even by declaring this there is a danger she could be put into a position where she is in a group, meeting others out hacking for example cannot always be avoided, she may be better off retired in the field.
 
clares said:
i dont know what to do, do i carry on as i am now or do i/can i report her? technically she is not neglected as i am caring to her needs (feed, feet, jabs etc.) but as i am short of time over the winter it would help if i didnt have to. as i said its a friend of my mothers that owns her and i dont really want to report or cause problems with their friendship but ultimatly the horse comes first. what would others do if faced with this?
Click to expand...

Report her for what? The mare is on full livery, it is the YO's choice not to use her, her basic needs are met. It's not up to you to decide what should be done, that is between the owner and the YO.
 
thanks for the replies, i understand they dont need to be ridden but she looks miserable out with the boys. (she got kicked out of the mares field due to eating the field shelter) the livery owner only sees the horses when he chucks the hay over the hedge. he never gets close to them other than when they are brought in for lessons at the weekend. and as she is not used he never sees her. all liveries are told on arrival that it is purely DIY livery and that the yard owner will not always check the horses daily. there are simply too many horses to check them all properly for one man to do.

if i were to report her, i dont know where to start...would it be RSPCA or WHW? can i report even though she is currently being looked after by myself or should i stop looking after her till a problem arises? obviously i dont want her to come to any harm or discomfort but is this the way to make the owner see that she needs attention? i honestly think if i werent seeing to her she wouldnt be checked on properly or cared for.
 
Cortez said:
Report her for what? The mare is on full livery, it is the YO's choice not to use her, her basic needs are met. It's not up to you to decide what should be done, that is between the owner and the YO.
Click to expand...

sorry i didnt clarify. its not full livery. its DIY but cheeper for use of the horse in the riding lessons at the weekend. the yard owner doesnt offer full or part livery and this was clearly said when the mare arrived at the yard.
 
be positive said:
As she is on working livery, even if the yard does not make use of her, she is the responsibility of the YO and owner to provide her needs, if the yard cannot use her they should change the arrangements not rely on your good nature to deal with her.
I am not sure that a horse that panics if in a small group of others if safe to sell on, I would certainly not risk it even by declaring this there is a danger she could be put into a position where she is in a group, meeting others out hacking for example cannot always be avoided, she may be better off retired in the field.
Click to expand...

i would like to say that when i wrote adverts or people asked about her we were always honest with her issues. we were hoping she would go to someone as a single horse or with one other as a project horse. i believe with the right training she would be fine. (she wasnt backed properly, only walked and trotted around the lanes before being chucked straight into a lesseon with 7 others) owner wasnt truthful to instructor on arrival and luckily he had put on the most experienced worker in her first lesson. to say she didnt last 5 mins was an understatement. luckily no one was hurt.
 
I'm sorry, but what would you be reporting the owner or yard owner for? There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the horse, she is being fed, she is not thin or ill - is this correct? This is not an abuse or neglect case and I'm afraid the welfare bodies are hardly likely to take action because she isn't being groomed or ridden or looks a bit sad. What I would do is mind my own business.
 
There is nothing really to report, the yard offers lessons yet the owner does not bother to look at his horses each day, chucking hay over a hedge without daily checks is uncaring for horses that pay his wages, if there are too many to give each a once over, he should know each horse well enough to recognise signs of ill health then he has too many full stop. This horse is not DIY it is working or full livery so should be looked after as such.
 
yes she is being fed etc but only as i am the one that is taking care of her. she is not my responsiblity and i dont have time for another horse yet i find myself having to care for her. if i were to mind my own buisness then she wouldnt have had her feet/jabs/weight monitered since june 2012. i dont want to look after her but i honestly feel if i didnt then she would suffer. i tried ignoring her last spring for 3 months and she ended up looking as if she was having triplets, hence why i offered to get her fit and healthy to sell/loan. again this autum i tried leaving her to it only to find her having real bad rain scald (SP?) and puss in her foot. i told the owner who wanted nothing to do with it so i treated the foot and put one of my rugs on her.
 
I wouldn't worry about her looking miserable - my horse hasn't been ridden for almost two years and she looks miserable. She looked miserable when she was ridden. I look miserable all the time - I have one of those faces :biggrin3:

Step back and put all your time and energy into your own horse.
 
be positive said:
There is nothing really to report, the yard offers lessons yet the owner does not bother to look at his horses each day, chucking hay over a hedge without daily checks is uncaring for horses that pay his wages, if there are too many to give each a once over, he should know each horse well enough to recognise signs of ill health then he has too many full stop. This horse is not DIY it is working or full livery so should be looked after as such.
Click to expand...

sorry again i didnt clarify. i dont know what its like on other yards but at ours working livery is just for the weekend, there are no lessons in the week and owners have been told that it is their own responsiblity to check their own during the week. the yard owner has informed the owner that she is not suitable for lessons but as it is his desision not to use her he doesnt charge her for normal livery. everyone else on the yard seems to get it that they have to go down and check their horses daily and other than this one owner, all the horses are seen to every day by their owners. there is a yard 5 mins down the road that offers full livery so if she didnt want to see the horse then she could have kept her there for a higher price.
 
clares said:
yes she is being fed etc but only as i am the one that is taking care of her. she is not my responsiblity and i dont have time for another horse yet i find myself having to care for her. if i were to mind my own buisness then she wouldnt have had her feet/jabs/weight monitered since june 2012. i dont want to look after her but i honestly feel if i didnt then she would suffer. i tried ignoring her last spring for 3 months and she ended up looking as if she was having triplets, hence why i offered to get her fit and healthy to sell/loan. again this autum i tried leaving her to it only to find her having real bad rain scald (SP?) and puss in her foot. i told the owner who wanted nothing to do with it so i treated the foot and put one of my rugs on her.
Click to expand...

This is neglect. Inform your local animal welfare types or ask your vet, who presumably oversaw the injured hoof?
 
no the vet didnt see her hoof, i poulticed it as i would normally for my own and after a week box rest she was fine. farrier had a look at it on day 2 to check and was happy with it just being poulticed. sorry ive never had to report before. when you say local animal welfare type, would that be RSPCA or will a vet know who to contact? i cant really afford to get a vet out to look at her so who is the best to report to?
 
clares said:
this autum i tried leaving her to it only to find her having real bad rain scald (SP?) and puss in her foot. i told the owner who wanted nothing to do with it so i treated the foot and put one of my rugs on her.
Click to expand...

That was the point at which you should have reported the owner for neglect. The owner now knows that whatever state she leaves the horse in, you will sort it out. Tell her - no more - then report her to an equine welfare charity in the future if necessary. Ask your vet who is best to report to locally, they may know which organization gets the best results.
 
Last edited:
You need to step back and make sure that the YO and owner know that you are no longer having anything to do with the horse.
It is up to them to care for this horse, not you.
Monitor the situation carefully, and report the horse promptly if she is being neglected.
Can't really see what else you can do.
 
tell them both you are not having anything to do with her but keep an eye on things from a distance, she was not technically neglected before as you stepped in, if you had reported it when she was obese and lame then there may have been a case. whether it is DIY or not the YO has a responsibility to oversee all horses on the site.
 
Currently the mare is being looked after by you, so of course the owner and yard owner are quite happy as would any welfare organisation be if they saw a horse that was cared for. As awful as it is, the only way to get something done is to take a step back, inform the owner/yard owner that you are no longer able to feed/maintain the horse and if they don't take responsibility for it then report them. Sadly a horse has to be suffering from actual neglect before the welfare agencies can step in.
 
thanks touchstone. i will inform them and will keep an eye from a distance. if a problem arrises and goes untreated then i will deffinatly be reporting now
 
cremedemonthe said:
Why does she bolt with other horses in a school or on a hack yet is happy out in the field with them?
Can anyone enlighten me?
Does the owner pay up without querying the bill when the farrier has been or the horse has been wormed?
Click to expand...

regards to the bolting, we believe she does it as a reaction to other horses crowding her, she tends to keep to herself out in the field even though there are 8 others out in the same field with her. she is lovely to do anything with when she is on her own or just with one other horse. we have not hacked her with more than one other horse as we didnt think it sensible what with her reactions in the field and school. she has had her back checked and her teeth/ saddle and also vet check.(i had her done when i got mine done with the promise if i arranged it i would be reinbursed which i was eventually and with a lot of pestering) she had always been hacked out on her own before being in a lesson and was not used to other horses around her when the owner had told the yard owner she was fine in company. (Naughty i know but i didnt realise what had been said at the time)

her owner gives the livery money to me via my mother to give to the yard owner, she pays for farrier via me again but i am still waiting for the money for the last wormer.
 
Last edited:
It's a tough one op. It's easy to say back off but if I were in your situation, I'm not sure I'd be able to just stop taking care of her as at the end of the day, it's her that would suffer as a result. Sorry I've no advice but just wanted to say I sympathise and good luck x
 
Mrs C said:
It's a tough one op. It's easy to say back off but if I were in your situation, I'm not sure I'd be able to just stop taking care of her as at the end of the day, it's her that would suffer as a result. Sorry I've no advice but just wanted to say I sympathise and good luck x
Click to expand...

thankyou! this is what im struggling with as i dont want her to suffer but seems im going to have to be cruel to be kinder in the long run :( i will still be keeping an eye on her but from a distance and if i notice a problem i will inform owner but will not be sorting it myself from now on. i wish i could afford and have the time to buy her myself
 
clares said:
regards to the bolting, we believe she does it as a reaction to other horses crowding her, she tends to keep to herself out in the field even though there are 8 others out in the same field with her. she is lovely to do anything with when she is on her own or just with one other horse. we have not hacked her with more than one other horse as we didnt think it sensible what with her reactions in the field and school. she has had her back checked and her teeth/ saddle and also vet check.(i had her done when i got mine done with the promise if i arranged it i would be reinbursed which i was eventually and with a lot of pestering) she had always been hacked out on her own before being in a lesson and was not used to other horses around her when the owner had told the yard owner she was fine in company. (Naughty i know but i didnt realise what had been said at the time)

her owner gives the livery money to me via my mother to give to the yard owner, she pays for farrier via me again but i am still waiting for the money for the last wormer.
Click to expand...


Thanks, awful situation to be in, the owner is taking the pee by the sounds of it.
I hope you get it sorted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top