Feeling down and worried about horse

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daydreamer

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Bit of a self indulgent post but maybe someone has advice on how to handle this situation. A share horse I ride is looking really quite thin, I did notice it when I first started riding him but I think it has got worse recently. I was hoping that the horse would be moved onto fresh grazing and this would help, but it hasn't happened yet. The other week another livery owner said something to me but I said it isn't my horse, I don't think it is my place to say. Yesterday the yard manager said he had noticed it and could I have a word with the owners.

So now I feel bad that a) I should have said something before b) the horse is in poor condition and maybe I shouldn't be riding c) I now have to try and find a way to tell the owners that effectively they aren't caring for the horse very well (plus, don't people realise that sometimes sharers don't see the oweners often? the whole point is that we do days they don't, and I don't really feel like it is a text or phone situation, so now I am worrying about when I will have the opportunity to say something) and d) other poeple on the yard are going to be thinking badly of me.

Anyone see a way to an easy and effective resolution? Maybe I am worrying too much?
 
hi look if you did nothing at all that would be different but you are looking for an option :)

i would bring it up with the owners in way that is fairly suttle so something like this winter was a hard one and lots of horses have dropped off and is there anyway you can increase either the hard feed or supplement with hay :D
at the end of the day you have the horses best intrest so i am sure if it was my horse had i not noticed it i would be glad someone said something.
 
While your concern for the horse is paramount. The fact that the livery yard manager said something to you and NOT the owner maybe a sign that maybe the owner won't take too well to being told (even nicely)

My advise is to see YM and ask him to have a word with owner as you don't feel comfortable passing messages like that on and worry she will end sharing with you over it.
After all if she does end arrangement you won't be able to help the horse at all
 
soulfull said:
My advise is to see YM and ask him to have a word with owner as you don't feel comfortable passing messages like that on and worry she will end sharing with you over it.
After all if she does end arrangement you won't be able to help the horse at all
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i agree with this, ask YM to have a word - it'll have more 'clout' and won't jeopardise your arrangement. if that's not possible, perhaps wording it to the owner in a careful way ('YM mentioned they thought we could do with increasing his feed/hay... would you like me to contribute a bit extra?')

good luck!
xxx
 
How many days a week do you do and what is the feeding regime? Do you feed hard feed, hay supplements? Or does the YM do that?

Doesn't the YM to organise movement to different pasture? At our yard the YO decides when we can move to new pasture, not the liveries.

How often does the owner see the horse? Perhaps they don't visit on the days you don't do, so maybe they are not aware of the condition and maybe that is why the YM hasn't approached them direct?

Sorry, hard to make suggestions without the full picture. I can understand why the YM spoke to you if you are more approachable/available, but can also see your reluctance to mention to the owner. However, the owner might be grateful to know the situation if they are not aware themselves.

Just some thoughts.
 
You say that you do the days the owners don't. Does he get any hard feed at all? If not then would it be possible for you to buy a bag of feed and give him some on your days? I know it isn't much but better than nothing

I realise it is sneaky and underhand but if the owners won't take kindly to being told their horse is underweight etc then maybe you will have to take matters into your own hands.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I just do two days a week, the owner does the opposite end of the day to me on those days. The owner or a close friend of the owner does the horse every day. The horse is out 24/7 but fed one hard feed a day, some alfalfa and sugar beet (I thought he got fed some mix too but when I looked yesterday I couldn't see any), usually the owner feeds the horse rather than me doing it. Some hay is given in the field but this is obviously not enough, again the owner does this and it would be very obvious if I put any extra in. The owner pays extra for extra grazing so it is sat there waiting :-(

I vaguely remember last summer (before I started sharing this horse) hearing something about a few occasions of someone giving the horse extra hay when it was stabled overnight and the owner not being happy about it.

I am not sure whether it is ignorance that it is a problem/ignorance of what the horse should look like/lack of caring. The YM said they appreciated they were putting me in a difficult position but wanted to be subtle. I guess maybe I can wait and see if I run into the owner in the next few days (does happen sometimes) and if not I could ask the YM to say something. I do feel a little annoyed that I was asked to say something.
 
I think you are right, if you happen to see the owner in person it is appropriate and less confrontational to bring the subject up. Specifically phoning/texting could be seen as confrontational.

I think the YM needs to take more responsibility and contact the owner him/herself. I am surprised that the yard charges more for 'additional' grazing, it sounds as if what they are supplying is inadequate - if I was an owner being charged more to be provided with 'grass' I think I'd be looking elsewhere. I'm relatively new to horse ownership, is that the norm???
 
Who does the worming !! Perhaps you could suggest that you think it needs worming as it seems to have dropped off in weight? this might give you the opportunity then to chat about feeding or what else maybe going on. If this doesn't work and it carries on, and you can't get through to the owner then a call to the RSPCA may be needed, even if you have to get someone else to do it if, you feel that bad. Personally i wouldn't ride a horse like that
if it was in poor condition its not fair on the horse. Good Luck though, Be brave and think about the horses welfair you will be doing the right thing.
 
He got wormed a couple of weeks ago so it shouldn't be that, you are right tho - maybe I could pretend I didn't know (I saw the packaging) and use that as an opener. I might also suggest it might be because he is being ridden more (in reality I don't think he is, but it could work as a non-confrontational opener).

HollyB66... at this yard each horse is allocated it's own paddock, the share horse is in with another horse so the 2nd paddock is waiting to be used. There is also a 3rd which I think is paid extra for (not sure by which owner or if the cost is shared). Most of the horses do have enough grass I think although quite a few people feed extra hay if the horses are out a lot.
 
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You could bring it up by saying a coupoe of people had said to you that he was looking a bit thin, and now you think about it you can see he has lost a little weight - you were wondering if this was normal for him andmaybe he''ll pick up when moved to the nice new grazing? Or should he have something extra? If you play dumb and make it look like you aren't sure it may be easier for you. Not an easy situation though.
 
Ellies_mum2 said:
You say that you do the days the owners don't. Does he get any hard feed at all? If not then would it be possible for you to buy a bag of feed and give him some on your days? I know it isn't much but better than nothing

I realise it is sneaky and underhand but if the owners won't take kindly to being told their horse is underweight etc then maybe you will have to take matters into your own hands.
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Please do NOT starting giving the horse hard feed on some days but not on others. This is just asking for trouble, in the form of colic. It goes against all the basic principles of feeding.
I agree with those who have said ask YM to approach the owner. Otherwise you can only approach it in a very roundabout way, asking if perhaps you should be putting extra hay out as you've noticed horse seems to be losing condition and you are sorry if you should have been doing so already.
 
When you see your horse every day it can be difficult to spot loss of condition, just as it can be to spot the weight creeping up. We keep ours at home ,so see them all the time, when the old girl dropped weight we didn't spot it, until farrier commented that she had lost a bit of weight! We were mortified and increased her feed forthwith! It just needed someone who knew the horse but didn't see her that often to see the situation.
 
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