First time diy livery. Eek!

[ponies4ever]

Hiya I have owned horses for 3 years and do not come from a horsey family. In all this time I've only ever had horses on full livery (I'm still the only one riding) but have worked for a fair amount of time on the yard where they were kept which is a competition yard so am fully capable of all chores. It's my first time moving off the yard and I'm a bit nervous to say the least! However am sure it's the right move as now will actually have turnout and grass not just a stable sized mud pit and facilities and hacking are better. Nevertheless if you could answer my probably very silly questions it would be great.
1. How much water do you leave for a horse that's only in over night? Would one large tub trug be ok? (Only had auto drinkers before but fully know that she drinks plenty and at regular times so don't shoot me) and how often do you fully empty and clean out?
2. Is it alright to leave muck in a stable during the day if horse isn't in or will it reck bed? (Would be turned out in morning then skipped before bringing in in evening)

TIA and I'll probably think of some more

 

[skint1]

1. I leave mine with 2 tub trugs in separate corners in case he poos in one of them or knocks one over somehow

2. Do you mean you'd turn the horse out in the morning and then muck out in the evening before bringing in? I think people do that if they need to. I tend to do a full muck out in the morning but leave the banks til the weekend if that makes sense

Good luck!

 

[ponies4ever]

ah thank you yes I was going to go down the two bucket route anyway as my chestnut mare is evil when it comes to complaining about breakfast was thinking more about quantity. And great that's put my mind at rest!

 

[PorkChop]

I'd start with two large buckets/trugs and assess how much is left in the morning. You can always cut down to one later on.

Of course its alright to leave the mucking out until later in the day.

Good luck, I'm sure you will enjoy it

 

[SEL]

One of mine has 1 large trug & the other horse needs 2. I muck out when I get time. If I'm really pushed in the week then skipping out / semi deep litter kicks in. They survive!

 

[MuddyMonster]

I leave my 14hh native with two (generally half full tub trugs) on the basis that if something happens, he has another water.

I try to muck out in the morning but in the summer, I’ll leave the bed up to air when he is out during the day. Occasionally, if I’m short of time I’ll muck out fully in the evening – in the winter he might even be bought in and both bed & horse have survived an hour or two of not being mucked out in the morning!

 

[MuddyMonster]

I leave my 14hh native with two (generally half full tub trugs) on the basis that if something happens, he has another water.

I try to muck out in the morning but in the summer, I’ll leave the bed up to air when he is out during the day. Occasionally, if I’m short of time I’ll muck out fully in the evening – in the winter he might even be bought in and both bed & horse have survived an hour or two of not being mucked out in the morning!

 

[smja]

We have auto-drinkers now (thankfully!) but used to have buckets - one or two big trugs for each horse, depending on their preference. I'd start with two and see how much she prefers to have.

We emptied and refilled water buckets every day after mucking out and gave a full scrub all over at the weekends.

I muck out whenever i have time - sometimes morning, sometimes evening. Just make sure there's enough bedding down to soak up the wet.

 

[JLG]

welcome to diy world - you will not regret it!
Due to working full time I am on assisted diy which means my horse is currently turned out in the morning and then brought in during the afternoon. I am not there in the morning so he doesn't get mucked out before he comes back in. No harm is done although it means that the evening muck-out can take a bit of time. What most people in my position do (on my yard) is take out droppings every day and keep the bed topped up with clean straw or shavings every day and then at the weekend take the whole lot out and start again. Its known locally as the 'big muck-out'. If time was no object I would be there in the morning to muck out but I'm not so I don't worry about it. As long as they have water and food they generally don't mind a bit of poop for a few hours.

 

[Jennie951]

My mare has one very large bucket each night, which I also empty and clean out the following day. As for the stable muck, she's on deep litter with shavings, so I take out droppings and anything which I believe should be removed and then do a proper muck out weekly/biweekly. I'd imagine if I was on straw I would muck out more often.

 

[Beth206]

When my mare is in she has 1 large tub trug of water on a night and I will muck her out on an evening as I don't have time on a morning. I am very lucky with my DIY, my mare is out 24/7 all year round, we have a flagged paddock where they spend most of their time in winter but they do still have open access to their field if they want to venture up. Her stable door is always open and I always keep a bed down as she likes to sleep in there on a night and they often tend to shelter in their stables as opposed to under the trees when the weather is bad.
Happy DIY!

 

[Sophire]

I'm sure you will love DIY!

My horse has a big tubtrug of water at night, I full it to the brim (literally not even a cm left at the top), she's started to drink less now the grass has been growing but would drink 2/3rds during winter. I only have 1 bucket.

My horse is turned out for me in the morning so yes, my bed is left during the day and either me or my sharer will muck out in the evening. She has a huge huge huge straw bed so is mucked out every day but I leave the banks for the weekend.