Gawsworth Track Livery

[HelenBack]

Indeed I do 🙈👍🏻

Can you move to South Wales please?

 

[MrsGTL]

Can you move to South Wales please?

Haha people want tracks everywhere, they really are a great way to keep horses

 

[dogatemysalad]

I would have loved to have found a track system livery for two of my previous retired horses with health issues. It's great that livery yards are starting to offer this. The nose bags are a definite no go for me. It may be practical for working horses far from home pulling a cart or plough. I'm sure they do get used to it if the choice is to comply or go hungry. For the livery cost, surely, it's not unreasonable to expect the horses are brought onto the yard, where they can also be checked over and given any daily care required.

 

[MrsGTL]

I would have loved to have found a track system livery for two of my previous retired horses with health issues. It's great that livery yards are starting to offer this. The nose bags are a definite no go for me. It may be practical for working horses far from home pulling a cart or plough. I'm sure they do get used to it if the choice is to comply or go hungry. For the livery cost, surely, it's not unreasonable to expect the horses are brought onto the yard, where they can also be checked over and given any daily care required.

Horses are checked over everyday and given the care they need, if they weren’t we wouldn’t have the success we do with the rehabilitation.

The horses are never forced to eat from the nose bags, if they didn’t like it of course we would bring them on the yard to feed them but they are much happier in the barn all together with their friends

 

[Leo Walker]

I think I'm going to buy a nose bag and try mine with it. Shes such a fussy little madam and is forever pawing and kicking her bucket about and being distracted by anything and everything. I'm wondering if this will help a bit.

 

[ihatework]

Something like this would really suit my young horse, especially for the next couple of years - he is a real fatty and I want him to do spells in a pro set up and then have downtime in between, but I’m loathe to let him turn to blubber in the field! This would help keep him trim with a level of fitnesses maintained, him to socialise and give him a mental break.

Now to find the equivalent in wilts/Gloucs/nSomerset/wOxford!

 

[TPO]

Re nosebags. I think it's a cultural thing.

Back in the dark ages when I worked on cattle stations in Australia the horses were all fed using nosebags. The horses lived feral, were rounded up at weaning (not a pleasant experience for them as castrating, branding and vaccinating also happened that week), brought back in around 2/3 for 7-10 days to be backed, turned away, brought back in at 3-4 and into work. They were never "pets" and understandably they weren't too keen on people. "Catching" your horse for the day was generally walking down and cutting out your horse.

Getting to my point... when in work they all received feeds given via handmade nosebags (rolled down hessian feed sacks and plaited baler twine - not the comfiest and most learnt it was easier to drop their heads and eat from the ground until the bag was lighter ie twine wouldn't dig in). They all came up to have their nosebags put on and all ate peacefully. No one objected or had any problems adjusting to them and despite all being semi-feral and forage not being plentiful there were no arguments or set to at feed times ever.

I don't know this yard and haven't look at their site but from what's been written so far I imagine they take a much better approach to handling the horses and introducing them to the bags. I'm now thinking that a nosebag might be a good idea for my monster who likes to knock untippable buckets over and paw his dinner everywhere!

 

[Honey08]

I follow your track system on facebook, ive deliberated sending mine there when my husband was very ill last year.

I have one thing Im not impressed by, and thats the bedding in the barn, the horses often look to be lying on thin strips of bedding with their legs on concrete unless they're in the middle section. I always wonder why you make them so narrow? Other than that it looks great.

 

[HelenBack]

Something like this would really suit my young horse, especially for the next couple of years - he is a real fatty and I want him to do spells in a pro set up and then have downtime in between, but I’m loathe to let him turn to blubber in the field! This would help keep him trim with a level of fitnesses maintained, him to socialise and give him a mental break.

Now to find the equivalent in wilts/Gloucs/nSomerset/wOxford!

Have you come across Hoof Help just south of Bristol? It says on their website they do ordinary livery as well as rehab so it could be worth a look.

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

Can you move to South Wales please?

Second this! Lol

 

[MrsGTL]

Have you come across Hoof Help just south of Bristol? It says on their website they do ordinary livery as well as rehab so it could be worth a look.

Have you come across Hoof Help just south of Bristol? It says on their website they do ordinary livery as well as rehab so it could be worth a look.

There is longmarsh track livery

 

[ihatework]

2 potential options there, thanks HelenBlack & MrsGTL

 

[Boulty]

Thanks for replying to my concerns re the nosebags & stating that if it was not appropriate for a particular horse then you would bucket feed instead. As I said originally I can see why in a situation where you have multiple horses & no not massively time consuming way of safely separating them all off individually this may be more convenient & cause less arguments. I can also appreciate that introduced in the right way & supervised at all times (as we all know what horses are like for finding inventing ways to try & hang themselves!) then no, you aren't going to cause harm to the majority of horses feeding them this way. My concern was for the small, but still important percentage of horses that this would not be an appropriate feeding method for.

My concern was coming from the POV of having owned a horse who had (amongst other issues) pain in his poll area (CT-scanned most of his head, neck & back in the end & he did have boney changes to explain the issue before anyone says he was just being awkward). There were times he couldn't stand the weight of a headcollar on his head & even when he could it had to be very light, loose fitting & well padded & so a nosebag would have been utterly inappropriate for him. Same horse also had a slightly complicated relationship with food (the joys of PPID!) He was not a fan of any plain chops be they grass or straw based & would generally only eat a concoction of very sloppy copra with added grass pellets (I erm guess this on its own could work if someone invented a totally waterproof version)... even then he had to be at exactly the right level of hunger & he generally ate best if taken into a stable & given his own space (otherwise he tended to get distracted mid-meal & try to wander off or otherwise have a tantrum). I also know of people whose horses have issues with dust (eg COPD) that may again make this a not so great idea as feed particles are going to be fairly close to the nostrils.

Big thumbs up to you for saying that in such cases you'd make alternative arrangements that would better suit the horse concerned.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I also know of people whose horses have issues with dust (eg COPD) that may again make this a not so great idea as feed particles are going to be fairly close to the nostrils.

That is a very valid point. IMHO feeding from nosebags is a purely time saving exercise. The risk of choke would also be greater. Can the nosebags be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned between each use like you would with a bucket?

 

[DD]

its getting out of hand. nothing wrong with nosebags and how many people scrub out buckets after each feed. only the cleanally obsessed. H&H forum at its nit picking best/ GTL is so good that no one can find anything to bitch about so they hit on nosebags. You have to laugh.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I scrub my feed buckets/mangers out twice daily after each use. I don’t want dregs of stale food and/or meds festering in them . So yes, I have focussed on this, as I have not heard of nosebags being used elsewhere.

I do applaud the basic premise of offering a track livery, though, I hope that more yards open up offering the option. I have mine at home on a track/equicentral set up, and can see the benefits.

ETA It is also good to see that the horses can be rugged. I am fairly new to the barefoot scene, and have realised that there is a significant element of followers who perceive rugs as the work of the devil.

 

[MrsGTL]

its getting out of hand. nothing wrong with nosebags and how many people scrub out buckets after each feed. only the cleanally obsessed. H&H forum at its nit picking best/ GTL is so good that no one can find anything to bitch about so they hit on nosebags. You have to laugh.

If this is the only thing that people have to worry about then I’m happy 🙂

And I’ve kinda put the argument to bed as I’ve stated several times that if a horses couldn’t or wouldn’t be happy with a nose bag we would happily separate and feed them from a bucket 👍🏻

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support

 

[MrsGTL]

Thanks for replying to my concerns re the nosebags & stating that if it was not appropriate for a particular horse then you would bucket feed instead. As I said originally I can see why in a situation where you have multiple horses & no not massively time consuming way of safely separating them all off individually this may be more convenient & cause less arguments. I can also appreciate that introduced in the right way & supervised at all times (as we all know what horses are like for finding inventing ways to try & hang themselves!) then no, you aren't going to cause harm to the majority of horses feeding them this way. My concern was for the small, but still important percentage of horses that this would not be an appropriate feeding method for.

My concern was coming from the POV of having owned a horse who had (amongst other issues) pain in his poll area (CT-scanned most of his head, neck & back in the end & he did have boney changes to explain the issue before anyone says he was just being awkward). There were times he couldn't stand the weight of a headcollar on his head & even when he could it had to be very light, loose fitting & well padded & so a nosebag would have been utterly inappropriate for him. Same horse also had a slightly complicated relationship with food (the joys of PPID!) He was not a fan of any plain chops be they grass or straw based & would generally only eat a concoction of very sloppy copra with added grass pellets (I erm guess this on its own could work if someone invented a totally waterproof version)... even then he had to be at exactly the right level of hunger & he generally ate best if taken into a stable & given his own space (otherwise he tended to get distracted mid-meal & try to wander off or otherwise have a tantrum). I also know of people whose horses have issues with dust (eg COPD) that may again make this a not so great idea as feed particles are going to be fairly close to the nostrils.

Big thumbs up to you for saying that in such cases you'd make alternative arrangements that would better suit the horse concerned.

They are jet washed out everyday and each horse has their own named nosebag 👍🏻

 

[ihatework]

If this is the only thing that people have to worry about then I’m happy 🙂

And I’ve kinda put the argument to bed as I’ve stated several times that if a horses couldn’t or wouldn’t be happy with a nose bag we would happily separate and feed them from a bucket 👍🏻

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support

Professional response - bodes well!

 

[indie1282]

its getting out of hand. nothing wrong with nosebags and how many people scrub out buckets after each feed. only the cleanally obsessed. H&H forum at its nit picking best/ GTL is so good that no one can find anything to bitch about so they hit on nosebags. You have to laugh.

I always scrub and clean my buckets after every use. I wouldn't want to eat off a dirty plate so why should my horses?

 

[lannerch]

I always scrub and clean my buckets after every use. I wouldn't want to eat off a dirty plate so why should my horses?

I wouldn’t choose to eat of dirty soil , and trodden on food ( grass ) either , However my horse doesn’t seem to mind.

 

[ycbm]

I'm

I always scrub and clean my buckets after every use. I wouldn't want to eat off a dirty plate so why should my horses?

Am I the only person who likes eating dried on food? Every time anyone writes that they wouldn't want dried food on their bit or bucket if they were a horse, I think 'I would!' 🤣

Most horses are happy to eat their food off dirt, and many of them tip their food into the dirt before they'll eat it. One of my minis used to stand in her feed tray to eat the food 🤣

.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I was actually thinking nosebags might be an option for mine especially for something I am planning next year.


lets not have a rehash of the great feed bucket washing war of 2003 please.

 

[honetpot]

I am a slut, I hardly ever wash mine. They share everything else, down to the last nibbled carrot.
Come winter I will be chipping off the mud. I know I was taught better but a bit like travel bandages there is more to life, than scrubbing out buckets when they will be smeared in more mud tomorrow.
I just have separate ones for medicines which are washed.
Mine live as a herd and they have a consistent pecking order so it’s easy to split them up if you have to feed them.

 

[indie1282]

I'm


Am I the only person who likes eating dried on food? Every time anyone writes that they wouldn't want dried food on their bit or bucket if they were a horse, I think 'I would!' 🤣

Most horses are happy to eat their food off dirt, and many of them tip their food into the dirt before they'll eat it. One of my minis used to stand in her feed tray to eat the food 🤣

.

I think you must be. I dont know anyone that likes to eat dried on food from their previous meal.

Obviously horse eat grass, mud etc but I would rather they didnt eat old food on their buckets!

Each to their own.

 

[indie1282]

I wouldn’t choose to eat of dirty soil , and trodden on food ( grass ) either , However my horse doesn’t seem to mind.

That's a bit different to a dirty bucket though...

But each to their own!!

 

[MrsGTL]

I follow your track system on facebook, ive deliberated sending mine there when my husband was very ill last year.

I have one thing Im not impressed by, and thats the bedding in the barn, the horses often look to be lying on thin strips of bedding with their legs on concrete unless they're in the middle section. I always wonder why you make them so narrow? Other than that it looks great.

The entire section of one side of our barn now is fully covered with bedding as well as the middle

 

[SEL]

I'm


Am I the only person who likes eating dried on food? Every time anyone writes that they wouldn't want dried food on their bit or bucket if they were a horse, I think 'I would!' 🤣

.

My mare gets the beet and copra soaking buckets to 'clean' - she loves licking off the beet / coconut dried on watermark bit. In fact she will happily clean pretty much any bucket she comes across including where the owner is soaking with water to help get the dried food off. Very helpful dishwasher. Having borrowed a stable one day and found her turning up the edges of rubber matting to get to old bits of food underneath you'd think I starved her. Nope.

The little riding stables where I started life as a tiny tot fed with nosebags. Just sacks with string. I can't remember new ponies ever being properly introduced to them, they were just hung round their heads and as soon as they realised that was their small pony nut ration they munched away happily. Haven't seen them for years!

 

[Honey08]

Yes it looks much better.

The entire section of one side of our barn now is fully covered with bedding as well as the middle

 

[holeymoley]

I also follow on Facebook. I really like the look of the yard set up, looks fab, what I don’t like is the way that barefoot is best and that shoes are awful is clearly the opinion.