Grass/retirement livery wwyd?

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poiuytrewq

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This is really stressing me out right now, so thought I’d see what the general opinion would be~

I took my retired horse to a great place about 10/15 mins away. A friend had a retiree there already, they lived out and we did one end of the day each. It was well priced and worked perfectly.
The lady who owned the fields which are attached to but kind of separate from a livery yard very kindly had stable/pens put in a barn for us for extreme weather.
So they had a weekend in for whatever the named storm was a while ago for example.
Friends horse sadly was pts and I knew mine wouldn’t be happy alone, there are others around but they come in at night. So as an experiment more than anything I look Ziggy my other horse over for a holiday and to buy me some time.
I can’t afford two at another place so had said it was temporary and had put aside money (from Christmas!) to keep both there until March. I didn’t know what I’d do after then but figured I’d cross that bridge as and when.
Time wise it’s also been hard fitting two visits a day but do-able.
However last week they had to come in for the forcast snow and have been on restricted turn out since. So as not to trash the fields which I do totally get.
Im happy for them to not be out 24/7 but currently they get 3/4 hours and it’s not like I can ride or otherwise exercise or entertain them. Also the idea was they were to have loads of turnout that I couldn’t provide at home. I’m not paying a nominal amount to have them brought back in at lunch time on weekdays as I really can’t do 3 trips a day. So this weekend has been nothing but horses, literally by the time I’d finished them and ones at home it was time to go back and bring in.

However, I love it there. I love my little barn, it’s perfect! Everything there is directly on tap so it’s easy. My feed and hay etc is in the barn with them, the only issue is the muck heap is about 10 miles away 🤦‍♀️ They are chilled and happy. Ziggy is not on high alert all the time, he grazes and is more content. The field is about an acre maybe, I have two to alternate. They still have grass.

However, going forward I can’t be keeping them stood in 20 odd hours a day. It’s not what I signed up for and it doesn’t sit right with me having horses in for that long.

Went to look at some grazing yesterday arranged by Mr P.
It’s 6 acres. I can do what I want with it, split or use as a whole, there is nothing there though, no storage etc. it’s very close to home. Minutes away. They would obviously be out 24/7
I’m going to pop back today as it was too dark really to see it properly and I want to see what the hedges are like shelter wise etc.
there’s water, owner lives on site and the field is visible to his house. He will put a little shelter on skids in for me if I want.
It’s more expensive, slightly. Same price as above including the bringing in.
I could probably incorporate dog walking into horse checking.

My worries are no storage, where do I put wet or spare rugs etc. hay and feed I can bring from home, I have a little van so that’s not ideal but really not a problem either.
How do things like farrier work with no facilities at all? My farrier won’t turn up and trim muddy feet in a field I would t imagine!

Which/what do I do?
I’ve been lying awake all night going over all this 😂
 
To me it's a no brainer, accept the offer of the 6 acres and if necessary bring the horses home for the farrier etc. You can transport wet rugs in your van.

Eta, ours have been out 24/7 in this last week's snow, with rugs and a shelter and have been absolutely fine. The snow here has been so bad that we haven't been able to get the cars out, so not a small amount.
 
We haven’t had much snow just very frozen, which makes me less understand the sudden stabling in a way as they can’t trash the ground 🤷‍♀️ mine have been out at home.
I suppose I could bring them home in the lorry, seems a hassle but it won’t be many times until the ground dries up.

Yes they do need rugs, they have been rugged up to this point so would be freezing if I suddenly whip them off!

They can have as much hay as they can eat, I will go look shelter wise today.

The other slight 😬 was that the 3 horses In the next field were tearing round like nutters and the guy commented they were a bit mad!
I don’t want Ziggy wound up. They can’t possibly be like that all the time though I guess!
 
I would go with 6 acre field. Get some rubber mats or even better mud control mats (they hold their value so if need be you can resell them) , put them just inside the gate, you can then park van on them, have somewhere for horses to stand for farrier/vet and it will stop anyone feeding them over the gate (put them down before horses go on it so not poached and section it off from them to save it getting muddy).

Section field in half so you can rest half after winter and if offered a shelter I would say yes, you can hang wet rugs to dry at the back and hang hay in there or put a mineral lick in there should it be required. Again if you can stretch to mats for shelter great. Mine use shelter much more in summer to escape from flies than in winter!! So make sure it's In between summer and winter halves of paddock, preferably near gate for your convenience lol
 
I was going to say the same thing as Meesha and put mats down for a ‘hard standing’ area. Most farriers will have horses to see that live out.

It’s a shame the other yard isn’t working out. Mine have all gone out normal hours in the snow. The field will get far more trashed now it’s melted than when the ground was frozen.
 
6 acres sound tempting, however if you love where you are I wouldn't discount it. Are they in pens where they can mooch about? I wouldn't be opposed to keeping horses in a bit more than usual if they are in pens, particularly if they are big enough to share. Whist its been snowing mine has an hour in the field whilst I muck out, then in his all weather pen until I go back in the afternoon. I don't love it but he's not fizzed up on this routine, his pen opens directly on top turn out, often i turn out and he puts himself back in his pen!

If its only for a few weeks I would consider staying but try to come to terms with the fact they are in a bit more.
 
Would the owner of the land be OK with a small shipping container / cheap caravan for storage on the site - def a temporary structure so on the grey side of planning.
Is there anywhere you could put it that wouldn't immediately piss off all the neighbours.

Or a mobile field shelter split into 2 with half used for storage.

The weather has been unusually prolonged. Perhaps also speak to current YO about what the usual winter routine is. If the week in is a one off then maybe no rush to move.
If s/he says that the ground has to be protected all winter then 1 acre for 2 horses is going to mean a huge amount of time in.

Mine are mostly choosing to use one small bit of field next to the shelter for the last 10 days - we've had genuinely 20 cms of snow which is now ice ! The state of it once it all melts will be horrifying - I will have to just close my eyes as I walk past it until the spring when it can be fixed.
But it's my land and I can choose to trash it for their benefit and I have kit to fix it later in the year.
 
Another vote here for the 6 acre field - not just for the horses' sake but you too, you sound exhausted.

If the owner is happy for you to have a little shelter can you put a rope high up across the back to hang really grotty rugs? I'm sure someone will say it's a safety hazard but I've been on plenty of yards that did it with no problems.

ETA I would go for a visually attractive shelter I think, rather than a caravan or shipping container. If the owner lives on site you want to keep him on side rather than spoiling his view!
 
I'd go for the 6 acres.

Can Mr P put a large bale of hay there every week/10 days to avoid you putting nets of hay in your van?

My farrier used to come to a muddy field to trim. We put an electric fence up round the gate giving us an area big enough for them to be tied up and cleaned up before he came. Bring a couple of old towels from home in case you need to rinse and dry legs off. Gives you a nice cleaner area for checking them over etc out of the mud in the gate way.

6 acres is also big enough for you to pop a couple from home there too if you wanted to give yourself a bit of break and them a bit of a holiday. Or potentially have someone keep a 3rd there with you so you can share the daily checks and jobs.
 
I would go for the 6 acres the fact that it’s minutes from home is great. When I kept mine in a field I wanted to use the same farrier so I hacked for half an hour to get there as he had stopped doing individual visits. I put long boots on his legs so it was just the feet that got muddy and I could wipe them off once I got there . It’s only once every six weeks so I wouldn’t worry about that part .
 
Oh ok! I think i know which way I have to go!
I did call in quickly and look in day light. There is no mud! Its still frozen under foot admittedly but currently grass in the gateway! not lots of grass but it's so big that they don't need it knee deep. I don't think they will be bothered about hay really. Can easily keep feed at home and take in buckets ready if needed.
I did ask how they coped with things like farrier as they have a pony and ovbiously the 3 retired in the other field must have their feet done. Apparently there is a bit of hard standing somewhere- not quite sure where but it has a tie ring so that's ideal. I can take water and towels and clean them up.
Ideally I will at some point find someone to share with as i want Ziggy home to ride really, although it's possible I could ride him from there perhaps. I just hope he stays as calm in general as he currently is!

Need to speak to Mr P and make sure he knows he's paying!



Looks like we are shipping out then. 😬
 
Possible about turn. Restricted turn out has ended. So i have my lovely little barn to use as and when but can also chuck them back out 24/7 if i want.
This really threw the spanner back in the works. I really do like it at the current place and when they are out out its cheaper too.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Possible about turn. Restricted turn out has ended. So i have my lovely little barn to use as and when but can also chuck them back out 24/7 if i want.
This really threw the spanner back in the works. I really do like it at the current place and when they are out out its cheaper too.
Click to expand...

But how long will that last?
 
poiuytrewq said:
Possible about turn. Restricted turn out has ended. So i have my lovely little barn to use as and when but can also chuck them back out 24/7 if i want.
This really threw the spanner back in the works. I really do like it at the current place and when they are out out its cheaper too.
Click to expand...

If you and horses are happy there can you find out if they restrict grazing every year or is this unusual
 
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