Have you ever been asked to LEAVE your yard?

[Enfys]

Following on from the "Midnight Flit" thread by Leviathon, has anyone ever been given notice to quit their yard rather than leaving of your own accord?

Did you get your money back if you left before your notice was up?

 

[Capriole]

yes.

My horse was on full livery somewhere with my mother checking on him, when Id just started uni. She asked me to come home one weekend as she wasnt happy, I went straight to the yard and my horse had no hay and a rubbish bed. I went to the house to ask for some more hay and straw for him as it was only early and they said hed already had and tough. Well that wasnt what I was paying for tbh.
They had a nasty go at me, and I got annoyed and told them id get him some hay for myself as it was too early for him to have finished his hay for the day.
The drunk husband came out to the stable shouting the odds at me telling me to get out NOW, with the wife trying to stop him.
I said I would go, but I wasnt going at that second as I was paid up in front and I had to find somewhere else. More shouting from drunk man.

The wife rang to apologise for the way the drunk man had been to me (threatening etc) and asked me to stay and they would make sure he had the amounts of hay they had promised when I moved there. But I wasnt going to stay after being threatened. (I had it lucky in a way, as some of the young girl liveries later told me he used to come in their stables when they were in there and get his penis out and wave it about at them Glad I missed out on that...)(plus there was other stuff)

So we found somewhere else and I came and got the horse while the drunky man was away at the pub.

Drunky man was later killed, walking down a country road in the dark with his penis out

 

[hairycob]

I got asked to leave a very small private yard at a weeks notice. The reason given was that I was doing too much poo picking & it was making the owner feel left out! I suspect that it was really something to do with the fact that she had just bought another horse. Luckily I was able to go back to my old yard (so I can't be that bad). Trouble was I'd left there because they never repaired the fences/stables & I was always worried that the feed room wall was about to collapse on top of me.

 

[Mithras]

Oh yes. I am one of the many who at various points in time have been asked to leave Edinburgh Equestrian Centre. No idea why, as I paid my bills, was tidy, competent and didn't moan, but I may have looked at the YO wrongly one day, or maybe I wasn't enough of a happy hacker. Who knows! It was pretty annoying, as I got less than a month's notice, and ended up having to move my horse to new yard on Christmas Eve. Also meant I got a non-emergency call at work, which I hate, not least because at that job I wasn't allowed personal calls, and got a row about it.

Can you tell I wasn't particularly impressed lol?

 

[Fantasy_World]

No, never and have always left on good terms with owner and fellow liveries too.

 

[abbijay]

yes.

Drunky man was later killed, walking down a country road in the dark with his penis out

I shouldn't find this funny but i did! Laughed so loud that I've just had to explain all this to my non-horsey colleague. She laughed too.

 

[Cop-Pop]

Yes, by the ones I snuck out on. They put all the horses in one big field but fenced into sections using one strand of electric fence that wasnt connected to anything. My mare was the only mare at the time (she was turned out with a little shetland and some sheep) but they decided to move her into this field with 9 other geldings when she was in season As you can imagine it caused chaos -the fence was broken down and lots of galloping around and fighting ensued. One youngster the YO had just paid 20k for as her next dressage prospect turned out to be a rig and smashed his stable down (was wooden one) trying to get back out to get at my mare. When I turned up after work I couldnt believe it! They didnt tell me what they had planned or I would have objected. They decided it was my fault and gave me a months notice.

 

[ossy]

Yes me I was... The YO told me the staff couldn't handle my horse, she wasn't that bad the only thing she didn't like was leg straps on rugs and back feet being picked out, all my rugs had fillet strings and told them not to pick her back feet out i'd do them but it was till an issue. I did tell them she was funny with these two things before I moved but the YO answer was " I have experienced staff that deal with lots of different issues" The YO also laughed when she handed me my notice that I wouldn't find another yard to take such a difficult mare... that really got me the most So the very next day I found one, great place, the current YO is now one of my best friends, and I left the very next day refusing to pay for the whole notice period she had given me to leave, and asked me to pay it wasn't in my contract that I had to, she wasn't happy when she relised i'd gone. But if she'd been fair with me I'd of been fair with her.

 

[Bertolie]

Sort of! Until moving to the yard I am at now, my horse was kept at a small private yard that was owned by the owner of the company I worked for, and rented by the managing director of the same company (so my boss) who also happened to be in a relationship with my daughter (complicted or what!). When daughter and boss split up it made for a very tense atmosphere on the yard and when things turned ugly between them it was 'suggested' that I might prefer to move the horses somewhere else! I found the yard that I am on now which is lovely and a lot closer to home and moved both mine and daughters horses straight away (and also changed jobs lol!)

 

[Vetwrap]

Yes. Was told to go or they would load my horse and would drop him off at my house. That would have been a good one to watch, as I could never get him to load!

Apparently YO took offence at the fact that I took my cleaned rugs home when she wanted to use them on her horse. She didn't see the problem with using my rugs on her horses if mine were clean and hers weren't. I never tackled her about it - just took them home instead.

Other than that, the fact that our turn out was a bog and hers was not seemed slightly unfair. After the fact it was a bog was pointed out to her, she just told us that there was no winter turnout and then told me to go.

Actually, it did me a great favour because I found a stunning little yard after that and we were happy there til it was sold years later...

 

[StormyMoments]

yes - taz had injured him self on fencing one year and almost blead to death and was on box rest for 8 months we had told her that the fencing needed sorting and she said sort it your self, you dont have to turn your horse out... so we did what we could with the fencing ( barbed wire and sheep wire and an occational post and rail) then the next year he did it again not as bad this time but he punctured his fetlock joint and re opened the scarring and we again said she needed to sort the fencing she said no i cant afford it do it your self. at that point we were already looking at moving and had found a new yard, taz then tripped in the field and bit halfway through his toung(sp?) and at that point she left us a note saying you are obviously not happy with this yard and i am now ending your livery contract as of 25th november and with a jesture of good will i will give you a months free livery... which was a result as we were going to hand in our notice that day and we would have had to pay livery there so we got a free month which was very good

 

[hula]

Kind of yes, but as I was just a rider for YO and his wife, just me.

Had my accident, a friend down the yard said the horse was also very shaken by it, and a week afterwards, not looking my best (black eyes, sling, graze down face, hobbling), hobbled to the yard to see the poor thing and some friends. Horse had been moved to the school yard as they were having work done on their private part of the yard, one adult having a private lesson in the arena. Was stood in stable patting the poor bugger and out comes the wife screaming and shouting about why should I be down their looking in that state and I may scare of customers!!!

And how dare I come back and blame her husbands horse, which I did not, and even in A&E I was asking if the horse was ok. A freak accident nothing more...

Some people are very very very strange... was a bit young at the time and just left and have never set foot there again...

 

[Syrah]

I was told my horse was unmanageable, I needed to sell, YO offered to sell her for me (confidence was shot at this point after weeks of being told my horse was this that and the other). Agreed a fee, paid for some ads then a week later YO text me and told me she wasn't fit for sale and I needed to sort her out asap and get her to a dealer.

Was then told I had to give 4 weeks notice and couldn't have a refund of my upfront full livery.

So I found somewhere else, gave the 4 weeks notice and left 2 weeks early as I was sick of the attitude and being asked to pay for things that weren't happening.

My unmanageable horse was breaking out of her field, 1 strand of electric fencing that was never turned on. She started breaking out when there was no grass, no hay in the field and she was out alone with another horse next door but the furthest bit away. She only had one small haynet from 3.30pm until 9am the next morning. She was hungry! I wasn't allowed to tie a haynet up for her when she was tied up outside, wonder why she got bored, fed up and was a prat.

But my unmanageable horse was a little lamb moving yards. Took in her stride being led into a very large barn, up 2 corridors to her new stable. She didn't go near the mains fed, 3 strand electric fencing when turned out yesterday. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she was given a huge pile of hay and then a further load once she'd finished that!

She didn't bat an eyelid when a guy was drilling, sawing in the stable block, she stood absolutely still tied up in the holding stall (with a haynet) whilst a couple of rings were fixed to the wall in her stable.

She didn't scream her head off when her neighbour was taken out for a hack.

My very stressed, hungry horse is now chilled with a full tummy. Still a bit nervy because she's in a new place, but I'll get some fat on her (she's ribby) and hopefully the huge scrape she has on her face will heal and she'll stop self mutilating (I only discovered the sore after not being able to get up to see her for a few days).

As I said in another thread, I'll never trust anyone in the horse world again but it's looking so far as if we're in the right place. I feel so guilty that I allowed anyone who I thought had my horses best interests at heart to influence me. The only interest that was there was how much money they could get out of me.

 

[Marydoll]

Yes i have twice, for the same reason, when i wouldnt drop my standards of care to the ones set by yo's who didnt know their arse from there elbow, and couldnt pick a horse out in a line up.
The second time i'd already gave notice when the yo's wife told me to get off the yard by the end of the week, believe me that was no hardship, poor fencing and them running at the back of you turning lights off and telling us if you poured the dregs of the water out the bucket in the morning, they were getting to much, give half a bucket.
Oh and that barell of water can be used all week to soak haynets
ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS

 

[claireandnadia]

No thank god. It's hard enough to find a new yard thats not too expensive for one horse but I have two and one is a shettie which has gone against me in the past.

 

[Ladylina83]

I did once - I got accused of pinching shavings when YO husband saw me in the shed one night however I had already written a note in the comms book to say I had to take one as my stable had flooded - told him to look in the book he wouldn't then the next day accused me of writting it afterwards and I was obviously guilty as I had avoided eye contact with him on the yard all day! Nightmare - Wife called me up and said I would have to leave then told all other yards in the area I was a thief - I told all the other liveries what had happened as I had nothing to hide, spoke to YO wife in the end and they let me stay ! I was a good livery I paid my rent on time was friendly and switched to straw after that to avoid being labled in the hunt for the shavings thief !!

I stayed another year after that went to shows with YO and when I left as I had lost my job they took me to my new cheap yard and didn't charge me ! Bad day at the office perhaps !

 

[shellonabeach]

Yep with my gelding who I have owned 16yrs and who has been on probably 10 yards (some just for a holiday)

A few years ago I kept him at a small private yard when I was at Uni with a lady who had several of her own horses. He had been there for over a year when she started breeding from her mare and went a bit strange. Mare had a foal and she then brought a stallion onto the yard (owned by travellers) to cover the mare again, put it in the stable next to mine and then said I was not allowed to bring my gelding up to the stables nor ride him in the school which was opposite the stables as it was causing problems with the stallion / mare! She told me off for pulling up ragwort!!

Finally she claimed my gelding was trying to kill her foal accusing him of breaking the post and rail fencing to get in with the mare and foal and saying the travellers said he was a rig. Actually what I saw when I was there was her mare breaking the fence to get to my gelding...

The stallion went after a few weeks and the next day I was out for the day (he was on full livery) and she left me a message that night saying that my horse had broken the fence again, she had put him in his stable and he wasn't allowed out anymore and I needed to move him asap. I came straight home to find she had taken all the straw out of his box and he was on bare concrete with a bucket of water, no hay and the top door shut and he was so stressed out. She had also padlocked his bottom stable door shut.

The next morning I went with my Grandad to see her and she said he had no straw as he wouldn't be staying (I paid a month in advance and had approx 3 weeks livery left) she also demanded my gate key so I couldn't get into the fields / yard without her being there. She said I would have to see him / move him at her convienience. I asked about a refund of livery and she said he had caused so much damage that she would be keeping it for repairs.

I had already been to look at a yard due to the loss of facilities and stallion being brought onto the yard but they couldn't take me for a week, my friend lived nearby and her neighbours had a shetland pony in a tiny paddock, they kindly let me keep my gelding with them for a week.

I felt awful for my horse, this woman was a total nutter, finding him in the state he was in that night and her attitude being so nasty I will never forget. In all the years before and after he has never broken any fences and I wholeheartedly do not believe he was responsible for the damage caused.

Never left any other yards on bad terms

 

[littlescallywag]

Yep, YO was a biatch who hated my horse with a vengence, wrong breed, wrong colour, you name it , it was wrong.
Was told to leave due to a field incident that was not my boys doing but because he was the biggest it was obviously him (injured horse had horse shoe shape cut and my boy is barefoot !!!) , and left by next morning to a fantastic yard that I have no intention of ever leaving.

 

[Elsbells]

I wasnt going to stay after being threatened. (I had it lucky in a way, as some of the young girl liveries later told me he used to come in their stables when they were in there and get his penis out and wave it about at them Glad I missed out on that...)(plus there was other stuff)

So we found somewhere else and I came and got the horse while the drunky man was away at the pub.

Drunky man was later killed, walking down a country road in the dark with his penis out

Disrespectful maybe, but this made me laugh out loud!!

Perhaps he should of been wearing high viz on his penis!!

 

[Capriole]

Be safe...Be seen

 

[blood_magik]

yep.
one of the liveries kicked one of the grooms and broke her arm.
we were all given a months notice to find somewhere else.
I was gutted but my boys much happier in his new home so I guess it was a good thing

 

[wyrdsister]

Loving the drunk guy thread! Technically I've been asked to leave twice. Once because the yard was closing down and once by my current yard owner. The latter has a bit of a rep for getting frustrated with his liveries and, usually when asked to fix something, snaps: "Just leave if you don't like it here!" I think we've all been asked to leave at some point; but if you wait for a few hours/days, nothing more is said, whatever you wanted done gets done, and that's the end of it. No one takes much notice now!

 

[HeatherAnn]

With his penis out. Pahaha I shouldn't laugh because it is unfortunate. But hey, some people die how they lived...

 

[Joyous70]

Disrespectful maybe, but this made me laugh out loud!!

Perhaps he should of been wearing high viz on his penis!!

Made me laugh out loud too!!

They probably don't make high viz bands small enough for the job

 

[Perissa]

Yes and I was so upset I have never forgotton it!!

I had been on the yard for 2 years. A new livery moved in with three ponies. One kept getting cast but as I was often up there late I was the one who found the pony. Most of the time I was able to pull her out enough for her to sort herself out.

The problem was the lack of bedding. I kid you not, she put 1 fold of straw in a night on bare concrete. One day I was in a conversation with her and she said that she didn't know why Stardust kept getting cast. I VERY nicely suggested more bedding as in banks so she couldn't get so close to the wall.

The next day I got down the yard and the yard owner is waiting for me. She gave me a weeks notice to leave. Apparently this woman told her that I had been ranting at her and made her cry!!!! It couldn't have been further from the truth. I left and months later I saw the YO at a show and she apologised to me and said that she listened to her because she said that it was her or me and as she had three and I only had one I was the one who had to go. The woman complained about everything and was a compulsive liar about everything. YO asked her to leave after three months......

 

[rockysmum]

Yes but it was probably about a years notice. I got a letter saying they were selling up. I didn't wait for it to happen though I found somewhere else. They were very good at the old yard. I went a week into a month and tried to pay them, they wouldn't take it

 

[Damnation]

Yes, me and the other liveries were given notice because the yard was closing down. So it wasn't on bad terms at all.

 

[JFTDWS]

yea, it was closing / the owners weren't happy with the number of horses the manager squeezed onto it. Was meant to be about 6 horses (and overstocked at that) but ended up with twice that, only 3 stables, not enough fields - it was a bog.

Mind you, I did manage to let half the horses out onto the main road on Christmas day that year so I reckon they'd have been fair enough kicking me off anyway Mind you, if the fencing hadn't been partially destroyed by their horses and they hadn't had broken gates / fencing separating the yard from the main road, it would've been easier not to cause a disaster

 

[Persephone]

Feeling horribly paranoid!

 

[russianhorse]

Yep - twice actually lol (but we only moonlight flitted the once)

The first wasn't my fault. I was 15 and the guy who owned the yard was a ladies man who enjoyed having the young girls flirting with him & heading off into his bungalow. I unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) wasn't interested in him in the slightest, so he was all funny with me. Then my dad started coming down, and the older ladies took a liking to him. After a little while, the YO tried to start a fight with my dad, who gave him what for & we were screamed at to leave, which we did at 5am one morning. After this incident, I ditched my dad's help with the horse lol

The second time was about 10 years later, when the elderly YO had had enough of the liveries etc and chucked us all out. After I found somewhere else & told her where I was going, she asked me to stay along with another 2 liveries. I stayed there until I moved up to Cambs