Sanversera
Well-Known Member
On WHW web page. Interesting with a downloadable sheet to read and score.
Heard of HEY?
- Thread starter Sanversera
- Start date
foxy1
Well-Known Member
Just had a look, stands for Horses' Experiences on Yards.
It would be really good if all kinds of yards really took this on board
It would be really good if all kinds of yards really took this on board
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't it?
Though the thought of any YO I have had doing a self-reflective critique sort of exercise is comically absurd.
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maya2008
Well-Known Member
So out of curiosity I went to look. It’s a lovely idea, but if you want people to follow something in a practical sense and take it seriously, I feel it should be thought through in a practical way. There were a few issues I could see.
‘Horses can access clean water at an appropriate temperature’
Huh? Electric water heaters needed now? Most of mine were once wild. They rotate to keep the troughs open in winter (nose hole kept clear) and drink more/less as needed. They also aren’t great fans of completely algae free, although we all agree there can be too much of it. Surely access = ice broken as needed and a supply constantly available and that’s it done? Or are we going to try heating the streams on Dartmoor and Exmoor and the New Forest?
Choice of environment: not always practical in the UK on rented land, on smaller parcels needing planning, on varying soil types and topography etc. For example we have large, flat, well drained fields at the moment. Specifically chosen because they don’t turn into mud pits in winter. Shelter is mostly an appropriate waterproof (or fly) rug, good fly repellent spot on or chemicals, and buddies. Previously we ran the gamut of ‘what poisonous thing will this tree drop this season’ combined with ‘what branch will come crashing down in the next storm’. The land varied in elevation. It was beautiful. In reality we had lameness due to them playing roughly on the hills, times of the year in which only an acre was usable due to poisonous seeds/seedlings and a mud pit in winter. They voluntarily chose the barn only to get out of deep mud and flies. In storms, torrential rain, 40 degree heat - they chose the middle of the fields. Resolutely. What they valued was the water trough and grass and not having things landing on them in high winds.
Being able to choose a surface that is drier, wetter, softer or firmer. This is one you can more easily do in a stable - well except for ‘wetter’. Outside you have weather. Hosepipe bans. Life. It’s a field full of grass on the same soil type and rock type. I can add shelters with a soil or a rubber floor. That won’t be ‘wetter’. It might not be drier depending on which way the wind is blowing. I met a horse recently who chose to stand in the field gateway all night every night last winter. In fetlock deep water. His coat was enormously matted and caked in mud, his hooves were showing significant structural issues. The rest of the field was much drier.
Horses can see at least one other horse at all times… including while lying down.
Works for me but standard stables - used everywhere all over the country - don’t allow this. There are safety and practical issues around barn type housing on a shared facility like a livery yard (not all horses get on, new arrivals, different diets etc). Plus box rest for injuries, laminitis etc.
handling is done in pairs or in groups wherever possible
We generally do for time management but most one horse owners by necessity need to get their horse in, brush, get the vet out if needed, hack, school…alone. It is part of every young horse’s education.
‘Horses can access clean water at an appropriate temperature’
Huh? Electric water heaters needed now? Most of mine were once wild. They rotate to keep the troughs open in winter (nose hole kept clear) and drink more/less as needed. They also aren’t great fans of completely algae free, although we all agree there can be too much of it. Surely access = ice broken as needed and a supply constantly available and that’s it done? Or are we going to try heating the streams on Dartmoor and Exmoor and the New Forest?
Choice of environment: not always practical in the UK on rented land, on smaller parcels needing planning, on varying soil types and topography etc. For example we have large, flat, well drained fields at the moment. Specifically chosen because they don’t turn into mud pits in winter. Shelter is mostly an appropriate waterproof (or fly) rug, good fly repellent spot on or chemicals, and buddies. Previously we ran the gamut of ‘what poisonous thing will this tree drop this season’ combined with ‘what branch will come crashing down in the next storm’. The land varied in elevation. It was beautiful. In reality we had lameness due to them playing roughly on the hills, times of the year in which only an acre was usable due to poisonous seeds/seedlings and a mud pit in winter. They voluntarily chose the barn only to get out of deep mud and flies. In storms, torrential rain, 40 degree heat - they chose the middle of the fields. Resolutely. What they valued was the water trough and grass and not having things landing on them in high winds.
Being able to choose a surface that is drier, wetter, softer or firmer. This is one you can more easily do in a stable - well except for ‘wetter’. Outside you have weather. Hosepipe bans. Life. It’s a field full of grass on the same soil type and rock type. I can add shelters with a soil or a rubber floor. That won’t be ‘wetter’. It might not be drier depending on which way the wind is blowing. I met a horse recently who chose to stand in the field gateway all night every night last winter. In fetlock deep water. His coat was enormously matted and caked in mud, his hooves were showing significant structural issues. The rest of the field was much drier.
Horses can see at least one other horse at all times… including while lying down.
Works for me but standard stables - used everywhere all over the country - don’t allow this. There are safety and practical issues around barn type housing on a shared facility like a livery yard (not all horses get on, new arrivals, different diets etc). Plus box rest for injuries, laminitis etc.
handling is done in pairs or in groups wherever possible
We generally do for time management but most one horse owners by necessity need to get their horse in, brush, get the vet out if needed, hack, school…alone. It is part of every young horse’s education.