Horse not suited by yard rules

Wimbles

Wimbles

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Now I don't know if I'm just getting myself into a stew but the nice little yard I'm on just doesn't seem to suit one of my horses.

The horses have been in at night all winter and only went out at night this week but everytime it rains the horses have to stay in day and night and it's driving on of my skanky tb's mad. He's box walking so bad that his stable is just trashed, he's kicking big lumps out of the stable walls and the other day he must have fallen over spinning round in his box as he'd scraped all his legs :( We also nearly lost him through impaction colic a couple of years ago and going from wet grass to dryish haylage worries me sick.

At previous yards my horses have always been out 24/7 from 1st April come rain or shine and this is what we were told would happen when we moved onto the yard.

I'm just so disappointed as I like the yard and people but I'm being made to feel like I'm being difficult whilst I try and keep him out as much as possible. No-one else seems to mind and tonights exchanges with YO left me feeling rotten.

I really don't know if I'm just being a pain and should move on or whether I should try and make YO see my point???
 
I wouldn't go anywhere where my horses had to stay in 24/7. If the yard doesn't suit your horse, the answer seems pretty simple to me - move!
 
similar happened on my old yard! i moved just before xmas being told all horses were out 24/7 all summer from approx april, my horses was out with 2 grass liveries all winter so i was allowed to keep her out if i wanted, so when the weather became milder she stayed out, however, April came and the horses all got moved to the summer fields, but we were all told all horses had to be in at night!!! so my poor horses didn`t know whether she was coming or going! the Yo, a young inexperienced girl kept on making excuses about the 24/7 turnout. it became quite evident that she did not want them out 24/7 this year, despite the fact she had allowed it last year!!
My option......... was to leave and i am not at a lovely yard where my girl can be out 24/7 all year, or be stabled if wanted it`s a lovely feeling and she is so much happier!!
Good luck!
 
I also moved to a yard a year ago that said they did 24/7 turnout for a few months in summer (not great but enough to keep me and pony sane! )
But when it came to it, we werent allowed them out 24/7 at all, all year round, so iv just moved to a field with a shelter which Im renting and loaned her a companion - both out 24/7 and not bothered at all, much more suitable for them.

I would never again move to a yard unless I knew for definate they could be out 24/7.
 
If you have explained the problem to the YO and they won't accommodate you, you'll have to move. You can't have that long term, can you? :(
 
I'm not on a yard, but keep my horse at my friend's. We usually turn out 24/7 at this time of year but with the constant rain and water logged fields we are still bringing in every night. I do think that it is asking a lot of the YO for 24/7 turn out in these dreadful conditions as everyone will moan at them later in the year if the fields are trashed and there is no grass, so they are stuck in between a rock and a hard place! However, if your horse is as unhappy as you say I'd certainly been looking for somewhere else that has guaranteed turnout during the day.
 
I'd not stay somewhere without lots of turnout. My farm & a near by one have the same rule of year round turnout, with it being restricted in bad weather. At ours, that means in at night for a few months a year, nearby yard it means use of a tiny mud bath while you muck out Nov- end of April, few hours in the day rest of the year & in a v dry summer the odd week of 24/7 turnout.
 
juliette said:
I'm not on a yard, but keep my horse at my friend's. We usually turn out 24/7 at this time of year but with the constant rain and water logged fields we are still bringing in every night. I do think that it is asking a lot of the YO for 24/7 turn out in these dreadful conditions as everyone will moan at them later in the year if the fields are trashed and there is no grass, so they are stuck in between a rock and a hard place! However, if your horse is as unhappy as you say I'd certainly been looking for somewhere else that has guaranteed turnout during the day.
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Our horses are at home and are currently in and out like yo-yos atm. We've never done this before - they're in again tonight because of the rain. Our land changes daily, so we make our decisions daily. However this is very different from being in 24/7, which is what the OP was talking about. If YOs haven't got enough suitable land to allow every horse a decent amount of turnout daily, they have too many horses on the land.
 
I would move, but this weather is causing problems.
Our two have 5 acres and are normally free range, but because the fields are very wet, I am limiting the space they have even walking they are trashing the fields, so I have resorted to hand grazing them on the drive and around the verges,praying for a week of dry weather.
Oh look, it's raining again
 
Voice your concerns to YO, tell her about your colic worries and him falling. If she is understanding and accommodates you then great, if she doesn't then you'll have to make the decision to move if you are worried about him :)
 
I agree that having a "proper talk" with the yard owner might be best, just so she understands the situation and that you're not being 'difficult', but are concerned about your horses health and wellbeing (and rightly so!)
Hopefully she may try to help a little more, the rain has been a nightmare recently, a lot worse than previous years, so I do understand her point of view that all horses can't stay out 24/7 without ploughing the field up (not sure how many others there are?), but at the same time, one or two staying out for medical reasons doesn't sound unreasonable, especially if they're all usually out for the rest of the year now.
Being inside 24/7 is stressful for a lot of horses, especially sensitive ones - if your horse was "completely out" for a week and now is "completely in" then of course he'll be unsettled - you know how much they love their routines! While other horses on the yard might be fine with this arrangement, it obviously isn't suiting him.
If she can't make any changes for you then personally I would move - not because you're a pain! - but because it isn't fair on you to be worrying about your horse being so anxious overnight and it isn't fair on him either.
 
I had EXACTLY this problem, I was told that in a 365 days the horses had only been made to stay in when the yard iced up...for 3 days!

The reality was, every time it rained...myself and 1 other livery kept putting ours out and then got asked to stop. They also made the horses stay in for 48 hours when wormed.

My mare was miserable...utterly miserable...I had to move and she is very happy now.

If your horse isn't happy then maybe its not the right yard, maybe you could explain this to the YO.
 
I was at a yard like that once on full livery, promised daily turnout for at least 8 hours but never happened, when it rained heavily there would be no turnout at all, not even during the day, so horses were stood inside stable all day. In for 3 weeks in the middle of summer, for example. Or 4 weeks because it was a snowy winter. At other times, they would be out 24/7. Never mind the horse, I didn't know whether I was coming or going! Horse became a nightmare spook and agrophobic due to 24/7 stabling, yes he was nice and clean and waiting there for me ready to tack up but ended up moving as soon as I could get out of there!
 
The weather has been so wet I'm not sure I'd want horses out 24/7 on my land if I had any. I suppose it depends how much land they have because if it's limited and they're out now there won't ne much grass in a couple of months time.
 
I am sure that some european countries have a legal requirment to provide turnout every day, 365 days a year for livery no matter what the weather.

Why cant YO sacrafice an area for atleast a few hours a day for the horses to have some freedom. It is hard to ask a horse to stand in a box 24 hrs a day, I have just moved from a place that had us in for 2 1/2 months over winter, never again!!! just to save their grazing and they had over 40 acres!
 
I get so sick of reading statements by "experts" about YOs having too many horses on their land etc - these people obviously haven't ever owned and had to maintain a field, and would, no doubt, be the first to complain if their rent went up due to the cost of restoring wrecked fields! To roll, harrow, top, and everything else that wants doing to our fields costs about £1000 a year.. So perhaps that will help you understand..

We have twenty acres for two horses, and sometimes we can't get the horses out! We gave up doing livery as they ruined the fields and it cost way more than DIY made to keep everything nice.. In ice we were worried sick about getting sued (how many threads do you read on here about people wanting to sue over a broken leg or injured horse...) Generally speaking these "staying in" rules are more likely to be imposed due to previous livieries being a pain than greedy YOs..

Anyway, rant over, back to topic!

If this is only happening lately, over the last few weeks, I would be inclined to give the yard the benefit of the doubt - remember Badminton has been cancelled for the second time in history, along with most other BE events as the ground is so wet. It really is an unusual year, and the fields are well behind where they normally are in terms of grass etc (just look at the trees compared to trees at this time of year - they're not even out yet up here!) Im sure the yard doesn't like the horse being in kicking hell out of the stable either if they're honest! Could you turn him out in the school for an hour, and ride at the other end of the day? Would a mirror help in the meantime?
 
This weather really is exceptional. Usually all ours are out 24/7 by now, but at the moment I won't even put them on the grass and they are in their winter routine. All horses get 3-4 hours turnout in the all weather. It is driving me mad! But at least they are getting out. I am hoping they can go on the paddocks if it is safe to do so by the weekend, but who knows? Believe me, every day I walk the paddocks hoping they can go out on them and every day I could cry! Grrr!
 
Honey08 said:
I get so sick of reading statements by "experts" about YOs having too many horses on their land etc - these people obviously haven't ever owned and had to maintain a field, and would, no doubt, be the first to complain if their rent went up due to the cost of restoring wrecked fields! To roll, harrow, top, and everything else that wants doing to our fields costs about £1000 a year.. So perhaps that will help you understand..
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I've only ever been on livery where horses are offered turnout every day, come rain or shine.

Sure, by the end of the winter the fields are looking pretty bad. But come spring, they are rolled, harrowed and fertilised (and topped regularly when needed). And importantly they are rested. This is what I expect from a livery yard, and the costs make up part of my livery bill.

And yes, quite frankly, if a YO can't provide turnout 365 days of the year - then yes they either have too many horses, or land not suitable for horses to be on.
 
Wimbles said:
Now I don't know if I'm just getting myself into a stew but the nice little yard I'm on just doesn't seem to suit one of my horses.

The horses have been in at night all winter and only went out at night this week but everytime it rains the horses have to stay in day and night and it's driving on of my skanky tb's mad. He's box walking so bad that his stable is just trashed, he's kicking big lumps out of the stable walls and the other day he must have fallen over spinning round in his box as he'd scraped all his legs :( We also nearly lost him through impaction colic a couple of years ago and going from wet grass to dryish haylage worries me sick.

At previous yards my horses have always been out 24/7 from 1st April come rain or shine and this is what we were told would happen when we moved onto the yard.

I'm just so disappointed as I like the yard and people but I'm being made to feel like I'm being difficult whilst I try and keep him out as much as possible. No-one else seems to mind and tonights exchanges with YO left me feeling rotten.

I really don't know if I'm just being a pain and should move on or whether I should try and make YO see my point???
Click to expand...

I was in this situation just before winter. Guaranteed 24/7 turn out and cam back to find youngster had been brought in without permission, to a stable (when she'd only ever been stabled once before) without a grill and she was a rearer/jumper on a stormy night! This added with my horse becaming very headshy and unhandleable over night ;/ and our things being stoled. I gave my notice straight away.

I took her back to where I bought her from on 24/7 all year turnout and livery yard owner is now OH! lol
The horses are far happier out, some suit being in, mine don't!

Pan
 
Wagtail said:
This weather really is exceptional. Usually all ours are out 24/7 by now, but at the moment I won't even put them on the grass and they are in their winter routine. All horses get 3-4 hours turnout in the all weather. It is driving me mad! But at least they are getting out. I am hoping they can go on the paddocks if it is safe to do so by the weekend, but who knows? Believe me, every day I walk the paddocks hoping they can go out on them and every day I could cry! Grrr!
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I agree. We've actually had good weather recently, but the grass is behind, so some of mine are coming in at night so it's not being eaten as it grows. I have winter turnout pens which I am still using daily as well. Sorry AmyMay, there are parts of the world where the land probably isn't ideal for horses (this being one of them) but hey, there are people that want to have them, so we make compromises.

This thread is another reminder to my why I only have schooling and holiday liveries nowadays. As a YO, nothing you do is ever right it seems.
 
Rowreach said:
I agree. We've actually had good weather recently, but the grass is behind, so some of mine are coming in at night so it's not being eaten as it grows. I have winter turnout pens which I am still using daily as well. Sorry AmyMay, there are parts of the world where the land probably isn't ideal for horses (this being one of them) but hey, there are people that want to have them, so we make compromises.

This thread is another reminder to my why I only have schooling and holiday liveries nowadays. As a YO, nothing you do is ever right it seems.
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Yes, I was probably being a bit flippant.
 
amymay said:
I've only ever been on livery where horses are offered turnout every day, come rain or shine.

Sure, by the end of the winter the fields are looking pretty bad. But come spring, they are rolled, harrowed and fertilised (and topped regularly when needed). And importantly they are rested. This is what I expect from a livery yard, and the costs make up part of my livery bill.

And yes, quite frankly, if a YO can't provide turnout 365 days of the year - then yes they either have too many horses, or land not suitable for horses to be on.
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Quite frankly then you either live in a very dry area or a textbook! Half the land round here would be classed as unsuitable then, in fact half the UK!!

As I previously said, it costs around £1000 to do all those jobs to keep fields in good condition. A lot of yard owners have already done it when the weather was good, and now it needs doing again. I know that when we were doing DIY, we weren't bottomless pits, and just wouldn't have been able to find that sort of money twice in a season. We always tried to keep a trash field for winter (still do for our own) but again, as I previously said, this spring weather is not normal and people ar having to adjust things. Its just very upsetting, as someone who tried really hard to provide a good DIY, to read the "quite frankly if you can't provide perfection you shouldn't be doing it posts!" when people have clearly no idea how hard and expensive it is to do it!!
 
OP: Have you established whether the horses being kept in 24/7 ATM is just because of the exceptionally wet weather we've been having recently? OR whether it is 'standard' procedure to keep in 24/7 whenever it rains hard? That would be the crux for me. I've never had to keep mine in at this time of year, but must admit I have chosen to for a few days recently - when it's been howling winds and lashing rain persistently and my allocated 2 acre paddock has been absolutely sodden.

How much exercise does your TB get on the days he's confined? Does the yard have the facilities to exercise him for you - maybe lunge, horsewalker or hack, on those days that he's kept in? Perhaps if he got out for exercise or a leg stretch a couple of times a day it would help him settle inbetween times? Surely your YO doesn't like to see a horse on her yard as stressed as yours obviously is when he's in? Nor appreciate the continued damage to the stable? I'd try and have a calm chat with YO and discuss your concerns. If nothing can be altered, you really need to think of moving your TB. A tough one if the YO wont/cant help you. Good luck.
 
I would much prefer Donovan to be in for a couple of days whilst the fields are waterlogged, for him then to go out with some decent grass, than him being out in the pouring rain, turning the field into a mud bath and having crap grazing for the rest of the summer.
 
Sorry, Honey, I can only speak as I find. The only two yards I've been at long term really have been immaculately managed. And I suppose I just take it for granted that this is the norm.

Ongoing repairs and land maintenance are just part of farm costs, and as I said - it's what my livery payments go towards. So I really don't see the issue. Fields are rolled several times a year, and harrowed too. As well as fertilised obviously (at a cost in excess of £1,000). Maintenance is just ongoing.

I agree that landowners aren't bottomless pits where money is concerned. But really liveries only want a nice place to keep horses, that is safe, well maintained, offers plenty of turnout and is friendly. Provided the business plan provides for this - where's the issue?
 
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benson21 said:
I would much prefer Donovan to be in for a couple of days whilst the fields are waterlogged, for him then to go out with some decent grass, than him being out in the pouring rain, turning the field into a mud bath and having crap grazing for the rest of the summer.
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Yes, I would agree, but the OP has a horse which is continually stressed and injuring himself because of the confinement to his stable. That's the problem she's having.
 
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