How many times a week do you think you should see your horse?

If on full livery then do as you like, but what is the point in owning one? May as well have lessons!!!

If on dIY then once a day minimum, if in then 2 times aday.

Current pony in is in the field next door, so every time I go out the door, and today he is on the front grass, so seeing him every time I look out the window :)
 
Sorry :o had not read the whole post, so I will justify ( I hope ) :)

As I see it, yes, do full livery , nothing wrong with that at all, but for people ( and I do know some) only do full livery as want the status of saying ' I own my own horse' buthardly bother to go and see them, then go to a competition and do well, and make out it ALL their own work , hmm hmm, what about the people who were excersising your horse for weeks on end when you could not be bothered ( yes, this was said,and then take all the glory ??

That is what makes me cross :(

Not any one on here, btw :)

And the reasons given here, living abroad, or working shifts makes perfect sense as to why use full livery.

However, the, I can't be bothered argument really upsets me.

Sorry for the rant and for the record it is my sister I am talking about, but she has changed her ways and is now really enjoying looking after her own on assisted livery. When she thought about it , gaining from some one else's hard work did not sit well with her.

This is only my opinion :)
 
Mine are at home and I don't have a groom so I suppose they are DIY. I see them all the time.

I am astounded by some of the comments here from self righteous DIY'ers who think that people on full livery would be better off at riding schools. Many people cannot afford the time as they have demanding jobs, many of them also compete to a high standard, higher, I suspect than many of the posters on here. TBH the whole thing reminds me of the chips on the shoulders of 'happy hackers'.
 
Amaranta said:
Mine are at home and I don't have a groom so I suppose they are DIY. I see them all the time.

I am astounded by some of the comments here from self righteous DIY'ers who think that people on full livery would be better off at riding schools. Many people cannot afford the time as they have demanding jobs, many of them also compete to a high standard, higher, I suspect than many of the posters on here. TBH the whole thing reminds me of the chips on the shoulders of 'happy hackers'.
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i agree with this.

also the people who say if u only ride once or twice and they are on full livery why not have lessons. i brought my horse a i didnt want another horse who was really fun and challanging to ride leave the riding school and me be stuck on lovly horses who cant leg yeild or canter on the right leg. i love the quality of my horse and benefiting from the years of teaching shes had. shes at home at the moment but if i felt like putting her on full livery and only riding her once a week it would be way more fun then lessons.
 
Kat said:
Perhaps because you have enough of an interest in the animal to justify spending £100s a month on its welfare and wellbeing but not enough time to spend shovelling **** :confused: I don't spend vast sums of money on my horse because I'm not interested in her. I spend it because I am way to interested and committed to her to waste my valuable spare time mucking out when I could be riding, grooming or enjoying her company. And I care enough about her welfare to pay someone to meet her needs, so that she isn't suffering because I have a demanding job and the OH has his own business. Better that than a horse stressed due to lack of routine, or putting up with care being provided via unreliable return favours and sharers.
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In my experience, the best bit of having a horse is the care of it. Grooming it, getting to know every inch, learning about its character, developing that special bond. Riding was always just a bonus for me. My old girl has been fully retired since 2005 but I still get as much pleasure from having her around as I did when I was on board her. Now the end is in sight as I plan to have her put down in a few months and save her old joints from another winter, so my time with her is extra special.
 
fatpiggy said:
In my experience, the best bit of having a horse is the care of it. Grooming it, getting to know every inch, learning about its character, developing that special bond. Riding was always just a bonus for me. My old girl has been fully retired since 2005 but I still get as much pleasure from having her around as I did when I was on board her. Now the end is in sight as I plan to have her put down in a few months and save her old joints from another winter, so my time with her is extra special.
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Just because you have your horse on livery doesn't mean you don't do those things. It means that you save time mucking out, sweeping up and filling haynets so that all of your precious time can be spent with your horse.

On an evening when I go to the yard I spend all my time grooming, fussing and riding, building a bond with my horse. Just because I don't muck out or fill nets or water buckets doesn't mean I have less of a bond with her. And to be honest I think for many they would have a better bond with their horse if they had 4 days a week of genuine quality time with their horse rather than seeing it daily but being stressed and rushed trying to get all the jobs done.

Anyway loads of DIYers don't do their horse daily, lots of people on here have sharers doing some of the work, what is the difference between a sharer doing three days a week and full/part livery where you may visit 4 times a week and have staff do your horse in between?

Anyway sorry to hear about your old girl, but please realise that many of us who have our horses on livery don't think riding is the be all and end all and also cherish our time with our horses.
 
Fatpiggy- verywell said, not a dig a liveriesat all, but the very reason I love horses , ribbons are lovely , and we are lucky that we have won mostly what we set out to do, but pony would be just as special without xxxx

Slightly jealous that some can afford livery, just turn up when you can, or are able, I am always tired, but a good tired on the whole.

However, would love a holiday :D not had one or over 20 years :( :D
 
Everyday.

I have no problem with others only seeing theirs once or twice a week though. For some people it is really hard, especially those with young families or work that entails lots of traveling. As long as the Horse is being cared for in the owners absence.
 
Kat said:
Just because you have your horse on livery doesn't mean you don't do those things. It means that you save time mucking out, sweeping up and filling haynets so that all of your precious time can be spent with your horse.

On an evening when I go to the yard I spend all my time grooming, fussing and riding, building a bond with my horse. Just because I don't muck out or fill nets or water buckets doesn't mean I have less of a bond with her. And to be honest I think for many they would have a better bond with their horse if they had 4 days a week of genuine quality time with their horse rather than seeing it daily but being stressed and rushed trying to get all the jobs done.

Anyway loads of DIYers don't do their horse daily, lots of people on here have sharers doing some of the work, what is the difference between a sharer doing three days a week and full/part livery where you may visit 4 times a week and have staff do your horse in between?

Anyway sorry to hear about your old girl, but please realise that many of us who have our horses on livery don't think riding is the be all and end all and also cherish our time with our horses.
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It takes me 20 minutes a day to muck out and the buckets are filling while I do it, plus 2 minutes to fill a haynet!

I see your point of course though. Just as a sideways look at something a bit similar, would you feel the same about sending a small child to boarding school and only them at weekends or less? Because it gives them a good education?

On the point that someone raised earlier about having someone you trust see the horse for you at one end of the day - beware! They may not spot the early signs of say, colic, and think oh yes, its fine. Then when you come down its on the floor and in a serious state. When the vet says when did this start, how do you answer? I know my horse inside out and can see the subtlest of things about her that other people wouldn't spot. I don't ever just look at her, but feel her all over and watch her to see that all is well.

Don't even start me on the DIYers who drive past twice a week and if they can see the horse is upright on 4 legs then its ok.
 
After reading the whole thread, I would like to add something.

I am a DIY (although pay my YO to TO every morning for me) However this makes no difference to my Horse at all. Do you think she cares whos filling her haynets?, whos filling her water? or whos cleaning up her poo? No of course she doesn't care. When I am doing my chores, I don't even see her, shes out in the field with her friends, I am on the stable block. So being a DIY doesn't create a closer bond, then an owner would have with a full livery Horse.

My Horse is not on full livery, simply because I couldn't afford to do it. If I had a better paid job, I would think about it. Saves me doing all the chores and getting cold and wet and being able to use my time with my Horse, not stable chores. It wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to my Horses welfare or happiness though. Which is what matters most.
 
Twice a day every day even when he is living out, when on hols a friend looks after him.
Some on our yard are seen once a day, but there are always people on the yard who would pick up on a horse with a problem and contact the owner.
We dont have full livery on the yard, but they do services if needed.
 
Another point re spotting something wrong with the horse. Horse at my yard suffered colic recently and it was noticed on the 8pm check by the yard owner. Now if I was DIY and fed and done by 5pm, as many of my friend who rent fields/stables etc are, that would not have been noticed until 8am next morning.

There are pro's and con's to both way and none are right or wrong. Individual circumstances determine whether you are DIY/part/ full livery.
 
mulledwhine said:
Sorry :o had not read the whole post, so I will justify ( I hope ) :)

As I see it, yes, do full livery , nothing wrong with that at all, but for people ( and I do know some) only do full livery as want the status of saying ' I own my own horse' buthardly bother to go and see them, then go to a competition and do well, and make out it ALL their own work , hmm hmm, what about the people who were excersising your horse for weeks on end when you could not be bothered ( yes, this was said,and then take all the glory ??

That is what makes me cross :(

Not any one on here, btw :)

And the reasons given here, living abroad, or working shifts makes perfect sense as to why use full livery.

However, the, I can't be bothered argument really upsets me.

Sorry for the rant and for the record it is my sister I am talking about, but she has changed her ways and is now really enjoying looking after her own on assisted livery. When she thought about it , gaining from some one else's hard work did not sit well with her.

This is only my opinion :)
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Why does it bother you so much, though?

I am quite often the person who looks after, feeds, schools and keeps other peoples' horses ready for them to get on at weekend and win their rosettes... and it doesn't bother me a jot. It is still their horse and it is them who win the rosettes, nowt wrong with that.
 
Depends

Maybe Once if on grass livery DIY but twice if rugs need changing, check water in hot weather, feed hay in winter etc. definitely twice a day if not on a yard or other people aren't around - what if the horse got into trouble 1 hr after you left and it has to wait 23 hrs for help

If on full livery then doesn't really matter as the basic needs for food water etc will be met but I would want to see the horse 3 times a week at least. Depends what you have a horse for... The riding or the interaction.
 
Martlin - then I am glad you do not mind, I just feel it is a bit cheeky to turn up and then take all the credit away from people like yourself :)

Perhaps if I had been lucky enough to afford full livery and all it intails then I would feel differently!!!

Not jealous at all, proud of my little sister ( ps that is all :o ) if it helps she is jealous of me being able to keep mine at home :)
 
Sadly over here Full Livery is normally the only option. Although if I did own my own I would go up and spend as much time possible (most yards are closed mondays) 6 days a week and do the work myself regardless of me paying! At my current school full livery includes EVERYTHING including tack cleaning :O I'd hate that! If I could, I would just want my horse mucked out and fed in the morning (during winter months) and I'd do everything in the evening after school! but during the summer I'd love to keep a horse on DIY or grass livery.
 
I'd love to see her every day but I'm away from today until Friday. Luckily she's on full livery on a good yard 15mins from home, she's well looked after & happy. When I'm home I like to see her every day if possible.
 
fatpiggy said:
If you are on full livery you can go as little as you like in theory, but in which case, why spend £100s of pounds a month for something you have little interest in? You may as well donate the money to a horse charity and really benefit the horse world.
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That's a rather mean thing to say! :( Who are you to say others have "little interest" in their horses? :eek:

Mollie's on DIY livery so I see her several times a day in winter, at least once a day in summer. There are lots of other people around keeping an eye on her in between. I do work weird hours though (24 hours a time) so I have to get other people to care for her then, which I find a worry. At present there's a very competent young woman on the yard who will "do" your horse for a very small fee, but she's leaving soon so I'll have to depend on friends next winter.

Sometimes on these threads, some of the DIYers do come across as a bit self-righteous and smug!

Tbh, if I had the money I'd consider full or at least p/t livery, then I could still spend all day with her if I was able to, but if not, they'd be nothing to worry about.

As long as the horse is well cared for, why should anyone care what other peoples' arrangements are?
 
My personal preference is 24/7 however life and the need to earn a wage has intervened! I see mine once a day on average. Twice a day at weekends. Morning weekdays the yard feed t/out, b/in and muck out. I did used to be pure diy when I bought him 15 years ago. I think so long as horse is happy and cared for you just kind of need to go with the flow.
 
I am on DIY so I see my girl twice a day - sometimes more. Even if I am driving around by the yard (my job involves a lot of driving) I will stop and give her a cuddle and a sweetie!

I couldn't bear the thought of not having that bond with her - it would break my heart for someone else to be looking after her instead of me on a daily basis. I have a horse sitter to cover times when I am away (very rarely) and even then I worry.
 
I think horses should be seen at least twice a day. I say this because of the speed at which a horse can go downhill if it is unwell. I realise this might be difficult for people whose horses are at livery, but having just lost a mare to nephro-splenic entrapment 4 days ago, I'm even more neurotic about keeping tabs on my herd.
 
RutlandH2O said:
I think horses should be seen at least twice a day. I say this because of the speed at which a horse can go downhill if it is unwell. I realise this might be difficult for people whose horses are at livery, but having just lost a mare to nephro-splenic entrapment 4 days ago, I'm even more neurotic about keeping tabs on my herd.
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I'm very sorry for your loss. :(

I'd feel that if I was paying for full livery though, people more experienced than myself would be checking my horse throughout the day.
 
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