how would you react??????

redshoes

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 June 2008
Messages
141
Visit site
i have recently moved my pony to a full livery yard, having previously doing him d.i.y this is a dificult thing to hand him over to some one elses care.

today i was called at work by my loaner to tell me my precious boy was tied up un attended out side his stable, on a very short on a chain, which was directly attached to the metal ring, not the bell twine!!!! he was quite stressed, they was told to leave him as he needs to learn to stand still, i must mention he is only 5, and i have never had an issue myself with him standing out side his stable, as they could no longer watch due to him stressing him self silly, they decided to turn him out, but it was obvious after one step he was lame. they turned him out for a while to see if he was a little stiff and he would walk it off. after a few hours they could not get him to walk out of the field, he couldnt bare weight on any of his 4 legs and was all over the place...... i left work early and called out a vet, to be asked if he has been recently trimmed, which he has not, he has scraped his hooves right down and his pads are soft and inflamed, extream trauma which could only be caused by trotting heavely on hard ground, or hitting his hooves on the floor, he was sound on tuesday, but he has been tided up outside his stable stressed this week and after he put his hoof through a wall they decided to tie him up on a metal chain, no one has let me know hes foot sore, my loaner found out on facebook, i dont belive riding 30 mins in a sand school 3 times aweek can cause this kind of trauma, we had to push him from behind to try and get him to walk for the vet it was heartbreaking, this could possbile be sore hooves or laminitis brought on by trauma, so as the title states how would you react??????????
 
im in shock, and if i could i would have carried him out on my back, but im not aloud to move him untill hes better, or could cause pedal bone to rotate :(((((
 
You need to speak to the YO or manager and ask what happened in their own words - then you need to make a decision - personally if they are to blame - sue the arses off them or ask for a refund of monies paid.
 
You need to speak to the YO or manager and ask what happened in their own words - then you need to make a decision - personally if they are to blame - sue the arses off them or ask for a refund of monies paid.


I agree with above, and then if turns out it was their fault, i'd get him better, move him somewhere else pronto.

I'd probably also want to stick her/him/them on a small chain and pull their toe nails out (thats probably just me though) hurt my horses, hurt me ! :D

Hope he recovers soon
 
i have spoken to them, they say he has been foot sore for a while but was going to mention it tomorrow, but he was sound on tuesday, now if some one had bothered to let me know at the 1st instence then maybe it could have been prevented, but it was mentioned to my loaner on facebook last night from some one at the yard, but nothing has been said to me i have not been contacted, and altho they are telling me hes been foot sore for a while, they have been road walking him this week and leaving him tied up to scrap his hooves on the concreate, but acording to them its probably from riding him in the school, which is soft ground, but you dont see that kind of trauma from riding in a sand school xx
 
Move him, tell your insurance company; and tell the yard they'll be hearing from you and the insurance company formally. They seem to hae broken every rule in the book. Hope he gets better soon, poor fella.
 
i have spoken to them, they say he has been foot sore for a while but was going to mention it tomorrow, but he was sound on tuesday, now if some one had bothered to let me know at the 1st instence then maybe it could have been prevented, but it was mentioned to my loaner on facebook last night from some one at the yard, but nothing has been said to me i have not been contacted, and altho they are telling me hes been foot sore for a while, they have been road walking him this week and leaving him tied up to scrap his hooves on the concreate, but acording to them its probably from riding him in the school, which is soft ground, but you dont see that kind of trauma from riding in a sand school xx

Sorry, rubbish - if he is lame you should be informed IMMEDIATELY not as and when you find out then then say OH yes he was lame last week....

Tell them than you will be billing them for vet bills as noone bothered to tell you and you were forced to call out vet due to their inability to communicate lameness to you. See what they say - at the very least I would be asking for a month's free livery and then move him anyway - rubbish in my opinion...
 
who ever took him out his stable this morning and left him tied up with a chain, apparently did not notice he was lame, my loaner noticed after one step, they are telling me they knew he was foot sore but was going to tell me tomorrow, and to advise i put shoes on, and yet on the other hand they have been walking him up and down the road to get him used to where he will be going to his new feild, and leaving him to scrap the ground while tied up....... he has been living out, and ridden 3 times a week but as hes never on hard ground i had no need to shoes him, hes been there 3 and half weeks, they are now saying they noticed he was foot sore on tuesday even tho my rider did not notice any discomfort, and niether did i on monday he was fine when hoof picked, so from tuesday to today, its gone from foot sore ( which they did not feel any need to worry me with and carried on as normal) to my boy being in alot of pain and unable to even walk today. i opened the stable door, and he just stood there swaying with his head on my shoulder :......(((((
 
absolutely disgusting, pity you hadn;'t asked them when the vet was there and then see them try to wriggle out of it.
I would inform them what the vet said and that you hope their insurance is up to date as you will be telling your insurance company what has happened.
I would be getting him moved to somewhere that has the welfare of the horses at heart and not this attitude of teaching them a lesson.
If they knew he was lame why was he tied up like that and left. I think they need to get their story straight. They are talking garbage.
What a ridiculous way to behave, ignorant people, they shouldn't be allowed to have horses in their care.

Hope your horse isn't sore for long and makes a good recovery. Poor wee soul sounds miserable.
 
Last edited:
Personally I'd want to kill the Bas**rds :mad::mad:

But if you intend to take a claim against them a good option would be to email the YO if possible and ask for clarification of what work he's done this week, when they noticed he was 'foot sore' and of how long he was tied as well as who decided what was done with him.

Try to get as much information as possible from them, while conning them that it is another reason ie. vet wants to know.

This way you have a record of what they are telling you.

I'd be wanting them to refund the livery and pay all vets bills and any other costs incurred ie. petrol to go up and down to yard, reimburse for time lost from work.
Keep receipts and records and serve revenge nice and cold once you've got your horse out of there

Hugs and pats for horsey - hope he has speedy recovery.
 
the vet has said i cant move him, i have to wait untill hes well, now the same as any horse lover, my boy is very precious, and when i had to put him on full livery, i checked many out, looked at beds and horses and chatted plenty and asked about for feedback, now this is no back street yard who charges pennys, i felt guilty enough for not looking after him my self tues to sat, but now i feel terrible, i trusted these people, but the more i spoke to them the more i couldnt understand how it got this far, if it just happened today then fair enough but they have been aware for a while now, my poor girls where in tears, as was i, i cant stop shaking and i feel sick hes still there, but his feet are so bad we are worried about the pedal bone moving so he has to be left where he is because its not safe to transport, so im sat here half in shock and full of anger and worried sick and so i thought id see how every one else reacted, i suppose i should be gratefull he was too ill to rear up while chained to a wall.
 
Personally I'd want to kill the Bas**rds :mad::mad:

But if you intend to take a claim against them a good option would be to email the YO if possible and ask for clarification of what work he's done this week, when they noticed he was 'foot sore' and of how long he was tied as well as who decided what was done with him.

Try to get as much information as possible from them, while conning them that it is another reason ie. vet wants to know.

This way you have a record of what they are telling you.

I'd be wanting them to refund the livery and pay all vets bills and any other costs incurred ie. petrol to go up and down to yard, reimburse for time lost from work.
Keep receipts and records and serve revenge nice and cold once you've got your horse out of there

Hugs and pats for horsey - hope he has speedy recovery.

thankyou, i know when hes ridden only one person rides him, thats my loaner, he was ridden sat and sunday 30 mins in sand school, and same tuesday (SAME EVERY WEEK 30 MINS 3 TIMES A WEEK NO MORE). no hacking, one min there saying hes been foot sore since he arrived there, the next there saying tuesday, as i no longer see him every day i find it unaceptable that weather it was 3 weeks ago or few days ago no one mentioned it..... i had no reason to worry about this, and no concerns, he was due to see the farrier next week anyway. and nothing was brought to my attention...... they stopped his feed with out consulting me, and told me it was so he wouldnt stresss, they turned him out 1st every morning then decided he needed to be more patient, the poor boy dont stand a chance of a routine, they have taken away his feeds, turned him out early then tried making him wait, my loaner is a very compitent 14 year old with a horsey mother, who has no problem doing anything with my boy he is easy to do, he was put in a stable for the winter because hes not done too well this summer out, and its been more stress than its worth.
 
what a shame, of course you are angry and upset. You can't beat yourself up for this, you did everything right and thought you had found the very best place for him. Unfortunately, these people have let you and your horse down.
Just hang in there and concentrate on getting him well enough to move him.
Can your loaner keep an eye on him when you can't be there and give you regular updates? I don't think you will trust the yard manger to do this now.
I am really sorry this has happened to to you and ypur lad. Try and get some sleep now so you can get up to see him in the morning.
 
what a shame, of course you are angry and upset. You can't beat yourself up for this, you did everything right and thought you had found the very best place for him. Unfortunately, these people have let you and your horse down.
Just hang in there and concentrate on getting him well enough to move him.
Can your loaner keep an eye on him when you can't be there and give you regular updates? I don't think you will trust the yard manger to do this now.
I am really sorry this has happened to to you and ypur lad. Try and get some sleep now so you can get up to see him in the morning.[/QUOT

aww thankyou so much, hes like one of my kids and i dont think i can sleep, ive tried a packet of fags and a drink, my head is just wizzing and i cant relax, but i will try and get some before i go back up, ill probably be there in a few hours lol xxx
 
I would be absolutely fuming. They should have contacted you as soon as they thought something wasn't right. Also what are they thinking tying directly to the metal ring with no breaking point, its just an accident waiting to happen. As soon as he's well enough I would be out of there and also wanting answers from the yard owner. Hope he gets better soon.
 
The reason I suggest getting information in email is that this may be able to be used should you wish to take further action against the YO once you have moved your horse.

From what you have said it sounds like YO has left your horse without vetrinary attention since Tuesday, despite the fact that the were aware of a problem.
Tying your horse long enough that he has damaged his feet is, in my eyes, cruelty.
I'm not sure how you would go about it, or even if you could go about it - but is this not a breach of the animal welfare act?

Since the YO has overall responsibility for the care of animals entrusted to them it is only reasonable to suggest that they should have contacted you immediatly or if they were unable to do so that they would contact your vetrinaryan to visit your horse.

This sort of thing really outrages me.
I did my BHS training several ( 15 ! ) years ago at a riding school and was always taught that the horse comes first, then the client , then the groom!

There is no need for this sort of thing. It's idiots trying to make horses do what they want them to do and not doing the best for the horse
:mad::mad::mad:

Sorry angry rant
 
thankyou for that, i was taught from a child always a saftey knot on to bell twine..... i have passed this on to my children and anyone else whos been round me with horses, as far as i was aware, its more dangerous to tie a horse up incorrectly than to have a loose horse. now i would have thought after he put his leg through a wall trying to get loose they would have realised this amount of time tied up was too stressful, and better for the horse to turn him out for a few mins than to have this going on, now i know we have to teach our horses manors, but i have never had a problem, not for a good few years. ive seen people use chifneys for control and bridles used for more controll, but ive never in my 25 years of riding witnessed a horsed chained to a metal ring, the yo says after he damaged the wall catching his leg over the lead rope she did it for his own saftey ????????? baffling to me
 
oh moosea,

belive me im refraining from loosing the plot on here, i agree with every thing you say, i just needed some feed back to make sure im not over reacting in shock, i thought it was abuse and neglect, the yard say its down to me, but hes in there care thats what i pay for, we all miss things even the most vigulant, i thought that was what i was paying for, the best care i could afford, i know my horse like i know any other member of my family, inside out, and i know full well that trauma was defo not caused by riding in a sand school, if it turns out to be lamitis, then hes not showing any other signs no heat in the hoof, no cresting, hes not over weight or on lush grass and no hard feed, but on the other hand his hooves look likes hes been trotting 100 miles down the road
 
I agree with the suggestion to get all the info in an email from the YO. I would suggest asking for a daily emailed update as well, even if you intend to go to see the horse every day. Then I would ask the vet for a written report and as soon as you have moved him, forward everything to your insurance company. If they feel that it is appropriate, they will reclaim their costs from the YO without you needing to go to the expense of sueing.
I think you are absolutely right to be furious.
 
I'm so sorry for you and your lad.

I'm also a vindictive biatch so after making sure the pony was getting treated and recovering I'd be planning my revenge :o

Couple of questions
Do you have a written livery contract? If so, what are the YO's stated responsibilities?
Are you a BHS member? If you are ring their legal helpline for advice.
Even without a written contract, the YO has a duty of care to you, your pony and any visitors to her yard.....so by the sounds of things, they have failed that already.

TBH, If they fed, watered and turned out your pony I would be surprised if you could recover costs/damages in the small claims court without direct proof that they had been deliberately negligent but there are more ways than the obvious to skin a cat so to speak.....

I can't imagine that their insurance company will be happy with their unsafe working practices ie chaining a pony directly to a wall would be considered high risk when you did a risk assessment ( a legal requirement for any business) so I'm sure there are other things going on that are also unsafe so it might be worth making a claim - knowing that you are unlikely to get paid - but it will trigger an investigation by them and the yard will have to produce copies of all their RA and other H&S paperwork.

If their staff are cash in hand paid???? Well, report them to the authorities. And so on :)

If it was me, I might accept that they had screwed up and move ASAP without further action if they had the honesty and guts to admit they had got it wrong and they had communicated the problem to me as an owner and paying customer at the time. As it appears that not only were they prepared to leave a pony in pain for days and then start lying would mean that I would be their worst nightmare for quite some time to come.....
 
but ive never in my 25 years of riding witnessed a horsed chained to a metal ring,

Sorry, years ago we all had rack chains and they would all be tied up straight to the metal rings because horses had been taught properly right from the start that tied up, meant tied up and being still; you never saw horses pulling back and breaking string because they had learnt they could; baler twine is a new fad which started because of nylon headcollars coming in as they don't break like leather ones do ( well in the last 20 years or so).

Sorry for your boy, hope he comes right soon.
 
sorry to hear about your boy. im currently going throught this with my elderly cob mare who has cushings. i booked the farrier to come on thursday at 3, he didnt turn up until half past four. by this time it was dark and we havent got brilliant lighting on the yard, he was also rushing as he had to pick his kids up. he trimmed both my mares but he trimmed my cob mares way to far back and shes crippled at the moment. shes actually got a gap between her hoof and the floor (only a few millimetres) so shes walking completley on her frog. with her having cushings she prone to lammi so she is now on strict box rest.
im apsolutly fuming about it to be honest as ive only just got my other horse right, the my cob went lame after a kick, got that right and now this
 
Sorry, years ago we all had rack chains and they would all be tied up straight to the metal rings because horses had been taught properly right from the start that tied up, meant tied up and being still; you never saw horses pulling back and breaking string because they had learnt they could; baler twine is a new fad which started because of nylon headcollars coming in as they don't break like leather ones do ( well in the last 20 years or so).

Sorry for your boy, hope he comes right soon.

thankyou for your comment, and i agree things were done different years ago, many things have changed, and alot of people still use the same methods, and yes horses need manors, my issue is that none of these methods where discussed with me, and altho i have used traditional methods when needed i also use natural horsemanship, as the owner of the horse i feel i should have been told what they where having difficulties with and disscus a plan of action, and im sure even if tied up horses should not be left scarping the floor untill theres a gap between hoof and the ground. and they become hoping lame with trauma, theres discapline and theres neglect x
 
sorry to hear about your boy. im currently going throught this with my elderly cob mare who has cushings. i booked the farrier to come on thursday at 3, he didnt turn up until half past four. by this time it was dark and we havent got brilliant lighting on the yard, he was also rushing as he had to pick his kids up. he trimmed both my mares but he trimmed my cob mares way to far back and shes crippled at the moment. shes actually got a gap between her hoof and the floor (only a few millimetres) so shes walking completley on her frog. with her having cushings she prone to lammi so she is now on strict box rest.
im apsolutly fuming about it to be honest as ive only just got my other horse right, the my cob went lame after a kick, got that right and now this


so sorry your having trouble, i wish your cob a speedy recovery, theres also a few mm gap in my boys hoof to floor, and hes on box rest and can not be moved
 
i would just like to state, that altho each person has different ideas on how to do things with horses and ponies, thats down to the individual, and its there responsibility for both the benifits and conciquences, how ever if your looking after some ones horse or a paid professional, i feel that the decissions should be left with the owners, if an owner choses to ignore advice then thats down to them, if a owner is unaware how on earth are you suppose to do whats best for your horse?????????

some parents my give there kids a little smack others dissagree with smacking but that does not mean some one who looks after your child can just smack them or take it upon them selves to do what they like with out taling to the parents 1st yet 25 years ago anyone could smack your child, things change and move on, to protect innocent animals and children from neglect and abuse x
 
I would sit down with yard owner & work out exactly how your horse is to be cared for whilst he is recovering. Preferably have a copy in writing, signed by both of you so each knows exactly what the boundaries are. Have your loaner keep an eye at the yard & on face book to check this is being adhered to.

Spend this time looking for another yard. Insist on a written agreement. Put in clause how horse is to be tied up, max time, how to treat him if he stresses & to call you the day they suspect he may be lame or have a problem.

Move him as soon as he is able to. Ask current yard owner for her insurance details, if these aren't forthcoming state you or your insurance company will be seeking to recover expenses (if you can get advice on this, Citizens Advice if you don't have any legal access)incurred as a result of their not caring for your horse as could be reasonably expected. You should expect to be informed the day they find your horse is lame. You should expect to be informed the day your horse shows behaviour issues which affect his care. Any method of controlling behaviours should be authorised by yourself before anyone at the yard implements them, especially where they have the potential, or have caused actual harm to your horse. Any changes in the agreed feeding regieme should be discussed & authtorised by yourself before implementation.

You are in a horrible position of having to keep him there for a while. Do your best, then get out & get your monies back. After all, all these expenses have only been incurred due to their mistreatment of your horse. Bet your insurance company would love a report from the vet & persue YO insurance company.
 
Top