i need your help please

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wrongun

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hi, i need advice im new here but have a very sticky situation, i bought a new horse and put her where my others are, she was put in on 4 and half acre field by the yard manager with about 20 horses in, and she was kicked, the next day she was moved to another field on YM insutruction and they put all the horses in with her(most have shoes on) the next day i went to see her and they had run her through the barb wire fence... she was a mess and lame on three legs, i patched her up and did so daily for two weeks, everyday i went up there she had more kicks and the ym did nothing but say she has had an old injusry! well she was sound when i got her.. i got the vet out cost over 200.00 gave her but etc and rest and blood test all came clear, she was still lame after a week on bute and got another kick, the horses wouldnt even let her drink as they bullied her when she went to drink, I asked to move her was told no, the fences are a mess the fields full of poo, nails sticking out of fences and alsorts it makes me mad.. the ym blamed everthing else and shouted at me, i asked to move her to a field down the road was told no, then someone vacated it and was told yes and the day before i was due to move her was told no... anyway to cust a long story short i moved all my horses at my expense further away from my horse and she has been out of action for 5 weeks.. i got back speacialist out and he popped her pelvis back in and said it was result of what has happend to her over past five weeks and not old injury... i want to claim my money back for neglect, i have looked at the defra sites and welfare of horses and this behaviour of a YO is not acceptable, its going to create hassle but would like peoples thoughts, i just want my expenses and loss of use paid for due to the horrific time and none responsibility do you think i have a case? horse is now much happier with my ponies in a field not being kicked and was walked out for firt time today!!! were on the mend finally as she is not being kicked every bloody day x
 
Firstly welcome to the forum:)
I think you would have a case, but i don't know much about that sort of thing, but i would move yards if possible, it dosen't sound like a nice place.
Good luck if you do go through with it.
 
tinkandlily said:
Firstly welcome to the forum:)
I think you would have a case, but i don't know much about that sort of thing, but i would move yards if possible, it dosen't sound like a nice place.
Good luck if you do go through with it.
Click to expand...

Second this. But have to ask didn't you check the yard before you went there ie: barbed wire fencing? how many horses to a field etc? Go find somewhere else to keep your poor horse then go for lack of care or do they call it lack of duty of care.?

Good luck. Welcome to the forum. Please let us know what you decide to do.
 
have moved my horses already, hindsight is a wonderful thing, i should have realised it wasnt plain sailing didnt expect this to happen but it did so guess i just want to ensure this doesnt happen again to any other horses, my horses are much happier however the expense of moving and also the inconvenience and bills etc are starting to stress me, the yard is on a farm with no facilities really either at least now i have own field and i have been doing loads up there to ensure that its all good for our ponies and horses
 
TBH not all horses will live happily together. I'm very sorry that your horse was victimized but I'm not sure how much of a claim you have. If your livery agreement stated (large) group turn out then that is what you got, it just wasn't suitable for your horse when introduced to the group that way.

Others may have more knowledge on the legalities but I'd guess it was me I'd just be thanking my lucky stars I'd taken action and got my new lady out of there before any permanent damage was done. Unless your new horse was going to compete a lot I doubt loss of use just for a few weeks would amount to much anyway.

But now you can really start to enjoy her - best of luck!
 
i never had a contract to be fair, nothing written anyway., checked on defra and the welfare of horses they should have been segregated and slowly introduced, urely if a reponsible person saw this happen they would have moved her and not caused anymore unecessary suffering and the fact i asked her to be moved! and was told no then yes and no again, i know if it was me i would have made every effort to make sure that the horse was not suffering anymore she knew what was going on she was cut to bits and she was just left to kepp getting kiced everyday hence the reason i moved her outin the end as soon as i could find somewhere
 
Is the yard owner insured and running the yard as a proper business. If not to be honest suing can cost you a lot of money and you might not see any of it back.

You will need to prove negligence by your old yard owner in her duty of care to you and your horse. Things like are there proper yard rules, health and safety, fire equipment etc are all a start. You will also need to prove that their negligence led to the injuries on your horse. Any YO worth their salt would introduce a new horse gradually to a new herd. However, if you knew that any new horse is just turned out with other horses then it could be argued that you accepted the risks involved, likewise you accepted the risk of turning your horse out in a field with barb wire.

If you are a BHS gold member it is worth calling their legal helpline. Also if the YO is BHS registered or a BHS instructor it is worth talking to them first.

Glad your horses are now happy.
 
I think you'll find the DEFRA stuff is just "guidelines" so may make it difficult to use.

Are you a member of the BHS? Call their legal helpline. I think the answer may be that you were happy for her to be turned out in that field (as in you didn't refuse) therefore you take responsibilty. I know that's how most yards work. It is your responsibility to ensure it is suitable when you chose to put your horse there.

I'm sorry this has happened. I was at a similar yard and my horse kept being kicked. It's horrid.
 
Sorry hun but I don't think you've got much of a leg to stand on. The issue is that even after your horse was kicked, even after she couldn't drink, even after you knew the state of the fences and even after you asked for her to be moved, you STILL let her stay in that field. The law will say you are largely to blame. Sorry. I'd drop it, learn from it and move on. And just wanted to mention re your back specialist, there's no such thing as "popping a pelvis back in". If you've ever watched any of the hospital documentaries and seen 2 muscular doctors standing on the hospital bed heaving and sweating and trying to "pop" a patient's dislocated hip back in, you'd know it's impossible to do for a horse. And if anything in her pelvic area WAS dislocated, she wouldn't have been able to walk, or probably even stand. I'd have a word with your back person and ask what they meant. Probably some stiff muscles but if you're trying to put a legal case together you need absolute clarity. I do hope your young mare is ok and not permanently traumatised. You're right of course about how a new horse should be introduced but again, I would have expected you to talk it through with the YO before the big day. Learn from your terrible experience hun but don't let it eat away at you xxx
 
Agree with Bo of Frogs, to let this go on for five weeks does suggest that you were not only aware, but agreeing to, the way she was managed. Let it go and enjoy the mare :)
 
hi, nice to meet you :) im sorry but im another one to agree that you don't really have a case, you did the horse there knowing it was being bullied, i appreciate moving a horse just like that is not easy but this is why we visit yards and ask lots of questions before we move a horse. I have a friend who stays with me and although she is a friend, both her horses came to me on 'trial' to make sure the arrangements were going to work for both parties.
your old YO does sound useless and definitely only interested in the money, but you need to be aware of these ppl when moving yards.
i hope you and your horse are feeling much better now and that you can get on with enjoying each other, have fun, look forward to some future posts :)
 
Him i understand what your saying, however I did ask for my horse to be moved and as a YM she should be responsible surely for the safe keeping of my horse as I am paying her money each month to ensure this. I was refused my horse being moved and was told she would just sort out the pecking order, and to be honest the way the YM was I just got shouted at, you couldnt speak to her as she was so opinioated and knew best and to be honest i didnt want to be kicked off as i had no where to go, i just want someone to take responsibility.. I think i will write to her and the farm that teh land is leased off and take it from there.
 
You say you want someone to take responsibility, but as others have said, you knew what what happening and didn't move the horse for 5 weeks. I think within the first week I would have been looking for somewhere else temporary to put her until I could find somewhere big enough for your others to move all together. It would only have been for a short time and a small cross to bear.

Yes the YO and YM have a duty of care, but you had already allowed her to go to a place where the conditions (fencing etc) were unsuitable. I'm really sorry for you, and hate hearing about yards like this, but ultimately you were responsible for leaving her there that long.

Best thing you can do is learn from it and put it behind you otherwise it's going to eat you up. Lots of people in the horse world have suffered similar types of situations, and it seems that there are some unscrupulous YO's out there, only interested in the money, not the horse.

Learn from it, get on and enjoy your new lady, hope she's ok, and look forward to the wealth of experience and advice you can obtain here, there are some cracking people on these forums who are always willing to help. As long as those asking for it are open minded...... :D

Have fun and welcome!!!!
 
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