If livery yard loses your stuff- what to do? Adviice please!

[Shadowdancing]

Hi all, some of you know I am on part livery and love my yard. I had a minor niggle- well most people would find it minor- that my feed buckets constantly vanished, mainly based on a pet peeve- my horse having once been almost poisoned by someone using cleaning fluid in one of my buckets unbeknownst to me, making me extremely paranoid about what I used to feed her and wanting to stick to my own.

Well now I have the issue that a blanket rack I bought for my horse's stable has completely vanished. It had waited a few weeks to go on the wall. It was outside my box and now has disappeared. The livery yard management knew it was there and had told me that they would put it up but now it's vanished instead .

I'm really upset as I bought that myself and I was so looking forward to having an extra rug hanging space as every box is fitted with one already, but now it's gone. I know in the grand scheme of things it doesn't sound like much but for some reason I'm super upset over it! Am trying to trace it but so far no joy.

What should I do if it doesn't come back? I like the yard and the people there and really don't want to cause any bad feeling. I know it's not loads of money but I'm pretty cash strapped right now and this smarts a bit!

Someone made this suggestion, not sure what you think of it... Is it fair to just advise that I'll deduct the cost of the missing rack from my regular payment and confirm that as soon as a second rack is installed in my box (whether it's mine or not!) I will immediately make that deficit up?

 

[Abacus]

Are you sure it has been stolen, or do you think they have moved it / stored it somewhere / lost it? Have you talked to the management?

I expect your contract will say something about how your possessions are not the responsibility of the yard owners so I don't expect you can subtract the cost. But I would be talking to them about it to try and uncover what has happened and enlist their help in finding it.

 

[Amye]

I think you do have a right to be annoyed. It might not be much but if someone is taking your stuff it IS annoying - especially as you can't trace it. Have you asked the other liveries if they know where it's gone? Or if any of their stuff has gone missing recently??

I don't know why someone would just take your rug rack! If it was outside your box has someone just 'tidied' it away??

I think it's a difficult one of what you can do. You could write a note and leave it up in the stable block saying if anyone sees the rack to put it back outside your box, if someone has taken it (maybe be accident - thinking positively) it might encourage them to put it back with no confrontation. I'm not sure about deducting payment - if it wasn't the YM or YO who took it it seems a bit harsh to deduct payment from them for something another livery could have done? They might not like that!

In future can you wrap some coloured tape around your stuff so you'll know if anyone has used it or taken it as it will be fairly obvious? Or leave your things in a more secure place? I keep most of my stuff in a lockup or in a box inside my horses stable - that way someone has to actually go in my stable and route through, they can't just pick it up from outside.

 

[Shadowdancing]

Yeah they do know and there's been asking around but so far no rack.

 

[Damnation]

Tough one.

I'd be speak to YM and YO stating that you bought the item yourself, it is no longer there, it cost you X amount and you are quite upset that it has gone missing and would like it found in good order or replaced. See what they say/offer.

Feed bucket's wise, I would buy the most garish, brightly coloured, ugly bucket you can find and a tyre for it to go into. Write your name all over the bucket, tell the YO/YM that is what you would like to happen.

 

[Sprat]

Could you have a peek into other liveries stables and see if anyone has pinched it? Not ideal I know as it would then end up potentially being confrontational, but it would give you an idea of who may have 'borrowed' it.

Agree with the others re: withholding payment - unless the YM / YO has had it it's not their fault.

 

[Antw23uk]

I personally wouldn't deduct it from my bill but I'm going on my previous yard and Sharon would have strung me up for being so cheeky!

It does seem you are having to learn about livery yards the hard way which is unfortunate. You need eyes in the back of your head plus everything you own marked and/ or locked away. Personally I would have had this rack put away with its location known to the person putting it up but that's not the point now its gone. I think you just need to 'wise up' (sorry that's not meant to be nasty) and know that on livery yards the only thing you have in common with the other people is that you own a horse and keep it at the same place and just because everyone 'seems' nice and trust worthy it doesnt mean they are!

ETA ref the feed bucket. If the yard have there own feed buckets then lock yours away and keep it looking like new. My old livery yard had about 30 tub trugs all the same size and colour and they did feeds in them. No one used there own buckets. The yard then looked after the buckets, cleaned them ect and there was no confusion (our feed was included in the livery and I rarely fed my own horse unless I was loitering at feeding time and then I would help feed everything)

 

[cowgirl16]

Is your yard accessible to others apart from the liveries and staff? A total stranger might have been in there and decided to help themselves. At my yard, there are several little businesses running in various buildings, the place is like trafalger square sometimes. I'm paranoid about locking things away!

 

[SEL]

I have my horses names on all my feed buckets. Sticky labels courtesy of one of the mums who said they are dishwasher proof. Doesn't stop them going AWOL but does mean they tend to turn up again. I got a load of these labels and have stuck them on everything!

Last time something a bit pricey of mine vanished I 1) stuck a big sign up, 2) put a message on the yards facebook site and 3) told the kids that 'help' how annoyed the YO was going to be when I knocked it off my livery. It magically reappeared (one of those plastic storage things you can keep a saddle on).

I've given up with hoofpicks.

But most of the time I hide stuff or keep it in my car. The boot of my car is like a tack room and stinks.

 

[Shadowdancing]

I'm shouting from the rooftops for it and all the yard know it's missing so lets just hope something good happens. I didn't want to leave it lying around trust me, it kept being shoved under water taps and I was worried it would get damaged and rusty, but I was told it would be put up and it had to be left somewhere obvious for that to happen.

I can assure you I am not daft or in the dark about livery yards, everything I own is marked with my horse's name and mine too, most of my stuff is locked away, my tools are chained up outside my stable, there are combo locks on my feed containers, I even have my own tack locker as at the last place my stirrups nummnah and girth kept walking, but I work so my buckets are left with my horse in the mornings when she is fed after exercise and cooling down, there's only so much time you can spend waiting for her to finish eating. It's a problem across the yard things going missing, everyone is always looking for their feed buckets or head collars. But we love it there overall, so you just deal with it. this is a big item and I am really irritated it's walked.

 

[EmmasMummy]

Hope that you find it! We used to have a stable fairy. Things would vanish, move, and it got annoying!

 

[Shadowdancing]

Hope that you find it! We used to have a stable fairy. Things would vanish, move, and it got annoying!

That's the right word for it and usually I can live with it, but I'm dealing with quite a lot of other stuff right now and this is really the proverbial straw...

 

[Wagtail]

I would just put it up myself in the future, so long as you have permission. How annoying for you. If I were the YO I would reimburse you, but I wouldn't have to do so legally as it is in the contracts that any lost, stolen or damaged items are not the responsibility of the yard. I don't think you should demand payment from the yard, or deduct the cost from your livery though.