In full time due to the weather, numbers you could cope with?

[LilMissy]

If you had horses stabled 24/7 due to the weather, how many could you cope with looking after?

Assuming that this was your job or you are lucky enough to have a full time hobby!

Oh and also that they are looked after properly, so muck out twice a day, feed, hay etc. All exercised in some way by going out for an hour in sand turnout or school. No riding time though!

Just wondering how many it is humanely possible to care for correctly.

 

[TandD]

I currently have 5 on this system.
I muck out and turn out 5, ride 2 (other 3 ridden by owner)
Each get 1 hour or more turnout
Each get 1 hour of ridden work

All mucked out 2 times a day, hayed 3 times, fed twice. Everything extra too I.e. Grooming etc etc

But if no riding.....I guess I could do 8, as that is how long I work for. I have strict turnaround times, get horse ready before time to go out, put out on time, take off rugs after next horse out.

 

[Equi]

I have three on this system and when im done im almost bored and consider redoing them all. If i had all day every day i would have about 6

 

[martlin]

I've got 11 at the moment, although 3 are foals/weanlings, plus 90 ewes indoors, 2 cows and 2 goats. The morning yard takes me 3 - 3.5hrs to do, then some exercise, afternoon yard takes about 2 hours and evening skip out/hay takes about an hour.

 

[LilMissy]

So if each horse is seperately stabled, rugged/unrugged, feed, mucking out etc. Would it be approx an hour a day each do you think? Not including riding. Except Martlin, who seems to be superhuman?! I imagine it would help tohave a tractor/trailer type to muck out into rather than trundling around with wheelbarrows! Or if they are barn kept as a herd?

 

[Mince Pie]

Last livery yard I worked on I did 6 in 2 hours. They were however on small pellet beds which can be quicker to muck out. A few years ago I was one of 2 people who did 15 between us in 3 hours, all those horses were on deep shavings beds.

 

[AliceCrail]

I would happily do 6 I think, but in previous jobs I have had to do as many as 25! (riding school on the closed day with only 2 grooms)

At the moment I have two, but have to fit in riding, school runs 3x daily and a very part time job, any more would be a struggle on the current system.

 

[RealityCheck]

Unfortunately 9. I am laid up following an op and can do nothing to help but fortunately my daughters have come home to look after me, so can take turns to help my 1 staff member.

It's taking two people, 2 hours, 3 times a day to: muck out, check rugs and legs, hay,feed and water, give the older mares a walk (stop the getting too stiff) and pay the youngsters some attention

They have access to a covered yard just outside so can stretch their legs a little, so I feel a little better about being on day 3 of a long road!

I'm glad I downsized this year, or it could have been trying to fit 22 horses in a 10 horse barn! (Or leave them swimming! )

 

[martlin]

So if each horse is seperately stabled, rugged/unrugged, feed, mucking out etc. Would it be approx an hour a day each do you think? Not including riding. Except Martlin, who seems to be superhuman?! I imagine it would help tohave a tractor/trailer type to muck out into rather than trundling around with wheelbarrows! Or if they are barn kept as a herd?

Not super human at all, lol. I allow roughly 30 minutes per horse per day, horses are in american barn with everything VERY close by. 6 are semi deep littered on Laysoft, the rest on straw; I have 3 wheelbarrows on the go at any time and a very well practised system. The fields are not more than 2 mins walk away, I turn out in pairs and most horses live in their turn out rugs.
The key to it is to never, ever make an empty journey

 

[Wagtail]

I have 8 in at the moment. They go out in 4 shifts in the sand school. 3 are out over night so the sand school is a huge mess in the morning. That can take me half an hour to muck out. Then I do most of the other 5 stables before I have breakfast in the morning. I have just come in for breakfast now!

Some of the horses live in their turn out rugs, which helps tremendously with time. One of the horses has to go out with 6 boots on (4 leg and two over reach), which is a time drain. But she's extremely valuable.

I have found that 8 horses is a nice number for me. I can manage that with one or two to ride. Sadly, I am losing my longest livery very soon, so will have a vacancy for the first time in ages. But I will not hurry to fill it with the current weather situation!

 

[Honey08]

It massively depends on how they are kept and what kind of horses they are!

If they're on small shavings beds on rubber mats, or deep litter, or if they are little ponies they wouldn't take long at all. If I had seven of my old section A that lived in a little stable and did all her diddy droppings in one corner and didn't wear rugs it would take a lot less time than if I had seven of my husband's 17h muckspreading hunter that totally trashes the joint overnight!

On decent full beds I would say six or seven is max, if they're only on a scraping of shavings ten plus is doable. Some grooms seem to have to do even more, but I think that's not fair on them (they seem proud to be over worked sometimes!).

 

[Mince Pie]

(they seem proud to be over worked sometimes!).

Sometimes it's just about finding a positive! I was proud that I could do 20 full muck outs on straw (racing yard so horses didn't go out) in 4 hours including bedding up, but in reality I hated it!

 

[Asha]

we have 7 ( 6 stables, as 2 are weanlings and share a stable)

I work fulltime, and my daughter is at college. At the moment, our are getting turned out a couple of days a week, as its so muddy. But when they are in, it takes us both 2 hrs in the evening, full muck out. In the morning about 1/2 hour ( quick skip out)

we have a system, I muck out, daughter fills haynets/water. Only the 3 ridden ones are rugged. 2 of them get ridden by someone else at the moment.

Its blinkin hard work, and im looking forward to the fields drying up, so all the unridden ones can go back out 24/7

 

[putasocinit]

In the racing world, you can do up to 6 horses in an hour, full muck out, put on walker, hay, rinse bucket for when the others come in from exercise. So in 4 hrs you could do 24. You just learn to work faster

 

[twiggy2]

used to do a yard of 46 between 2 staff on a monday (day off for horses at riding school), 12 ponies were out at night and their stables were done the next day before they came in, so 34 stables full muck out am, skipped out lunchtime and last thing, turned out in groups for 2 hrs at a time, haynets were made up day before as were feeds, but waters and rugs etc done as normal, nothing groomed but all feet picked out.

I have done 12-14 when snow prevents a lot of people getting to their horses but would only do full muck out AM then skip out lunchtime and before leaving, fresh water twice daily, hay x 3 feed x 2, pick out feet but no grooming. To do a proper job including brushing off/grooming etc I reckon 8 would be easily doable but 6 more reasonable long term to a high standard

 

[9tails]

I can easily manage one horse for feeding, mucking out, hand grazing for half an hour morning and evening. Along with a fulltime job with a 1.5 hour commute each way. I can at a push manage two but they will only get one half hour hand graze daily. If i was there all day, I'd stand out there hand grazing my own for the entire day!

 

[L&M]

I have managed 6 but that is enough - but that would include excercising two.