Individual turnout - how does it work at your yard?

digitalangel

digitalangel

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How does individual turnout work at your yard?

at the yard i am at the part liveries normally come in around half 4 and the DIY-ers normally bring in between 4 and 6pm. Every owner specifies wether their horse can be left out alone or not - most cant be.

So if you have a horse that can be left out alone but you find other liveries are relying on your horse to be out so they dont bring theirs in until 6pm and you need access to your horse what is reasonable in terms of notice that your horse is coming in?
 
Here everything is still out 24/7 - we all have individual turnout and come winter when they do come in the YO is aorund so makes sure nothing is left on their own.

sorry not much help but I would let them know I was bringing my horse in so they could arrange for YO or someone to bring theirs in.
 
Our Yo doesnt as a rule, deal with DIY'ers horses unless arranged in advance.

What do you think is reasonable notice that youre bringing your horse in?
 
At my old yard we had turnout in pairs, there was 1 livery who didn't want her horse touched despite being out alone but the other liveries were happy to go by the consensus that if their horse was going to be left in the field on its own, the person bringing their horse in would also bring in the one left out. Worked with turning out too, so a horse wasn't left alone either in field or in stable.
 
Are they at the yard when you are there? If so I would just tell them when I turned up - if not I would tell them/leave a note for the night before.
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Erm, generally speaking on my yard if there's just two left out in the paddock and mine is one of them, then I bring the other one (sometimes with help if necessary) in too. I don't think about notice etc, I just bring it in. And if mine was to go out and the other was too, well I'd just stick it back out too. It sucks but that's kind of the way it goes. The rule is that no horses get left out alone (unless specified that it's okay, and there are very few horses on our yard where its' okay).
 
I am lucky that I have never had a horse which couldnt be left out on its own (and I wouldnt buy one either!) But I would just make it known at the weekend that you are going to bring your horse in at X time during the week (for example) so that all DIYers know that in advance? If they are that desperate about theirs being out they can then make arrangements with the YO to bring their horse in?
 
slkinkyunicorn, no they work until 6 ( fair enough ) but i need access to my pony between 4-6pm, and sometimes the days change, but i think im going to do a weekly schedule on the board as to when she will be coming in to ride.
 
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Erm, generally speaking on my yard if there's just two left out in the paddock and mine is one of them, then I bring the other one (sometimes with help if necessary) in too. I don't think about notice etc, I just bring it in. And if mine was to go out and the other was too, well I'd just stick it back out too. It sucks but that's kind of the way it goes. The rule is that no horses get left out alone (unless specified that it's okay, and there are very few horses on our yard where its' okay).

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Same, we turn all horses out together in winter and liveries bring in as and when but if I go to fetch mine in and there is only one other horse I bring that in (regardless of what time it is) and I would hope others would too. Most people on my yard have 2 horses though so its easier for them!
 
I might be selfish but I don't think its reasonable of other people to assume you will leave your horse out to keep theirs company without having made a prior arrangement with you.

I don't give any notice to bring D in, I fetch her when I want to ride. If there is a horse on its own that is distressed one of us would usually ring the owner and ask what they would like us to do but thankfully the people that have clingy horses are aware of the situation and make arrangements in advance rather than assuming someone else's horse will be left out.
 
We are all DIY at our yard, we bring horses in/out/ride at random times on random days. There is enough of us that there is barely a time when a horse is out on its own.
My horse is farrr too busy chomping grass to worry about where the others have gone
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sorry cant do with horses or owners that flap when on own. My irish draft live happily on his own and when i got my clyd he wasnt as happy to be left(but tough luck he had to get used to it) as i wasnt having him brought in everytime he might be alone, I find it just to tying and your time is never really your own as you dont know when you will get call saying come and sort x out he is kicking off or spending time inside when they dont really need to.(summer too short anyway)
 
I have a rule on my yard that no horse is left out alone unless the owner is ok with that. I used to be on a DIY yard where the same rule applied. In an ideal world all horses would be happy to stay out alone, but in reality they are not. ..and you often don't find that out until after you buy the horse.

It's a tricky one as I appreciate that you want to ride your horse and probably don't want the hassle/inconvenience of bringing some one else's in. However, I would imagine some of the owners work and so don't have the option to bring them in earlier. If I had been left a note saying that the other horse was being brought in at 4pm ..I'd be a little stuck! Potentially I could have been forced to keep my horse in all day to avoid her being left on her own.

Unless you have someone who is abusing the system and using other owners to bring her horse in for her, then it's a sensible system that has the welfare of all the horses at heart.

If there was a chance that my horse would have to be brought in,I would make sure the stable was ready and would not expect anyone to be fiddling with muddy feet or rugs. Unless exceptional that could wait for my arrival.

As a note, whilst on the DIY yard one of my fellow liveries left my horse out alone. My mare was young and fairly new to the yard. the livery said she was too nervous of bringing her in (there were plenty of people around who would have gladly offered support). The other story was that she said she couldn't be bothered and didn't see why she should have to bring someone else's horse in. I worked full time and got to the yard at half 6. She always got there about half an hour ealier and wanted to get her horse in straight away. By the time the yard owner heard the commotion as my horse careered around the field screaming, it was too difficult to catch her and too late to appease her with a small companion pony. She came in over/through the wooden fence/gate, went down on both knees on the steep concrete driveway and was stood in her stable dripping blood and shaking by the time I arrived. It cost me a big vet's bill, and my kind yard owner a new field gate!!

At another yard my young horse had an accident because the owner insisted on bringing her into the yard on her own to avoid me finding out that she had turned her out with her nylon headcollar on and in a field of geldings (as apposed to with one other). The owner had been told she got very stressed on her own but thought she knew better. This time she panicked, barged out if the stable and attempted to jump a metal five bar gate from the concrete yard onto a concrete driveway. She was lucky to get away with just cuts and bruises. Needless to day i left the yard as soon as she was able to travel.

Sorry, this has turned into a rather long post! But I do feel strongly about it. It's a pain taking horses in and out and if there's a workable way around it great, but i just wanted to highlight the risk of ignoring the policy. It nearly cost me my horse twice!
She's older and wiser now! and is happy to be left ...but only after training!
Good luck
 
I think all horses should be taught to be out/in alone. They must also hack alone or in a group. This does take time and training but can be done. I have done it with all my horses and it makes for a much more pleasureable horse that hardly ever naps !
 
At my yard i have a rule, never leave 1 horse out alone. IF there are 2 left, and you want yours in, you bring the other in and throw it in its stable.

Only problems arise when -
1) one get 1 livery who takes advantage and tries to be last down every night - this is soon solved by a quiet word and if it still doesnt work, i put one one mine out with the livery horses so they have to bring that one in also - they soon get the message when they are left to get 2 in when its pitch black! (this has only happened with 2 liveries in over 9 years)
2) we still are all mainly out 24/7, then suddenly, one night everyone decides to bring in, and 1 would be left out, normally at this point i as the YO inform the owner that all of the other owners have decided to bring in for the night and if they cant get down, i sort their horse out for them FOC for that night.
 
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