Just for fun! Would you rather have a good or a poor doer?

Good doer every time. Much easier on the pocket and we keep them tightly strip grazed in the summer with no problems.
 
Poor doers are far easier (and it's far less dangerous having a horse slightly underweight than overweight). I like feeding ad lib. I hate having to put muzzles on them and bring them in when they could be out 24/7. In the summer the good doers are more expensive both in time and money to keep. That is because they have to come into the sand over night and be fed expensive Marksway high fibre haylage. I don't like soaking hay in the summer. So give me poor doers any day.
 
Last edited:
Tricky one! I have two good doers and kind of wish one was slightly poorer. She's in a lightweight with neck, today, which pains me greatly, but her sweet itch management is successful partly through breaking the wet/dry/wet cycle you get with unsettled weather (I treat it like eczema or psoriasis). Mine are difficult I think due to metabolic issues and the sweet itch, meaning I mix more into feeds in summer than I do winter! It does mean though that I have the last laugh as when everyone else is piling on rugs and grumbling about the cost of feed, I'm giving small amounts of speedibeet and oat straw chaff! Neither are rugged in winter, either. Still hate the Dec-Mar season, though!

So yes, I prefer good doers, but next time I'd like one without any health issues, please. Ta.
 
I have three insanely good doers-cheap in the winter and keep me very busy this time of year! so, think I'd probably prefer poor doers unless I buy a car park to keep them in.
 
Good doer....far easier on the pocket. Can't be doing with high maintainance stressy types, expensive and stressful to keep. Had many different types over th years and ive worked out that i enjoy the type you can 'ignore' for a few days. With that i mean, just check they're still standing in the field. This is lovely for those times when you've got other things to do or unwell. I can then just drag in from the field, chuck tack on and go for a lovely hack with a mate.

I only have one of these types now and shes 22.... First of the homebreds and the easiest by far. We sold everything else, too much hassle and too expensive. She costs hay in the winter and naf all in the summer. Easy peasy :)
 
Would rather have a poor doer - we have a lot of grazing that would be difficult to fence off and it's a nice feeling when you're getting it right and they're looking well and keeping their weight. I quite enjoy making up their feeds and learning what works for the poor doers. I have one of each - both TBs - and the fat one is much more of a headache, I'm always shaking my head over his weight!
 
Good doer.

The downside is having to ride every day - and if that's a downside, that's a pretty lovely downside to have. ;-)
 
Poor doer.

My Sec A is a good doer and its a nightmare trying to hive off handkerchief size paddocks for him.

IMO easier to feed up than the hassle of slimming off.
 
Definitely a good doer - far easier to control how much food and exercise mine has to trying to finance an eating machine.

When I see what friends spend on hard feed - mine are into a second winter with no supplementary feeding and looking plump and healthy.

It's great
 
I have the sort of good doer that you could tie in a concrete pen and she still wouldn't drop weight..... Over the winter in 2010 she gained a huge amount of weight as she was on ad lib hay and haylage due to the amount of snow on the ground.
She is an older girl, suffers with back and hock pain, and -for a Fell - is incredibly nesh, so is rugged well in the winter, even though in normal circumstances I wouldn't go near a horse of her size with a rug.
Having had elderly poor doer who was able to enjoy free rein of the field, as much hay as his heart desired and nice buckets, I would definitely have his type over my big girl any day!

I hate having to pen her into a dust paddock, buy hay when I have a field full of good old fashioned meadow lea, and generally deprive her of any fun!

However, having a very very poor doer that is picky, fussy and no matter what you give them wont put weight on must be frustrating, expansive and heartbreaking in equal measures!

Mel xx
 
mine is a good doer but looking pretty lean at the moment thankfully. Think a poor doer would be more expensive to keep & im more inclined to keep my good doer fit so i would say id rather have a good doer.
 
If I had my own land and could manage it myself I'd have a good doer like my lad, but on a livery yard where you have less control over grazing, fertilising etc. I think a poor doer might be less stressful. Saying that having moved yards over the winter I am delighted with my new yard owner who after noticing my lad had put some weight on whilst I was on holiday (she was working him but unfortunately the grass flushed up too) had the initiative to cut down his grazing and up his walkering before I got back from my holiday and within a day of us having a discussion when I got back about weight has swapped his paddock with some others so he can have a more well grazed paddock. My previous yard just thought I was a mad paranoid old bat and always told me his weight was fine even when he was porky (although they also had at least 2-3 horses with laminitis on the yard at any one time). Having seen what people at my old yard went through with laminitis I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!
 
Poor Doer.

Mine is a good doer. His pals are all skinnies. It is much easier to manage the skinnies - the right feed keeps them all looking tip top.

With mine, even living out rugless on a Scottish hillside with minimal shelter during horrible winters with no grass, he looks sleek and well fed :eek: He's never been observed to shiver - even soaking wet, he just stands there looking sleek and wet, while his skinny pals are shivering under their dry cosy rugs. Just now, he's been on restricted grazing since the moment the grass came through and he gets between 40 mins and 2 hours exercise every day. I spend my life worrying about insulin resistance (he's definitely on the way there) and laminitis. If I take my eye off the ball for even 4 or 5 days, he balloons and looks like a beached whale. Moving from summer to winter grazing is a worry, he usually spends autumn looking worryingly fat :rolleyes:

The worst that happens to the skinnies is that you see a rib or two and decide to up their feed slightly. Yep, give me a skinny every time ;)
 
Poor doer, I love feeding them up and I have a problem with buying rugs so the more rugs they need the better! My horse started off being a poor doer as a gangly growing 3 year old TB filly, now she's 6 and she's grown she holds her weight realky well, too well ..
 
Poor doer here too... We have too much grazing anyway and good quality hay, I'd rather feed ad-lib and an extra bit of hard feed and have a lean horse.

Mine's a fatty that likes escaping and never seems to budge from overweight. After my exmas are over she's having a summer of hard work, she's currently ODE fit but tubby with it. Can't wear a muzzle as she's out with a bit of a snap happy gelding and I'd like her to be able to defend herself. She's on a paddock that's mostly nettles and two massive trees, barely enough room to move around, fence moved back inches everyday and she's still fat. Not as fat as some, but heavier than I'd like.

If I still had the TB I had on loan I'd be able to just turn him out and use him as a lawnmower, those were the days!
 
Good doer! I have lots more time than I do money so would find it easier to keep weight off then trialling a million feeds to try and find the magic one that puts weight on!
 
I'd have both - a poor doer in summer and good doer in winter, then you get the best of both worlds!

It aggravates the life out of me owning a good doer native and having to buy hay in the summer because the grass is too rich. :mad: I'd rather have to feed up over the winter and it satisfies any human cossetting urges. ;)
 
Right now I'd say poor doer, in the midst of winter, good doer.

My greedy guts cob is currently in during the day with only a small holed haynet of soaked hay for company and he's muzzled while out at night. I feel guilty for having to do it to him but the grass is growing like crazy and he's managing to have green sloppy poos even on this regime yet his ISH field mate is just chucked out 24/7 no probs.
 
I have 5 and 4 of them are good doers who are easy to control with restricted grazing in the summer and still look well coming out of the winter. one is only a yearling and has struggled over the last winter but I am sure she will improve as she gets older. Used to have an Arab who was always a poor doer and as she got older we really struggled to keep weight on her and once she was over 30 she was on 5 feeds a day to keep her looking ok. Give me a good doer any day.
 
Poor doer!! Can't be dealing with electric fences and constant lami paranoia. And it's nice to be able to give your horse a carrot every now and again.
 
All depends on the facilities you have, and the options to manage weight.

As most yards round here seem to have good grass, and aren't overly struck on restriction by any other means than a muzzle, it's far less of a headache to have a poor doer.

I can imagine that could easily be reversed though if grazing was poorer.
 
I currently have one of each, but it`s the poor doer who is my greatest cause for concern. We are doing everything around what he needs (which is a pain, as the good doer is getting waaaay too much grass lol) and the vets bills/feed bills are just rolling in lol
 
If money was no object id have a poor doer no concerns re ad lib haylage and being out on lots of grass. However as im skint currently I am greatful for my 2 good doers however it can get quite stressful weight watching. I swear my welsh inhales calories from the atmosphere!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top