Just moved to DIY livery,sick with worry.

F

fallingstar

Active Member
Joined
23 February 2010
Messages
40
Visit site
Aaarrghh what a day. My 18 year old new forest type pony has just had to move onto a diy livery yard today. I have had him nearly 9 years but has always been at full livery but due to the soaring costs and a cut in my salary i can no longer afford it anymore.
It might sound insane but i feel utterly ill at the thought of being responsible for him on my own. The yard he was at was ran by my very knowledgeable friend and he was given top class care. He has lots of health problems,COPD,Lamanitis and cushings to name a few and im scared i wont be able to manage him on my own. Plus i cant get there every day and the yard have said they will see to him on the days i cant and even thats got me worried in case they dont do it right. F or example the yard uses hay and my boy is on equilage as he coughs even on soaked hay and im scared they will give him the wrong amount or just not bother at all etc etc.

Im probably overrecting but i really do feel sick with worry,if he got ill or something bad happened to him i would never forgive myself. Hes gone from a little quiet yard to a big noisy one swarming with kids etc. It may sound silly but i feel like im letting him down by uprooting him. I really struggle to cover the costs his health problems bring (having to buy dust extracted shavings,equilage etc) and its just constant headache and stress at the minute.

Its just a highly charged day alround,somebody please slap me and tell me im being a fool.
 
Don't panic - you'll be fine.

On the days that you can't be there - ensure that you prepare everything feed wise the night before - that includes the type of hay that you'll be using. Leave it in your 'spot' for the Yard to use.

I'm on assisted DIY and it's fantastic. A much better bond with your horse, than someone else doing it for you. And summer is around the corner with horses out 24/7 should we wish, which is just great for all.
 
Hi,

Everything will be fine, dont worry. Its a big change for you.

Why dont you create a list of what you feed, emergency contact numbers etc. Laminate it and pin it to your stable door. That way if the person looking after him isnt sure then they can just have a look at your list, or if they need to contact you or vet etc then they can.

I have a list with what my pony is fed and how much and all emergency numbers from vet to farrier to riding instructor and parents.

My list has helped if ever I couldnt get down to the yard for whatever reason and someone has had to help out for me.

Once you get to know everyone on the yard, that will help to. I find that being on DIY, everyone will need a hand at some point so no one is unwilling to help each other out.

Everything will be ok once you get used to the change. :)
 
SmartieBean09 said:
Hi,

Everything will be fine, dont worry. Its a big change for you.

Why dont you create a list of what you feed, emergency contact numbers etc. Laminate it and pin it to your stable door. That way if the person looking after him isnt sure then they can just have a look at your list, or if they need to contact you or vet etc then they can.

I have a list with what my pony is fed and how much and all emergency numbers from vet to farrier to riding instructor and parents.

My list has helped if ever I couldnt get down to the yard for whatever reason and someone has had to help out for me.

Once you get to know everyone on the yard, that will help to. I find that being on DIY, everyone will need a hand at some point so no one is unwilling to help each other out.

Everything will be ok once you get used to the change. :)
Click to expand...

Great post... and very true. I shall do the laminated thing too, but we all make sure we use the same vet to share call out costs and out instructor lives on site
 
Thankyou for all the kind replies. I feel a little better today,when i went over this morning he was still alive and utterly unconcerned by the change,hes a resiliant little thing. Actually it was nice turning him out for the first time as at his last yard he was grazed on his own and now he is sharing a much larger field with 2 geldings. He was chuffed when i put him out and seems to have made bessie mates with one of the geldings already.

The level of care some of the other owners give their horses has really shocked me though. Just a few examples are...

Horses turned out in double rugs on a mild,sunny day and absolutely sweltering under all the layers!

One horse that is hopping lame and on boxrest whose owners take his bed up on morning and leave him standing on bare concrete all day long!

Owner turning up at 11.45am to give her pony his breakfast,then telling me hes permanently stabled cos he tries to break out of field (how about moving him somewhere with more solid post and rail fences then?)

Another pony that is thin as a hatrack and was still standing unhayed,watered or mucked out when i left at midday today!

I can only conclude that there is a serious lack of basic horse care knowledge on the yard and i find it quite concerning. My boy is only there cos its the only yard on bus route that had a free stable (i dont drive). Obviously im looking after him myself so im not worried about him suffering bad care but its awful seeing other animals treated in such a shoddy manner.As soon as ive passed my driving test i will be looking for somewhere better.

Great idea about the laminate list by the way,will definately do it,it will help my peace of mind a bit.
 
Glad you feel a bit more at ease today fallingstar.

Being on a DIY yard can be a bit of an eye opener.... some people dont worry about getting up early & getting their horses sorted out. Those who do put heavy rugs on because its freezing at 6am but dont realise that by mid day the temperature has risen by quite a few degrees.

You have to close your eyes to some of it otherwise it will worry you & you end up being "put upon" by other owners. I'm sure the YO is aware of the people who get there late.
 
fallingstar said:
The level of care some of the other owners give their horses has really shocked me though. Just a few examples are...

Horses turned out in double rugs on a mild,sunny day and absolutely sweltering under all the layers!

One horse that is hopping lame and on boxrest whose owners take his bed up on morning and leave him standing on bare concrete all day long!

Owner turning up at 11.45am to give her pony his breakfast,then telling me hes permanently stabled cos he tries to break out of field (how about moving him somewhere with more solid post and rail fences then?)

Another pony that is thin as a hatrack and was still standing unhayed,watered or mucked out when i left at midday today!
Click to expand...

Don't think that all DIY yards are like this. I've seen some shockers but on my current yard there isn't a single horse that I would say isn't well cared for. When DIY works well I would say the horses are cared for to a much higher standard than on some professional yards. Someone spending three hours every day making sure their horses every whim is catered for can mean that DIY horses can get really spoiled.
 
I've just come off a very similar yard, I found the level of non-care distressing tbh. Now at a fab DIY yard and have taken steps to report the welfare at the old yard. I think the situation is across the board at a lot of DIY yards, t'was a real eye opener for me. Bring in livery yards regulations asap ! sm x
 
Sadly, I tend to agree with Shymum. I've seen horses stuck in their stables, unridden or exercised in any other way for 11 months of the year, cases where the owner went away for days,without telling anyone or making arrangements for the horse to be cared for, starved ponies, lame animals being ridden, horses with totally incorrectly fitted tack/equipment (including overreach boots above the fetlock, brushing boots with the striking pad to the outside, buckles inside, an upside down pelham, saddles going up and down on the horse's back, a horse in the same set of shoes for over 16 weeks), horses being fed mouldy hay, unclipped horses wearing HW duvets at night and being left in the same rug during the day, so standing in a pool of sweat. I could go on and on. When my old girl finally goes, I won't be replacing her, in part because I don't want to be associated with this sort of stupidity and cruelty any more, and I don't want to see it anymore either.

OP - had you thought about using hemp? I only poo-pick every day, and then dig out the wet (1 barrow) once a week so it is less time consuming and much cheaper than shavings. If you are worried about his food/hay, why not make up the feeds and haynets in advance (you can put feeds in carrier bags) and then the yard need just tip them into a bucket in your absence. I agree though - once you can drive move again!
 
Yes its certainly proving an eye opener for me and not in a good way! When i went back at 6pm yesterday to let my boy in the poor hatrack pony was still in his box and hadnt been seen to all day long! The pony is clearly not well,hes utterly listless and barely reacts to you when you try to stroke or speak to him.
Yes once i can drive i will be off there quicksmart. Theres another DIY yard nearby that is smart and very well run. Unfortunately its a 2 and a half mile walk from the bus stop and also an extra 10 mins (and nearly an extra £1) onto by bus journey so just not as practical for time being. Its an incentive to get stuck into those driving lessons though i guess.

Fatpiggy-No ive never tried hemp bedding,dont know anyone who does so im quite in the dark about it. If its cheap and dust free then it sounds ideal if i could find a stockist. Im currently paying between £6-7 per bag of shavings which is working out quite costly. Any good alternative would be most welcome
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top