Liveries and Hay - opinion please?

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StaceyTanglewood

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Ok I run a livery yard and we grow our own hay - it is included in the livery price

We have good turnout even in winter and still have grass and the horses go out all day - they are currently getting 3/4 sections per night

As a livery - are you allowed to go and take extra hay and if you do what would you take

As a yard owner - do you allow people to do the above

Our Hay barn is open all the time and i am happy for people to grab an extra section or 2 if they bring the horses in to ride - or in the evening if they come up (i check them most nights at 7.30pm) and give them extra - or if they are going to shows etc to take hay with them (you get the jist of it)

so on sunday because of the weather the horses were in they had 2 sec in the morning and 2 sections at 12.30 and then i went to the Frogpool Sale - when i came back one of the liveries had given the horse an extra 4 wedges on the floor - when he still had a good section in his haynet !! all the night haynets had been made and were sitting in the Hayroom - i was not happy and asked why they had done this ???

they said because they didnt know how long i would be (i was going 5 mins down the road) oh and the horse has lost weight (i have been weighing all the horses to make sure this isnt happening - the horse has put on weight)

the horse was just standing there looking at the hay to !!

do you think im wrong to get a bit grumpy about this - I mean filling his haynet up with another section fine but giving him another 4 sections when he hasnt eaten what he had ???
 
I have been on a livery yard where you cannot do your own hay and it was one of the reasons I left as they were never given enough, I am now on a yard where you help yourself it is included in the price and as long as you dont take the mick you are left to it, I pay for an extra bale a month as one of mine needs a little more than normal, I think as long as they dont take the mick and if they do then they pay extra
 
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I have been on a livery yard where you cannot do your own hay and it was one of the reasons I left as they were never given enough, I am now on a yard where you help yourself it is included in the price and as long as you dont take the mick you are left to it, I pay for an extra bale a month as one of mine needs a little more than normal, I think as long as they dont take the mick and if they do then they pay extra

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as i said more than happy for people to go and get and extra section or 2 then thats fine im more than happy !!

but they put it on the floor to so it mixed in with the bed !

They said they gave it to him for the night - but there haynets were made up why not give him that ????? I think they thought would give him his haynet of a night time to !!!!
 
Our hay and straw is included in our livery fees, but the fees are graded according to the size of your horse as a Shetland isn’t going it eat as much as a Shire!

We can use what we like. I put loads out in the stable and as Ellie is a tidy girl the pile might last a couple of days. If frosty I put some out in the field for her, others don’t (separate grazing).

Some horses eat have bigger appetites than others too, so limiting them to a certain amount does seem a bit harsh. As long as the hay is eventually eaten and not wasted our YO wouldn’t have a problem. I would rather give too much than Ellie not have enough.
 
As a livery - I expect to be able to give my horse as much has as I want. I give my horse his hay - no one else. Like yours, our hay is grown on the farm, is is lovely.

I pay £7 a week for my haylage, on top of my livery, and I consider this to be a very fair price. I would be happy to pay more.

But bottom line - my horse will get as much hay as I see fit. So no, I don't think you should be grumpy. However, perhaps a different system might suite you better?

I would also add - that I am mindful of the cheapness of feeding hay - and do try and ensure that I don't take advantage by giving so much that a load is thrown away every day.
 
mmm , well i would be annoyed if they were wasteful , or overfeeding the horse & personally i tend to find people will be liberal with what they don't have to pay for! however , i'm afraid two slices morning & two lunch most likely wouldn't be enough for my horse.
 
Our hay/haylage is included within our £30 a week DIY livery charge. YO does not matter how much we take - some have one haynet/barrow load for the night, others might have three - but any leftover hay or haylage is given to the cows the next morning, so it all gets used, even if the horses dont eat all they are given
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mmm , well i would be annoyed if they were wasteful , or overfeeding the horse & personally i tend to find people will be liberal with what they don't have to pay for! however , i'm afraid two slices morning & two lunch most likely wouldn't be enough for my horse.

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really what 2 in the morning - 2 at lunch then 4 in the evening ???? mine dont even eat it all ???? thats is basically a bale a day ??
 
im not talking about not giving the horse what it needs or enough

What im trying to say is that the horse had a good section in his haynet that he hadnt eaten and wasnt eating - why then go and throw another 4 sections in his stable which he then proceeded to mess around the stable and look at - NOT EAT !! when they new they would then get there night nets ??

If every livery did this every day that would be an extra 5 bales a day - so an extra 35 bales a week an extra £130 a week (£15 extra per horse) I cant afford that !!!!
 
Our YO grows and bales their own hay.....its not included in livery, but we buy what we want at discounted rates.....we order during the week and she puts it in our feed rooms every friday. We can get more through the week if we run out.

I prefer to do it this way....I can feed what/when I want without feeling like I am taking the piss.....I give massive haynets and put whats left out for them the next morning this time of year.
 
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why then go and throw another 4 sections in his stable which he then proceeded to mess around the stable and look at - NOT EAT

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I take your point absolutely.

Maybe it would be a better system if the liveries were just responsible themselves for ensuring that their horses had hay. At least then they would feel in control of what their horses are getting.......
 
As a YM mine get as much as they need but if i think someone is taking the P I do say and any left in stables I take to the "grass" liviers so none is wasted

I think they forget that it all cost money and whilst they pay for it. It is a fine line between breaking even and running at a loss on a yard. And something as small as every stable having a extra flake can make the difference
 
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really what 2 in the morning - 2 at lunch then 4 in the evening ???? mine dont even eat it all ???? thats is basically a bale a day ??

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I have to say I think that is more than generous. Our Hay is included in livery (£7 a week for horses £3 for Darty). Its not restricted as such, but our useage is monitored. Mine couldn't eat that much if they tried. I personnaly don't think you are being unreasonable as you said night nets were already made or one more slab could of be given.
 
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Our YO grows and bales their own hay.....its not included in livery, but we buy what we want at discounted rates.....we order during the week and she puts it in our feed rooms every friday. We can get more through the week if we run out.

I prefer to do it this way....I can feed what/when I want without feeling like I am taking the piss.....I give massive haynets and put whats left out for them the next morning this time of year.

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how much would you say you put in your haynets !!
 
I think, having re-read the OP, that the point is this weather has caught everybody out; horses dont often have to stay in for long amounts of time as they are at the moment. If your yard operates a policy whereby you are responsible for making sure all the horses have hay in the evening, and, as you say, you were away on the night in question, I dont think it is unreasonable for any of the liveries to have given their horse extra, just in case you got caught up or delayed somewhere (which, given the weather, could easily have happened!)
If this was a one off, then I would be inclined just to think it was an slightly over-protective owner, and let it go. I would rather see a horse with left over hay, than one stood there with nothing to eat!
 
Perhaps it would be better for you to say to the liveries that if they feel their horses need extra hay and you aren't around, can they make up a net. That way the hay isn't wasted but the horse still has extra if they need it.
If Osc has finished his hay when I'm about to leave and the girls are on lunch/ busy I will always make him up another net with a couple of sections in. But I would never just throw a load on the floor as I know for a fact he will waste it.
 
How unrealistic would that be?! Surely the point of being on livery is that someone else does the work for you because you either don't want to or don't have time to!

To the OP, I can see why you are annoyed. FWIW I am on livery and can access the haylage, YO doesn't mind me giving a bit extra if I leave him in after riding at lunch time etc but if I went and gave a load of hay that he didn't need/eat/trashed into bed then I'm sure she wouldn't be too happy
 
We make our own haylage and charge £5 a week for it on top of DIY livery and people can have as much as they want. I would be annoyed if people were wasting it though, but we give any leftovers to the cattle so it doesn't really get wasted.
 
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why then go and throw another 4 sections in his stable which he then proceeded to mess around the stable and look at - NOT EAT

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I take your point absolutely.

Maybe it would be a better system if the liveries were just responsible themselves for ensuring that their horses had hay. At least then they would feel in control of what their horses are getting.......

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this would work for this person but the rest of them dont want the hassle of buying it to be honest !!!

I would also need to make seperate feed rooms etc for each person

Im guessing what i could do is say to this person that i would charge them per what they give their horse - but then how could you tell i have 2000 bales of hay in a hay room i wouldnt know if someone came up at night and gave the horse an extra 5 sections !!
 
funnily enough i was thinking about posting similar this morning we have one livery inparticular who will refill her haynets up to 3 or 4 times while she is at the yard of an evening, i agree ad-lib hay should be ad-lib but some people just take the P. And she is the only one so how do you make exceptions and rules for different people, its difficult!
We also use large round bales to fill our nets which we have to buy in at massive cost but means its harder to monitor who has had how much.
 
we have the other problem as it is adlib haylage help yourself, people fill there nets some have two + horses don't eat all the haylage over night, so rather than let them eat the rest during the day, they go back to the same haylage bale from the night before, through the extra out of the net and onto the floor and then fill it up the net again from the bale. other liveries are ment to take this used haylage for their horse, which is a great way of passing infection round the yard !!
 
But the question was 'As a Livery.......?' It doesn't specify whether this is full, part or DIY.

I am a livery - a DIY one. So, yes my suggestion of horse owner being responsible for hay is not going to work for a full livery or in some instances part livery.

However, the fact still remains, that diy, part or full - If I wanted to give my horse more hay, I'd expect to be able to do it.

But I do accept that having a pile of 4 sections on the floor with a good size haynet as well is a little silly. And probably more than a little wastefull.
 
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lol I'm very naughty then, I pay £7pw for haylage and I fill a wheelbarrow sky high for one pony
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yo's don't care though lol

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How much do you waste???
 
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I think, having re-read the OP, that the point is this weather has caught everybody out; horses dont often have to stay in for long amounts of time as they are at the moment. If your yard operates a policy whereby you are responsible for making sure all the horses have hay in the evening, and, as you say, you were away on the night in question, I dont think it is unreasonable for any of the liveries to have given their horse extra, just in case you got caught up or delayed somewhere (which, given the weather, could easily have happened!)
If this was a one off, then I would be inclined just to think it was an slightly over-protective owner, and let it go. I would rather see a horse with left over hay, than one stood there with nothing to eat!

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It happens most weekends !!!!! I normally ignore it make sure the horse has plenty for the night and thats it !!! they are normally out all day though - and it only happens when im out at a show or in the house !!

Most of my liveries would call or pop there head round and say oh i gave so and so an extra 2 wedges as they were in early - fine no problem !!

But i get the feeling this person is trying to be sneaky about it !!
 
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we have the other problem as it is adlib haylage help yourself, people fill there nets some have two + horses don't eat all the haylage over night, so rather than let them eat the rest during the day, they go back to the same haylage bale from the night before, through the extra out of the net and onto the floor and then fill it up the net again from the bale. other liveries are ment to take this used haylage for their horse, which is a great way of passing infection round the yard !!

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Ummmm.....why dont they simply top their net up instead of flinging perfectly good forage on the floor?
 
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funnily enough i was thinking about posting similar this morning we have one livery inparticular who will refill her haynets up to 3 or 4 times while she is at the yard of an evening, i agree ad-lib hay should be ad-lib but some people just take the P. And she is the only one so how do you make exceptions and rules for different people, its difficult!
We also use large round bales to fill our nets which we have to buy in at massive cost but means its harder to monitor who has had how much.

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oh good im not the only one then !!!!

it is so hard - but seriously i just dont get why they do it !!! I really really dont
 
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