Livery question - no hay in the field?

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WelshRareBit

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First of all Im not entirely sure why this has been said but after seeing the state of our small field yesterday I decided to put some hay out for the horses.

We have a 17.1 x 2, 1 x 16hh and 2 x 15.2 or so on about three acres which isnt enough for a start and now that our grass has gone to mud I thought it would be a good idea to start providing some additional food.

I got up yesterday night to see a note saying NO HAY IN FIELD SEE **** (name of yard owner) . I haven't seen him since, but is there any possible good reason why he would be saying this? My first reaction was to kick off because Im sorry I pay rent for the horse to get forage of some description and if there no grass left then Im not getting my moneys worth.

All the other liveries get their fields rotated but not us. This is really getting on my last nerve now - I moved from my last yard because of similar stupidity.

Ideas or advice please?

Thanks guys
 
We have the same problem as you,but we do hay out as all three horses get on OK.....It could be that he is worried that the horses might start being idiots kicking out at each other and injuries might result....you could end up having problems due to there being nothing for them to eat,I would explain about the fact that your on a no rota field,and if you kept an eye and put the hay in the same spot would it be OK!
 
I can only think that some farmers wont allow loose hay on the field because of the mess it makes and it takes a long time to break down.

However, this means that your neds will go hungry throughout the day and may start trashing fences to find grass. See if YO will compromise in some way and explain that hungry horses with nothing trickeling through the gut may get colic and there is a good possibility that his fencing will get ruined, plus the horses may well get injured. Ask him to suggest a solution.

Good luck ... its not on at all
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I dont think its the scrapping issue as he's not horsey at all and doesn't really express any worries about our horses fighting in otherr circumstances, also the yard manager gets hay in her field....
 
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I can only think that some farmers wont allow loose hay on the field because of the mess it makes and it takes a long time to break down.

However, this means that your neds will go hungry throughout the day and may start trashing fences to find grass. See if YO will compromise in some way and explain that hungry horses with nothing trickeling through the gut may get colic and there is a good possibility that his fencing will get ruined, plus the horses may well get injured. Ask him to suggest a solution.

Good luck ... its not on at all
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This could be it as he's a farmer by trade! lol, it will have to be sorted as they are alreadt pushing the fences.
 
This is what would worry me, the fencing. Is it stock fencing? It took us a couple of years to learn that horses will eventually wreck the fencing one way or another, so now we put electric fence around all grazed fields. I lost my beautiful TB 7 years ago in fencing when we were on livery so I am absolutely paranoid about it. Its bad enough when the daft CBx regularly sticks his foot through when waiting to come in - the git knows when the fencing battery has died!

If the other liveries are allowed to hay their horses, why arn't you?
 
Well its that sheep fencing stuff, one side of the field is topped with smooth wire,the other with barbed wire - which luckily is the side that they reach over to eat the grass
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I really have no idea why we cant and others can, Im trying to keep an open mind when all I want to do is lose my temper. It wouldnt be a problem if we got rotated into some of the fields which have plenty of grass - but with no grass and no hay...its going to be a bit of a bleak old time of it.

Its a pain because although Murphyis doing well so far - it can change quite easily with him - and the other big horse is starting to drop weight too - so its a bit of a worry.
 
We dont put hay in our field because of fighting, our fields are rotated but obviously there isn't enough food in there at this time of year, so I have to go and feed his lordship twice a day and wait while he has some hay as well until we move fields or summer comes.
 
It's probably because it makes a mess, & takes ages to break down, then the grass doesn't come through. Could you compromise by offering to rake up the old stuff at the end of the winter & seed that area??
 
Id go mental personally! I cant think of any logical reason why you shouldnt be able to hay up the field! Is he willing to pay the vets bills when your horse colics or gets caught up in a fence trying to get to the other side!?!?! Or is he going to take the blame when the RSPCA come by because all the horses in the field are as skinny as rug-racks due to not having anything to eat!?!?! INSANITY!
 
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Id go mental personally! I cant think of any logical reason why you shouldnt be able to hay up the field! Is he willing to pay the vets bills when your horse colics or gets caught up in a fence trying to get to the other side!?!?! Or is he going to take the blame when the RSPCA come by because all the horses in the field are as skinny as rug-racks due to not having anything to eat!?!?! INSANITY!

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Or when during the summer he turned the auto water off in our field because he said that we used too much lol he's a bit mean if you ask me. Luckily we wouldnt let it get that far but I cant help feeling peeved as I pay a lot for livery and dont expect to be second class citizens!
 
The one thing I have always got a bee in my bonnet about is that horses should ideally have some kind of forage to eat as a constant supply. I have been on yards where it has literally driven me to distraction - I have asked so many times for adequate hay in the stable and never got what I asked for. I have even resorted to offering to pay an additional hay supplement in a desperate attempt to get what I wish my horse to have. I seem to just about have the situation sussed at present yard.

With regard to hay in the field, my horse starts creating mischief if there is nothing for him to eat and hence to do. He is prone to running around and digging holes! They hay him in the field when I ask or when the weather is esp cold, and I am happy with this scenario.

If you want hay then there is no reason you shouldn't get it - unless of course you are paying less than the others that are. I'd push the issue if I were you. Have a frank conversation with the owner. Another real hate of mine is when YO leaves notices around the place basically slagging you off............
 
I quite agree with the above. I wish I had an 'exsist on thin air' hardy little pony but I dont - Murphy is big and greedy and needs his food - he is more than capable of breaking down the fences if he wants to!

And oh yes I pay exactly the same as everyone else, and Im a very good livery - I pay on time every time I keep quiet and clean and I dont cause any troubl..but looks like Im going to have to start...sighs...all I want is a quiet life - and a content horsey.
 
I was never very good at standing up for my rights at livery yards. But the bottom line is, most YO's only concern is maximising profits (IME) so you are gonna have to fight for your rights or move elsewhere I think..........
 
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I was never very good at standing up for my rights at livery yards. But the bottom line is, most YO's only concern is maximising profits (IME) so you are gonna have to fight for your rights or move elsewhere I think..........

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I agree - you do get good YO's but in the main they want money money money - I would complain, its not on for your horse to be starving out in the field.
 
We have the same issue!!!

No hay in the field yet there is no grass either
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Luckily C is doing ok at the moment but not sure how long this will last and its costing me a fortune in hard feed.
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I wasnt allowed to put hay in the field at livery yard, ended up that Gypsy ate through the hedge and they all went for a wander.

They are out in a privately rented field, i put hay in and spread it about a bit so they dont fight. I rake up the old stuff everyday before putting fresh stuff down.
 
One of those rules that's detrimental to the horses and good for lining the YO's pockets. I hope he has a good reason for leaving you an urgent note and isn't just being an arrogant awkward git because you have taken the initiative to give your horse some more food. Why is it that so many people who own stables happen to be the most unreasonable greedy un-helpful knobs? One of life's great mysteries i suppose.
 
Rake the leftovers up every morning and night like i do and if you are lucky, he won't even notice - LOL

I rent on my own but YO does look after the field and hence hates haying out there as it does create poached areas and makes a big mess of the field.

My solution is to clear the leftovers up every day and use a different area a week at a time so it dosent poach or create mess. Has worked so far...
 
We hay when it is a very frosty morning or when its nearly tiem to move the electric fence to use the next strip. Never have a porblem with a mess, as they eat it all, A quick rake wiht the fork when poo pivking tidies up and trmapled bits.
And have found that areas where we hay regrow very weel, as ll the seeds get trampled in to the ground.
Come Spring, thye seem to shoot up and we get ffresh grass coming through.

Out our in single slices, spread out in a big circle so no fighting.

Do you buy in your own hay, ro is it inclusived cost?
 
In winter our livery goes up £5 and we get adlib haylege in the field and inside if needed, mine live out all year so its essential they are getting plenty of forage.

We get two big haylege bales but in our feed ring twice a week, 10 horses share this happiy with no fighting.
I think its ridiculous that he wont let you put hay out when other liveries are allowed!

Murphy is a big horse and needs his food!
could you all chip in for one of these and feed hay in that to minimise wastage?

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The only problem feeding it off the ground is they tend to poo and wee in it!
 
I can't believe I'm reading these posts, what sort of yard owners have you got?
What do they think horses eat in winter, frost?
Horses need forage available all the time except shortly before being ridden, and it's stupid to assume they can manage on muddy fields without hay.
The only solution for all of you on each yard is to get together with the rest of the liveries and approach the YO as a pack.. be calm, be reasonable, but point out you wish to feed your horses hay and ask what arrangements would suit them.
You may have to compromise and agree to clear up any left over hay or provide a feeder, or all feed hay at the same time to avoid fighting, but this rule against feeding hay is a new one to me, and people professing to be yard owners should be putting the animal's welfare first .
You can try telling them about the golden rule we discovered when we first started keeping lots of horses out 24/7, the trick to them not losing weight is to always have haylage on tap , once the feeders run out they start to get cold and use the energy to keep warm.. Our horses need to eat 12 hours a day to stay looking healthy, they don't eat much in the dark either, so I doubt stabled ones do either.
If you are restricted to no hay during the day when are they eating? Cramming hay in when stabled isn't doing them good..
If all else fails, vote with your feet and change yards. This is a new policy and a really bad one as far as I can see..
 
I can't believe how many of you aren't allowed to hay your horses when in the fields.

Are you all on a "hay included in the livery" tariff and your YO's are concerned about the amount of hay being used? If this is the case, they need to up their hay fee to take account of winter feeding.

I just don't understand it. If I put hay out, I will admit, mine rarely touch it. However, I'm in the enviable position of having 230 acres of prime grazing that I can chuck my horses in over winter. Even though there is little in the grass, they still choose it over hay or haylage left out for them.

Before the cows were in and the grass in Oliver and Dinker's paddock was short, I did haylage in the field. They ate pretty much all of it. At least three piles of it for the two of them, so there was always a spare pile. No fighting and no mess. The tiny scraps of haylage left soon died away into the grass.....no different to how grass cuttings soon die away when you don't use a grass box on your lawn.

I just don't understand how anyone would refuse horses forage. Your YO (this is to the OP) may be a farmer, but he wouldn't deny hay/haylage/silage in feeders in the fields to other livestock, such as sheep.

I do accept that if you're paying for hay, and are mixing in a large herd, it's hard to feed fairly as you don't really want to be feeding all the other liveries horses.
 
Some yards don't allow it because of the mess it can make of the area it is fed in and also not all owners want to / feel the need to feed hay in the field so in order to stop bickering, it is easier to say no hay. It seems a bit unfair on your yard however seeing as other people are allowed to hay in the field (Y/M or not, same rules should apply to all). Perhaps if you offer to 'manage' the feeding of hay, keep the area tidy and arrange to fence it off in the spring to recover, it might help persuade Y/O to let ytou feed hay... also having the backing of all the other liveries in your field will help.

I had a similar problem when I had my last mare and I just had to make sure I gave her as much hay as she could eat overnight and then it didn't matter too much how little she ate during the day... saying that, she did get badly kicked twice in the worst couple of months of that winter...
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

There are five people sharing our field, three of them are good friends and Im sure have no issue with the horses getting hay. One of them I dont know about but then again I cannot imagine someone being funny about their horses getting hay - but there's none as queer as folk eh?

We buy our hay from our YO who makes his own. We are not allowed to buy hay in. Our hay money entitles us to as much as we need each month. It is round baled, and I certainly would be happy to pay a little extra for a round bale to be put into the field each month.

I am going to approach my fellow fieldees about this because I feel we have got the short end here.
 
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I can't believe I'm reading these posts, what sort of yard owners have you got?
What do they think horses eat in winter, frost?
Horses need forage available all the time except shortly before being ridden, and it's stupid to assume they can manage on muddy fields without hay.
The only solution for all of you on each yard is to get together with the rest of the liveries and approach the YO as a pack.. be calm, be reasonable, but point out you wish to feed your horses hay and ask what arrangements would suit them.
You may have to compromise and agree to clear up any left over hay or provide a feeder, or all feed hay at the same time to avoid fighting, but this rule against feeding hay is a new one to me, and people professing to be yard owners should be putting the animal's welfare first .
You can try telling them about the golden rule we discovered when we first started keeping lots of horses out 24/7, the trick to them not losing weight is to always have haylage on tap , once the feeders run out they start to get cold and use the energy to keep warm.. Our horses need to eat 12 hours a day to stay looking healthy, they don't eat much in the dark either, so I doubt stabled ones do either.
If you are restricted to no hay during the day when are they eating? Cramming hay in when stabled isn't doing them good..
If all else fails, vote with your feet and change yards. This is a new policy and a really bad one as far as I can see..

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Couldn't agree more.

Have you managed to speak to your YO yet OP?
 
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