Livery yards are they really like this!! Grr

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Englishcowgirl91

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Just coming on here for a-bit of a rant!
I would like to think that I’m a pretty reasonable person who respects my surroundings and others but are livery yards really like this!!??

I’ve just moved my horse to DIY and it’s been ok so far but have had little things that have bugged me.

The yard own seems to know things that I haven’t mentioned so someone must be filling her in like little spies..

I put jay out in the field because most of the others do. I would put it on the gate like some of the others but the yard owner wanted me to separate him from the gate because she thinks as he’s young he is going to come over the top.
I know young horses do silly things but he’s probably the quieter type and hasn’t been trouble once. I put the hay in a pile in the field and yesterday I cleaned up jay stray bits that had been blown out of the field as the wind has been terrible and it was smart.
But tonight she’s moaned at my partner because the hay had blown out. She doesn’t walk down there so someone has reported again! Why don’t they just say it to me? Is it my fault?
If I put a bucket in the middle of the field there will be reports of putting a bucket in with a young horse.

1st it was the the feed in the bowl “he will tip it everywhere” .. he doesn’t now it’s just everything..

I’m not intentionally messy!

What should I do in the field should I just remove the electrical fence from the gate and pop the hay nets on there to keep the hay from blowing.

Are there any other things I can do to put the hay out in the field without it blowing everywhere..

She says there was no hay in the field did he eat it all..

He’s young, he’s on hay ad-lib and forage is good in the winter.. keeps them warm!

Is it really like this?!!!
 
Englishcowgirl91 said:
Just coming on here for a-bit of a rant!
I would like to think that I’m a pretty reasonable person who respects my surroundings and others but are livery yards really like this!!??

I’ve just moved my horse to DIY and it’s been ok so far but have had little things that have bugged me.

The yard own seems to know things that I haven’t mentioned so someone must be filling her in like little spies..

I put jay out in the field because most of the others do. I would put it on the gate like some of the others but the yard owner wanted me to separate him from the gate because she thinks as he’s young he is going to come over the top.
I know young horses do silly things but he’s probably the quieter type and hasn’t been trouble once. I put the hay in a pile in the field and yesterday I cleaned up jay stray bits that had been blown out of the field as the wind has been terrible and it was smart.
But tonight she’s moaned at my partner because the hay had blown out. She doesn’t walk down there so someone has reported again! Why don’t they just say it to me? Is it my fault?
If I put a bucket in the middle of the field there will be reports of putting a bucket in with a young horse.

1st it was the the feed in the bowl “he will tip it everywhere” .. he doesn’t now it’s just everything..

I’m not intentionally messy!

What should I do in the field should I just remove the electrical fence from the gate and pop the hay nets on there to keep the hay from blowing.

Are there any other things I can do to put the hay out in the field without it blowing everywhere..

She says there was no hay in the field did he eat it all..

He’s young, he’s on hay ad-lib and forage is good in the winter.. keeps them warm!

Is it really like this?!!!
Click to expand...
Yeah, probably, either another yard or rent your own place!
You could use a hay hutch / similar, but every time a horse pulls a mouthful from his net or hutch or feed ring or hay pile, there will be some hay stalks blowing about in a strong wind.
You could put him on full livery for a week, and see exactly what yard owner does to manage him! Then do the same - probably won’t be any different, but then no one will be able to moan at you....
Probably jealousy, pecking-order stuff isn’t confined to horses; might settle down, like when the next newbie arrives, good luck!
 
Is it possible you’re reading too much into this?

If I went to fetch my horse from the field, and saw hay blowing everywhere and being wasted, I’d probably mention it to the YO. Not as a complaint, as an FYI. Their job is to run the yard, so I’d see them as the correct person to tell. I wouldn’t give it two moments of thought to work out which horse it was and who that owner might be.

To save hay, you can pop a net around these tubs:


I used to put a brick in the bottom of mine to stop it blowing away.

I don’t like tying nets to gates, it causes horses to congregate and then when the food runs scarce they can corner each other. I have had one go half over the fence before as a result and she wasn’t even young, but just at the bottom of the pecking order. It’s a legitimate concern, if a horse is likely to be bullied for access to hay and not stand its ground, which quieter ones might do.

I’d message the YO about hay options and get her advice.

Chances are, it’s not all gossip and malice in it.
 
Englishcowgirl91 said:
Just coming on here for a-bit of a rant!
I would like to think that I’m a pretty reasonable person who respects my surroundings and others but are livery yards really like this!!??

I’ve just moved my horse to DIY and it’s been ok so far but have had little things that have bugged me.

The yard own seems to know things that I haven’t mentioned so someone must be filling her in like little spies..

I put jay out in the field because most of the others do. I would put it on the gate like some of the others but the yard owner wanted me to separate him from the gate because she thinks as he’s young he is going to come over the top.
I know young horses do silly things but he’s probably the quieter type and hasn’t been trouble once. I put the hay in a pile in the field and yesterday I cleaned up jay stray bits that had been blown out of the field as the wind has been terrible and it was smart.
But tonight she’s moaned at my partner because the hay had blown out. She doesn’t walk down there so someone has reported again! Why don’t they just say it to me? Is it my fault?
If I put a bucket in the middle of the field there will be reports of putting a bucket in with a young horse.

1st it was the the feed in the bowl “he will tip it everywhere” .. he doesn’t now it’s just everything..

I’m not intentionally messy!

What should I do in the field should I just remove the electrical fence from the gate and pop the hay nets on there to keep the hay from blowing.

Are there any other things I can do to put the hay out in the field without it blowing everywhere..

She says there was no hay in the field did he eat it all..

He’s young, he’s on hay ad-lib and forage is good in the winter.. keeps them warm!

Is it really like this?!!!
Click to expand...
No, they're not all like this.

Perhaps put it down to a few teething problems, give it a few weeks and see how you feel then.

You can get hay boxes/hay hutches that can be put in the field. I would ask the YO what her suggestion is. At least if the suggestion has come from her she can't then moan at you about it!

For the bucket, you could put it into a tyre.

It may be that whoever is telling her this has just mentioned it in passing, rather than making a complaint. Or the person may not have seen you to mention it to you.

Sometimes there are ongoing little niggles, maybe the odd person who thinks they're "it" - as with life in general - and you can choose to either confront the situation, or rise above it and don't get bothered by it, or find somewhere else to move to. All are perfectly fine choices depending on your tolerance/situation/personality.

If it's still making you want to rant all the time in a few weeks, have a look to see what else is available in your area 🥰
 
There is generally a routine on most yards, which no one has explained to you. Example - we have a no hay in the field rule, because we have a herd of 14 turned out. One or two think it is ok to ignore this because they put their horses out first, before anyone else arrives, but clearly do not think about what happens when their horses leave the hay and go and graze, after said owner has left the yard. Either someone else has to clean up, or there is an almighty punch up as the horses try to claim the leftovers.
 
JenJ said:
I would ask the YO what her suggestion is. At least if the suggestion has come from her she can't then moan at you about it!
Click to expand...
Would be my solution also. People love being asked for advice on how best to do things too, feeds the ego.

I also recently moved and new place does a few things differently than I'm used to. I think a lot of "yes of course, no problem" in the beginning will get you further in the long run if you then find something that really doesn't work for you in the future, and you need a bit of flexibility.
 
I'd just ask what the protocol is then. I quite like what smolmaus has said and tend to agree - different places do things slightly differently and there is always an adjustment period. It's a bit like work - you are bound to make mistakes in the first little bit as you work out what the new "norms" are
 
I wouldn't take it personally - and as others have said, just ask the YO for their suggestions.

From YO's perspective - you're new, they don't really know you or your horse yet and they probably have previous experience of horses being wallies near the gate that they don't want to revisit.

People will probably have mentioned the hay being blown out - it can be a pita to get a horse past it, as well as being wasted.
 
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