Made to feel uncomfortable

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ecarylloh

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For the first time in 2 months I have been made to feel uncomfortable on my DIY yard. I needed full livery for the next few days and went to talk to my YO about what feed my mare had. I told her she had a few scoops of sugabeet mixed with a bit of chaff, morning and evening.The YO looked at my with a little half smile and raised eyebrow and said, "Is that it?" I felt absolutely terrible - made to feel like I wasn't feeding Fleur enough, or not giving her the right food. She usually does have a little bit of garlic and Devil's Claw mixed in but I wanted to keep things simple for YO and Fleur won't miss those supplements for two days. I don't *think* I'm being over sensitive. YO has reputation for being a bit mean but I'd never experienced it before. Now I'm both upset and worried - made to feel like I'm not giving my girl enough, or the right thing. Fleur has always been a good-doer and is in good condition, and no one believes she's as old as she is, so I can't be doing so much wrong, can I? YO is experienced eventer and I have only ever been interested in local shows and casual schooling/hacking, so she obviously does know more than me.

Any advice? Should I be feeding her differently?

It's such a shame because I absolutely loved this yard, and now just feel like I'm an idiot. Seems you can't have the perfect yard - this one everyone is amazing apart from moody YO, and last one YO was absolutely amazing but hostile liveries. Help!
 
How does Fleur look and behave? Does she look well, have good quality feet and not lack energy? Do you feed her plenty of hay/haylage or access to quality grass every day?

If so, stop worrying!!! There are many ways to skin a cat (and to keep a healthy horse) so don't let your YO intimidate you.

If you're concerned, maybe add a decent multi vitamin and mineral supplement to her hard feed, but other than that I'd ignore her comment and carry on. Trust in how your horse looks and feels.

[Big HUG]
 
You know your horse best and if she's in good condition on that feed, sod what the YO thinks. It is good to take advice from experienced people but some can be rather judgemental! Sounds to me like Fleur is fine on that amount so carry on with it. :)
 
Lots of people feed for the sake of feeding without really knowing why they feed what they do, IME - that's one of the reasons so many horses are fat! Your horse sounds fine as she is, so hold your head up and rise above it:)
 
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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Are you serious?

What utter nonsense! Ignore this comment OP! Sounds like this poster and you're YO have a lot in common. LOL.
 
Thank you for the replies everyone.

She looks fine, farrier has said her feet are very strong and vet is pleased with her condition. She has more than enough haylage (always a little bit left in the mornings) and has a huge paddock to graze in.

East Kent - the thing is, I don't think she needs pony nuts/oats etc. She's in semi-retirement so not getting masses of exercise beyond a few schoolings a week and running around in the field. She's never had any problems with energy (still canters up the hill in the field etc) so why would I give her oats or nuts on top of what she's already got? As I said, she's a good-doer so think that giving her these things would just make her fat, and possibly crazy?
 
ecarylloh said:
For the first time in 2 months I have been made to feel uncomfortable on my DIY yard. I needed full livery for the next few days and went to talk to my YO about what feed my mare had. I told her she had a few scoops of sugabeet mixed with a bit of chaff, morning and evening.The YO looked at my with a little half smile and raised eyebrow and said, "Is that it?" I felt absolutely terrible - made to feel like I wasn't feeding Fleur enough, or not giving her the right food. She usually does have a little bit of garlic and Devil's Claw mixed in but I wanted to keep things simple for YO and Fleur won't miss those supplements for two days. I don't *think* I'm being over sensitive. YO has reputation for being a bit mean but I'd never experienced it before. Now I'm both upset and worried - made to feel like I'm not giving my girl enough, or the right thing. Fleur has always been a good-doer and is in good condition, and no one believes she's as old as she is, so I can't be doing so much wrong, can I? YO is experienced eventer and I have only ever been interested in local shows and casual schooling/hacking, so she obviously does know more than me.

Any advice? Should I be feeding her differently?

It's such a shame because I absolutely loved this yard, and now just feel like I'm an idiot. Seems you can't have the perfect yard - this one everyone is amazing apart from moody YO, and last one YO was absolutely amazing but hostile liveries. Help!
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Try not to let it get to you. Sounds like she is in great shape with what you are giving her.
Your Yard Owner would be horrified what I give mine! :D

He is a 17.1hh WB and he has just half a stubbs scoop of HIFI (Unmollased) and a small scoop of HF nuts! Going by what he is *supposed" to get he should be on about 4 times this amount :D He is a good doer, in great condition and has plenty of energy :D so that is all he needs.

Just try and let it go over your head and know you are doing the right thing. :)
 
OP- don't worry! if your mare looks in good condition and she is generally healthy then you are feeding her correctly. if you are concerned you could always give one of the feed companies a ring/ email to ask their advice- thats who i turn to if not sure about feeding and my horses are in AWESOME condition (yes they really are ;) )

i suspect that you are maybe a little insecure and so the comment from your YO has maybe been taken more seriously than she probably intended? my reply would have been "yes thats all" :p
as someone else said there are lots of ways to skin a cat- doesn't mean that anyone is wrong as such. for e.g. one of my friends puts lots of rugs on her horses, even in the summer- so when she sees me turning out she'll say "oh my god is that all you are putting on (usually a MW or HW btw!)" because its less than she would- doesn't mean she's right and i'm wrong, we just do things differently.... :)

ETS- my fully fit event horse gets a handful of alfa a and a couple of mugs of lo cal a day along with his turnout and ad lib haylage when he's in. Your YO would probably think this is too little- but he's fine, in great shape, has plenty of energy for his workload....
 
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EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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I'm presuming that this post is a joke.

OP, my horses live out all year round but the grass is not always great. They have hay and then fast fibre with some chaff and that is all. When it gets colder, they will get some speedibeet too (at the minute they just have small feeds of the FF/chaff).
 
You carry on with what you're doing if your horse is happy.

My YO and I stood laughing heartilly at the people who have to feed bucket loads, while we're still on hay ;) more power to you I say, over feeding is a massive problem in this country.
 
Well done for keeping the diet forage based and simple!

I am a strong, bolshy person but I turn to mush with my YO (who is lovely) too. So it's not just you.

YO s are scary!
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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a horse is not a human- they dont think "oh I had this yesterday, so its a bit boring today" . if they were in the wild, all they would have is grass! would they stop eating it because it is not interesting enough. feeding extras when they are not required is just a way of making the human feel better, and your horse fat. if its not needed, then why give it. anyway, OP, if your horse is fine, then just carry on as you are.
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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Blimey. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt you to get a couple of up to date books on feeding out of the library?
 
I think most of us tend to overfeed our horses. I certainly reformed when a veterinary nurse became one of my liveries. I thought at first she was really mean about feeding so little hard food, but now I see she is right. You have to take into account the age of the horse, what work it is doing, and the environment in which it is kept (e.g. out 24/7, stabled 24/7, good or bad pasture etc.) I personally like to see my horse with plenty of hay/haylage, and she does get a small amount of hard food, which is fine for the amount of work she does and her breed type. Don't let your YO bully you. As most people have said, use your commonsense and if your horse is fine, leave things be!
 
ecarylloh said:
The YO looked at my with a little half smile and raised eyebrow and said, "Is that it?"!
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The correct response would have been "Yes"
You have absolutely no need to justify what or how you feed your horse unless welfare is compromised.

Feeding, to me, is all about feeding the horse infront of you. If it is holding weight, doing the work asked, and looks well then the chances are you aren't far off the mark.

Stick to your guns if that is what is working for you.:)
 
This is what gets me about YO's! they seem to think they are god!
I keep my girls on grass livery where we have our sheep, just me and no one to bug me, I give my 14.2 Fell half a scoop of hifi lite and supps, and my 12.2 broodmare quarter of a scoop hifi lite and supps...my boss at the yard was horrified when I told her what I fed, apparantly horses just 'Cant' be on anything less that a kilo of H&P nuts a day for they dont get their vits etc...if mine had that they would be obese and lami!
You feed what you want to OP, if your mare looks well and your farrier and vet are happy, then fingers to everyone else!!
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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Absolute nonsense!

My loan horse has 1/4 of a scoop of oats and a handful of chaff twice a day (and vits) - along with fantastc grazing and good quality ad-lib hay. He is absolutely fine on it - actually still overweight which we have been battling with all summer.

My own horses are fed totally to their own needs. My 14.1 gets more feed than my 15.2 tb - because he is ridden 6 times a week and needs it.

You feed for the horse - not for what people think you should feed. If your girl is fine, don;t change her feed.

If the liveries at your yard are nice, stick with it. I've come across a few YO who think they know eveything - so just rise above it!
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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Are you having a laugh??? Do not listen to this, utter tosh
 
Balibee said:
Try not to let it get to you. Sounds like she is in great shape with what you are giving her.
Your Yard Owner would be horrified what I give mine! :D

He is a 17.1hh WB and he has just half a stubbs scoop of HIFI (Unmollased) and a small scoop of HF nuts! Going by what he is *supposed" to get he should be on about 4 times this amount :D He is a good doer, in great condition and has plenty of energy :D so that is all he needs.

Just try and let it go over your head and know you are doing the right thing. :)
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haha totally agree - mine is on exactly the same feed as you and is a 17hh WB :). Just go by how the horse looks and copes. Mines not even on ad lib haylage like yours (as I cant do ad lib he eats so much, he eats a whole bale of hay at night - not a scrap ever left)
 
oh dear oh dear... your YO should see my poor starving boy - grazing muzzle on all day, 12 hr soaked hay, a scoop of lite chaff, and some A&P diet mush to mix in...
Poor fella.
She may be surprised to see his bottom is the size of a house and he is full of beans and naughtiness!
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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What!!! - horses are supposed to eat FIBRE !!!!!! and are best on fibre. If she doesnt need extra calories then why feed them? OP are you eventing or competing alot - no then your diet is fine as long as your horse is looking well
 
What you're feeding sounds spot on to me. Too many people feel the need to stuff their horses with huge feeds but then restrict their hay so they're standing for 10 hours with nothing to eat! I'm a great believer in ad lib hay and small feeds.
 
EAST KENT said:
Not surprised..it`s not very much is it? Those are just fillers to add to the "main meal",be it just grass nuts ,oats or whatever.Reduce your ,presumably, ad lib haylage and add in a bit more interesting stuff to her feeds.At the the moment she is getting a sandwich without the filler.
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What would you recommend egg mayo or BLT
 
Hi, OP,
Just playing Devils Advocate here....but do you think there is any chance your YO said what she said in the context of " Wow is that all I have to do?" Because I bet with others who need to have her do their horses when they are away she has shedloads of instructions!

Maybe she was amazed at how little you wanted her to do? I have no idea, none of us here was present for the conversation to hear emphasis or see facial expressions, but its really NOT in the YO best interest to alientate or upset her clients, because if she does, they walk! No livery client is going to pay the high livery costs now imposed on them and then listen to insults....maybe she didn't mean it the way you took it?

Your feeding of your horse sounds great but you don't really need everyone here to tell you that...you can see the horse itself! And if it was starving, then the YO would have said something.....after all, her comment came when you and your horse have been there a few months and if the horse was in poor condition, you would have heard! You are doing a good job, but I bet she would she would be astonished to think how upset her remark had made you?
Just a thought........I'm often accused to sounding XYZ when the remarks I make are innocent...it happens!
 
I told her she had a few scoops of sugabeet mixed with a bit of chaff, morning and evening.
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That is exactly what my horse has too. She has been off work for 6 weeks due to lameness and I have only just started riding her again gently.

Infact she only gets that to feed her her supplements anyway! And still have to hide all taste of them with a good glug of molasses ;)

I make the feed up in the evenings and my YO feeds her in the morning for me - but she always add shedloads of carrots! - No wonder she has so much energy! :rolleyes:
 
Thank you everyone, really appreciate your support! I have had horses for many years but they've all been on full livery until recently so I must admit I am insecure that I'm not giving my girl what she needs - hence ridiculously regular vet and farrier check ups!

Ravenwood - I also have to use the sugabeet to mask the taste of Devil's Claw, which she won't eat if I just mix it with chaff or similar. Sugabeet, however, she will happily eat til pigs fly, no matter what I mix in.

Enfys - heh, I did say 'yes' then walked away very quickly so she wouldn't see how much her remark affected me. But then, me being me, I started worrying about it.

In conclusion, I shall keep feeding her what I'm feeding her, remarks be d***ed, and will reconsider only if she starts losing energy or condition. :) Simples.
 
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