Musing:keeping horses at home feels like a never ending episode of the Crystal Maze.

SNORKEY said:
I have my horses at home, two horses is always difficult if one or both get ridden and they are attached, I know its nice to have your own place but how about letting a livery come in?
Or if you don't fancy that then id buy a third one.
We had to do this as our mare would go mad if left alone when I hacked out.
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Well the problem is my livery ad would have to read something like this

"Livery offered for one or two horses. Must be mares, preferably unshod. Must live out all year. Be able to eat haylage when put out for other horses, but only at that time. Pref able to eat unlimited grass. Must not mind other horse beating them up occasionally. No arena, no available stable, no storage for trailer or other stuff. Horse must only be taken out of field at times to suit current owner. Wet field so no riding in field. Field not in sight of house. Field in fact adjacent to a smelly chicken shed. No canter hacking available. Cheap though" :D
 
yes the biggest benefits for me was being able to have them out 24/7, feed when i want with what i want, know that only me or oh handles them, nothing going missing, all my horsey stuff is to hand, can pop out and see them anytime or just look out the window - it's not that bad really just hard work as others have said. there is no one else to do the work for you and i miss the company of a livery yard. depends what you want really - to me having them on my doorstep is worth it - you can also keep your oldies for life without it costing you too much.
 
madeleine1 said:
i solve this.
mine lives at home in the summer with liverys on the other part of our field for company. then she goes on diy or working livery for winter so i have a school and no poo picking and people around to help. she only has to go away for 4 months and only costs me £50 a week in winter and nothing in summer. i got a field shelter for my 21st birthday and the liverys look after the fencing. and a friend who needs to boost her horses condition comes and shares my bit of field for a bit to feed her horse up for a week or two and clears the raggwort in payment. also i sell my horse poo and make about £200 a year from it and pay myself about £1 a hour. and if i go away i have a friend who come and looks after her every 2 or 3 days with a groom and hoof pick and check over and she gets a ride in return for each time she does her. my dad looks at her in the field or my nana does who lives next door, everyday and gives her a tiny feed.

it did all take some working out. but i also have a long suffering boyfriend in back up, he will do her if i beg.
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Sounds like you have it well planned. I do have a shelter which is a massive godsend. What happens with your summer liveries once yours goes on winter livery? Do they stay at yours? And how do you sell your poo? I put mine on freecycle and didn't have a very good take-up, so I ridiculously pay my farmer friend to take it away!
 
Ha! I want my OH to read your post OP as we've moved house to have the horses at home and I now kee talking about looking into the livery yard down the roa, cue much eye rolling from OH! But it's exactly because of all the reasons you said, plus massive separation anxiety from both of them if one goes out but not enou land for em never mind a third and the constant battle of muck heaps, broken fencing, the guilt of having them look at me when I leave the house on a mission other than something horsey and yes, the hassle of going on holiday!

I love having them home but seem to ride less than I did before and be more stressed!
 
Richard?! What are you doing in my stable? NO THIS IS NOT THE FECKING AZTEC ZONE! Who are these people in quilted tracksuits and what are they looking for in the haynets?
Oh and will you stop playing that bloody harmonica....
 
Foxy girl said:
Ha! I want my OH to read your post OP as we've moved house to have the horses at home and I now kee talking about looking into the livery yard down the roa, cue much eye rolling from OH! But it's exactly because of all the reasons you said, plus massive separation anxiety from both of them if one goes out but not enou land for em never mind a third and the constant battle of muck heaps, broken fencing, the guilt of having them look at me when I leave the house on a mission other than something horsey and yes, the hassle of going on holiday!

I love having them home but seem to ride less than I did before and be more stressed!
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Your last sentence sums it up nicely :D
 
CaveCanem said:
Richard?! What are you doing in my stable? NO THIS IS NOT THE FECKING AZTEC ZONE! Who are these people in quilted tracksuits and what are they looking for in the haynets?
Oh and will you stop playing that bloody harmonica....
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OK I know I'm a bit slow, but I read that and was momentarily quite puzzled :confused: I thought perhaps you had inadvertantly posted on the wrong thread :D
 
LOL CC!! :D

I've just done my 3rd winter atop the hill, had the reality check of 100mph winds, living on a sloping acidic bog and no time/facility for a high maintenance eejit ...
I've gone from a tb & a wb/tb ... and a loan tb too so no-one was left alone... to 2 shetlands, an Icey and an Icey cross. Everything low to the ground and as indestructable as a hilux.

4 IS easier than 3.

All my spare cash goes on hardcore, my spare time on hauling water and poo-picking. Actually delete both of those uses of the word spare!

But stargazing amid the herd while doing bedtime check or watching them all lie down in the morning sun while poopicking - wouldn't swap it for all the tea in China. Total peace and quiet - no ego's or hormones apart from your own. Sigh!

On a serious note tho for the shetland - exercise and probiotics is the key for me - mine are for driving, which only happens when I've company, so I put a bridle on each, have one either side and go yomping around the forest. (picture tall wifie in hiviz coming over the hill wi 2 hobbits trying to out-trot each other). Huge fun.

Holidays you say - what are those??
 
... you sound like husband! :D

With 3 I either had to do 3 lots of exercise or if I had another pair of hands, one of us always had 2 while the other had one. Don't have help very often so 3 lots of exercise was the norm... could never go out riding with a pal on the other as one still left in field. (yes they'd get used to it but it's not my choice?).

With 4, I can do 2 lots of 2 if pushed for time which is quicker than 3 one by one.

If I have company, we can take 2 out and leave 2 behind and everyone's happy.
Sometimes take 2 each in hand to burn some calories off all of us - the dug bringing up the rear. 2 humans, 4 ponies, one dug all exercised in an hour - love it!

Thank God they're all wee and well trained tho - taking 4 from the field to the barn together when I'm on my tod is not going to get me any BHS points!

(the hooligans full brother is up for sale but I canna quite figure out the logistics of 5 by myself... and husband has played the VETO card...) :D
 
Great thread!

What I didn't know before I moved my horses home:

a) average hors produces 20kg of droppings a day (I had to look that up, it was so unbelievable but it appears to be true, except for my bay who produces a generous 30 kgs.)
Let's not count the wet bedding weight per day.

b) hoRsesitters are much harder to find than hoUsesitters... every holiday is "yeah sure, bring 30 of your best mates to stay, and the national polo team's entourage; empty the wine cellar, trash the Picasso, but I will be watching those horses on camera while I am in Bolivia!"

Still, nothing beats reading a book will sitting in the stables at 1.00 a.m. and listening to the creatures snorting and erm, evacuating!:D
 
The problem we have (with my riding horse 6YO and two yearling companions) is I'm sure the cranially challenged youngsters have decided 6yo is mother.
So duly, when I take the 6YO from them we have a huge polava of crying, stampeding, trying to martyr themselves via suicide by 5bar gate...:rolleyes: It's just bedlam.

Now I have been musing for some time, whether another mare, maybe an older mare might be a good influence on them and allow me to use the 6YO as I intended to without being dictated to by the tiny Hitlers...

Other half has also tried to VETO this, but as we all know. Women really rule the house :D
 
you need a 4th for sure - you know it makes sense!

(the week we had 4, husband was getting his hair cut and was bemoaning the herd status - rider hairdresser said immediately "oh four is SOOOO much easier than three... he was convinced I had paid her to say it :D )
 
Sounds like there are a bunch of house swoppers on here ready to go!

This thread made me laugh too. Experienced just about every point on here at some time!

The thing with having a few liveries to break the bonding is that, although it works great for the horses, it isn't so good for you if you enjoy having your own place for the peace, having the yard done how you like it, and the privacy. We had a couple at first and the fuss of pair bonded horses was nothing to the fuss of a couple of liverles!

We had four of our own after that, and while it was fine herd wise, it was an awful lot of work when you both work full time. As stepson has grown out of his ponies we have gone from four to two. I have to say two feels like a dream work wise! We do get a bit of neighing when one goes out for a ride, but nothing too bad. I expect the fun will start at shows and pony club rallies when they neigh across the rings!

We're lucky in that we have always had holiday cover fairly easily (although we only do short breaks generally). My friend and instructor has two horsey daughters. One worked freelance for a while and groomed for us a few days a week (I work away a few days per week and she covered me), the other always did Sundays for us. She was a few years older than my stepson, and used his ponies on the weekends that he was with his mum. It worked great. She now works full time with horses and has her own horse, so doesn't do for us anymore, but will stay in the house now and again to house sit if we go away. We have another teenager do Sundays for us. She also rides one of our horses for PC rallies and shows. It works well. She also has a horsey younger sister who we hope may take over when this girl goes off to uni!

Try advertising in your local pc/rc newsletter or tack shop for occassional cover. We find the fact that they have regular employment (Sundays) with us, and we help them out with rides (and I give them free lessons a lot) means that they are more willing to help us when we do need holiday cover..
 
On the plus side, all the things we've learnt which we wouldn't have learnt if we'd had them at livery:

1. Types and costs of different sorts of fencing, posts, rails, lekkie tape, lekkie rope.
2. The development of biceps from using post-thumpers to get posts in.
3. Thicker posts are more expensive but don't snapoff at the bottom when used as scratching posts.
4. Pros and cons of various fertilisers.
5. Identification of all manner of plants and trees.
6. Inventive ways of preventing pipes and troughs freezing. Inventive ways of collecting wate if you don't have mains water.
7. Inventive ways for hay storage if you don't have a barn.
8. The cost of roadplanings. The use of shovels and wheelbarrows to spread them around gateways.
9. Effective earth-staking for lekkie fencing.
10. Sourcing rat-proof feedbins for zero cost.
11. Use of hammer, nails and how a cordless drill really is a girl's best friend when it comes to anything to do with DIY at the field.
12. Improving skills with paintbrush and felt marker to postcode everything.
13. Inventive schooling - legyields on byways, circles on odd pieces of grass you come across out hacking, if you haven't got a school.
14. Inventive jumping - objects you can jump outhacking if you don't have a school.
15. Astronomy. Gazing at the stars at night makes doing the horses in the dark much more wondrous. I found Andromeda the other night. fantastic.
16. Birdsong. Listening to and id'ing the birds while poo-picking makes poopicking and weeding more fascinating.
etc
etc!
 
I have three at home i could not afford to have them at livery. I hate it nobody to help cant get injured. Then field maintence. watching them trashs your fields . I would prefer to be at livery yard with no theft or bitching which is nearly as rare as rocking horse poo.
 
There are lots of pros and cons. I went to livery for one month, during that month my horse injured itself and is now in the process of about 4 months off if not more!

You have so much control at home, however I do find it mind numbingly boring on my own. I'll freely admin riding and horse ownership is a slightly social hobbie for me, I like the talk to people, watch people ride..help people and be helped. But I don't put that above my horses safety.

Sometimes I think I'd love one select livery, someone on the same wavelength etc to keep their horse here with me. But then you hear such horror stories that I am now in little doubt WHY people don't bother sharing their good fortune (and land) with other horse owners.
 
Hmm I had horse 1 on livery but moved him to my own place, so got horse 2 as a companion, horse 2 won't stay on own so getting horse 3, although horse 1 & 2 will be going out together so horse 2 is going to be on it's own, this is where horse 4 comes into play :s
It just goes on and on, going to end up with a herd soon!
And then that's some poo-picking!!
N&F
 
LOL Beany! I tried to resolve the three horse issue by getting two ponies which wont be for me to ride.
The pair of them just create merry hell now! lol :o
 
I can imagine, horse 2 is a shetland and she's always up to something and getting in trouble. I thought a Shetland was an 'easy to keep' companion

Well how wrong was I!! And she poops the most...
And turned outbshes I'm foal when we got her...
Coming anyday now.....
and I have issues selling them..

Oh just realised that's 5 horses
Jeeezz.... When will this stop
 
My muck heap is gradually swallowing my garden..

My lawn is a mess, from turning horses loose in it, and daughter using it for jumping practice.

My horse is unfit and unschooled due to no arena / lights.

I do like the fact I can muck out while daughter is in bed, rather than dragging her to a livery yard every evening though. And no-one to comment on anything I do. And if I have an odd free half hour I can jump on and fit a quick ride in. And I can wander down and see them at any hour of the day or night.

Holidays in winter were a no - go for years, until I met a wonderful friend (through a forum!) who takes them at her house.

Re. the lami pony companion, I try to keep the field grazed down enough for mine, and feed the horse all year round. I do have a neighbour's horse in the field as another companion though, so can the bring lami pony in off grass as required. Only one companion can make things rather difficult at times!
 
brilliant post :) I rent couple of fields couple of acres opp house and 6 acres down the lane (which we alternate with other field during summer) I've 2 horses Echo 5 year old TB (who's due to go off to be rebroken soon) and Archie a 3 years old new forest monster! and we share with lady down the lane's 2 coloured - they get on great (mine live out 24/7 and my friends go into her stable overnight) - buteven when they're all in the field when I take archie out Echo squeals like a big girl till he comes back even though he has the others with him. And if I take Echo out Archie tries to mount a break out to be with him. I wouldn't mind but when they are in field they don't "hang" around together but pair off with my friends.
Also any noises during the night and I end up out in field if Echo does a special squeal I know the little **** archie has managed to escape again (usually in lady down the lanes garden - was a nice surprise one night when she opened door to let dog out to find this thing that looks like donkey from shrek at the door!)
Trying to convince hubby now that we "need" couple of shetlands as saw some the other day and fell in love :)
I find it quite lonely as well I'm still fairly novice looking forward to getting echo broken but then worried who will I go hacking with?
it's also fairly lonely as unless friend out in field exactly same time often don't see anyone whereas if in livery with other like minded people. but then feel bad for complaining as so many people would love to have horses so close can see them out of window (if they hear us in garden they start shouting for us) and if get any deliveries they are straining necks over fence to see what going on - nosey little devils but couldn't be without the little gits ;)
 
Could I be really cheeky and ask the people who replied to this post to look at my post re field maintenance.

I don't have my horses at home but at my own yard near by and love it, I couldn't imagine being in livery now dispite all the ups and downs :)
 
I had a laminitic Shetland for about 3.5 years to keep my horse company. I spent more on vets fees on her than I did on him during that time. She had a turnout area in corner of field, originally with lekkie fencing, which she bounced under/through, so that was more expense on post-and-rail for her! She used to spend summer in it, but winter was out in the main field. Exercise helped enormously to keep her lami at bay. I used to lead her from him (16.1) and as both were skewbald, we were forever getting people asking us "Awwww, is that his baby?" Cushings and old age combined saw her go downhill and the vet shot her.
 
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