IrishCobMontague
Member
I'm living in an absolute nightmare! I bought my Cob in March 2023 and he's the most well-mannered, quiet horse you'd ever come across. He's lived out since he was a baby and box-walks/sweats profusely/chews the door and bars/kicks the door when in a stable so he can only live out 24/7. The first yard I put him in was 5 minutes from my house but the turnout was so restricted he only used to be out a few hours a day and there were long periods he'd have to be stabled 24/7 as the owner didn't allow horses out when it was raining. So I moved him to another yard 30 mins from my house (only place turnout is allowed 24/7) and it's been the worst thing ever. My horse has just been broken and they don't allow any lunging/free schooling or anything like that. You're not allowed to be in the arena unless you ride your horse so I can't do any ground exercises with him. My stable floods any time it rains and the mats weren't placed properly so bedding got under them and my horse keeps tripping (he's only in there for brushing and feeding etc). The paddocks are so horsesick that he's literally just eating clover and other weeds (no grass). He was getting a bit "girthy" recently and I had him tested for ulcers etc and my vet said it's likely he's eating something in the paddock that's upsetting his stomach. I found out today that he's being fed fresh grass clippings every day!! I informed the yard owner that it causes colic and that I don't want them in my horses field and he said "well that's just what I do" so my horse remains with a sore stomach. The yard is open from 9am to 6pm and closed Sundays and Mondays and they don't feed him or look after him (he's totally unsupervised in the field) so I dread to think if something happened to him. Once I called the vet on a Monday as it was an emergency as he couldn't pee (he had flystrike in his sheath) and I got in trouble!! You're literally not allowed to do anything - no bareback riding, no jumping above the height they assign you, no grazing them on any grass anywhere, no one's allowed to come with you to the yard unless they're a relative, no one's allowed to ride your horse (not even my little brother), they have bales of bedding there but they're only for the owners horses, liveries have to use this damp sawdust in tonne bags left out in the rain, there's droppings left everywhere and horses are slipping, there's no cameras. I could go on all day. Not only that, but I'm paying full livery price (€100) for diy livery!! They don't do anything for you! They don't rug or turn your horse out, they won't clean your stable, they won't feed your horse, they don't even check on them! Their own horses are only giving a handful of hay in the morning and night so they stand there for hours during the day hungry. The owner's kids are so obnoxious and leave mess everywhere and irritate and scream around the horses. The owner is absolutely awful, he has serious anger problems and he shouts psychotically at everyone for the smallest things. Not only all that but they have absolutely no education whatsoever. Their school ponies are brought in and tied up from 8am to 7pm with no hay or water and they're all deformed due to such ill fitting tack. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Everyone would be right to say "move" but there's nowhere to move to - all yards in my area keep the horses in over winter. My next best option (winter grass livery) would be an hour away and I'm so nervous about moving again incase there's a problem with that yard!! AAAGGHHHHH!!!!
). It's actually €100 a week,€400 a month and feed isn't included. Yes it bothered me they were closed two days but I couldn't keep my poor boy locked in a stable anymore so it was the best option at the time. I appreciate your Outlook and I agree fully. I actually have 20 years in horses but not in the current area I live in hence why I'm so stuck with liveries!!
Thank you for your suggestion!
move immediately 
