Rant about Liveries and Livery Yards

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SouthWestWhippet

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My friend and I, both being of the early rising nature, generally hay our friends' horses when we do our own in the morning. The arrangement is that if they leave a haynet/feed outside the stable, we'll put it in - usually about 10horses. However, I was asked the other day when was the last time I hayed pony 'a' and pony 'b'. I said there hadn't been a haynet outside the door for a few days so I'd assumed the owner was coming up. Incidentally this owner hadn't bothered to askus to hay her horses although I had been doing it. She just started leaving her haynet out with the others.

Turns out that the owner hadn't been up to see the horses for 3 DAYS.

Both horses were ankle deep in sh*t starving and desperately thirsty. Of course we cleaned them up, hayed and watered them - and called the owner. But apparently the person that gives her a lift can't bring her up everyday. There are staff on site to care for them but she doens't want to pay.

Also we informed the YO and the response was 'I don't get involved in livery issues. I stay out of it'. I was so angry at that. It is one thing to stay out of petty livery squabbles but when there is a serious welfare issue I think that YO has a duty to do something. Even if it is just looking after the horse and then charging the owner.

A few of us are keeping an eye on the horses and making sure they have water/hay but their stables are gross and the animals are stuck inside them 24/7.

Some People. Why do they have horses? This girl has made me SO angry. She just assumes that the rest of the yard will look after her animals for her and has no care for their welfare.
 
Thats terrible.... We have some-one like that at our yard!! Makes me so mad.
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Whereabouts in Somerset are you??

PM me if you would prefer..
 
That is horrible, people who do not come up to see their horses every day without letting somone know they cannot make it and make alternative arrangments for someone to take care of them on a temporay basis should not have a horse at all! Don't people realise that they are animals they cannot feed and water themselves they need everything provided for them!
 
the YO cannot absolve themselves of liability, they are responsible in law if a horse in their care is subjected to neglect and could be prosecuted with the owner. Maybe they are not aware of that.
 
Reading this has made me feel soo sad for them poor horses and angery that the owner didn't make alternative arrangements. People like this shouldn't be allowed to keep animals!!
 
here, here.........

If animals are left without water/food it's defo case of neglect!!!! not bitching..............
I hope now YO has been made aware she will keep a much close eye on said animals and give owner a very large b0llocking for the neglect

if continues and YO couldn't give a sh1t, I would personnel consider moving my horses

as for owner, well what can you say apart from lock into dark room and throw away the keys.................
 
That is terrible, agree with The_Watcher that in the eyes of the law the YO could be found responsible. I would also be presenting the owner with a bill when she does show up. TOTALLY IRRESPONIBLE
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WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE HER EVEN BOTHER HAVING ANIMALS?

P.S. Well done to you and other liveries for looking out for the poor ponies
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Its disgusting, have a word, if it was me I would call the RSPCA.
Maybe a visit from them would make her buck her ideas up, i learned the hard way that if you take care of the animal yourself, the owner continues to not give a toss!
 
I thought this law was yet to be passed?

My understanding was that current legislation meant that the YO is not responsible for the welfare of DIY liveries but that a number of animal charities were pushing for a change in the law making them responsible for basic welfare issues (feed/water/veterinary attention) etc.

If this legislation is already up and running then that is excellent. If I were a YO (which thankfully I am not) I would be inclined to a) care for the horses myself and charge the owner and b) ask them to leave at the end of the month.

Ugh, vile people should be locked in a dark room without food or water for 3 days themselves.
 
NO - don't call the RSPCA - call the BHS - they are a registered equine welfare charity and whilst the rspca - if they bothered to turn up - might do something - the BHS would advise and educate the YO about her responsibilities as well as the horse owner.

The YO is seriously out of order - have you got a livery contract and if so what does it say ? - even DIY should have a contract these days.
 
Been there and worn the T-shirt on this one......alot of years ago this happened at a yard I was at........We called the RSPCA and a inspector left a note to say they had made a visit....horrible that we had to do this,but acted as a wake up call.....my present YO would call them and tell them to be down to sort their horse out....as simple as that,it is not acceptable that they can't get transport to the yard and if that is the case then -rehome them or move them closer so they can tend to them twice a day!
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Poor horses. I think that calling the BHS would be a good idea. Wont mention what I would like to do to the owner. Surely it cannot be that hard to ask for someone to look after them id she cant get up to te yard.

I dont drive and my horses are kept an hours walk away- but I still go up and care for them, if I cant then I make arrangements for them to be looked after.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I thought this law was yet to be passed?

My understanding was that current legislation meant that the YO is not responsible for the welfare of DIY liveries but that a number of animal charities were pushing for a change in the law making them responsible for basic welfare issues (feed/water/veterinary attention) etc.
If this legislation is already up and running then that is excellent. .

[/ QUOTE ]

The difference with the new legislation will be that owners and others can be tackled at a an ealier preventive stage, instead of waiting for damage to be done, as it is at the moment. If horses have been shut in without water for 3 days then cruelty has already occurred and there is no need for the new legislation.

If I was the YO I would do everything that is needed and then bill the owner for the work, and if the YO is not prepared to tackle this then you should consider your local BHS Welfare rep, the RSPCA or the ILPH
 

This matter should be reported immediately to the ILPH (International League for the protection of Horses) as they have inspectors nationwide who will visit the yard concerned, investigate and make a full report.
Depriving a horse of water and food is a serious offence.
www.ilph.org
UK Welfare Hotline
If you see a horse in distress ILPH on; 0870 871 1927
All other enquiries please call 0870 870 1927 or email us.
ILPH Anne Colvin House, Snetterton, Norfolk, UK NR16 2LR
Registered Charity No: 206658
 
What? left them no food and water for 3 days??

OMG. That's disgusting.

The longest I have left one is for a few days, for personal reasons, and he was out at grass and I let YO know I couldnt get down and she kept an eye on him for me. But when stabled, I worry if I'm just a bit late, incase they've ran out of water etc.

No YO in their right mind should ignore that degree of neglect.
 
Also as a after thought if they say did not pay their livery and it amounted could a YO take the horse to sell in the case of unpaid livery money......so surely there should be some moral involvement from the YO to check the welfare of these horses and not expect other livery owners to be involved!
 
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Also as a after thought if they say did not pay their livery and it amounted could a YO take the horse to sell in the case of unpaid livery money......so surely there should be some moral involvement from the YO to check the welfare of these horses and not expect other livery owners to be involved!

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I think that would depend on the terms of the livery agreement, very often that is written in.
 
Sad that this YO in this case shows no interest to sort this out...this is why my current yard stopped taking grass liveries as she wanted to know that owners had been down to see to their animals,and if not she would be straight on the phone to them!
 
I know sort of how your feeling, we have to liveries on our yard who are also disgraceful
I have been at my yard since march and have seen neither owner attending to their horses

one horse is in her 30's out 24/7 with no rug or hay, and YO has to go to her to collect livery money!

other owner who i bought my neddy off, has eventyally just handed over some of her horses to the ILPH, but the poor thing in the field is skin and bones she is soo soo skinny,she couldnt stand up when she 1st came.she got better over the somer but sadly she has deterioted again we were giving her some of our hayledge and have funally managed to get owner to cough up some money to buy it a bale, but the poor think might not last the winter if its not sold soon (any one want to buy it to give it a good home let me know!) we were going to leave her and once she was so bad the ILPH would take her away as she still had 10other horses is bad condition, but me and my friend couldnt watch the pony starve to death, as she has not been taken as she is for sale

as for your situation, id call one of the horse charities, it may give her the kick up the backside she actualy needs
if she cant get down she should at least ask on of the other liveries to do the horses if she doesnt want to pay the YO

your YO should have some involvement as it is her yard, and she should no as much as anyone a hirse cant survive weith no food or water and living in its own sh*t!
 
She is under 16

the entire situation is very odd TBH. She apparently stole her dad's credit card to buy the pony Incidentally the second pony is one that she has on part loan - this one's REAL owners have taken back some responsibility for their pony, although they are struggling (they were part loaning BECAUSE they struggled to get down everyday). they were pretty furious about what had happened as I'm sure you can imagine.

Anyway, her dad let her keep the pony for some unknown reason, but he told her from the start that he couldn't take her to the yard everyday. This wasn't a problem in the summer cos the pony was out... and the YO let her keep her pony out long after everyone else had to bring their ponies in as it is only a tiny thing. but now everything is in for the winter and she really hasn't thought it through.

Both she and her dad knew when they agreed to keep the horse there that there was no winter turnout. I know this because I TOLD THEM when I showed them around the yard. Her dad said 'Oh, well we can't come up everyday' and I said 'well you'll have to arrange something in winter because the horses are all kept in'. So why she then decided to keep the pony here AND take on another one I don't understand.

Since the 3 day incident and the bollocking she got from everyone, she has been down everyday but the worry is that if something gets in the way or her dad decides he won't take her, she just won't bother coming down. So us girls end up checking the horses all the time 'just in case'.

I dont' think I can call the ILPH/BHS etc because she is coming everyday at the moment... but if it happens again how soon will we know?
 
This is disgusting, and one of the areas I worried about when setting up a yard. However, I have made it crystal clear in my livery contract (that all owners have to sign before moving on to the yard) what I expect their duties of care to include, and if I see them being neglected then I will take over and charge for the accordingly. If you don't pay up, I can sell your horse to recover fees. For me, the horses welfare comes first, and if I p*ss the owner off in the process, I'm afraid it is a small price to pay...
 
Jeez! if you can;t get to see your horse every day then you fork out for livery fees - it's as simple as that! Until I passed my driving test I could only get to see my horse at weekends - so he was put to a really nice yard with good staff, I bit the bullet and paid up for them to look after him for me. Even now I have passed my test I will probably keep my horse on part livery rather than DIY so that he is a top priority for the staff, who are right there, rather than a 30-minute drive away, as I am!

Oh, and the money to fund this has come from getting a second job - if you want to keep a horse 100% cared-for, you've got to either devote lots of time or lots of money, it's as simple as that.

BTW be careful about doing her horses for her, she will take it for granted. I know it's hard not to get involved though...
 
That is disgusting, surely it is your YO responsibily to investigate this issue. I suggest you call the RSPCA, the horse is not being given basic needs.
Well done to you and your friends for keeping an eye on it, but you shouldnt have to.
why on earth do people like that have horses?? someone answer me that.
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I agree with you Vix. Imo the YO should not be running a yard if she/he doesnt want to get involved. They are making money from the business so should run it efficiently.
Im not sure these days if a YO can actually sell an equine to retrieve outstanding debts due to the passport situation. Surely, it is the YO responsibility to ensure that animals on their property are cared for.
 
I strongly think that the attitude of the YO is as bad if not worse than that of the owner!

Of COURSE the owner should provide proper care for their animals, that goes without saying, but they could just be ignorant about horses (no, I know, thats no defence)

But for the YO to say 'I don't get involved in livery issues' is REALLY out of order - it is the horses welfare that is most important here, and I rather thought that most YO's ran livery yards because they liked horses?! Obviously not in this case!

Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now...
 
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