Renting field,Who's responsible 4 filling water troughs and hay?

T

Therightone

Active Member
Joined
18 November 2014
Messages
38
Location
South Wales, United Kingdom
Visit site
I am getting a bit annoyed with the person I rent the field from. (He rents it from the owner and rents it out to horse owners)

When I first went there he said don't worry about the water he fills them. Today the water was near enough empty and when I text him his reply was "what do you want me to do about it" When I explained I wanted him to fill it he said he hasn't filled it for a while as the entrance is that boggy his truck cannot drive through.


As we have had contant rain that is why they must of had water. This week has been very dry. So I had to go out and buy a water butt half fill it with a hose, drive it up there my and the OH carried it to the trough (that was fun!) and will have to do it again tomorrow and if still no rain probably everyday.

Then there is the hay - The grass is very very bad. So I mentioned hay. He said each owner chips in £5 per horse for a bale a week. That was fine by me. Turns out 3 of the other owners didn't want to leaving me and 1 other woman willing. This isn't enough money for a bale so the owner said me and the woman will have to pay for a full bale and take our horses out of the field and feed the horses. So they only eat about an hours amount as that's all I am there for a day.

I really want to move so I have started looking but is this common with other places? Is it the owners responsibility to fill water and provide hay? Because it's paying for grazing but with no grazing? I don't want to move and find out this is normal else where.
 
depends on your agreement-if you are just renting grazing, it doesn't mean you get hay (water varies-I rent one field where I have to haul water but I knew that from the start).

sounds like you need to move-how many horses are there and how big is it and what are you paying?
 
Depends on your contract and how much you pay.

£5 a week wouldn't be sufficient to cover winter hay I can tell you that!

Perhaps look for a more professional set up and move.
 
Usually you are either paying full grass livery, in which case the person you pay should provide the hay and water or for DIY in which case you will be expected to provide hay and keep the water topped up, where your arrangement is unusual is that it seems to fall between the two with nothing being done properly.
The horses must have water at all times, is there no mains nearby that you can use, it could be very tricky if we get snow as they tend to eat more hay and drink more, having to take the horses out to eat hay is totally unsuitable, the person you are paying needs to take control and provide hay then bill all the owners, I would be moving ASAP before the weather takes a turn for the worse and your horse starts to lose weight or worse gets ill from not having enough fibre going through him.
 
If the troughs weren't automatic fillers then I would assume it was my responsibility to ensure my horses had access to water at all times. I wouldn't rely in the field owner. That never works.
The hay situation is difficult as if an owner had a fatty horse you can understand why they don't want hay in the field and to pay for it .
But this issue should be made clear from the start.
Could you fence the field with hay in part of it for the two horses that do want it leaving the rest in the part with no hay.

Ask lots of questions at new yard get a contract and be sure who is responsible for what and how they go about feeding hay etc
 
Last edited:
Therightone said:
7 horses and its just over 7 acres. The grass is battered £10 a week rent was an extra £5 for hay but as I said no one else will chip in.
Click to expand...

These kinds of posts really upset me. I despair at the amount of owners there seem to be out there that think it is okay to just plonk horses on poor grazing all winter and not feed them hay! Absolutely disgusting. Why do people like that have horses? Not getting at you OP. But honestly, you should be feeding your horse around 3 - 4 bales of hay a week if the grazing is really poor. Move and get yourself on a decent livery yard.

eta: in answer to your question, it is usually up to owners to fill water and provide hay. Shared fields almost always cause problems as there will inevitably be some owners who don't pull their weight and then all the horses suffer.
 
Even if it is DIY surely water should be provided at all times. Sounds like an awful place and not suitable for horses at all.
The owner obviously feels that the horses don't belong to him, so he doesn't care about their welfare at all, all he is interested in is receiving the rent.

I agree that everyone should check the water daily, but not that you have to provide it. If the other owners are not going to provide hay for their animals it sounds as though a call to the BHS welfare officer or World Horse Welfare is in order.
 
Before I used to rent my aunts stables. Nice land and didn't have to share. This is the first time I have shared. Only been here a few months and I hate it. The grass was decent when I went there then 3 other horses followed and now it is trashed. For days now I have been looking. Places are either full or have no numbers. Think I will go for a drive to some tomorrow as I would like her to have unlimited hay. It's just a shame for the other horses when I leave they wont even have water.
 
£10/week is CHEAP, and I am a big believer in the saying 'you get what you pay for'. I would not be surprised at having to check the water and certainly not at having to pay for hay. Feeding hay in the field is always a bone of contention when some want theirs to have hay and others don't, and many yards I have been on have said no hay in the fields, if you want them to have hay you have to bring them in. I'm assuming you are there twice a day so pony/horse can have hay morning and evening. However I agree with those who have said to look for somewhere else, from the sounds of it this would not be a place where I would want to keep my horses.
 
Therightone said:
Before I used to rent my aunts stables. Nice land and didn't have to share. This is the first time I have shared. Only been here a few months and I hate it. The grass was decent when I went there then 3 other horses followed and now it is trashed. For days now I have been looking. Places are either full or have no numbers. Think I will go for a drive to some tomorrow as I would like her to have unlimited hay. It's just a shame for the other horses when I leave they wont even have water.
Click to expand...

Oh you poor thing. I know exactly how you must feel. Those lowlifes don't deserve to have horses and it is awful that their selfish behaviour has made you feel somehow beholden to their horses. Poor things. But you can't save them all and there will be tens of thousands of others in the same situation. Your horse is just really lucky it has a responsible owner like you.
 
Therightone said:
Before I used to rent my aunts stables. Nice land and didn't have to share. This is the first time I have shared. Only been here a few months and I hate it. The grass was decent when I went there then 3 other horses followed and now it is trashed. For days now I have been looking. Places are either full or have no numbers. Think I will go for a drive to some tomorrow as I would like her to have unlimited hay. It's just a shame for the other horses when I leave they wont even have water.
Click to expand...

Hope you find somewhere else soon, then maybe a call to RSPCA/ similar welfare org and let them know your concerns - if they get a visit it might be the kick up the bum they need.
 
Regardless of 'whose responsibility it is', the welfare of your horse/horses is ultimately up to you, so whatever the agreement or argument, just get on with providing them hay and water.

Hope you find somewhere better soon as the set up does not sound ideal.
 
Last edited:
Therightone said:
Before I used to rent my aunts stables. Nice land and didn't have to share. This is the first time I have shared. Only been here a few months and I hate it. The grass was decent when I went there then 3 other horses followed and now it is trashed. For days now I have been looking. Places are either full or have no numbers. Think I will go for a drive to some tomorrow as I would like her to have unlimited hay. It's just a shame for the other horses when I leave
they wont even have water.
Click to expand...

Why do you have to do the water alone?

I let an ex neighbour rent a paddock, she paids £15 for TB and shettie has 4 stables, mats in two. Room for hay feed etc. Good fencing and hard standin to park.

I have asked her to let me know at weekend if her water needs a decent top up with trailer or a few water carriers etc. I take her troughs back, scrub etc. She doesn't always let me know so comes and uses hose and carriers etc.

Why can't you collect rainwater or if you took it in turns with water you would be ok.
 
Well, I would definitely want to move but I'd just suck up the cost of feeding the others as well until I got something else sorted tbh. Seven horses would probably be about two or three round bales a week, do-able in the short term, especially if the other livery who does want to pay for hay chips in. Far from ideal, but lack of food will impact on all the horses as they will be stressed and unhappy. I'd rather have the cost of extra hay than a vet bill should they end up fighting due to hunger, or an injury to a human :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top