Should I Stay or Should I Go

[Waxwing]

Hi

The new horse is settling in well and between us my daughter and i are riding her about four or five times a week, mostly in the school so far but we have ventured for a couple of short walk and trot hacks. Apart from her being a challenge for the farrier she has been good to ride and handle. She is easy to catch and willing to come in and leave her field buddies.

When we bought her we planned to move to a different yard, which is slightly closer to home and has access to off road hacking . I decided to have at our original yard for a few weeks as there are instructors and lots of experienced help available onsite and I wanted some extra help from people I know and trust while we got to know her.

Where we are at the moment there is sufficient grazing to enable the horse to live out year round in smail groups. They all have stables and typically would spend some time inside during the day four to five days a week but would only be in at night if they were unwell, going to a show or for another specific reason. We have had been riding her approximately four times a week and have the opportunity to join in lessons on a regular basis. There is access to an indoor and outdoor school but roadwork is required to get to any decent hacking.

If we move her she would have access to daily individual turnout; with horses in adjoining paddocks, twenty four turn out in the summer months and daily during the winter unless extremely wet. There is a large outdoor school and access to off road hacking as the yard is based on an an arable farm. There is no instructor based there but several instructors teach there on a regular basis. The owners live on site and full and part livery are offered. There is also more flexible access to the school. Since having a couple of interesting moments out hacking with our last horse I have found my confidence in hacking on the road has been knocked. Our new horse is happy to go out alone and has gone past cars and a parked digger quite happily.

I need to make a decision about staying where we are or moving; we are getting into a routine where we are and I am really enjoying riding her in lessons but I like the idea of having access to better off road hacking and more flexible use of the school. Where ever we are we will carry on having regular lessons.

Opinions please!

 

[dixie]

I would definitely move in your circumstances.
The new place had much better hacking and still has a school and good turnout.
Can’t see what’s not to like really.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I would move but not until I'd bonded with my horse and the horse trusted me as moving them could unsettle them and set them back

 

[Jenko109]

I would also move but not be in a rush to do so.

 

[stangs]

Re second yard, how wet is ‘extremely wet’? How many days did they spend in this winter?

I wouldn’t be keen on moving personally. It sounds like you’ve got a good turnout situation currently - I don’t see an issue with spending some time in during the day, especially as lami season is coming up. Moving to individual turnout can result in horses developing separation anxiety too, which makes life much more difficult.

I suppose it depends on how dangerous the roadwork is at your current yard. Are you sure you won’t miss having access to an indoor school come winter?

 

[splashgirl45]

I would be a bit cautious about individual turnout if she is settled within a herd. I would stay where you are for a bit longer until you have established a good rapport and you feel confident. Another move too quickly might unsettle her and if she is going from herd to individual she might feel more vulnerable . My mare improved behaviour once she was in a field with another horse , I’d had her for 8 years on individual turnout so I thought she was happy until I moved yards and had to share a field, she was much more relaxed about life

 

[PSD]

I’d stay. Not a fan of individual turnout and with your horse being new you don’t know how she will cope. The yard you’re on sounds lovely, little bit like mine minus the road work. Indoors are a god send in winter, that’s why I ended up moving. I couldn’t bare riding in the rain and dark any longer.


Being in isn’t a bad thing, like someone else said. Mines only out 3 days a week at the moment because there’s wayyyy too much grass and he’s a porker. No chance I’m going through the turmoil of laminitis again. Also as someone else said, yards that say they stay in when it’s “extremely wet” often have a different opinion of what we perceive as extremely wet.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I would move….

 

[Clodagh]

I hate individual turnout, so I’d stay.

 

[View]

I’d stay and look for another yard with herd turnout as well as hacking and a floodlit school for dark evenings.

 

[Equi]

Stay. Individual turnout and only out in winter on nice days to me = yard is precious about land and it is hard to get turnout/yard are controlling.

 

[dottylottie]

for me i’d move for the hacking, but only if the individual turnout allowed the horses to groom over the fence etc.

 

[foxy1]

Individual turnout is a hard no from me.

 

[Arzada]

I couldn't move a happy-in-a-herd horse to individual turnout. Keep looking ...

 

[JBM]

I’d stay for the all year turnout in a herd and the indoor

 

[ester]

I'd prefer to stay at the current yard unless the horse was bad on the road/the roads were particularly bad.

 

[Lois Lame]

I think I would stay.
Individual turn-out puts me right off.

 

[ponynutz]

I would stay honestly. I have to do roadwork to get to off-road hacking to and I actually really like it, it's good for their fitness. I hack next to dual carriageways, country roads, and on main roads that really weren't made to be main roads and have had very few problems. Bit scary at times but I actually noticed a massive difference in responsiveness to aids and trust between us. Unless the roads are actively dangerous I'd stay... at least for now until you've got to know each other better and she's recovered from the initial move

 

[Waxwing]

Hi thank you for all your responses. I have more or less decided to stay put for now. There are some compromises where were are; its a riding school as well as a livery yard so use of the school is around lessons. However the new horse unlike our previous one is good in a group so we can both join in with some! (She is the sort that would make a good riding school horse, not too sharp and more leg on but is willing to do what is asked and doesn't hot up with other horses moving around her.) If you have your own horse you pay for one lesson a week and can then join others if there is a space without charge. My daughter has jumped her a couple of times which she probably wouldn't have done if we were on our own. I am aware we can have individual lessons if we move yards but my daughter is keen to do pony club this year so have her well used to doing group activities is a definite plus. I also lost some confidence with our previous horse so being able to ride with support is also a plus. I had a chat with another livery owner this afternoon, his perspective was he is still getting to know his horse, several months after he got him, and has found the support of the yard staff invaluable. I hadn't really considered the impact of individual turnout; although thinking about it when my last horse went on sales livery she went from group to individual turnout and started fence walking and box walking; not something she had done previously. Our new horse is certainly very happy in her little herd, but is happy for us to bring her in from the field and ride her. I will potentially look to move in the future but we will spend the summer getting to know her with support from people I know and trust.

 

[Mimi2005]

I'd stay, as others have said individual turnout as the only option is not good. A horse at ours was kept on individual turnout, she got ulcers from the stress and is now back in with another and much more chilled, her ulcers cleared up too.

Re the hacking, have you considered buying a trailer and driving your horse to off road hacking locations so you don't have to tackle the busy roads?

 

[saddlesore]

I hate the idea of individual turnout so I’d stay put

 

[twiggy2]

the yard sounds to be working for the horse so i would stay and deal with the roadwork.

 

[PSD]

Sounds ideal where you are, especially for your daughter

 

[Julia0803]

I’d stay put for now till you are completely solid as a team.

I wouldn’t move to individual turn out. I know, personally, my Coblet wouldn’t cope on individual turnout.

We’ve had him nearly 10 years now. He came from a HUGE yard, very busy, lots going on. When we first got him, we moved to another big yard, 30+ liveries with stables, and probably another 10+ youngsters belonging to the owners, who all lived out. He was in a herd of 8-10 other boys. Very flexible with routines- some were out 24/7, some in at night/some in during the day for a few hours. There was always something out in the field and there was never set bringing in/out times. Equally when they you brought in, there were always horses in too. It really suited him as there were always people/horses around, and there was always someone to ride with, or just generally about if you were having an issue. The horses were all super chilled.

After 4 years we moved yards due to personal circumstances. He went to living out 24/7 on a much smaller yard. Two herds. His herd had 6 in it. The other had the yard owners 3.

It took him a while to settle. If we’d just bought him I might have thought the previous owners had lied to us about him being a dope on a rope. When we brought him in to feed/ride etc, he was jumpy and unsettled away from the others. Didn’t want to stand still tied up etc. Just not himself at all. I think he just found the quiet disconcerting. He did settle and went back to his previous self, but it took a while.

I’d not underestimate the comfort of a busier yard with people around for support, for both yours and the horses confidence.

 

[Waxwing]

Thank you again for all your replies; I do find he forum a really helpful space to get different perspectives. On a another slightly different point can anyone recommend a cream that support hair regrowth. She came out in hives last week; these are going down on their own accord and she is fine in herself. However the hair rubbed off a couple and she now has three very small bald patches near her elbow (1-2 cm across). The skin isn't broken and they haven't increased in size and she isn't remotely bothered by you touching them The girth isn't interfering with these; we have added a girth sleeve for additional protection just to make sure the girth isn't irritating anything. I asked at the tack shop yesterday and was told there was a very good product in a black bottle but they couldn't recall the name.

 

[Waxwing]

Having the very experienced yard owners on hand to ask their view of the bumps was very helpful. . I definitely trust their perspective on you need a vet now or leave it and wait and see for a few days.

 

[Arzada]

I asked at the tack shop yesterday and was told there was a very good product in a black bottle but they couldn't recall the name.

https://www.lemieuxproducts.com/hor...N-bZogm_EENBoCTvsQAvD_BwE#selection.size=6723 ?

 

[snowangel5]

I would just stay there for now

 

[marmalade76]

Re second yard, how wet is ‘extremely wet’? How many days did they spend in this winter?

I wouldn’t be keen on moving personally. It sounds like you’ve got a good turnout situation currently - I don’t see an issue with spending some time in during the day, especially as lami season is coming up. Moving to individual turnout can result in horses developing separation anxiety too, which makes life much more difficult.

I suppose it depends on how dangerous the roadwork is at your current yard. Are you sure you won’t miss having access to an indoor school come winter?

Totally agree, the first yard sounds like a far more horse friendly living set up and seems as though the horse is happy there, I'd think very carefully before moving.

 

[Deleted member 163966]

I would move, but share the concerns above about individual turnout. At the yard where I keep my horse, we have individual turnout, but a lot of people have buddied up in pairs so the horse gets some companionship during turn out (they can still see others over the fence). Would the new yard allow this?