Sometimes, horse ownership sucks

[Caol Ila]

Today, my yard friend reported that the yard owners told her and my sharer that my horse, for the last couple weeks, hasn't been consistently finishing her hay every night. Some nights she does. Some nights she doesn't. Horse is on full livery and I live 27 miles away, so I can't be there to see what's going on myself. Yard owners believe she doesn't finish her hay on days where they believe I've done dressage schooling (instead of hacking). How accurate this correlation is, I have no idea. They've had the view for years that I school the horse too much (45 minutes of dressage, at least 15-20 of which is in walk, twice per week) for years, so while I believe them that there are evenings the horse is off her hay, I am inclined to take their cause/correlations with a grain of salt. But maybe.

Mentioning this when they first noticed it would have been nice. Not some time later.

Mentioning it to me would have also been nice. When my friend this weekend asked why they hadn't, the said "She doesn't listen to us anyway." Uh, what? When the YO sarcastically asked why I switched to a lighter rug on Friday, I said she'd been warm, but then after his backhanded hint, I checked the forecast and saw it was getting cold again, so swapped back to the heavier one. Fair enough! When she had to be on box rest for a few days last year due to an abcess, YO sent me a grumpy text saying she wasn't happy on box rest. I arranged for my sharer to entertain her in the mornings, and I was going down there and entertaining her in the afternoons.

What more do you expect me to do?

If there's anything else, I probably don't listen because I'm not psychic. Oh, yeah, they think I shouldn't school her, but they've only said that to my friend, not me.

Anyway, so I'm pissed at the yard but also, does anyone have any idea why the horse finishes her hay on some days and not others? Obviously I will be calling the vet tomorrow, but just looking for thoughts. Her behaviour has been otherwise normal. Willing to work, etc. Her condition is the best its ever been at this time of year. Only other thing that's changed is she had her teeth done a couple weeks ago, and was a bit sore after that, looking uncomfortable when chewing hay. I put her on bute for a day, then never heard from YO (until today) so assumed all was fine. And today, she quidded a bit, before getting into her hay, and on Friday, she was more impatient than usual for her hard feed but not that psyched for her hay. Thinking back, that was a wee bit out of character but not massively.

And before anyone suggests moving yards, believe me, if I could find one that would suit her neuroses, I'd have been outta there years ago. But so far nae luck.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I wouldn't worry about the hay thing. If she is out eating grass during the day it i currently growing again due to a severe lack of winter! A lot of the racehorses can be sparodic in their hay eating habits. Some days they stuff every single blade down, others they leave bits. sometimes when the horses have worked very hard they don't eat everything when they are given it but will eat it over the course of a day.

10/10 to the yard for noticing. 0/10 for their response to it!

 

[Ambers Echo]

Mine have ad lib hay and they vary a lot in what they eat. I'd only worry if they were eating very little or not finishing their bucket feed. Or if something else seemed wrong and being a bit off their grub was just one symptoms among others.

 

[stormox]

If the horse looks ok and usual health checks - colour temp pulse breathing etc -are normal, and horse is behaving as usual I wouldnt bother about the hay, especially as shes recently had her teeth done.

 

[oldie48]

Rose isn't eating as much hay as she was because she's out on better grass, tbh she's not that keen on her feed either but she'll eat it overnight. As long as the horse looks fine and is working OK, I'd not worry.

 

[Caol Ila]

I guess the grass is coming through now, even in the West of Scotland, and she has a fair bit in the back half of her field.

 

[DabDab]

Well it sort of depends if it is normal for her to vary the amount she eats. I have one who is very up and down with her appetite, but the others I would worry a little about if they suddenly started leaving a lot of hay. And one of those is insanely fussy about his hay, so I can be fairly certain that if he stops eating it then it's because he finds something about it offensive

Not much you can do if the YO can't be relied on for info other than getting the vet to give a once over as you are.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Yes the grass is coming through and has been for a good 3 to 4 weeks here and I see you are in the Glasgow area and your recent weather is very similar to ours here across the pond in Ireland.

In fact I had put mine out on the summer grazing but they all got so giddy and silly I have had to move them back to winter field with ad lib hay....a very strange spring indeed. And this past 10 days they are all leaving the ad lib hay to rot and only lightly enthusiastic about their daily feed with all the usual spoil herd additives in. why would they want it when the have horse elixir - spring grass?

I am amazed your YO hasn't merely commented in passing that your horse is less enthusiastic about her hay and probably is getting some spring grass growth on turnout? Where the heck she thinks how or what riding you do has put her off her hay I cannot comprehend! Oh my!

 

[Reacher]

My old pony always went off hay when spring grass coming through

Your YO sounds like a nightmare 🙁 . What are horse’s neuroses that no other yard could cope with?

 

[Caol Ila]

In the past, when I've done morning and night feeds at other barns, her appetite has varied. She's never been a horse who eats just because there's hay in front of her. When she's not feeling hungry, she doesn't eat. Useful, because she never gets herself overweight, but sometimes faffy to keep weight on her.

Even if the horse is fine, I get to deal with glares of death from my YO whenever I school her and his comments to my sharer. Even if I said she was fine, he would say she is almost 26 and too old and I'm wrong and come up with a reason that isn't spring grass, because he knows everything, and believe me, he very much does not take other views on board. No chance. As I said, me continuing to school my horse in her mid-20s (twice a week, with maybe 30 minutes in total of trot and canter and 15 of that actually collected) has been a bugbear of my YOs for a few years now, which is delightful.

I guess the issue is that she sometimes off it, but sometimes isn't, but I guess the grass varies as it's coming through and she eats it.

I will still talk to my vet, to get his opinion and mostly, if he agrees with the HHO hivemind, to have his backing if I get more sh ** t.

Reacher, the main issue is that the horse requires individual turn-out because she doesn't play nice in herds, and she gets stressed by those chaotic DIY yards where everyone's turnout and feeding are all on differing schedules. She also doesn't believe in 24/7 turn-out over the summer (the one time she was at a yard which chucked everyone out in the summer, she started refusing to leave the barn whenever it rained...I got the hint). At the same time, because of her age, I don't want her in 24/7 in the winter, either, and lots of yards do that. Finding a yard in this area that has decent individual turn-out, functional winter turn-out, and a routine is challenging. I'm always open to suggestions.

 

[3OldPonies]

I think you need to get the vet. At her age your mare may have something going on internally that isn't immediately apparent.
One of my much loved ponies had symptoms like yours, after having teeth done, gentle exercise etc about the age of 25. It turned out some quite considerable time later, after several minor bouts of gassy colic that he had a lipoma blocking his gut. Although it did take 5 more years to become fatal.

 

[Boulty]

Some bales of hay are nicer than others? They’ve noticed a change where I am as we’ve been using bought in hay most of winter & now back on stuff they’ve cut themselves & horses definitely prefer it & are scoffing nearly twice as much sometimes! Also do they always give it in same way as obviously if they use different nets & some are bigger or have smaller holes that would make a difference? Do they weigh it or go by eye & is it same person each time as if the go by eye & it’s different people one may ram loads in whilst another person loosely fills?

 

[Lurfy]

How much hay does she usually get overnight and how much is she leaving? I would be interested in the actual quantity she is consuming in order to decide whether to call the vet.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

It's not horse ownership that's the problem, it's your YO/yard.

 

[ester]

I'm with Lurfy, it really depends how much/how much the change from normal is as to whether I would be concerned.

 

[BOWS28]

Some bales of hay are nicer than others? They’ve noticed a change where I am as we’ve been using bought in hay most of winter & now back on stuff they’ve cut themselves & horses definitely prefer it & are scoffing nearly twice as much sometimes! Also do they always give it in same way as obviously if they use different nets & some are bigger or have smaller holes that would make a difference? Do they weigh it or go by eye & is it same person each time as if the go by eye & it’s different people one may ram loads in whilst another person loosely fills?

This!! My girl will go off the odd bale of hay as apparently something about it is offensive. Last week she was eating half a haynet a night whereas the week before she wouldn't leave a mouthful. She's absolutely normal in herself and hasn't lost any weight (unfortunately as shes on the larger side of life) she is 21 in a couple of months. I really would't worry, the grass is coming through as well and she'll eat it if shes hungry enough!!

 

[Caol Ila]

She used to be very fussy about hay and do that more but less so since moving to this yard, where they make their own hay. That said, this batch looks a bit different than other batches.

As for how much she is or isn't eating, it's impossible to say. They're not fed in a net, just a pile on the floor, and she spreads it around her stable. YO has said she is simply not eating. I know this is untrue, because I faff around at the yard for up to an hour after I ride, and she munches her hay that whole time. So she's not eating all of it, or eating noticably less of it, but she's not not eating it.

 

[ester]

Mines fed in a pile too and spreads/dunks it but I know how much he has/hasn't eaten - which at one point was nothing though we never totally established why, presume arthritis he had aggravated. He also finds dentals particularly difficult these days and doesn't help himself by biting down on the gag.

 

[Caol Ila]

Had a long phone chat with my vet, including asking him about strangulating lipomas (and if there is one, the horse is basically SOL). He said the horse is probably fine, given she isn't presenting any other concerning symptoms, and lots of horses are doing weird things with hay at the moment, due to spring grass and the unseasonably warm winter. He also thinks it's better for horse to stay in current level of work, so long as she seems happy and comfortable to do so, as she would probably deteriorate orthopedically if she didn't.

 

[Maesto's Girl]

My mare is so fussy with her hay! Sometimes it's all gone, sometimes half. Depends what mood shes in!

 

[9tails]

Your YO is so unprofessional! What does he think she's doing after you school, sulking in the corner all night? Worra weirdo.

 

[Berpisc]

Perhaps you could inform the YO that you and the horse tried schooling with a Zimmer frame but your horse chose to school without it....

 

[Reacher]

Given that the vet is happy with her, I think your main problem is the YO who it sounds like she is sucking all enjoyment out of horse ownership. Is there any of telling her what the vet said and explaining she is spoiling your enjoyment of the horse?

I have admit I’m a bit doubtful the yo will change attitude though worth a go.
I get the impression you have already looked into alternative livery and not found anything suitable. I entirely sympathise with that, I don’t feel your requirements are OTT so I would try anything I could think of to try and find a new yard. Probably by word of mouth. I know you are reading this in frustration thinking I’VE ALREADY LOOKED!!! - but I’d say keep looking. Shame you aren’t nearer me - a local yard to me offers (as far as I can tell )what you are looking for

 

[Caol Ila]

Sort of update: attempts to find an alternative but suitable yard have failed thus far. The best one I found didn't have a great turnout situation.

I had backed off on the amount of schooling, hoping it would make the YOs feel I was listening to them. They haven't been any friendler, and with reduced work, my horse isn't behaving in any way that befits her OAP status. The bucking and taking off anytime you ride to a place where she can conceivably canter gets old quickly. My sharer reported her trying out for the Spanish Riding School this weekend.

 

[neddy man]

Try www.*******.co.uk or www.*******.co.uk