That feeling of dread when the yard number is calling your mobile

[MissMincePie&Brandy]

Oh god, that feeling of dread when your phone rings, and you see it’s the yard calling.

I quickly answer my phone, bracing myself for what will inevitably be bad news….

I have two horses, one's a field ornament, although quite a high maintenance and highly strung one, and the other’s the one I ride and compete, and even though he also has his quirks, I’m lucky to have found such a perfect, talented horse….

So, I answer the phone, praying that the first name I hear is that of my retired horse… and yes it is! Phew… but what’s the damage? I’ve only got low veterinary insurance cover for him.

OK. All horses are physically fine and no one is injured. Hoorahh!!! My delightful retired horse has wrecked his neighbours rug. Crap. So, I’ve offered to pay for its repair, and now I’ll have to double fence my delinquent so he can’t reach his neighbour. Bloody horses!

 

[guesstimation]

Phew! My guts always lurch when the yard rings or friend checking on horse!

 

[traceyann]

Only once i had that my guts lurch then i was to scared to answer it plucked up courage my cob had ripped his face open and his forehead was hanging at nose level

 

[smiffyimp]

Yup it happened this morning! I have a been away this weekend and whilst I was away my horse had a mishap - it involved him colliding at speed with the back of the stable wall! A simple accident but he has a HUGE hock now - he's all fine, but when the phone rang I thought something bad must have happened overnight. Actually she was ringing to say shed walked him off and hosed him, even though I was going up to tend the wounded. Nice of her to do it

 

[Jesstickle]

I had one of these last week. Answered with trepidation and it was just my lovely YM wondering where I'd left the battery charger. Phew!

She's very good and instantly says, don't worry they're fine, bless her!

 

[noodle_]

oh i hate these phonecalls!!

Current YO is brilliant tho, before she says hi. its "horse is fine"! cue heartrate back to normal



i have had a "horse has a nosebleed" and "colic" phonecalls before. :/

 

[claireandnadia]

I must admit, the call does worry me too.

 

[spotty_pony]

I know what you mean - I always think there is going to something wrong with one of my boys when I see that it's the yard calling me!

 

[Fools Motto]

I had a phone call a few months back saying that 'my horses had got out' - equal heart failure!! Luckily only one had got out and had strayed into the next door paddock (but they couldn't see her because the little wood was in the way!)
Another 'bad phone call' happened as I was entering the field, the YO (who was in the next door field with his horses) phoned to tell me there was blood everywhere. I was on site within 30 secs and there was!! silly mare had cut herself, a tiny tiny nick but right on a vein on the hind leg. (Artery she would have bled more we think). There was nothing we could do but make sure the bleeding had stopped, we led her in and called the vet anyway. We had to be safe. All was well in the end. We had to take several barrow loads of earth to cover up the blood - it looked like a massacre.
HATE 'those' phone calls with a passion.

 

[9tails]

My YM calls me up for a gossip! He must think he's the most popular bloke on the planet as nobody ever leaves him to ring out.

 

[LouS]

I'm exactly the same! Have a good yard owner who always starts the call with 'horses are fine' so I can put my heart back in my chest, unless they aren't obviously.

 

[fatpiggy]

I used to get 6am phone calls on my mobile from one of the other liveries - panicked me at first but it turned out it was because she was wanting me to do her two as well as my own (so THATS why I get up at 6 ) because she had been out on the lash the previous night. So I swapped that nasty feeling of dread for a nasty feeling of being used - again.

 

[VioletStripe]

Massive pain but also a massive relief I bet! My stomach also lurches when I see the yard is calling me, but so far it's only to tell me they're either moving my boy into a different field, or that my lesson time has been changed. *frantically touches wood* xx

 

[HihoGinger]

oh i hate these phonecalls!!

Current YO is brilliant tho, before she says hi. its "horse is fine"! cue heartrate back to normal



i have had a "horse has a nosebleed" and "colic" phonecalls before. :/

Mine does that too.
It all stems from the very first night I moved there. My (fairly recently gelded) lad was left in a field next to her old gelding and her ex racehorse. When I left that evening, my lad and the old boy were happily grooming each other over the fence, and other lad seemed not too fussed. About 3 hours later, she rang to say that her ex racehorse (who we now know to be a rig) had kicked the fence in between the two fields, and my lad had seen that as an invitation to go in there and batter the snot out of him
Luckily, the whole thing was witnessed, and was stopped very quickly. Her horse escaped with a few nasty bites, which thankfully healed perfectly, and mine was fine.
YO was lovely about it, having been chucked off enough yards in her time for her delinquent horses, and my lad's been a model livery since.
She usually texts me if she wants something, so every time the phone rings and it's her, she knows I panic, so always announces that "Jaf's fine" before she says anything else.
I dread the time if/when that's not the case though

 

[fidleyspromise]

My YM calls me up for a gossip! He must think he's the most popular bloke on the planet as nobody ever leaves him to ring out.

This made me Laugh


I've only ever had one of these phone calls.
I had highland on loan and she had jumped into the new field which had recently been reseeded. I got a call at 0900 hours telling me, she had come in, looking miserable and wouldn't eat breakfast. No idea how long she'd been in that field. Yard had called vet for advice and they'd said to keep an eye on her.

I shot up there (25 minute drive and the first day in weeks that I'd decided to have a lie in) and about that time, she had bad wind, bloated and lying down, grabbed her bucket and started to munch it. All was fine!


I did get a text a few months after from YM, telling me my horse had no respect and should go for meat! WTF... Yard knew the horse would not stay in a field and all she did, was let herself out and go for a wander round the yard until YM came and started to feed.
On a normal livery yard, this wouldn't be tolerated but, I had been one of the yard staff here and YO etc was fine with it as horse was no bother - to feed horses we used to open gate and they'd all go to their stables anyway - and often, I would still go up and bring in/feed/turf horses out etc.

I lost faith in the yard and left soon after, mainly due to relocation but things weren't the same on the yard.

 

[SS.89]

Oh my days I had a phone call last saturday morning ... I had literally just woke up gone 7am ready to go down to the yard to put ginge out and the yard rings.
Answer the phone and YO said ''erm I think you should come down quite quickly, toby got out last night''.

Now the weird things was that he hadn't just got out of his field, he was in his stable !! I'd locked his door but hadn't put the blimmin' kick bolt over so - toby being toby was playing with his latch and pulled it over.

He managed to raid everyones trough's (his favourite pass time) as well as the majority off the feed bins. How he didn't get ill I do not know !!

Even stranger, when someone found him in the morning he was fast asleep but standing by his turnoout rug which he'd pulled down off the rug rack. Think he wanted to go out all along !!

SS x