Those who aren't turning out due to icy yards...

RobinHood

RobinHood

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There have been a number of posts from people saying they want to turn out but they can't because the yard is to icy to walk horses acorss. Just wondering why you don't empty all your wheelbarrows on the yard and make paths. We have 50 horses on a large competition yard and have paths from every stable to the indoor school, outdoor school and walker. Yes each time it thaws it is a huge task to clear up but at least the horses aren't stuck in their boxes all day (and it saves us from pushing huge wheelbarrows up Mount Muckheap!
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).

Makes you realise how clever ponies are. The old ponies wander loose from their stables to the field and they navigate their way around the paths all on the own. I should video it as it looks so funny!
 
Because the YO would kill us
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We have managed to get ours out everyday so far but they have been kept in occasionaly due to sheet ice in the past.
 
Our YO (my boss) is away skiing and she ok'd it by phone this morning as long as we didn't put as much down as last time. She was away (skiing agaiin
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) when it snowed a few weeks ago and she spent the next week shovelling the whole lot up after it thawed
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.
 
I quite agree OP.

It makes me wonder if one could argue that the YOs who won't 'allow' either salt or muck as options, thereby causing the horses to be kept in, are breaching the animals rights.
 
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Our YO (my boss) is away skiing and she ok'd it by phone this morning as long as we didn't put as much down as last time. She was away (skiing agaiin
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) when it snowed a few weeks ago and she spent the next week shovelling the whole lot up after it thawed
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.

[/ QUOTE ]

We would all have been dead!!!!

We are not allowed to out salt down either as it rots the concrete.

As I said though our horses have been out every day and after four years on yard I can count on my fingers how many times they have been kept in.
 
In previous years and yards I have put down muck walkways and even a muck exercise ring, but then there have been lots of us to clear it all up afterwards
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Since there is now only me, I am trying to avoid that option.

We have had thick ice over the yard for 3 weeks, and I now have a path cleared to the walker so at least they all get a mooch each day, but only the yearlings get turned out (cos they are sensible
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) as I don't want any of my others to break their ankles falling over frozen ruts
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For those who think horses have a right to be turned out in all conditions, let me tell you about the man in a neighbouring village to me who decided to turn out his TB mare and foal in the ice. The mare slipped and fell as he was leading her to the field, broke a rib and it punctured her lung. The foal panicked and got away from him, fell over and broke her leg. I think they may have been better off standing in a stable
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This weather will pass eventually, and then it will either rain (in which case there will be lots of threads about it), or we will get a spring heat wave and all the flies will appear (ditto)
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we put salt/grit down and the ice is gone within an hour = happy horses, i think its ridiculous that YO wont let you put salt down, i think they would have to put it down for health and safety? if one of you were to slip and injure yourself surley it would be the YO responsibiltie to grit it and they would be liable?
 
I don't know how true this is, but an old YO told me that if they don't put salt/grit/muck/whatever down, and somebody slips over, it will be nobody's fault but if they put salt/grit/etc down and somebody slips over, they will be liable for not doing the job properly. Again that might be absolute b*llocks for all I know but I can see why YOs have to be careful with things like that, luckily our yard is just about crossable and my horse is still enjoying her turnout every day.
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we cant as our turn out is up a lane used by several houses which obviously you cant just shove piles off old bedding etc onto! Also our turnout is completly frozen over and as its also a field with a quary in it this would not be a great idea!
 
Hey watch it OP I got called sanctimonious and was told to get off my high horse for suggesting that perhaps there was a way round just this problem.........
 
[quote when it snowed a few weeks ago and she spent the next week shovelling the whole lot up after it thawed
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.

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Why should the YO have had to do it all by herself? Surely if you helped put it there it would only be fair that you should help pick it up.
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We did that for years, and the old straw lunge ring thing. Shavings works better actually, fills up the ruts, but is a bummer to clean up again afterwards.
 
I think there is something in what Ziggy's said as daft as it may sound, this culture of suing YOs have to be careful. Supermarkets have the same policy. If they grit and you slip you might sue!

Personally if I was on a liver yard I would chuck the dirt down anyway if I wanted to put my horse out. Sorry, I just would or, like I've done at home, I'd get a spade and start work on moving the ice!
 
We have made muck paths - did it on Boxing Day, so we can get the horses to and from the indoor arena. Thing is, we still can't turn out because our fields are up a bl**dy steep hill which is coated in at least an inch of sheet ice
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Have done the muck path in the past from my horse's stable which was on bit of a slope but fully understand and appreciate that many liveries have yard owners who won't let them do such things. I know the yard I was at some time ago would have had a fit as they did about most things.
 
Enfys she did it by herself as the rest of us were working short staffed. 2 people watering, haying, feeding, mucking out and constantly re-watering 50 horses leaves little time to scrape us muck
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. With only one tap working on the whole yard we spent most of the time going up and down with water buckets which the horses immediately kicked over. Thankfully this time it's a bit warmer and most of the automatic waterers have thawed out.
 
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I quite agree OP.

It makes me wonder if one could argue that the YOs who won't 'allow' either salt or muck as options, thereby causing the horses to be kept in, are breaching the animals rights.

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But then every competition yard and racing yard that routinely keeps their horses in 24/7 (as the racing people at mine do) would be breaching animal rights and that couldn't possibly be policed...

Ours are in, have been since Saturday. It's not ideal but since it's not my yard, it's not my decision so there's nothing I can do about it. It will only be for a few days, couple of weeks at most, and no worse than horses on box rest put up with. In both cases, the horses are kept in for their own safety. The concreted area outside our stable block and paths to the fields are impossible for people to walk on, let alone horses, ATM so in order to make sure my horse doesn't end up with something broken (and therefore end up requiring months of box rest), he can stay in for a few days.
 
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Totally agree with CC - horses do survive a few days/weeks without turnout!

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TBH in this weather, ours will go out, trot round for a bit, try to eat the practically non existent grass and maybe attempt to drink from the frozen water trough which has 8in of ice on top, and then stand in the same place all morning eating the hay which YO puts out. So for the time being, they may as well stay in to eat hay standing in the same place, as be out and standing in the same place. We have a walker, they're get one or two sessions a day on that and it will have to do!
 
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