Tricky share situation advise please. (sorry it's long)

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Nicki85

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OK situation with Jess...

I took Jess on to ride about 3 months ago. I pay nothing for her but will help out when i go up to ride her. I normally ride about 4-5 times a week.

She is kept with two other mares (all three are owned by the same person) at a DIY yard and out 24 7 (she has got her own stable as well). The two other horses are out of work as they also have no riders. One mare is 20yo TB and is quite ribby. Other is TB but in good condition. They get on well in the whole but can get very nasty at feed times. (supposedly twice a day).

So to the problem... the owner of them all is not very well and has been in an out of hospital for the past 2months and the horses have suffered. Her son has been left in charge (17) and i just don't think they are getting the care they need. For example i went up on Tuesday and rode Jess, went up today and feed buckets are in exactly the same place so they probably haven't be fed for the past couple of days. Now keeping in mind the mare is skinny and there is no grass i think this is a bit worrying.

So what do i do? Tell the owner that the son is not looking after them properly? Talk to the son directly and ask him to make sure that they are fed?

I don't want to upset anyone or accuse them of not looking after the horses properly, and the owner is in hospital... she doesn't need extra pressure.

I also want to worm Jess as i have noticed she is getting ribby and a bit wormy looking. But i've got no experience of worming so any suggestions welcome. I was told that she was wormed about three months ago but cannot be sure.

I'm just feeling a bit lost with it all... Jess is a lovely horse and she is coming on really well. But i can't stand by and watch the skinny mare get worse or ride a horse that is not being properly fed. And it would be very tricky for me to get down there twice a day and i don't want to step on anyones toes. So what do i do?
 
I would speak to the son, in a friendly way. Ask how he is coping, and perhaps give him your phone number, so that if he has a problem, or cannot do the horses one day for whatever reason, he can call you for advice or help. However, make sure you say that help is for odd occasions, not a regular basis. Sounds like they need to be on part livery until the owner is better tbh, but as they are at a DIY yard its a tricky situation. Perhaps they could pay (presuming they can afford it) either you, should you want to, or someone at the yard to feed and check over the horses everyday until the owner is better?
 
I agree with talking to the son but maybe you could suggest to him that if he put some hay out in the field he would only neeed to go once a day (not ideal I know but better than not going) and this would be better for the horses than a bucket feed if there is little grass.
 
Pearlsinger- if i try and go up as much as possible (once a day) and make sure they have some hay in the feild at least. What do you reckon at putting one massive bail in at a time? that way at least i know they have something to eat.

I'll have a word with the son on Sat as well and see what he is up to...

Also any tips on the worming front? I'll mention it to the owner that i am going to worm her as well.
 
If you think Jess looks wormy then I would go with Panacur 5 day. Maybe also speak to the owner about worming all 3? If they do have worms and you don't worm the other two, Jess will pick them up again.
Don't see any problem with putting a bale in for 3 horses if there is no grass.
 
OK that sounds like a plan.
So i'll get the son to help me put a bale out at the weekend for them all to munch on.

I'll talk to the owner about getting some panacur for all of them and ask if it is OK for her to pay me back the other two.

Also with the worming do they have to be kept in? Do we need to make sure the fields are kept clear?
 
I would speak with the owner. If you are going up 4 or 5 times a week - you are in a position to help. So offer it.

Say you'd like to look after the horses for her whilst she is off her feet, and go from there.

Tell what you think they need, what you'd like to do, and what the sons responsibilities will be in terms of helping you out. Tell her you will go to her with a list of things you need to purchase, with their costs so that she can organise to get the money to give you to make the purchases and go from there.

You also need to inform the YO that you have some concerns over the welfare of the horses, and that you are going to speak to the owner direct.
 
In all honesty I would look for some local advice before doing anything if I were you. You say you have no experience of worming, so I would guess that you haven't owned horses before.

Do you have lessons? If so would your instructor be able to give a little advice on how best to manage these 3 horses? It's hard to give advice when we don't know the whole situation tbh.

I would approach the whole situation with the attiude that you would like to offer to help rather than that they are doing something wrong.
 
Thanks for all the useful comments
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Bedlam- nope i've never had a horse just shared or loaned on and off since i was 15. I've never been on a DIY yard before so used to the YO sorting out the worming programme. And currently i don't have any lesson's on Jess as i've been working on fitness as she has been out of work for a year +(i do on Maggie though but she is kept on a different full livery yard so another story!). And no, that's the whole point i don't want to accuse anyone just advise that the mare is getting poor on the care she is receiving.

I'll approach the son tomorrow when we get the poo hoover out to do the feild and also put a big bale out as well (split into three big lumps). I'll check on them when i can during the weeks the owner is in hospital. And I'll chat to the owner about worming them again and see what they were wormed with before. I'll also look at getting the mare and Jess on pink powder for their condition if they can get 1 hard feed with that in a day it should help.
 
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