What/Should one expect a Yard Manager to do?

MrsMozartletoe

MrsMozartletoe

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As title really.

Those of you with a Yard Manager - what do they do/what do you think they should do? What do your YMs spend their days doing?

As a specific question: horse is on DIY livery. When owner sees horse early in the morning, the weather is cold and overcast: horse is clipped, so owner leaves rug on horse and goes off to work. Work is sixty-odd miles away. The weather where owner works is cool and wet. However, over where the yard is, the day has warmed up considerably: horse in rainsheet is sweating profously.

Should the YM take the rug off/ring or text the owner to ask if they want the rug off/pay horse no attention as horse not on full livery?
 
I think YMs have a hard time over this.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I'm on DIY - If I put a rug on my horse I don't expect YO to remove it. If she did, because it was hot it would be very nice but then what happens if she doesn't the next day or if she does it for me & not someone else.

Or indeed if she does it for someone else & they get cross because they don't want the rug removed.

They just can't win.
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Short answer - Unless there is a prior arrangement I would not expect YO to remove rug and would not be cross if they didn't.
 
I don't keep mine at livery but if I did I would be pretty annoyed if I had turned up to find my horses rug had been taken off. I think a quick txt or phone call would be better.
 
I would be annoyed if my horses rug had been taken off TBH because if they are on diy then it is up to me what i do even though sometimes it would be better if they did
 
I wouldnt expect my YM to take rug off or to text or phone to ask, I am however DIY on a big yard with around fifty horses. YM also takes nothing to do with rugs for the full liveries either unless asked to by the owners.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Note your points, but would you expect a text?

It's all rhetorical, just interested in what YMs actually do
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Nope. I only expect YO to text me if there is a problem that I need to see to or if she has to move one of my horses.
If a rug is off on a hot day is a nice surprise for me. But then I don't have rugs on any of mine atm...
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If our YM saw a problem, she would try to contact the horse's owner and, failing that, deal with it. I think if it were your putative rug situation, or something else unlikely to kill the horse by the time the owner is next out, she would probably not remove it herself unless the owner asked her to. Our contract specifically allows her to move horses between fields if necessary. I think there's a tacit understanding on the yard as to permissible levels of interference.
 
I can see both sides, as an owner I would want to be texted to ask about rug, however I can understand that if a yard has some DIY liveries and some full, the yard manager might be too busy to be able to take time to see to a diy or the rules might not allow it.

It would be (and has been) the sort of thing I would do for a fellow livery if the horse is looking hot and I would hope that others (be it YM or other liveries) would do the same for me, but I wouldn't expect it if I wasn't paying for it. Unfortunately with the weather as it is at the moment rugging is a minefield and it's a risk most of us have to take.
 
Certainly not
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Its not my YM's responsibility to keep tabs on Sol at regular intervals in the day! She is my resbonsobility(sp) he keeps an eye on the yard and the horses he is payed to do , not other liveries
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Well, my old YO would have removed the rug. But I ended up leaving that yard, because her controlling and her interference drove me up the wall. A text to ask would be nice, but I'd settle for the rug being left on.
 
My YM

Sorts out bills etc
Delivers hay/feed/straw
Fixes fencing and general yard maintenance
Does all services/ liveries
Teaches
Keeps a bunch of bitch women happy (and quiet!)
Keeps on top of horse maintenance
Arranges vet/farrier/dentist etc etc

and lots more that I have forgotten
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I would say that the YM is there to manage the yard, not the individual horses on DIY livery unless there was a particular agreement otherwise. Agree with spookypony that unless it is something making a horse distressed then it's not up to the YM to sort it out there and then but maybe would expect them to advise me if my horse had been cooking all day long, at this point could discuss expectations. Poor bloomin' YM could spend their entire day taking rugs on and off otherwise. We are on DIY livery and have an arrangement with the other girl who shares our field, if there is any doubt we text but try and leave rugging until it's really necesary. It can be such a pain at this time of year they are better off without them for as long as possible, specially whilst horse hasn't got a coat long enough to make them drip with sweat when worked yet. Will think about clipping come October.
 
Now this is why I will not work on 'open' yards.

I will only work on private yards, so it all comes back on me & is my desicion in the first place!
 
Hmm, ours is a DIY/grass livery-only yard. The YM lives on-site. She sees to it that the buildings and fields are maintained, hay and shavings are ordered in, sorts out who goes in what field, keeps an eye on the horses for emergencies, sorts out the worming schedule...all sorts of sorting-out going on there!
 
I would expect YM to -
Sort out vet, dentist, farrier etc
Arrnage bills,
make sure there hay and bedding all available,
Sort out any one thats bitching
general yard maintenace like digging ragwort etc
And would hopefully phone you if your horse was rolling round with colic etc
 
My rug would have been left on too - unless I text her and ask her to take it off, in which case she would without a problem. I don't pay her to be up and down the fields looking at my DIY horse - if she noticed there was a serious problem I would expect her to tell me/deal with it, but I know my horse won't die from wearing a lw turnout when the sun is out.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I would expect YM to -
Sort out vet, dentist, farrier etc
Arrnage bills,
make sure there hay and bedding all available,
Sort out any one thats bitching
general yard maintenace like digging ragwort etc
And would hopefully phone you if your horse was rolling round with colic etc

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm similar except I sort vet/farrier etc as required.
 
I am a yard owner and DIY is just that Do It Yourself. If an owner is concerned as to the changeablility in the weather they leave a note requesting I check their horse and if hot/cold to act accordingly. For this service they have to pay. There are rules that if a horse needs attention as I see fit, I will deal with it and they will be billed. I only have 3 diys as the rest are full liveries. I always have a waiting list, but to be totally honest DIYs are a lot of hassle and time for very little money.

My role is to make sure the yard runs smoothly, there is enough hay, straw etc, fencing, harrowing arena and manage day to day running of the yard. I also have full liveries and my own horses. If on DIY you are unable to do or make sure your horse is okay when you arent there, you have to think ahead and make arrangements, and pay for the time people spend doing this. After all it is my job, and it is my living.
 
I think on DIY it's not their responsibility to do anything RE the rug. Although would be nice of them to take it off for the horses sake.

I don't understand why anyone would be pissed off if they took a rug off??
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Another YO here.
I try not to get 'involved' with the DIYs and never have been accussed of so must do something right. However, i also have a duty of care towards the horses and IF i felt the horse was in a situation whereby it could be effecting it in a negative manner, i would step in. I would especially do this if i knew the owner was out of the area - ie, working 60miles away! I would however without fail call or text the owner and tell them.

We did once have a girl (stroppy teenager) having a 14oz heavy weight rug on a welsh pony, IN SUMMER! she knew i didnt agree with it and he kept on trashing his rug in the field (no suprise he was trying get it off!) i made the mistake on taking it back up to the yard rather than leaving it in the middle of the field one day when he had taken it off. I was accussed of taking it off as she knew i though she was over-rugging! So the nest time when he took it off, i left it in the field for her to see!

My opinion is that those on DIY, in many ways should be grateful that there is an extra pair of eyes looking out for their horses. BUT, i can also imagine how some YM may be control freaks in which case i can understand DIYs feeling that they dont want anyone near their horses.
 
Not sure we actually have a YO as such. Our set up is on a small privately owned (By someone who knows nothing about horses at all) farm. We have about 10 horses there, but owner doesn't check them or do anything other than "sort of" maintain the fields. If a horse was laying dead in the field, it would be days before he noticed. Other liveries look out for each others horses though. It works for us and is quite cheap, so we are all happy not to be told what to do at all EVER!
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[ QUOTE ]
I am a yard owner and DIY is just that Do It Yourself. If an owner is concerned as to the changeablility in the weather they leave a note requesting I check their horse and if hot/cold to act accordingly. For this service they have to pay. There are rules that if a horse needs attention as I see fit, I will deal with it and they will be billed. I only have 3 diys as the rest are full liveries. I always have a waiting list, but to be totally honest DIYs are a lot of hassle and time for very little money.

My role is to make sure the yard runs smoothly, there is enough hay, straw etc, fencing, harrowing arena and manage day to day running of the yard. I also have full liveries and my own horses. If on DIY you are unable to do or make sure your horse is okay when you arent there, you have to think ahead and make arrangements, and pay for the time people spend doing this. After all it is my job, and it is my living.

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Was just about to write the same thing about DIY = Do It Yourself. If you want something extra done then you have to pay for it.
Having had mine on DIY I don't expect the YM to do anything with my horses. In fact I'd probably be annoyed if she took off a rug or interfered without asking.
You perfectly described what I'd expect from a YM on a DIY yard.
 
At the start of spring/summer horse was out with lightweight on during the day. Girl who looked after other horses had a habit of taking off my rug the second the sun appeared for a moment.
It came to a head slightly when she did this the day before a show went off home without telling me she had taken rug off, after 5mins of sun the heavens opened. I was at home happy knowing horse was wearing a rug and ok. Had i known it had been taken off i would have been straight up to put it back on.
When i get to yard, muddy wet horse awaiting me!
So no i dont think anyone should do anything (unless emergancy) to diys without permision first.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I am a yard owner and DIY is just that Do It Yourself. If an owner is concerned as to the changeablility in the weather they leave a note requesting I check their horse and if hot/cold to act accordingly. For this service they have to pay. There are rules that if a horse needs attention as I see fit, I will deal with it and they will be billed. I only have 3 diys as the rest are full liveries. I always have a waiting list, but to be totally honest DIYs are a lot of hassle and time for very little money.

My role is to make sure the yard runs smoothly, there is enough hay, straw etc, fencing, harrowing arena and manage day to day running of the yard. I also have full liveries and my own horses. If on DIY you are unable to do or make sure your horse is okay when you arent there, you have to think ahead and make arrangements, and pay for the time people spend doing this. After all it is my job, and it is my living.

[/ QUOTE ]

Was just about to write the same thing about DIY = Do It Yourself. If you want something extra done then you have to pay for it.
Having had mine on DIY I don't expect the YM to do anything with my horses. In fact I'd probably be annoyed if she took off a rug or interfered without asking.
You perfectly described what I'd expect from a YM on a DIY yard.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, but if you saw a horse sweating profously, would you text the owner? The owner knows there would be a fee and would be happy to pay it if you were to take the rug off.

At what point does the duty of care of the YM start/end?

Again, this is all rhetorical - a few of us were discussing what YMs do/don't do, and we seemed split into two main views.
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. We were going set up a yard last year (bah to the Coal Authority!), and I, as the YM I would have been, would have said I'd text people if I thought their horse needed something doing, but it would be up to the owner as to what actually happened (unless the horse was in distress). I'd charge for the action, be it changing rugs, etc.


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