What sort of yard is your horse happiest on very busy or quiet?

[Rouletterose]

as above really, just pondering, my mare has been on a very busy competition yard where her box was facing the school, good in some ways, so always lots going on, also horses back and forth to the turnout as well. Always thought she was fairly content.......but.....now we are on a very small private yard only 5 other horses between YO and one other livery, very quiet, and I have to say she is a different horse, seems much more chilled and content.
I was always told she was a dominant mare so probably all the comings and goings got her stressed cos she couldn't dominate! What do you find with yours? ps must say I'm happier too

 

[quirky]

Mine's happy as long as there is a constant supply of haylage or grass!!

 

[peanut]

I suspect my horse prefers a busy yard with plenty of coming and going

 

[Chico Mio]

Mine doesn't care. As long as there is another horse shaped being in the vicinity he's happy. He came off a busy RS yard where he spent most of his time with his head at the back of his box ignoring everything but the feed barrow. He now has one Mad old Mare as company and is happy as Larry.

 

[ironhorse]

I think all horses do need some chill out time. My mare hated being on a busy RS yard, cos there was never a quiet time between 6am and 10pm.
More recently she's been on two different competition yards where there are plenty of comings and goings but lunchtime/early afternoon is sacrosanct - yard staff have a long lunchbreak and horses rest. I went up one day in the winter at that time and every single horse was asleep.
A quiet field environment can also help - at the previous yard the horses were in individual pens, separated by walkways, miles from the main road and my mare was so chilled. She charges about a bit more in her field by the drive at the new yard!

 

[CNM]

We have some horses at home that have come from busy yards and they came with some issues, which i think my have been related to a busy yard but now they have moved they are different horses, we live in a very quiet place and they love it.

 

[chestnut cob]

Busy yard - the bigger and busier the better for mine. He came from a huge polo yard with something like 100 horses, where he'd been all of his life, and he just can't cope on a small yard. Initially had him on a yard with about 14 horses and he hated it, just wouldn't settle (nothing to do with the yard as previous horse loved it there and it was great). He's now on a yard with around 20 race horses and 11 other livery horses on. There is always something in, even if it's some of the race horses at the other end of the barn, always horses in the fields and always something going on. He is so much happier and more chilled.

 

[JessPickle]

He'd be quite happy in either. He is on a fairly busy RS/Livery yard at the moment where he is very happy. The yards been closed for a week and been very quiet and he is equally happy. He is not really a horse that is easily unsettled

 

[Grey_Eventer]

mine does love his winter yard which is much busier. they are stabled in huge stables-its an old pig barn and he loves to watch whats happening from the back of his stable. he always stands in the same place and just watches... he doesnt mind tbh but he does like to see the day to day movement of yards

 

[Silverspring]

I honestly think my currrent horse would have a heart attack on a busy yard. At the moment she is kept on a block of 8, block of 4 at the back and another block of 5 on another part of the yard.

She has anti weave bars up when she's in during the winter (out during the day but in at night) when another horse passes, a person comes onto the yard, a horse comes out the stable, walks past the block, breathes the wrong way she kicks off. She will run around her box, throw herself at the door then weave then repeat. She settles after a few weeks and will only come to the door and watch, maybe weave a little, go eat then back to the door.

If she was on a yard with constant movement of horse's and people she would literally not stop stressing

My old boy loved either...basically give him food and he was happy

would look out at other horses but never got upset by anything.

 

[BBH]

Mine are happier on not necessarily large yards but busy yards with lots to look at and see. One of the best things I did when I built my yard was to have stables with back windows so they get a nice breeze in the summer and double views which they all definitely use.

 

[Taffyhorse]

Mine likes a bit of 'activity' when he's in cos he's quite nosy and likes to see what's going on but if things are busy, he can get a bit stressed and overawed. He likes his current field too as its close enough to the yard that he can see what's going on but far enough away that's its still quite peaceful.

He's a bit funny to be shod behind and I (and the farrier) always wait until everyone else has been done and the yard is nice and quiet before he's shod otherwise he gets a bit rattled by everything.

 

[muddy_grey]

My old mare liked busy yards where there were lots of people to pat her. She liked a stable in a high traffic area where she could stick her head out to all that passed by. Don't know what she would have done on a small yard without a scratch every 10 minutes.
Old SJ was better when it was quiet. He just didn't want to miss a thing. He would eat about 1 bite of breakfast and then run back and forth to see what was happening. In the afternoon when it was just me and him he would eat and sleep all afternoon.

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Busy, she likes being able to see horses all the time, and her box walking has totally stopped now she is in an american barn being able to see other horses and people all the time.

 

[kellyeaton]

mine likes a quite yard when he goes to bed he does not like being disturbed!

 

[Janette]

My mare likes a really quiet yard. She is a changed character since moving to a farm from a more competition orientated yard.

 

[JoBo]

No idea as Bodey and Badger have only ever been kept at home, so only the three horses. So I suppose I have to say small yard.

 

[Puppy]

For the last 4 horses that I've owned, I would have to say that turn out was the most important aspect of a yard to keep them happy.

Two of those hated being kept in

and suited a quiet yard, for sure, as they liked their peace and quiet. Old grump pots

The other two were arguably sharper, (younger comp horses) but didn't mind a bit of being kept in (within reason) and quite liked active yards, but v definitely active rather than chaotic.

One livery yard I was at changed hands and went from quiet to manic over night. My oldies got incredibly stressed and I moved them asap

 

[Enfys]

Most of mine wouldn't care.

The stallion would have a hissy fit on a busy yard, and the old arab mare would lose her voice within a week as she yells at anyone who gets within eyesight (telling us she's starving and needs food NOW before she faints from hunger, she is a liar)

 

[Rouletterose]

Puppy and Enfys your posts really made me laugh

But thanks guys to everyone that responded, I find this kind of thing really interesting and I like to do my own little researches now and then, I find horses behaviour patterns fascinating, and no I'm not a parelli/nh/mn fan.

just looooooove horses.