What would you do???? Say nothing or fall out with everyone!

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Princess P

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I have a bit of a dilema...... Most horses at my DIY livery yard are brought in by 4pm, before dark. As I work until 5pm my hubby who's a builder and finishes earlier brings my horse in, and then we both go to the yard after dinner, around 7-8 pm ish to ride / potter / pamper horse etc.

During our evening visits we have noticed that some peoples horses have finished their hay, by 7-8 pm and are therefore standing with nothing to eat or those on straw are eating their beds until they are turned out in the morning.

Soooooo, do we tell these horses owners that their horses may not be getting enough hay, or mind our own business and say nothing?

All the horses seem healthy and happy but I know it's not good for them and I would hate to see on of them get colic / ulcers etc.

However, I wouldn't really take kindly to someone telling me how to look after my horse and I think if I did say something it would cause a big kick off - they probably wouldn't change their habits and we'd end up faling out.

I thought about taking to the YM but she's pretty useless tbh - goes up really early or gets teenagers to do her horses so she doesn't get 'hassled' by liveries, and I don't get on that well with her as I'm one of those 'annoying' liveries that makes sure my horses welfare is looked after even if it's not convenient, and we locked horns over her horse bullying mine when we field shared briefly.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

What would other people do?
 
Personally I'd say nothing.
There are a few on my yard like that - by the time I get up in the evening, they're finished up and hungry but I know well enough not to interfere - owner would get very defensive and I dont want the atmosphere to change as its lovely at the moment. I am lucky enough, however to have a fab YO who keeps a close eye on all the liveries and would say something to owner if she became overly concerned.:)
 
TBH I wouldnt say anything if all the horses are off good weight etc. I know my horse will have finished his hay early but he'd finish whatever amount I gave him and as he's a fatty so I just cant give him it ad lib.
Our YO does however put a bit more hay over the doors when she does her night check.
 
Sadly I have come to the conclusion that as long as the horse's life isn't threatened then you have to look the other way. Goes against the grain but you can't take all the world's troubles on your shoulders.

We had a system of late night checks at one yard I was at. One person would do a weeks checks and part of the check was to give every horse a small amount of hay at around 10pm. It worked well, as long as people are reliable and do their share. Might be worth suggesting.
 
I am in the middle of a huge fallout with my best friend over a similar issue and it is hard to know what to say for the best. If you think they won't appreciate being told about this then i'd keep quiet.

Possible outcomes:

1) They tell you to mind your own business

2) They didn't realise and ask you if you'd mind putting extra hay in for them when you leave (additional work for you).

3) They didn't realise and do nothing about it

What do you feel would be the most likely?
 
At one yard I was at...we all looked out for each other's horse's and if one or more had run out of hay we would text or call the owner to ask if they would like some put over door for them etc...and the last person at the yard would always go round and check each horse incase of anything...and it has saved lives before...
Maybe try it like that?....be polite about it saying you've seen that their horse is without hay by time you get to yard would you like a smaller net put in if owner leaves one ready...
 
Usually I just ignore it - there isn't really much you can do as like you say, most people don't like being 'interfered with'. Someone actually commented to the YO at the yard I've just moved to the other day that Dan was without hay for a short time. It can't have been too long and when we got to his stable it was clear he'd been given some hay anyway.
Personally, I wasn't fussed. He's not one to get too fat/isn't on a diet, and I know the benefits of him being kept munching, so I didn't mention it to the woman and just left it. (don't think she used my hay either?) But I think plenty of people would start an argument over it!

Are there any more open minded people on the yard that you can maybe bring it up in conversation with, with the hope that they will take the hint and maybe, slowly but surely, other people will also start to understand as people discuss it? Guess it only works though if you're on a yard where people are fairly sociable!
 
If you tell them politely, or in passing, as someone said, why would they fall out with you? Just say, hope you don't think I'm interfering or something. don't go in all guns blazing, accusing them of not looking after their horse! Then leave them to it - as someone else said, if the horses look well, they may not want them having more hay, but they may double net them or something..
 
We had the same thing at our yard, horses are put to bed at 3pm!! We don't do ours until later. I get mine & my friends in at 3pm & give them a small haynet & snackball, then my friend goes up around 6.30pm and gives them their night time hay & feed. We mentioned that the others had all finished by the time my friend got there & were banging the doors, so my friend offered to give them their hay & feeds at the same time.

It depends how many horses are on your yard & if you would be willing to do the same? if you are willing, I would hope the other owners would be very grateful rather than get upset with you.
 
It probably depends on how well you get on with the other liveries. I would be inclined to say something like 'I noticed your horse had finished all his hay the other night, in future would you like me to put a net in for him before I leave?'. Hopefully then they'll see you're being helpful rather than implying they're not caring for their horse properly. You may however then end up putting nets in for some horses so I suppose it depends on whether you're happy to that! They might not be aware that it's going so fast, although I suspect some people simply aren't bothered. :(
 
Mabe you could bring it up in a conversation? Somewhere along the lines of,
"gosh doesn't your horse eat fast, all his/her hay was gone by the time i arrived". Mabe they'd get the hint.
 
I don't think there's any harm in mentioning it at all. But if the horses are on straw beds, then it's not the end of the world....
 
I was in the same situation the other day. One girl gives her horse 3 small sections of hay in a bucket at about 4pm. By about 6-7pm he doesn't have a scrap left, is on shavings and the owner sometimes doesn't turn up until 10am to turn out. I mentioned to her that he had nothing to eat the next morning....she was furious with me for getting involved!

Well now I just say nothing to her, she is a bit of an odd nut anyway. The horse has been going for years like that and looks well in himself. Sometimes some liveries do sneak him an extra section as they leave, doesn't help that he gobbles everything so quickly :(
 
TinselFaerie said:
I was in the same situation the other day. One girl gives her horse 3 small sections of hay in a bucket at about 4pm. By about 6-7pm he doesn't have a scrap left, is on shavings and the owner sometimes doesn't turn up until 10am to turn out. I mentioned to her that he had nothing to eat the next morning....she was furious with me for getting involved!

Well now I just say nothing to her, she is a bit of an odd nut anyway. The horse has been going for years like that and looks well in himself. Sometimes some liveries do sneak him an extra section as they leave, doesn't help that he gobbles everything so quickly :(
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But this is actually a clear example of where the YO should be stepping in - as clearly the horse's management just stinks, and needs to be addressed.
 
Tricky one.

How many horses are there? Could you mention it in the context of 'I've noticed that by the time I get here in the evening your horse(s) has finished all his hay. If you leave a section in front of his box I can throw it over the door if you like, so you don't worry about him having nothing for 12 hours'.

If you can't offer a solution then TBH I wouldn't say anything. Maybe I'm cowardly, but I think it would only get people's backs up. Unless the horses are ill / looking poor / miserable etc, in which case I would talk firmly to my YO.

Ad-lib hay is obviously the ideal for a stabled horse, but some will simply eat however much is put in front of them. I should know! Even if I give him 4 or 5 sections my horse will have eaten all his hay within a couple of hours, and he would need marquees instead of rugs if I gave him that much every night. So these liveries are not necessarily being thoughtless or unkind.
 
amymay said:
But this is actually a clear example of where the YO should be stepping in - as clearly the horse's management just stinks, and needs to be addressed.
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Have mentioned it to the YO, they have also had words with the owner and gets nothing but verbal abuse. Unfortunately YO has just said hey...horse is fine...leave the owner to get on with it. Luckily the other liveries look out for the horse.
 
I'd just say "oh by the way, I always go round and check the horses before I leave and noticed that you boy had eaten all his hay by x O'Clock - just thought you might like to know" then change the subject quickly to the weather or something mundane - up to them then to act.

You have passed on message from horse to owner - then it is nothing to do with you what they do about it.

Personally, a lady at our yard who used to run a riding stables came up to me the other day and told me that I shouldn't be feeding my welsh A so much hay - I thanked her - I have never owned such a tiny pony before (only had him since mid October) and he is very fat so welcome any comments with open arms. I bowed to her superior knowledge of small hairies and he now has half the amount I used to give him - he is still fat!!!!

People get far too sensitive about stuff - I always absorb in one ear then discard out of the other the cr** ..... keeping the info that could be of use....
 
its like that at my little yard - by the time I get there after work at 6ish most of the horses have finished their hay and nearly run out of water!! So chuck more hay in and top the waters up. Which is a pain for me but its a bit different at ours as all the horses owned by 2 people. I could leave them I guess but I just feel bad for them!

This winter I just have my little grass kept pony as my proper pony is out on loan. However, last winter I was on a bigger livery yard. I used to arrive 6ish, muck out etc, ride so would normally be about half 7 by the time pony was tucked up in his stable. By which time pretty much every other horse had finished their evening hay!
 
TinselFaerie said:
Have mentioned it to the YO, they have also had words with the owner and gets nothing but verbal abuse. Unfortunately YO has just said hey...horse is fine...leave the owner to get on with it. Luckily the other liveries look out for the horse.
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OK - just read this - ignore what I said and let them get on with it their way.... there is no point in stressing over it.
 
be very careful, i have a horse that is prone to getting lami very quickly so she has her haylage and when it gone its gone, she is on a straw bed so picks at that.
But i would be furious if someone gave her extra and then i had a severly ill horse due to nosey helpfulness.
dont go running to YO without making sure there is a reason these horses are on rations, speak to the owner/s be honest and hopefully it will all be sorted
 
This sometimes happens on our yard (I'm usually one of the last to leave) and I've generally found that if I say to people something along the lines of "not sure if you know or not but your boy/girl is completely out of hay by 7 pm" most of the time they are glad to know and usually put extra in or leave a net outside the door and leave a message asking someone to put it in (we are only a small yard and tend to look after each other). I know the horses that are on weightwatchers and are on restricted rations, but a lot of the time the yeard brings in, the owner isn't back up in the evening and doesn't realise.
 
mcnaughty said:
Personally, a lady at our yard who used to run a riding stables came up to me the other day and told me that I shouldn't be feeding my welsh A so much hay - I thanked her - I have never owned such a tiny pony before (only had him since mid October) and he is very fat so welcome any comments with open arms. I bowed to her superior knowledge of small hairies and he now has half the amount I used to give him - he is still fat!!!!

People get far too sensitive about stuff - I always absorb in one ear then discard out of the other the cr** ..... keeping the info that could be of use....
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No certainly!!! At the yard I have talked about, yes some owners like the one I have mentioned, can get quite nasty. But I would also certainly welcome any useful comments! One woman at the yard has also always had small hairies, has now got a big TB but hadn't upped the hay. someone mentioned to her and she was very grateful for the comments....so other way round from your scenario :)

Obviously as others have said, make sure you know which ones may be prone to lami etc,
 
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Thing is if all the horses are up to weight, they might not want their horses to receive more hay in one go, unless someone is prepaired to hay them up later on during the evening say 9pm etc so the amount they have is broken down a bit.

You could just mention it to a few and ask if the YO comes out to give more later on? see what they say, perhaps some owners may then ask the YO to do this for them, unless the issue is brought up (if the owners think it is one) then nothing will be done.

Providing come across as helpful and not interfering then I don't see what harm it will do, I wouldn't be offended if you told me, I'd rather know.
 
Hummm difficult one. Personally if for any reason mine are in (rare but does happen) I'm one to over hay them just in case ...well 2 big cobs with no food = broken doors!! I would appreciate someone throwing over more if they ran out but I feed hay so am not bothered about extra calories. I think I'd maybe see if you can broach the subject in conversation with one of the more friendly types and see what the reaction is. I tend to keep quiet unless I feel welfare is being seriously compromised or if it directly effects my horses.
 
This is one of the upsides of working at the yard where I keep my horse - even if I'm not actually scheduled to work, if I'm there and I see that something needs doing I do it, and I am thanked rather than being told to mind my own business! If it was one of the DIY liveries who needed hay I'd text the owner first because they buy their own hay and wouldn't appreciate me using it up without asking, but if it was one of the full liveries and I knew they weren't on a diet or anything, I'd just chuck an armful over the door. I can't stand leaving the yard knowing that any of the horses are going without, but obviously my situation is different because I'm paid to look after them and I know all their individual needs and what I'm allowed to do.

Then again, everyone on our yard is quite helpful anyway and I like to think that if my horse was standing without hay (or water - he has been known to deliberately tip it over!) someone would do something, or at least text me so I can go down and sort him out if they don't have time.
 
You could just mention it if it comes up in conversation but afriad it's different courses for different horses. My boy is a chubber, I spend a stupid amount of time thinking / worrying about his fat-ness! he has a carefully weighed out hay ration of 1.5% BW split into a pile in the field (morning), a day haynet (afternoon) and a night haynet - I hay him about 6-7ish at the moment and I'm sure he will have finished it by midnight, he has also always finshed every scrap of his daytime net by the time I get to the yard in the evening. He's on shavings and his hay is double netted to make it last as long as possible. I'm currently trying to get him some straw as I'm worried about him being stood without anything. But I would not be happy if anyone was feeding him extra. Sometimes there is a reason.
 
If you feel you need to say something, be casual about it, and maybe present it as offering a favour. Like; "I'm usually around later in the evenings, and your fella is usually finished his hay, but I'll throw him in a section if you like..." They can hardly be mad at you for making a nice offer, and they might say "Gosh, hadn't realised that, I'll give extra before I leave in future" or "no thanks, the reason I ration his hay is because..."

Or if they say "yes please" you can easily do the favour as it's an easy thing to throw in hay (and you'll have piece of mind), and someone will owe you a favour next time you need a hand with something yourself.
 
We used to have a notice board at our yard. Although getting involved with individuals can be a minefield and lead to accusations of criticism etc, how about leaving a note on the board to the effect "I am always up late in the evening. As it is particularly foul weather at the moment, if anyone would like me to pop in an extra sandwich of hay for those who are all munched out, just leave your name below!" Seems a bit flowery, but completely inoffensive, and not aimed at anyone in particular. If you have no takers, then, I'm afraid, just leave it.
 
I've always been grateful if mine ran out of hay and someone chucked a slice over the door or topped up the water. I like being on yards where people use commonsense and look out for other peoples horses. As long as people communicate and don't just take it upon themselves to interfere without respecting the owners choice of management.
I generally offer to chuck a net in if the owner leaves one out. Otherwise, there's not a lot you can do.
 
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