Who's responsibility?

Cop-Pop

Cop-Pop

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Who is responsible for looking after a livery's horse if the owner is AWOL, and can anything be done other than give owner their marching orders?

So theres a new girl on the yard... It's a bit of a 'lovely horse, shame about the owner' situation really. She doesn't bother turning up for couple of days at a time (always a 'good' excuse :rolleyes: ) Normally she'll text YO tho sometimes she doesn't bother. Luckily Im at the yard fairly late so on these occasions will make sure the horse has water at least.

YO was called away suddenly the end of this week/this weekend. She arranged for me to feed hers and told new livery she'd have to look after her horse all weekend.

Thursday - she didn't show up. I filled his water and gave him small amount of hay in case she was coming up late.

Friday - same thing. Sent YO a text as I don't have new girl's number to find out what was going on. She replied to YO that 'she was busy, you know how things go'. Erm... well no actually, I always do my horses or get someone else to feed.

Saturday - did them early as out for the day. Fed everything, made sure her horse had water but she's only given him a small water bucket which doesn't last the day - I wouldnt even expect it to last my pony and this horse is huge. Sent YO another text to remind new girl to show up.

Got there this afternoon - she'd still not been up. Gave horse water as he had none (again) and hay - the grazing is v poor so it was v hungry by this point! Fed and mucked out and she still hadn't turned up so txt YO again to let her know.
 
That's disgusting! It is HER responsibility! Good grief lol

Is it a part or full livery or something? If it is DIY she needs reporting cos that is not acceptable behaviour. Seriously, I would report her if it carries on.
 
I hate these people! They shouldn't have horses or any animal for that fact.
How old is she? Could her parents not sort out the horse? See if you will agree to a sharer, perhaps? Or get the yard owner to kick her off the yard, but I feel the problem will just continue else were:mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
hayleyshep88 said:
That's disgusting! It is HER responsibility! Good grief lol

Is it a part or full livery or something? If it is DIY she needs reporting cos that is not acceptable behaviour. Seriously, I would report her if it carries on.
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Its DIY livery

Mucky Shavings said:
I hate these people! They shouldn't have horses or any animal for that fact.
How old is she? Could her parents not sort out the horse? See if you will agree to a sharer, perhaps? Or get the yard owner to kick her off the yard, but I feel the problem will just continue else were:mad::mad::mad::mad:
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I dont know - shes in her 30s I think. She's got a three year old child anyways. I can't be a sharer for him - he's very sweet but I can't afford the two I've got atm! :)
 
Its the owners responsibilty. Providing the horse isnt being schooled or of course, on part/full livery.
YO should take control of situation. Either charge HO on top of usual bill for daily care of the horse (which she is in her rights to do so) OR give her notice.
Either way this cannot continue & is a huge lack of responsibilty on owners part. Tbh, a few stern words should work.

If the horse was left without water or hay it would be an rspca case. (neglect)
Hope this helps x
 
I agree that every time someone does her horse she gets charged for it.
First day, £1 for watering, second day £2 third £4 plus extra for feeding him.

It is one of those tricky situations in that you want to not do anything to teach her a lesson and give the RSPCA something to prosecute her over but, cannot see the horse suffering. That and the fact that the yard owner could be prosecuted because they allowed the neglect.
 
jackbeauty said:
YO should take control of situation. Either charge HO on top of usual bill for daily care of the horse (which she is in her rights to do so) OR give her notice.
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She needs to send her a letter by registered post outlining the new charges and it might be worth saying that if the bill reaches X amount, the horse will be sold to recover costs
 
First of all this is not your responsibilty. Your concerns need to be passed onto the YO in writing and it is the YO responsibilty to deal then with the situation, her yard, and something that is affecting her business. If the horse is on DIY it is down to the owner of the horse to provide it's basic needs, water, food, shelter, warmth.

Depending on the wording of your contract - the YO has a right to invoice for any work done that is deemed necessary to provide basic care that has been neglected. If your contract does not state or have any clauses that state the terms in case of neglect or unreasonable behaviour then she needs to make an amendment to the contracts stating such change of terms, any charges liable etc and send it to all livery clients stating the date the new clause will be applied from . She can then charge for work done from that date.

If the owner persisits in neglecting her horse the YO must take control of the situation by either offering an upgarde to the DIY livery offered and amending her contract to the new terms, this may not be possible if other types of livery are not offered on the yard or giving her the required notice to leave. If the horse appears to be abandoned or continued to be neglected then the YO has every right to involve the correct authorties.

If your YO does not take steps to correct the situation she will also be liable for neglect, so by other liveries reporting to the RSPCA in the first instance may cause friction and stress that the YO can and should avoid.

While the horse is on the yard the YO has a duty of care to provide the basic requirements for the well being of any animal on her yard, regardless of whether payment was invoiced and received.

It's a sad and troublesome and frustrating situation but your YO must deal with it pronto, to help the animal, the owner deal with a situation and to keep the reputation and smooth running of her yard and business. This where when a YO has to be firm and stand their ground.

In regards to selling the horse to recover costs - again unless this is stated within a signed contract and the correct procedures have been strictly followed - the YO may face charges of theft.

I hope the situation is resolved and you can concentrate on your horse and have a happy yard again !
 
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We had someone on our yard that was the exact same. Would MAYBE turn up once a day to give horse hard feed but not do hay or water :confused: and then leave. Felt very sorry for horse. :(

It is HER responsibility to get her rear end up there to do her horse if she's on DIY, no excuses.
 
Wow what a lazy so and so does sound as she has the time for a horse. I would be suggesting she sells the horse and if she really wants to ride go to a riding school.

I certainly do not think you should be having to do her horse. It is very generous of you to do it but she sounds as though she will take full advantage of your good nature and expect you to do her horse every time she does not turn up. Keep a note of every time you do the horse and let YO know. A note to her saying your charges are X£ per time you do the horse.

We had a lady on the yard that I am on. She would ring or text anyone and spin some story about sick kid, broken car, running late ect ect. Once she had been round most of us she started asking YO who quickly started charging understandably. Funnily she got the hump about this and told YO well no one else asks me for money!! Funny old thing she did not stay much longer.
 
These kind of people make me see red. :mad::mad::mad:

Yes, the horse is her responsibility, but it is also the YO's responsibility whilst the horse is on her premises. If I were the yard owner, I would put in writing the charges for each thing she has to do for the horse and state that the charges DOUBLE if these tasks have to be done without 24 hours notice from the livery. If she refuses to pay said charges, then notice should be given to the livery and horse or tack kept in lieu of payment depending on the amount owed.

This charging system worked wonders for one of my liveries and they now always turn up or give me notice that they are unable to make it. They are my only assisted DIY livery. And I would never have another due to these kinds of problems. It is far too stressful.
 
Someone has very kindly messaged me to tell me this girl is known for this behaviour :( so will pass it on to the YO. This combined with other more disturbing information we've just found out probably means she'll be kicked off the yard.
 
It's so fustrating isn't it?! I have the exact same situation at my yard. The owner hasn't been up for 3 weeks!!! I've had to arrange the Horses, Dentist, vets and farrier visits and I feel so bad for the poor Horse. Owner will leave me the money for it though, But i'm the one who has to fetch Horse in and turn back out etc. YO has been charging him full livery and he has had 2 warnings already for not coming up and not contacting anyone to sort Horse out. One more warning and his out!

I would ask YO, to have a word with the girl and give her a verbal warning that this is not acceptable behaviour and she will be charged for all jobs done. If she falls behind on payment the YO will take tack as payment. Then Horse is payment is still not been paid.
 
We had a similar situation on our yard last winter, girl (late 20's) moved on with her first horse, 2 year old IDX, would just leave it for days on end, no hay/water etc and a sign on the door to not turn it out. Poor thing, so we constantly complained to the YO, the girl finally agreed to sell him to another livery on our yard.
 
Ditto Abina!

Under the Welfare Act 2006 the YO has a duty of care.

YO can contact Redwings Welfare Department and get advice and also have a welfare officer visit said horse and liaise with the 'forgetful owner'. The welfare officer can also decide whether or not the 'I am always busy' excuse can be used to get the horse signed over and therefore probably live a lot better!

Contact Rachel Fairhead at Redwings! She will let you know who your local Welfare Officer is.

Good luck and I hope that this poor horse can have someone who really cares for him
 
I feel that although you have been given information there needs to be evidence to back this up as it could be adding fuel to a fire but unless you know all the facts etc then its useless.
It would be a shame that she was kicked off the yard as a few have said this could continue else where
For the sake of the animal the YO should take responsibility and if need be further action in a controlled way to protect the well being of the horse.
 
Unfortunately this is normal where I keep my old girl. I live the furthest away by a very long chalk (half hour drive to horse, then hour drive to work and back again in the evenings) and mine is the only horse that is seen twice a day. Many don't even get checked one a day and a few only see their owners a couple of times a week! I can only assume that they think that stupid me will call them if I spot anything wrong. Makes me sick.
 
it's annoying. I've experienced this before. Girl not showing up to see her horse. She wasn't lazy....just super ditsy and disorganised. I just used to do the horse and charge her for the privelige! Just annoying because it takes away time from doing my own horse.
 
LaurenBay said:
It's so fustrating isn't it?! I have the exact same situation at my yard. The owner hasn't been up for 3 weeks!!! I've had to arrange the Horses, Dentist, vets and farrier visits and I feel so bad for the poor Horse. Owner will leave me the money for it though, But i'm the one who has to fetch Horse in and turn back out etc. YO has been charging him full livery and he has had 2 warnings already for not coming up and not contacting anyone to sort Horse out. One more warning and his out!
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Why then are you organising everything then???
 
We had something similar on our old yard, new livery (grass livery) arrived, turned up one day and then claimed that she couldn’t get to the yard anymore because her car had died, was told that she wanted to sell the horse and would accept a few hundred quid. Turned up one day and YO had sold the horse.


Found out from someone at the hunt that YO had actually had horse shot.

(do not miss that yard one bit!)

Is the horse a big grey by any chance?
 
amymay said:
Why then are you organising everything then???
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He has the same farrier that I use, so gets shod the same day as my mare. If I didn't get him done at the same time, he wouldn't be done at all. As a Horse lover I can't just leave him :( My YO has told me not to do it anymore though as I'm being taken advantage of. My mare was also seen by a vet as she had a lump appear on her leg. I also booked other Horse is as he was lame. I've been present now twice for farrier, once for dentist and once for vet. All times my mare had to be seen as well so I didn't mind to much.

Me and the owner have had arguements before regarding his Horses care, He did not like what I said to him. I don't think it will be to long before Horse is up for sale though. Unfourtantly he is a very hard Horse to sell, his not completley sound, hasn't been ridden in a year, 18, can't keep weight on and hates being out. I told him to have the Horse PTS if he didn't want to care for him anymore, but I can't force him.
 
I;ve had a similar situation this weekend. YO was away and I was doing her horses and dogs as I do because she's a friend and helps me alot too. All the other liveries were brilliant mucking in and we sorted the yard quickly between ourselves except 1 who's elderly horse is ill and on medication and she didn't even bother to come to check on him on Sunday!! I had to ring her and find out what he needed to be given and she was already on the bottle (she's an alcoholic) so I told her to stay at home and leave the horse to me. Poor creature is on borrowed time if the treatment doesn't work he's being PTS at the end of the week so you'd think she'd care enough to think of him before her own need of drink.

YO was fuming and said she'd add my time on her charges and give me a discount this month but that's not the point the poor animal was standing waiting until mid day before I knew she hadn't been up to see to him. :mad:
 
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