why is nothing ever easy?

S

Seahorse

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My lovely horse Axel is on loan to a really nice couple, they have had him for a month and they love him, they are getting on really well with him, he's being a saint to ride and everything is wonderful.
Tonight I went over to see him, the girl was riding and her OH was teaching her (he's an ex event rider) she rode him really nicely, he is a very good teacher and I was very happy at the way they ride him. He's looking great, he was quite fat when he went there but now he's just right.
They are moving him from the yard he is at now to somewhere nearer where they live and this is fine with me, I will go and see him at the new yard.

However....
When I was leaving the owner of the yard came over to me and told me they have been not feeding him very much, at the moment he is in during the day and out at night and he has been given just 1 section of hay to last him all day and once she got there at about 11am and he had nothing to eat at all, so she gave him some hay and told them he needs more. This has happened a few times now and she felt that when he's moved somewhere else the YO there might not be as caring as her and he might be left all day with nothing to eat. He's also sometimes not put back out again until 8pm so this is a long time for him to be standing in a stable with no hay.

So I started off being very happy, now I am plagued with doubts that I've done the wrong thing. He looked very happy and well, and had plenty of energy to be ridden for 3/4 hour, he certainly didn't look half starved.

When they move yards I have a haybar that I will give them and I'll make sure to tell them that he needs it full up every day, or he will really drop off weight in the winter.

She also told me a few other things that I'm not too pleased about but I think I'll deal with this problem first before I tackle the other things:(
 
Difficult one - if they are leaving the yard, it may well be that the YO has had her nose put out of joint and is trying to stir trouble for them. Did you have any concerns based on what you actually saw for yourself, rather than what you heard from YO?
 
That does really suck. He's your horse - he should be cared for a you want or you can take him back, if you have money, time and space.

If they are that experienced they should know what they are doing but I'd rather a horse go into the winter (closer than you think!) fat than thin.

Can you say that YO has raised concerns?
 
tricky one but i would go on what your horse is telling you. you said he was fat when he went to them but now is just right. How long have they had him (i.e how quickly has he dropped the weight).
The YO could be stirring trouble as miffed as they are moving.
what is the grazing he is out at night on like???
is he getting any hard feed do you know??
 
I had no concerns at all from my horse or them, he was very fat when he went there and now he looks still well covered but just fitter. They have had him a month and tbh I thought he would be thinner than he was by now!!
He had a hard feed just after he was turned out and he also gets a feed in the morning too, I was looking at their feed chart in the feed room!
The grazing he is on looks ok, but apparently they get hay at night too while they are out.

The YO is really nice and she was the one that introduced them to me and came with them to try Axel out initially, so she feels responsible for him I guess, but I think next time I go over I'll just ask them outright how much hay he gets and who looks after him when they are at work.

But if she hadn't have said anything I would have gone home delighted at how they were looking after him. But then I was only there for 2 hours, she's there all the time!
 
Difficult one Sam, as other have said just be sure the YO isn't stirring trouble. We all know how bitchy the horsey world can be sometimes.
If you are happy with things at the moment than just give the new yard a go. Visit more often than you would normally and the minute you are unhappy with things take Axey home.
 
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