Wish my YO was more organised...

[little_critter]

Over winter our horses only go out 4 days per week to save the fields - I knew this when I arrived and was ok with it.
Also when the fields are particularly wet the horses have to stay in - even if it's normally an 'out' day. Again - I accept this has to be done.
What annoys me is that out YO hasn't found a good way to tell us whether the horses have to stay in on what would normally be an out day.
She started off by texting us in the morning, so I have been dilligently checking my phone each morning.
Over the last few weeks she's been just mentioning it to me when she sees me on the yard, which annoyed me earlier in the week because she told me 10 minutes after I had fed my horse (approx 8:30am so not early) that the horses were staying in. If she'd told me at a reasonable time (horses are allowed to go out from 7:30am, so ideally before 7:30am) then I would have ridden / lunged to give my horse a leg stretch.
Today is an 'out' day but I assume the grotty conditions mean they should stay in. I texted asking this... no reply. I had to go to work so couldn't wait around so texted saying I've left horse in, if they are allowed out please t/o with suitable rug on.
Still no reply yet.
I could have been difficult and turned out as it's an 'out' day and I hadn't been told to keep them in, but judgung by the conditions I'm pretty sure she would want them in.
If the YO wants to dictate t/o days and times then dictate them but don't keep me guessing! And please let me know at a reasonable time in the morning.

 

[noodle_]

can you not pay her to pu your horse out if she decides that its an "out" day?


i think you should approach her about it.... people work - she cannot expect everyone to be mindreaders nor have loads of time to hang about deciding if its an "out" day!!!

 

[little_critter]

She will t/o if you pay her - but I'm perfectly capable of turning my own horse out....if she finds a way to communicate whether it's an in or an out day. I don't want to fork out for services that I can do myself.
She can't rely on seeing me because I'm always first on the yard and rarely see her or anyone else, although I'm not particularly early.
She lives on site so it shouldn't be difficult to put a sign up or something.

 

[Oberon]

I was on a yard like this once.

First it was, "Yes we have winter turnout." So I moved onto the yard.

Then it was, "Field's closed on bad days." But no mention of when that was until around 10am - I'd be at work by then!

Then it was, "No winter turnout." (with 40 horses sharing a tiny paddock all winter)

I moved to a yard where you pay extra for winter turnout. This way, the fields are always open

 

[AmyMay]

I simply don't get this. Keeping the horses in on a particularly wet day won't save the land. Once it has got wet you may as well give up any hope of 'saving' it over winter.

Better to allow horses consistent 4 day turnout or 7 day half day turnout than mess the poor buggers around.

Well managed ground usually recovers quite quickly once spring and summer come.

 

[Heath92]

I was lucky at my yard as we had one field that was the 'winter paddock' and the Y/O didnt mind if it ended up in a mess - it was the only paddock used in winter then it was left all summer to recover. I always used to be first on the yard, so i always made the decision to put mine out first. We used to alternate days out, there were 6 liveries, 3 out one day 3 out the next. Maybe you could suggest something like that system? It worked really well for us and the horses were in a good routine.

 

[Niddlynoo]

At my old yard the farmer had a big sign on the barn door by yard entrance 'Horses in at - ' He then put appropriate time on door when he had seen weather reports night before or when he got to yard in the morning (normally around 7.15). This worked well as we didn't have to ring him, quite often the night before the decision was made so we could work out between us who was bringing in. Also annoying though as some days it was 1, others it could be 3 or in all day - could never plan anything. He also didn;t seem to realise that people had to work to pay for their horses and couldn't always get up at awkward times!!

 

[little_critter]

I simply don't get this. Keeping the horses in on a particularly wet day won't save the land. Once it has got wet you may as well give up any hope of 'saving' it over winter.

Better to allow horses consistent 4 day turnout or 7 day half day turnout than mess the poor buggers around.

Well managed ground usually recovers quite quickly once spring and summer come.

I would much prefer to have 7 day half day t/o. And to be honest it's not like she's short of land sice she lost 6 liverys. I was thinking of moving too because these little things annoy me, but speaking to local people I probably have the best facilities where I am. I'd just prefer the yard to be a bit more 'business like' so things are done when they say they will and there are decent channels of communication.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

I sympathise. I had this problem on a yard with 50 horses. YO who lived on site didn't appear until 7.30am and I'd go down at 6am, along with other liveries who had to go to work and we wouldn't know whether they could go out or not.

If you turned out on an 'in' day, YO would have to bring your horse in to stand in a dirty stable.

I had 3 horses that needed exercising, mucking out and haying if they were to stay in, otherwise, it was a quick visit to change rugs and bung out.

Instead of taking 15 minutes, it could be 90 minutes and without warning, it was very stressful. Particularly when other liveries were arriving and wanting to put horses in the menage at the same time.

I solved the problem by moving to grass livery and winter has been blissfully chilled ever since.

 

[Ladylina83]

We manage our on fields on the yard I am on now so I make my own decision - my field is dry but getting to it is a nightmare disguised as mud so mine only get out at weekends with TO in the school twice a day through the week.

... anyway my point when I was on a different yard there was a chalk board at the gate beween yard and carpark which we all had to go through. They would just chalk it up with the date, if they were down to TO for you they would hay and water instead. If nothing there we just turned out

ETA I agreed with my YO they would skip out for me which was £3

 

[CBFan]

I agree with amymay... poor buggers!

and to be honest if I hadn't had a text by 7.30 am to say horses had to stay in, I'd turn out if it was an 'out day'... that is the arrangement after all? Y/O can catch in if a problem... free of charge of course!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

At my old yard the farmer had a big sign on the barn door by yard entrance 'Horses in at - ' He then put appropriate time on door when he had seen weather reports night before or when he got to yard in the morning (normally around 7.15). This worked well as we didn't have to ring him, quite often the night before the decision was made so we could work out between us who was bringing in. Also annoying though as some days it was 1, others it could be 3 or in all day - could never plan anything. He also didn;t seem to realise that people had to work to pay for their horses and couldn't always get up at awkward times!!

We had this too, horses might have to come in at 2/3/4 pm instead of 5.30pm and if you were late YO would bring in and you'd be on the naughty step.
During winter it was impossible to arrange any sort of life because you didn't know from one day to the next what the arrangements were.

 

[bumblelion]

I simply don't get this. Keeping the horses in on a particularly wet day won't save the land. Once it has got wet you may as well give up any hope of 'saving' it over winter.

Better to allow horses consistent 4 day turnout or 7 day half day turnout than mess the poor buggers around.

Well managed ground usually recovers quite quickly once spring and summer come.

I agree with this. My two have 2 acres to trash over the winter (which they do a very good job of!). We're on clay soil so as soon as it rains the field floods and doesn't drain until we get a drought! Therefore there's no point IMO keeping them in on a rainy day as it may not rain the next day but the field is still wet and soft! Also, they'd go out like nutters and do more damage if been kept in a day! I also find that they'll just bumble about if raining, stand at their hay feeder or shelter under a tree and not do too much churning!

 

[indi4]

We're pretty luckly that is's not very offen the YO will ask us to keep in and usually it's that bad the horse don't want to go out anyways. A note would go up first thing on the board asking us to keep in, but if you'd been up and TO out before the note went up the YO would just leave those horses out as she didn't want to get wet and muddy bring them in.

I wouldn't be chasing the YO as to wether they could go out, i would just TO if you've not been told to keep in, as it's her job to inform the livery's not the other way round.