working livery

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oldhat

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Hi there! I'm recovering after first smashing my coccyx, then two weeks later being trampled by my very heavy haffie! I have been so beaten up that I have been seriously considering sending both my horses - welsh cob and haffie - to working livery until I am well enough to exercise them both. I've had horses for over twenty years and this is not taken lightly - in fact I can hardly believe I am even considering it at all! Just wondered if anyone else does or has done this and how well it went? Both horses are well schooled and a joy to own - unless you get in the way of their feet! Never had accidents like that before so a real shock!
 
I personally wouldnt put a well schooled on working livery, lots or students learning to ride on then isnt a good thing. If you do, vet the place very very carefully..I had a pony on WL ages ago, she was overworked, they tried to put me on a different pony in a lesson once so someone else could ride her because she was well behaved and they were nervous (!) and I found her waterbucket empty many times, so we moved her to another yard on just livery.

Prehaps you could try and find someone locally or through PC to loan them either from your yard or somewhere close by?
 
ngrace said:
I personally wouldnt put a well schooled on working livery, lots or students learning to ride on then isnt a good thing. If you do, vet the place very very carefully..I had a pony on WL ages ago, she was overworked, they tried to put me on a different pony in a lesson once so someone else could ride her because she was well behaved and they were nervous (!) and I found her waterbucket empty many times, so we moved her to another yard on just livery.

Prehaps you could try and find someone locally or through PC to loan them either from your yard or somewhere close by?
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Exactly what i think :)
 
Yes I have to say I am rather dubious about it myself, my sister kept her horse at a yard where they take them and kept bugging me to send them there ( but it is about 100 miles from me!), I was rather hoping that they might get my haffie going a bit as he's getting rather larger than he should be, but I was also worried that it could really ruin the pair of them. Unfortunately where I live there are few people to help - OH is disabled (as am I at mo!!) so he's no help and those that have horses are too busy themsleves to help. Yesterday I actually managed to get on Jasmine the cob and she really looked after me - they have both been very sorry since the accidents! Perhaps I am just panicking over nothing, it is hard to watch your superfit friends become lazy munchers!
 
but it is about 100 miles from me!
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That's far too far. I'd rather give my horse some time off, than put her on WL again. TBH, she'd be far happier pottering around with her mates, than going off to a new yard with different horses and people etc...

Yesterday I actually managed to get on Jasmine the cob and she really looked after me
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She sounds lovely. :)
 
Yup! You're all right! Stupid idea, I only thought of this particular yard as my sister lives in the same village as it, and said she'd keep an eye (!!) - she has recently sold her own horse so it'd be great for her! To be honest i'd be devastated to let them go that far away. They are both real sweethearts and I've had Jasmine since she was 16 months old - she'll be 16 years next week! Part loan or PC is a good idea though. Probably I'll just battle on though, it's amazing how quickly the body can heal when you want it to! I'm more worried about fatty haffie! He's such a babe but boy is he heavy!!!...
 
I'm in a similar situation with a smashed up collar bone that 9 weeks on hasn't healed despite 7 pins and a plate! Now there is talk about re operating and back to square one. My pony is facing up to 8 months as a lawnmower. However I will not send her on working livery as only just got her schooling to where I would like (previously dealer/riding school) she hates kids and the riding school enviroment as a result and I could never do that to her. I also went to an equine college and would not choose that for my pony but may well consider it with a very established laid back horse.

Yes it's hard to see her out there but actually she's quite happy being feral and i'm lucky in that my livery is "full" grass livery so she is fed (handful of hifi so she doesn't scrap with the others!) and checked for me. She's actually kept her weight quite well considering they go out on knee high grass for 4 hours then back into balder paddock. I am lucky in that if she gets really fat I can get a friend to lunge or ride her for me. However I would also consider getting a paid rider or groom in to do her once or twice a week and that might be an option for you with your two?
 
I think a sharer/rider would be fairly easy to come by if you put an ad up and vetted the replies? I know I would be very happy to ride another couple of horses once or twice a week (or more if I didn't have another horsey commitment) without payment! And there's nothing lost if you don't receive a response.

Ella19 said:
I also went to an equine college and would not choose that for my pony but may well consider it with a very established laid back horse.
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My first thought on reading the post was that an equine college might be a better option than a riding school, but I don't have any first hand experience of a college. Ella, do you mind me asking why it wouldn't have suited your pony? I imagine its quite a full on, busy lifestyle for the horses with a lot of different students riding/handling.
 
Sorry to hear Ella about your accident, you know exactly how I feel! Hope you heal soon! Yes, a sharer or groom might be a way to go, shame Karsumatra doesn't live nearer!! I never even considered trying that route! At the mo I am trying very hard NOT to do anything with them myself, I am lucky enough to keep them both at home but we have limited grazing which is also lucky or they would be humungous by now - especially greedy Shady the haffie heffalump! Ella, don't try anything too soon - I think that's what I did yesterday - only up and down the road to convince myself I hadn't lost my nerve completely - I hadn't of course, but boy am I paying for it now!
 
Working livery is not always a nightmare. I work on a small college yard and as a student I went to a big equine college. There is a huge difference in work load / turn out / handlers between the two.

Our working liveries have a very easy life IMO. Some horses are just not suited to different handlers etc but any good yard would return your horse when they realised your horse was not suited.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Please see my post on "would you be angry if someone hogged your horse without your consent" - this happened at an equestrian college!
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:eek: We would never do that! Our horses are groomed as they were when they got out of the horsebox upon arrival. We always make sure they are returned looking smart if they weren't suited to life on our yard.
 
How about paying someone to ride your horse a couple of times a week just to keep them ticking over?

When I had an accident my non riding OH I persuaded to ride and it was hilarious but he got my horses number and fortunately was not scared of him. But he kept him ticking over despite the many complaints etc of poo picking etc.
 
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