Working livery...

[redredruby]

I'd rather turn my horse away than keep it under those circumstances - they are riding him into the ground and you are going to be the one who has to pay the vet bills (aside from the welfare concern of course).

To be honest I'm really surprised that you have let him be used for 2 jumping lessons a day!! I doubt even professional horses in peak physical fitness do that. Get him out, the poor lad.

 

[flying_high]

Get someone experienced, independent and objective to assess him. I bet he is weak and sore in places and not 110% sound. Most college horses aren't. Use the information to form a decision on what you do next.

Do you need him worked more frequently than you can manage to feel safe on him? You refer to him as young? How young is he?

 

[flying_high]

I will be looking to take him out of working livery but many of us that have young fit horses and work full time can't work them as often as they need, so it's not all about finding a cheap livery option! I am looking for someone to share my 17.5h boy but that seems to come with it's own horror stories - maybe there should be a thread about that too!

17.5hh? Young and fit? How old is he? I had assumed he was over 8 based on the workload mentioned! Far worse if he is younger IMO.

 

[Wishfilly]

Do you have a proper contract with them stating exactly how much he is used for and what breaks he should have? It sounds like everything is done via word of mouth, which is a recipe for problems.

The progression of the students is not really your problem. If the work is getting harder over the course of the year, each horse should be doing less of it as the year carries on. I'd also expect them to be progressing on to more challenging horses?

Jumping twice a day, I'm guessing at 2ft plus, is a lot for a horse and I imagine he will be doing a lot of trot and canter work during these lessons as well.

If you generally trust them and like the yard, I'd be looking to significantly reduce his work load and agree that he's not doing 2hrs of jumping back to back and not staying tacked up for long periods. If he's good in the stable could they use him for stable management aspects of the course?

 

[Keith_Beef]

17.5hh? Young and fit? How old is he? I had assumed he was over 8 based on the workload mentioned! Far worse if he is younger IMO.

17.5hh... is that seventeen and a half, or is it eighteen one?

 

[Grazinia*]

Yes the contract states that he will work a maximum of 10hrs per week which includes my 3 visits - I let them know when I want to ride and they log it on their system and work around that. The problem of recent is how they are managing his working hours - some days he isn't used but then had that Saturday where he had three lessons in a row - the manager explained that it was a mix up and that when he does two consecutive jump lessons it's because he is turned out for the rest of the day to rest rather than box him for an hour then tack him up again. He does get used for stable management as well so his working week isn't necessarily arena work - I think it's the demand for private lessons on the Saturday, they don't have enough horses and I've made it clear it's not fair to monopolise mine but then their own horses are getting over worked too rather than turn people away!

 

[Grazinia*]

He's seventeen and a half!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

The curse of decimalisation. People think that .5 is universal way of saying 'a half', but it only works when the base unit is 10. With hands (base unit of 4) .2 = 'a half' because half of four is two.

 

[Wishfilly]

Yes the contract states that he will work a maximum of 10hrs per week which includes my 3 visits - I let them know when I want to ride and they log it on their system and work around that. The problem of recent is how they are managing his working hours - some days he isn't used but then had that Saturday where he had three lessons in a row - the manager explained that it was a mix up and that when he does two consecutive jump lessons it's because he is turned out for the rest of the day to rest rather than box him for an hour then tack him up again. He does get used for stable management as well so his working week isn't necessarily arena work - I think it's the demand for private lessons on the Saturday, they don't have enough horses and I've made it clear it's not fair to monopolise mine but then their own horses are getting over worked too rather than turn people away!

I'd have it put in your contract that he's not to do more than two hours back to back, or whatever you are happy with, and maybe state he's only allowed to be used for 1/2 hours on a Saturday. If they are short of horses, they won't want to lose him altogether, so you can dictate to a certain extent. I hope it's in your contract as to who pays for vets bills if he's injured in a lesson or due to overwork.

Ultimately, it's up to them to find a way to manage demand on a Saturday. This may include getting more horses (either of their own or on livery) or taking less clients, but that is not your problem. If they bring this sort of thing up when discussing your horse I'd say something like "I'm only interested in discussing how my horse is managed" and move the conversation on. Don't be conned into feeling sympathetic towards them. I bet they won't be offering you free rides if he goes lame!

It sounds like the arrangement mostly works for you, so I hope you manage to resolve things.

 

[Grazinia*]

YM is being very willing to listen to what I want but I have lost confidence in them now as I think under pressure they sometimes don't make the right decisions - they'd rather use a tired horse than turn a customer away!

 

[Grazinia*]

Doh really?!

 

[Grazinia*]

He's 10yrs now, pretty much at his prime - he was bred as a sport horse from a Belgian sj champion's stables and is energetic and strong - he is a lot of horse to handle if not tacked up/ridden regularly - he can get bolshie and broke my index finger by ripping the bridle out of my hand when I hadn't ridden him for a week, as if to say 'I'm not having that on!'

 

[WandaMare]

So it sounds as though you need him to be worked quite hard, however his workload must be fair on him. If the YM is now being cooperative I would consider giving them another chance, but I would pop in at unexpected times esp on Saturdays. Most of all I would set the boundaries very clear with the college and tell them that one more mess up and I would be taking him away from them.

I wouldn't be too complacent either, my friend's horse was being treated for stiffness through her back while under the management of a college riding school. When she continued to deteriorate my friend collected her, had x-rays and she was found to have a fracture of one of her vertebrae, which need an op to insert a metal plate. The horse had continued to be used for lessons with this injury so please watch out for him.

 

[Grazinia*]

Thanks, I will be watching the work load carefully and good advice to pop in unexpectedly (which have done on a whim many a time). I won't carry on with WL and am looking for solutions as we speak!