Would you be annoyed if... (livery yards)

[spotty_pony]

You got to the yard to muck out to find your horse had already been turned out for you (baring in mind it's Part Livery so DIY at weekends) and not only that they had been turned out before having their breakfast or any hay straight onto a frosty paddock!! I am fuming. Seriously annoyed also as haylage is being very strictly rationed and I worry how long they are going between being given any. (They do get hayed about three times per day, but they only get approx 1/2 a manger full at a time)

I love the yard and it is very convenient for me to keep him there, and he does seem happy but I cannot justify paying the price I pay for the service I am getting atm. If things don't improve I think I will have to think about looking elsewhere.

Has anybody else ever had the above problems/are you on a yard where bedding and haylage is ridiculously rationed?

 

[Chestnutmare]

I personally wouldn't pay for a service where my horse doesn't get ad lib or at least what he needs especially in this weather, what bedding do you get a week?

If your not happy with it all, perhaps run it by the YO or look elsewhere?...

 

[Tinypony]

How can you love a yard that refuses to hay the horses dependant on their needs and rations it?

 

[mini-eventer]

My yard is part livery. Hayledge is included but not adlib most of the horses seam to do well enough on what is provided

However adlib is available at an extra charge.

It pays to have careful reading of any contracts to see exactly what is included and how much.

Mine is a great yard but the part livery is a basic part livery. Bedding is also limited to 1 bale a week.

It sound like someone tried to do you a favour as it was your DIY day. I would be chuffed if someone thought to turn my boy out for me. Not everyone realises the danger of frosty grass. I wouldnt be fuming but I would explain that you dont want it to happen again.

 

[Tinypony]

Yes, someone might have been doing you a favour. What time to you go up to feed and turn out?

 

[CBFan]

Yes, I would be a bit miffed if my horse was turned out without having his breakie... especially after being without hay for a prolonged period. But then this is why I am strictly DIY. No-one does anything with my horse unless instructed by me. I realise that this is no feasible for some though.

It's hard to judge the hay rationing thing without knowing how big the manger is and how long the rations last and the period that they are stood in for.

Although I am a fan and a firm believer in add lib, I would rather hay was given little and often rather than a couple of sections to last the whole night as some people think is sufficient.

I would say, if you aren't happy with the service you are recieving, speak up... but maybe have a fallback option incase it blows up in your face.

 

[criso]

I'm on a similar deal to you and I write in the book on weekends to turn my horse out or leave in depending. I would expect that to be done and would be very annoyed if it wasn't but do make it really clear.
All the horses get given their breakfast diy or livery as part of the package.
With the rationing, it's tricky as a lot of yards are worried about waste so don't do ad lib but I would expect individual needs to be taken into account.

 

[skydancer]

If my horse was on livery mon-fri and i got there on a sat i would be annoyed that he had been turned out before i got there as i would be looking forward to doing it myself. However, before i said anything i would find out who had done it and why. It may be the case that the horse was getting stressed as he was the only one in his box and someone was helping you and him out by turning him out. With regards to the hay/haylage i would pay the extra for the ad lib and make sure he actually got it!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Does your yard have a policy of timing?
I know of several DIY yards round here attached to part livery etc, which state an owner has to be down by xyz time, or their horse will be turned out/fed/brought in etc, and they will be charged accordingly.
I used to do the same......

Naughty yard to not give breakfast tho & worth a complaint on this.

You say the horses get hay 3 x per day & you are unhappy with what yours is getting.
Do you know the TOTAL weight of what is being given in a 24 hr period?
What is this being divided up into?
Do you know how much yours gets overnight (in weight?)
Has your horse lost weight?
What is the condition score?

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Agree with xmas furry post.

And ad lib hay is a good thing UNLESS it is being wasted, or unless horses are actually gaining weight and becoming overweight. We dont know if either of these applies, at least they are getting regular forage by the sounds of it.

The turnout thing could be someone trying to help. They may not realise your preference. And not everyone is switched on to the frosty grass risk, nor can all livery yards cope with variable turnout times depending on grass condition.

But I would be cross at them being turned out onto frost without being given anything to eat first - to me that is not acceptable as it makes them much more likely to wolf down frosty stuff. Thats the bit I would moan at.

 

[Louby]

I would be annoyed too, more for being chucked out with no breakfast. Thats not on really, if the horses are supposed to be fed in the morning.

I heard of a livery yard owner that used to go and empty the nets of liveries once the owners had gone home!! No one ever knew what was going on.

 

[criso]

Louby - that's awful. Not sure it would work too The problem with emptying nets is I would see my horse with an empty net, think he's eaten it all, see he's not getting fat and give him more. And as I'm often up late after work I'm regularly one of the last on the yard.

 

[leah_x]

Run it past the YO, I'm sure its just a simple mistake? It sounds like you get better service than I do. I only get one haynet a day (two in winter but three if they don't go out) and one bale of bedding. And the mistakes they've made with my horse in the past I wouldn't be too bothered about my horse being turned out with no grub. After all, I've found knives, lighters and all sorts in my stable, people have fed him his soaked AM feed then gave him his dry PM straight after, turned out with his indoor rug on in the pouring down rain - many things.
I'd just ask, maybe someone thought they were being helpful?

 

[spotty_pony]

Spoke to YO she said she decided to put them all out because they haven't been out since Tuesday because of the weather. I'm not too bothered about the fact they went out tbh it's more the fact that I didn't know. I live 15 miles away and could have gone up a bit later if I had known... Also, she said she didn't feed them first as they only had time to turn them out not time to let them eat first. I said I don't want this to happen again, so hopefully that bit is sorted now.

Both of my horses are good doers and are the correct weight, but I like them to have ad-lib if possible as this is what I believe in feeding. If you give your horse too much then YO has been known to take out any extra.

Maybe I am just being fussy though, having read some of the replies to this post.

 

[be positive]

I think I would be more upset that it had not been turned out since Tuesday, does the yard exercise for you if they do not get turned out.

 

[MiCsarah]

I'd be happy if me horse was turned out for me if they hadnt been out since tuesday. That little extra time out for them.

 

[FMM]

You don't want to feed haylege adlib. That is really not a good idea.

 

[topclass]

I would never turnout a horse unless it has had it's breakfast first and some haylage at least and if they are staying in get nets throughout the day but not stupid amount like I had one livery who gave her horse a 15'3 - 120lbs of haylage a day!!!!!!! 45lbs in the morning, 20lbs at lunch and then the remainder at tea and didnt even ride it !!!

 

[teddyt]

How can you love a yard that refuses to hay the horses dependant on their needs and rations it?

I agree. A yard should only ration haylage/hay to those that need less. For those that need more they should charge accordingly.

 

[be positive]

I would never turnout a horse unless it has had it's breakfast first and some haylage at least and if they are staying in get nets throughout the day but not stupid amount like I had one livery who gave her horse a 15'3 - 120lbs of haylage a day!!!!!!! 45lbs in the morning, 20lbs at lunch and then the remainder at tea and didnt even ride it !!!

I give mine ad lib but they could never manage that much

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Captain is on ad-lib haylage but you could not do that with Fany, she would just keep eating and eating. But I would be fuming at my horses being rationed because of money! That is not a good yard to me anyway. I love our yard but if they did that I would have to think about moving.

FDC