WWYD if you found out your horse wasnt having the turnout it

Leo Walker

Leo Walker

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was supposed to? I'm not 100% sure what is happening yet, but having spoken to a member of staff today it appears my horse may not be getting turned out! Hes on assisted DIY, fed twice a day and turned out and brought in by yard staff. All I do is muck out and handle him. This suits me brilliantly due to working shifts. However, today it came up in conversation that my boy only gets 30mins in the round pen as when he was turned out for the first time he went through the electric and "trashed the summer grazing" Now I can understand him going through the electric if it was turned off as hes a cob and the winter paddocks are trash paddocks with minimal grass to nibble at and the summer paddocks are lush green grass. But he has previously been in a similar ish situation and has never gone through electric before, except for once when the energiser had been stolen and so the electric was obviously off. The only thing thats changed is hes rugged now, so he may have chanced his arm...

I need to confirm this tomorrow with the YM as it may just be a misunderstanding, but it does make sense as my boy is totally mud free all the time! I'm holding fire till I have it confirmed, but I'm just wondering if other people would be ok with that? Its a brilliant yard and I love being there, but I wont tolerate it at the expense of my boy! Turnout is at a premuim in his area, but I chose this yard because he would get a few hours out everyday and if hes busting through electric there is no where for him to be turned out as all the winter fields are fenced on at least one side with electric!
 
No it is not ok, I would make my point that I am dissapointed with the dishonesty and that would be why I was leaving, they should have spoken to you and in if they had you would have had the chance of saying turn him out with no rug so he feels the shock from the fence.
there is never an excuse for a yard that has agreed to do a job on your behalf (caring for your horse) not doing it properly
 
Well unless they're mucking out for you it's going to he obvious if he's not being turned out.

Looks like some early mornings for you from now on.
 
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Reading a lot of post regarding Turn Out with interest... Have my own yard and a livery constantly moaning about mud or fencing etc. My husband is losing the will to live... Am I unreasonable to want horses moved to another paddock in winter. Have unlimited turnout but must expect a bit of mud etc.... Love my liveries but one loves to moan... 15 x 15 stables, secure tack room, quality manege, turnout daily big paddocks but not always mud free..... £80 pcm....?
 
I think that you need to have a chat with the YO/YM and find out what has happened re him going through the fences and if they have tried again with him in the field. Whether he was with other horses etc.

Its a difficult one if he is going through the fences and trashing the summer grazing. If the electric was on and they have tried more than once you can kind of understand their angle. They should have discussed this with you though, how long do you think it may have been going on? It may be that you have to find a different yard.
 
they go out for 4 hours a day and hes a bed eater/trasher so its not obvious if hes been out or not. Hes such a lazy laid back sod it makes no difference to him personality wise if he goes out or not, so its not immediately apparent. His rug does have dried mud on it, I checked today, but that may well be old mud from the day he escaped as hes only been there 3 weeks so hard to tell
 
I would talk to my yard owner, and the grooms looking after said horse, to find out the full story of what was going on, why, and what can be done to resolve the situation.

If he isn't getting the turn out agreed then they either need to electrify their fences adequately, or you need to find somewhere with fencing that will keep him in.
 
Hes also not shod, but he just stands about looking forlorn in the round pen, I know because I occasionally chuck him out there when I'm mucking out. The fences are def electrified. I touched one the day before yesterday and got a serious zap, so if the little ****** is busting through then there prob wont be anything to stop him and another move is on the horizon :( I'll be gutted! We are both so settled, his stable overlooks the indoor school and he genuinely loves watching lessons and things, but IMHO turnout is vital, even if its just mooching around a mud paddock picking at grass for a few hours :(
 
I would talk it over with them. Perhaps your horse could go out without a rug on a couple of mild days just to learn the boundaries (especially if he has always been out rugged in the time youve been there)

I wouldnt hurry to move but i would see if you can solve it non confrontationally - remember if you have only been there a short time they dont know your horse very well so may not realise that he is normally well behaved with fencing
 
FrankieCob said:
I touched one the day before yesterday and got a serious zap, so if the little ****** is busting through then there prob wont be anything to stop him and another move is on the horizon :(
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Er... you've got a horse going out for just 4 hours out of 24, you're not there to exercise him, you use **** marks to describe the poor beast when he tries to escape... You say that turnout is vital, even if it's just 'mooching around a mud paddock' then you say you're both 'so settled' where you are ...

Am I missing something?

In answer to your original question, OP, I'd have moved almost before I'd arrived!
 
Sadly this is something ive known at livery yards. Ive always been on DIY so not a personal problem but I far prefer my own place now. Its basic but I know totally whats happening to my horses when.
 
OK so can I enter the scrum as a YO here..........

Whilst I can see that OP feels aggrieved that her horse might not have had the turnout she'd been led to expect (and this is another issue which I'll address....); I have every sympathy with any YO who is trying to preserve enough grass for the other horses to live on during the summer.

All it takes is ONE horse to disrespect the leccy fencing, and very soon the grazing that had been put aside is quickly trashed, and for anybody that's had to do it, its not easy to remedy a situation like this, it takes a lot of time, effort, and money. Something that you don't realise when you're a punter as in a livery, but it falls heavily upon the shoulders of a YO who is trying their level best to please everyone and with the best efforts in the world you wont please everyone.

Sorry OP but the classic reply when anyone's horse does anything crass on a yard is very often "oh but he/she's never done that before". I accept that yours probably hasn't!!! BUT the point is that due to a particular set of circumstances and/or reasons, it HAS happened, and the summer grazing's been trashed. All it takes is one horse to disrespect fencing, and the rest will follow through. Result: YO has to issue a dictat in the summer that grazing has to be restricted - result, long faces and griping all round. YO just can't win!!!

The fact that you'd been led to believe that there would be more turnout then your horse has had seems to indicate a communcation failure: the YO should have told you straight out that there was a problem when it first became evident; you and she/he could then have discussed a way forward perhaps of managing the problem - maybe this could be to look again at the turnout situation and where, and with whom, yours is turned out.

But if you're not happy, then leave. Simples.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
OK so can I enter the scrum as a YO here..........

Whilst I can see that OP feels aggrieved that her horse might not have had the turnout she'd been led to expect (and this is another issue which I'll address....); I have every sympathy with any YO who is trying to preserve enough grass for the other horses to live on during the summer.
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We often see rubbish posted on this forum - and this is an example.

If you don't have enough land to support your business - don't run one.
 
Ah, but OP said that there aren't many yards with decent turnout in the area anyway, which leads me to think that its perhaps not the best area to have a horse in full stop, so perhaps there are too many people with horses in an area that just isn't suitable to keeping horses..

Until you've had your own yard and tried to run it as a livery yard you have no idea! Even a well managed yard will have summer and winter fields and won't want horses breaking into the summer field..

However, in this instance there is a huge lack of communication. Another major factor of this thread is in the first paragraph of the first post - the OP doesn't actually know for sure anyway.
 
Summer grazing 'trashed' at this time of the year will recover by the time is needed again. No-one in their right mind should expect any horse to stay at the grass-less side of an electric fence, with plenty of grass at the other side of it. There should be proper fencing to separate the two.
 
amymay said:
If you don't have enough land to support your business - don't run one.
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This. YO's can get greedy cramming in as many horses as possible on low acreage. If this is to be done correctly then they must invest in large all weather paddocks. Lack of turnout is a welfare issue IMO
 
amymay said:
Im sorry, but I dont believe that. Its going to be very obvious if a horse has been in its stable for 23.5 hours.
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I looked after a filthy horse and despite getting 10-12hrs turnout every day, his stable looked like he was locked in it for 2 full days every morning. Poo's were abliterated so you couldn't even count them or separate them from the shavings. Torture
 
Try turning him out without a rug on so he feels the zap off the fence, might help him to respect it?
If there is no grass out there then of course he's going to go where the grass is greener, he's not stupid but maybe there should be a hay out for them to eat?
Is he turned out with other horses or individual? There are many reasons they go through fences not just for the grass...fighting, playing etc etc
If your horse is being kept in for breaking the fence once then that is a bit harsh and unless he ploughed up the summer grazing then it will recover in the spring and not really a good reason for stabling him for 23.5 hours a day!
 
My first thought is are they putting hay out if there is nothing to eat in the winter fields? If not it's their own fault he broke through & it's time they changed their management. I wouldn't saty at a yard where the horses were expected to go 4 hours with nothing to eat.
 
I agree with others - the fact he was only given once chance and apparently blew it so is now being stabled 23 hours a day isn't acceptable and is a very extreme response to something horses do occasionally, it could have been a one off. The YO should really properly fence the paddocks anyway, bit mean to expect any horse to stay on the rubbish side with all that lush grass on the other, so it would have to be decently fenced or have some jolt off the electric. I think YO is totally wrong to have not discussed this with the owner on the very day it happened, I would be horrified if I was led to believe something was being done for my horses basic welfare and it wasn't. Personally, would move straight away - if they don't mention that, what else are they not telling you...
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
OK so can I enter the scrum as a YO here..........

Whilst I can see that OP feels aggrieved that her horse might not have had the turnout she'd been led to expect (and this is another issue which I'll address....); I have every sympathy with any YO who is trying to preserve enough grass for the other horses to live on during the summer.

All it takes is ONE horse to disrespect the leccy fencing, and very soon the grazing that had been put aside is quickly trashed, and for anybody that's had to do it, its not easy to remedy a situation like this, it takes a lot of time, effort, and money. Something that you don't realise when you're a punter as in a livery, but it falls heavily upon the shoulders of a YO who is trying their level best to please everyone and with the best efforts in the world you wont please everyone.

Sorry OP but the classic reply when anyone's horse does anything crass on a yard is very often "oh but he/she's never done that before". I accept that yours probably hasn't!!! BUT the point is that due to a particular set of circumstances and/or reasons, it HAS happened, and the summer grazing's been trashed. All it takes is one horse to disrespect fencing, and the rest will follow through. Result: YO has to issue a dictat in the summer that grazing has to be restricted - result, long faces and griping all round. YO just can't win!!!

The fact that you'd been led to believe that there would be more turnout then your horse has had seems to indicate a communcation failure: the YO should have told you straight out that there was a problem when it first became evident; you and she/he could then have discussed a way forward perhaps of managing the problem - maybe this could be to look again at the turnout situation and where, and with whom, yours is turned out.

But if you're not happy, then leave. Simples.
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Id assume with this attitude that plenty do leave.
 
I have been in the same situation but for different reasons. For my horse thou no turnout makes a massive difference to his personality. I left the yard and gave up all the nice facilities for lots of acres with good natural shelter and a field shelter. Him being a happy horse and having unlimited access to turnout is more important than him having a solarium to stand in :)
 
My land is heavy clay, last year it looked like soup the gateways 2 foot deep in mud, most of mine live out 24/7. By May of last year the grass was growing and by seeding the gateways all the paddocks had recovered. Grazing is not destroyed by a animals charging around on one occasion, over stocking causes poor grazing.
One spring I had three large horses behaving like two year olds on three acres, when not eating they were playing tag, none of them got hurt and as my paddocks are rolled, fertilized and are seeded as normal maintenance there was grass all summer. I pass a livery yard where each pony has a separate turn out patch, that multiplies the amount of land lost to fences, gateways and poo patches it benefits neither the animals or the land.
 
I'd speak to your YO. You may find out that the fencing was off for a few days for some reason (is it mains or battery?), and that your horse was turned out in the round pen for those days, as you say he has mud on his rug. Ok, YO should have told you but at the moment you don't know. If your horse is going through an electric fence when it's on, I found these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EQUIRUG-Z...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item461765bb8e very effective with a 12.2hh that went through fencing but needed a rug. Speak to YO first though
 
In Essex if everyone wanted grassy, mud free grazing year round livery would be about £1000 a month. It is easy for lots on here to say decent fencing and not overcrowding means grass and happy horses it just isn't always the case. The yard I help out at has post and rail and ample grazing but gateways are trashed and a couple of the horses bang straight through the post and rail. They have hay but greedy horses and better grass in sight is going to result in fence damage.

That is nothing to do with the OP though, although I feel for your YO if your boy is being a PITA they should speak to you about it. Can you pay someone to exercise him, so even if he isn't getting much turn out he is getting more movement and time out of his box? Not ideal I know but needs maybe must.

I keep two horses out 24/7 in Essex on about 5 acres with ad lib haylage and they have very little grass now, last week they smashed through a gate and went on a jolly. I have mud too, around the water trough and in gateways.
 
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