WWYD move yards or not

[IseeU]

My girl has been at Current yard 10 years, full Livery, lots of turnout and good hacking however my YO is a b@#+h and you never know what mood she’s in and the final straw was that I found her using my saddle and then bitching about me to everyone else when I said this was not on. The others said they all joined in so she didn’t use their stuff !
I have found a plan b, love it, but 2 things I’m unsure of , horse has been in a herd and new place is individual turnout and secondly everyone chips in at weekends and helps each other which is great but does that really work ! The journey is an extra 15 mins for me but I can manage that .
my girl is 21 years old so am I right to move her for my feelings or should I grit my teeth as she is incredibly happy ?
any advice gratefully welcomed

 

[Barton Bounty]

Id move … im sure if you were struggling to chip in every weekend you could help midweek maybe

 

[dreamcometrue]

Your current yard sounds good and you must love it or you wouldn’t have stayed so long. This episode will pass. Smile and be pleasant and carry on. Lock up your stuff x

 

[Gloi]

I'd probably stay if your horse is happy in her herd. That's most important to me.
Take your saddle home.

 

[chaps89]

Is there an option c? I’d not be mad keen on the individual turnout at option b tbh but I don’t do crazies so I’d be looking to move on if I could.

 

[splashgirl45]

I would stay as horse is happy and used to being in a herd. Take your tack home then no one can use it. Horses happiness is more important IMO

 

[tda]

I'd take my tack home if I could. I went years ago to view a similar setup, everyone taking it in turns to bring horses in -/out, I didn't go there, not the way I want to spend my free time

 

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Or a wire bike lock through the d rings, which would be less in her face.

I would be very wary of moving a settled 21 year old after 10 years. I also wouldn't want my weekends tied.

 

[Arzada]

but 2 things I’m unsure of , horse has been in a herd and new place is individual turnout and secondly everyone chips in at weekends and helps each other which is great but does that really work

For me those 2 reasons would mean an outright no to moving

my girl is 21 years old so am I right to move her for my feelings or should I grit my teeth as she is incredibly happy ?

Any age horse incredibly happy in a herd, especially a 21yo in a herd for 10 years, would stay where she is. And most definitely not move to individual turnout. We all make personal sacrifices for our horses and this is one I would make. Tack can go home.

 

[Aperchristmas]

I'm another who wouldn't choose individual turnout unless absolutely necessary. Your situation sounds frustrating but in your shoes, I'd be taking anything I mind being borrowed home.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I've heard about this using someone else's tack several times on this forum. This should not happen & if it's the yard owner using someone's saddle this is serious. One of my horses has a Harry Dabbs jumping saddle and the other has a Devoucoux which as this forum would know they are worth around £3,000. I would definitely move to another yard if this happened to me. If the yards owner is prepared to do this what else is she prepared to do. There are boundaries which people should not cross. The YO knows that she's crossed the line & what else is she going to do, start using your feed? Herd grazing or individual grazing, over the years I've tried both & my horses don't care. If they want to groom the other they just do it over the fence where we are now. I would have to leave because I couldn't trust the YO any more.

​

 

[Caol Ila]

Your current yard sounds good and you must love it or you wouldn’t have stayed so long. This episode will pass. Smile and be pleasant and carry on. Lock up your stuff x

Hah! I stayed at a yard I hated for almost nine years because things happened (like graduating) and I thought I might have to move to a different part of the country anyway (I didn't). The horse was also neurotic as hell, and it was semi-controllable at this yard. I went through years of on and off yard hunting. Years. I finally made the plunge when there were issues compromising her welfare. She was 26 at the time. I was miserable at this place.

We all make personal sacrifices for our horses and this is one I would make.

I got to a point where I thought, the horse is 26. We don't have all the time in the world anymore. Do I want our last few years together to be shight? I moved her and we had two more very happy years.

I'm surprised by all of you saying, "Oh, well, just take your tack home." The YO 'borrowing' your sh1t is a serious boundary issue! What else are they up to? I would not be keen on individual turnout with a horse who's used to a herd, but I would not be keen on staying, either.

 

[Bobthecob15]

I've heard about this using someone else's tack several times on this forum. This should not happen & if it's the yard owner using someone's saddle this is serious. One of my horses has a Harry Dabbs jumping saddle and the other has a Devoucoux which as this forum would know they are worth around £3,000. I would definitely move to another yard if this happened to me. If the yards owner is prepared to do this what else is she prepared to do. There are boundaries which people should not cross. The YO knows that she's crossed the line & what else is she going to do, start using your feed? Herd grazing or individual grazing, over the years I've tried both & my horses don't care. If they want to groom the other they just do it over the fence where we are now. I would have to leave because I couldn't trust the YO any more.

​

Have to say I agree, I wouldn't trust her either after that....also life is too short for dealing with someone's moods...it would really put me off going down there!
Not sure why everyone is so against individual turn out, have had both and can't say mine were ever fussed either way as long as they can see the others nearby x

 

[splashgirl45]

Have to say I agree, I wouldn't trust her either after that....also life is too short for dealing with someone's moods...it would really put me off going down there!
Not sure why everyone is so against individual turn out, have had both and can't say mine were ever fussed either way as long as they can see the others nearby x

This is an older mare who is settled in a herd situation , mares can be much more sensitive than geldings and for that reason I wouldn’t take the chance of upsetting the horse for her last couple of years. My mare had come from a herd situation and had to go on individual turnout, as I didn’t know her I assumed her stress behaviour was normal. When I had to move again I had to share a field with one other horse as here was no individual turnout. She immediately became much more relaxed and the only downside was that if the other horse came in I had to bring her as well , I wish I’d moved her years ago

 

[Abacus]

At 21 she might live for many years yet, which is probably too long to live with a YO like this. That said I wouldn't want individual turnout and would be looking for a plan C. When I see mine in the field swishing flies from each other, grooming and hooning around I don't doubt they are happier this way.

 

[Birker2020]

I'd take my tack home if I could. I went years ago to view a similar setup, everyone taking it in turns to bring horses in -/out, I didn't go there, not the way I want to spend my free time

I ended up moving to a yard where I was assured there was a rota and they all took it in turns. I ended up doing every Saturday and almost every Sunday for four months without a break. I've done it recently with my horse and next doors horse but only because it saves me money when I couldn't get there at yard bring in time and they kept each other company until I could get there.

I also enjoy being up at 5.30am in the morning, the start of a glorious new day and seeing my horse is enough motivation for me.

 

[eggs]

After herd turnout for 10 years I wouldn't be happy with individual turnout. I know plenty of people say their horse is fine with it but it doesn't sit right with me.

If you really do not want to stay at your current yard I would look for option C (a different yard with herd turnout, a 'normal' YM and no sharing of duties).

 

[IseeU]

Thanks all, I called the potential new yard to say no as I wasn’t really feeling it with individual turnout ! Don’t laugh , they said oh she can go out with ours that’s not a problem!
what a solution , so now I just have to get my head round the idea of everyone chipping in at weekends
urghhh I’m back to square one in my thought process,

 

[marmalade76]

This sort of thing is surprisingly common, I worked on a yard as a teen where liveries' tack was used on other horses, a friend of mine hired a trailer off her former YO which turned out to belong to another livery and there was a tale posted on here once where an owner turned up at a full livery yard unexpectedly to find that her hunter had been used as a hireling. Quite shocking, really but borrowed tack is a fairly minor offence.

 

[IseeU]

I suspect there’s been a lot more borrowed ! My YO is a bully and puts you in a situation where you can’t say no , in fact one of the other liveries said once, in case you hear me talking about you I don’t mean it but it means they won’t ask for my stuff !!

 

[Velcrobum]

Be very very wary of moving an older horse from it's established herd. I had to do that as the yard my oldie was at closed ( kept him there post re-hab as he was so very happy and settled even though I have my own yard and land). The stress of the move resulted in very severe ulcers, 2+ months of Omeprazole and heartache that it had happened. His welfare was paramount to me and he was PTS about 6 months later as he started to rapidly go downhill but he was happy and pain free. I had him cremated and he is now "at home".

 

[Jambarissa]

It would take a lot to make me move if my horse was happy where they are. How will you feel if she isn't happy in the new place?

I'd stay and think of every possible scenario to deal with the yo - definitely lock up all your stuff, try to go at times she's less likely to be out, be really busy and avoid her like the plague.

But if its making you unhappy long term keep looking for something more suitable for your mare - for preference persuade her best mates owner to move with you.

 

[Chappie]

Going through similar myself, has made me really ill and my horse dangerously obese as I can never go and ride or even attend to. Severe lack of other options in my area and particular circumstances mean I can't move or even sell.
Do not stay there. You are being disrespected, and paying for that?
Do everything you can to avoid in the meantime and put everything you have into finding another option. I'm not keen on moving older animals either but this will affect your mental then physical health and end up affecting your horse.
If you can find the right place your horse may be as happy or more so.