Firehorse
Well-Known Member
I had been on the same yard with my old boy for eight years. Never had any problems. They all live out 24/7 in a herd of usually eight. Anyway after I lost him I had 18 months away from horses with no intention of buying another one. However in January 2017 Charlie came into my life. There was a space at my old yard so that’s where we went. It’s literally a two minute walk from my house and cheap! I never for one minute imagined I would have problems. My horse didn’t settle, long story short, he is bullied by two others. I had an incident getting him out the field and broke my wrist so I moved yards. Absolutely loved this new yard, was there for nine months and then it closed down, forcing us back to our original yard. So my horse is being bullied again. He is literally covered in scars from being bitten and kicked. Now he is rugged, that is getting ripped. A few weeks ago he had a kick just above his hock which could’ve been pretty serious if it had been an inch lower.
There are also disagreements with the other owners re wormers. I do faecal egg counts, they just simply routinely worm. They don’t seem to understand when I’ve explained my reasons for doing egg counts and it has now become an issue. The person on the yard who organises the wormers is insisting I worm him in January the same as all the others. And get this, she thinks they need to be wormed for lungworm and wait for it .....! Ringworm!
I use Westgate labs for my testing so I contacted them and they put my mind at rest that I am doing the right thing with my worming. Also, the same woman organises the Haylage. She would not allow us to feed it when we had run out of grass. My horse lost weight. Her answer was to give him more food. But all he needed was the hay.
I’m now fed up of this yard. There are a couple of places I am looking at, but it would mean when I hack out I would be on a busy road for quarter of a mile and crossing over A27 out & back. I’ve done it before and my horse is fine in traffic. But it stresses me out because people drive so close past me. Also a friends horse got clipped by a car riding on this road last year Plus it restricts the times I can ride. I wouldn’t be able to ride before 10 o’clock or after 3 pm as the roads can be a nightmare
So I am weighing up the pros and cons. Stay where I am, bite my tongue, but my horse will continue to get bullied. Or move to a happier yard but be riding on a fairly risky bit of road.
??
There are also disagreements with the other owners re wormers. I do faecal egg counts, they just simply routinely worm. They don’t seem to understand when I’ve explained my reasons for doing egg counts and it has now become an issue. The person on the yard who organises the wormers is insisting I worm him in January the same as all the others. And get this, she thinks they need to be wormed for lungworm and wait for it .....! Ringworm!
I use Westgate labs for my testing so I contacted them and they put my mind at rest that I am doing the right thing with my worming. Also, the same woman organises the Haylage. She would not allow us to feed it when we had run out of grass. My horse lost weight. Her answer was to give him more food. But all he needed was the hay.
I’m now fed up of this yard. There are a couple of places I am looking at, but it would mean when I hack out I would be on a busy road for quarter of a mile and crossing over A27 out & back. I’ve done it before and my horse is fine in traffic. But it stresses me out because people drive so close past me. Also a friends horse got clipped by a car riding on this road last year Plus it restricts the times I can ride. I wouldn’t be able to ride before 10 o’clock or after 3 pm as the roads can be a nightmare
So I am weighing up the pros and cons. Stay where I am, bite my tongue, but my horse will continue to get bullied. Or move to a happier yard but be riding on a fairly risky bit of road.
??