Yard manager telling me lies. WWYD?

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WSF

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My gelding has to have breathing supplements every day. He's on full livery and the YM does all the feeding. I was suspicious that he wasn't giving my horse the supplements, so I spoke to him about them and he said the horse wasn't eating them, so he decided to not administer them. He didn't talk to me about this - just made a unilateral decision. I gave the horse them - he ate them straight away with no fuss. YM said he'd start giving them again. Fast forward to now. I was suspicious again, so I booby trapped the supplements and found that they, again, weren't been given. I asked the YM. He said they were being given. I'm not usually a chicken but I don't feel up to fronting this out and calling him a liar. I don't want to move, as I love everything else about the yard. So, WWYD? I'm not there every day, so can't give them myself.
 
I had this issue with my last groom who also turned out to be a theif but that's an aside:eek: She didn't believe in all that fuss and regulary used to let supplements go off as they were lasting so long through non feeding.

It's a tough one if you are happy with everything else but I would tough it out and say that you are certain that they are not being fed and that it's a big issue for you. Don't call him a liar just leave it in the air saying that you have checked the level again and don't want to have to keep asking him.
 
I would talk to him saying the horse doesn't appear to be reight, and has he gone off the supplements again. If he is the YM, are there other staff/an owner floating about? Sadly I have come across this sort of thing all to often with people on full livery, you often find the supplements disappearing down the throat of someone elses horse!
 
I would have thought the most obvious response would be to ask them WHY they are so adverse to giving the supplements..?

They might have a valid reason, or at least you might then know for sure that they can never be trusted again..
Maybe there is someone else on the yard who can be relied on to give the supplements.
 
I would ask him straight out and not worry if he gets a bit funny about it.

I wouldn't want to hand over the care of my horse's health to someone who is unreliable and who I couldn't trust and personally I would go as far as telling him that.
 
I've had this problem when my horses were on part livery usually because the staff were too lazy to add supplements to all the feeds. I think leaving 7 little pots with the day of the week on each and then refill them once a week is the best way to go. That way you know when/if they've been added and the YM will know you know if they've been added or not, assuming it's just laziness and lying that is the problem now.
 
I mix my own feeds and leave them ready. I am sure some livery clients are happy to abdicate all responsibility for their horse, but personally I have livery services due to lack of time and expect to be fully responsible for all decisions relating to my horse. If the yard staff think her feed needs altering they should speak to me not change it themselves and hope I don't notice.

I think you need to remind the YO whose horse it is and who is the paying customer. If it continues and you can't leave feeds ready then you will have to move.
 
TBH assuming you see the horse each day I would give it a handful of something when I was there then I would know.
It would worry me if he's doing that what else can't he be bothered to do.
 
Agree with all of you but they're genuinely conscientious about everything - not sure why they're taking this stance on the supplement. How do I say though that I've basically being checking up on you cos I don't trust that you're feeding my horse. Especially as I've directly asked them and they've lied to me.
 
If the yard does not supply the feed I would make feeds up for a few days at a time and add the supplements yourself.

Then just have the YM/staff give your horse the prepared feed. No hassle for them and providing your horse is getting his grub then he is also getting his supplements.
 
Is there another livery who is there every day? If you left little pots with a handful of chaff (or whatever suits) for each day perhaps they would help out. Anything to ensure peace of mind and the horse getting what it needs. I know I would do it for another owner without even thinking about it.
 
The trouble is if you cannot trust them with this, particularly after already bringing it up, what else are they doing/not doing that you are unaware of? You're paying for a service and they should respect your wishes.
 
WSF said:
Agree with all of you but they're genuinely conscientious about everything - not sure why they're taking this stance on the supplement. How do I say though that I've basically being checking up on you cos I don't trust that you're feeding my horse. Especially as I've directly asked them and they've lied to me.
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Can you smell / see the supplement in the feed? If so then I would make the effort to turn up unexpectedly and query why the supplement hasn't been fed. Somehow you need to find a way to catch them out so you can start the conversation. If you do this a number of times hopefully they will get the message.

You could start making feeds etc. but tbh full livery is full livery and that includes making the feeds in your absence, not paying them and doing the job yourself.

I feel for you with this because I've been in a similar situation myself and I know how frustrating it is. It does make you worry about what would happen if your horse needed medication etc. One yard I was on charged us for worming the horses and I later found out from one of their ex grooms that they were only being wormed twice a year, we were paying for double that, grrrr!
 
The sceptic in me feels that even in little pots it could be thrown away :o

I would either make up the feeds (but questioning the point of full livery) or raise the issue. As others have said, if they are slack on this, what other parts of your horse's package of care are they not fulfilling?
 
Make up your feeds a week in advance and label them. Tell the YO you thought it might save him a bit of time and act like you're being all helpful.

I once loaned a horse on a very reputable yard where there were several horses on full livery, sales livery or breaking...
The YO used to stick all their feeds in a wheelbarrow, mix them all up and feed the same mixture to all of them. Including her own - free feed for hers and everyone else's got a little bit less, and the customers were none the wiser! I only knew cos I was loaning the horse off her head groom!
 
deicinmerlyn said:
The trouble is if you cannot trust them with this, particularly after already bringing it up, what else are they doing/not doing that you are unaware of? You're paying for a service and they should respect your wishes.
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I do trust them though, that's the thing. I know my horse inside out and I would know in an instant if he wasn't happy. The regime is fab, the beds are amazing - it's just this one issue.
 
I couldn't stay on a yard where I didn't trust the YO/YM and if I had to check up on them then they lied to me - I wouldn't trust them, no matter how small the issue. If someone can lie to you about one thing what stops them lying to you about something else?

If you absolutely love the yard and won't move I'd just tell the YO you know he isn't feeding them the supps and then give them when you go each day to ride in a handful of feed.
 
Ladyinred said:
Get some little plastic pots and measure out a portion for each day, taking the big pot home with you.
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I do this with my supplements and it's great as it's non confrontational but i can check that they are used every day. Aldi has loads of cheap little pots
 
I have posted about previous issues with yards I have been at in the past and almost everyone said to move, I know that it's not that easy though so I won't tell you to move.

I will second what has been said about buying a pill box and putting the amount for each day or even as suggested make up the feeds in small bags so the person only has to pour the contents in his bucket.

I have a horse with severe COPD and I would go mental if he wasn't getting every one of his breathing supplements. I feel really angry and so upset for you to be in this position :(
 
I really don't think you should have to mix feeds/do little pots/check up/whatever, something is fundamentally wrong there if you can't trust them with a simple thing like adding a supplement to your horse's feed.
Confront the YM/YO and if you aren't satisfied with the outcome, vote with your feet. It's really not rocket science to make sure every horse gets what it is supposed to get.
 
I think I'm going to go with the suggestion to be there at feed time and check the feed. It's kinda hard to see the supplement but you can just about. I really really don't want to move and, although it sounds contradictory, I really do trust him about everything else. He's really organised about things like worming regime and the right rugs been put on and he's great with the horses.
 
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