Yard Owner removing hay from nets

[BestSundayDress]

I've just moved a yard with my horse a few weeks ago, and have discovered the yard owner has been removing hay from my already inadequate nets when I'm not there. I am of course, now looking for a different yard as soon as possible, but am just absolutely gobsmacked this has happened.

The yard owner is "very experienced" and has owned and ran the yard for decades, which I thought would be a real plus. Having had a very different type of horse/doer (much bigger, different breed and build) before I was a bit unsure as to what to feed this one as I'm used to feeding haylage, and at this yard it's hay. So I followed her advice on what to put in my nets. Stupidly, I didn't realise that what she had told me to feed is actually around half than what is recommended for his bodyweight, but to top it all off - I have discovered she has been removing hay from my nets. I was also told by two other liveries that she is notoriously stingy with hay (this I had noticed) and well known for removing hay from livery's nets as she sees fit - so it all fits.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation? What did you do? I don't feel speaking to her about it is not an option - as by her own admission she has demanded people remove their horses from the yard the same day she has decided to kick them out and I really don't want to be stranded with a horse. It's also an incredibly small equestrian community where I am based, and I'm terrified she will badmouth me to other yards even though I've done nothing wrong.

So all your livery yard horror tales to make me feel better about bringing my horse to this horror show, please!

 

[dogatemysalad]

If you feel unable to have a conversation with the YO about this issue and are not happy with the care, its probably best to look elsewhere for livery before you horse settles.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Do you pay for hay as part of your livery or do you buy the hay to feed to your horse?

Not quite the same but we found that the feed merchant was delivering small bales of straw to us, back in the day, then calling when he expected us to all be out at work and 'borrowing' what he thought we wouldn't miss to deliver to other customers. Unfortunately for him, he happened to be here one day when sister's then partner came home early from work. Needless to say, we sourced out straw from somewhere else after that.

 

[SilverLinings]

That is awful, she clearly either doesn't care about the welfare of the horses or isn't as knowledgeable as she makes out. It sounds like you are better off finding somewhere else first rather than confronting her about it; if you feel you need to say something (which may help other horses in the future) then you could always tell her your reasons for leaving either as you are actually leaving the yard or after you've left (or leave her a polite note stating the reason you've left was serious concern about your horse's health due to her inadequate feeding of said horse). I hope you manage to find somewhere better ASAP.

 

[ycbm]

I was recently warned not to move my horse to a yard where the yard manager removed hay from stables after liveries went home, and last year was in one where the horses were out of hay by 8 in the evening.

Don't feel guilty but i do hope you can find a better yard.
.

 

[SilverLinings]

Do you pay for hay as part of your livery or do you buy the hay to feed to your horse?

Not quite the same but we found that the feed merchant was delivering small bales of straw to us, back in the day, then calling when he expected us to all be out at work and 'borrowing' what he thought we wouldn't miss to deliver to other customers. Unfortunately for him, he happened to be here one day when sister's then partner came home early from work. Needless to say, we sourced out straw from somewhere else after that.

When I first paid a farmer to cut and bale hay for me (about 25 yrs ago) he said he'd charge me per bale. The day he baled he left a message on my home phone saying he'd baled Y number of bales so I owed him [cost per bale]xY. It was more bales than I'd expected so I was pleased until I got to the field to bring them in and found that he's set the baler to make the bales 2/3 or less the size of a normal small bale! I left 2/3 of what he's asked for in cash with a note explaining why; next time he saw me he said he'd had no idea and it must have been a problem with the baler, but funnily enough they came out normal size every year after that!

 

[Barton Bounty]

No one would ever be telling me how much hay to feed my horse thats for sure.

 

[PurBee]

That’s terrible what your YO is doing. I’d just move, especially as established liveries haven’t solved the issue either.

 

[Gloi]

Talk to the YO and make sure it isn't either them thinking the horse is obese and being fed too much or wasting hay by pulling it out of the net and leaving it.

 

[Lois Lame]

Yes. I agree with Gloi, because that's how it sounded to me.

 

[criso]

The yard owner is "very experienced" and has owned and ran the yard for decades, which I thought would be a real plus

Problem with that sort of yard owner is sometimes they think they know best and can be inflexible.

If hay is included, always best to have a discussion on exactly how much they think this includes, I always make it clear if there's some sort of allowance, I'll pay for extra bales if needed.

 

[Merry neddy man]

Do you actually know it's the YO removing the hay and not another livery doing to top up their nets. Maybe when she said the weight of hay to feed you or her got muddled on pounds and kilos as pounds are near enough half the weight of kilos.

 

[claracanter]

This would be unacceptable for me.You really need to try and talk it through with her and find out exactly what the situation is.Maybe the other liveries are making it up for whatever reason or you misunderstood how much hay is included in the livery. Can you offer to pay for extra, if not you will have to move.

 

[maggiestar]

You are right to be concerned. Time to advocate for your horse and step in!

 

[Bob notacob]

Hay is essentially CHEAP for what it does. Stack it high and fill em up. Saves a lot of fighting and injuries at turnout. How can anyone take hay OUT of a horses box? MOVE MOVE MOVE.!

 

[Mimi2005]

I've just moved a yard with my horse a few weeks ago, and have discovered the yard owner has been removing hay from my already inadequate nets when I'm not there. I am of course, now looking for a different yard as soon as possible, but am just absolutely gobsmacked this has happened.

The yard owner is "very experienced" and has owned and ran the yard for decades, which I thought would be a real plus. Having had a very different type of horse/doer (much bigger, different breed and build) before I was a bit unsure as to what to feed this one as I'm used to feeding haylage, and at this yard it's hay. So I followed her advice on what to put in my nets. Stupidly, I didn't realise that what she had told me to feed is actually around half than what is recommended for his bodyweight, but to top it all off - I have discovered she has been removing hay from my nets. I was also told by two other liveries that she is notoriously stingy with hay (this I had noticed) and well known for removing hay from livery's nets as she sees fit - so it all fits.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation? What did you do? I don't feel speaking to her about it is not an option - as by her own admission she has demanded people remove their horses from the yard the same day she has decided to kick them out and I really don't want to be stranded with a horse. It's also an incredibly small equestrian community where I am based, and I'm terrified she will badmouth me to other yards even though I've done nothing wrong.

So all your livery yard horror tales to make me feel better about bringing my horse to this horror show, please!

Do you have a contract? If so, read what the terms are re hay and how much you are allowed within the price. I was on a yard with a contract stating we could use up to 20kgs per day (my horse would never get near consuming that) so I was more than happy with that. As it turns out the YO was giving small nets when I wasn't there and I became so infuriated I went and topped it up in front of her face and we had it out. She said I'd have to pay for ad lib at which point I referred her to her own contract and the fact that my trickle net could only hold a maximum of 8kgs so nowhere near the 20kgs allowed per the contract! Needless to say I had soon found elsewhere to keep my horse. Don't be worried about the YO bad mouthing you if you stand up for yourself/your horse - as you say the horse world is very small and you'd be surprised how many people will know exactly what your YO is like and who to believe.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I would pop a wildlife camera or similar up in the stable to make sure it is the YO and not a livery.

 

[Birker2020]

Talk to the YO and make sure it isn't either them thinking the horse is obese and being fed too much or wasting hay by pulling it out of the net and leaving it.

The bit about the horse wasting the hay:
On the one yard my horse was on the horses were only allowed out for a couple of hours a day during winter.

So when they went back into their stables the y.o would put hay in their mangers but because the metal hay mangers had quite wide spacing the hay would fall through.

So this looked like the horse had left it so the horse was gradually given less and less hay every day because 'they were wasteful'.

 

[dogatemysalad]

When I first paid a farmer to cut and bale hay for me (about 25 yrs ago) he said he'd charge me per bale. The day he baled he left a message on my home phone saying he'd baled Y number of bales so I owed him [cost per bale]xY. It was more balemys than I'd expected so I was pleased until I got to the field to bring them in and found that he's set the baler to make the bales 2/3 or less the size of a normal small bale! I left 2/3 of what he's asked for in cash with a note explaining why; next time he saw me he said he'd had no idea and it must have been a problem with the baler, but funnily enough they came out normal size every year after that!

This happened to me, when the farmers brother had mistakenly set the baler to reduce the size by a third. However, I did quite well out if it because for every affected bale, I got two for the price of one.

 

[Red-1]

I too would check it is the YO before doing anything. I have known liveries do this.

How does the horse look? Is it fat?

If the horse is a healthy weight and you know it is the YO, then I would move rather than confront, simply because I would never trust the YO again.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would just go it sounds like if you confronted her she is going to ask you to leave anyway.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I would just go it sounds like if you confronted her she is going to ask you to leave anyway.

This!
But once I had a new place to go I would confront her just for the sheer fact she will take the huff

 

[JumpTheMoon1]

You need evidence - you have been told by 2 other liveries she is up to tricks with the hay.What have they done about it ? Why do they tolerate the YO ? Speak to the other liveries and confront the YO all together and sort this out.If she is not confronted about this then she is going to spoil another persons fun owning a horse.She seems an experienced bully - there are many of those around now so drop the fear of her badmouthing you as you are innocent.Remember you can also badmouth her - the truth tends to stick more.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

This reminds me of a yard I worked on where we had communal haylage and you took what you want and weighed it and wrote it down then you were billed, the yo sometimes made us weigh all the liveries nets to make sure they were not stealing it so we basically had to grass on the liveries, it used to take ages as well there were 35 horses on that yard.

Tbf most people were honest but you always had a few that took liberties and thought they could get away with it.

 

[Green Bean]

I was on a yard that did this, YMs were lovely but YO made them not fill haynets, and I believe YO has removed hay from nets, including from my horse. Not at that yard anymore, not for that reason but it got on a lot of livery's nerves. Can't understand YOs limiting hay, if it is in your cost, then you are paying for it. If the YO thinks they are out of pocket, then put up the cost of the livery, it isn't rocket science. An additional hay related issue is when some hay is better (in the eyes of my horse) than other. My previous yard had lovely looking hay (to me) but horse didn't like it. Current yard, the hay doesn't look as nice but my horse loves it.

 

[Surbie]

How do you know it's the YO? You say you've discovered it rather than caught them at it.

I would move. I wouldn't be able to trust the YO to care for my horse properly. If it's the liveries, I'd have it out with the YO - though I have never been on a yard where that happens, bar one with a known sporadic hay pilferer who I was warned about when I moved on, but that was never from nets. Actually either way I'd probably move - but leave having it out with them till I had a place elsewhere.

 

[Glitter's fun]

When I was working long hours Goldie was (briefly!) on a yard at full livery. I noticed it was getting difficult to get the farrier to come. Eventually found out that YO was keeping the money I left for him & telling him I'd pay later so he had me down as a bad debt.

 

[Barton Bounty]

When I was working long hours Goldie was (briefly!) on a yard at full livery. I noticed it was getting difficult to get the farrier to come. Eventually found out that YO was keeping the money I left for him & telling him I'd pay later so he had me down as a bad debt.

That is very naughty!

 

[Tarragon]

I am not saying this is you, BestSundayDress, but on one livery yard I was on, where hay was included, a fellow livery, who was very precious with her horse, always gave their horse far too much hay, and then emptied at least one net worth of perfectly good hay on to the muck heap each morning. It used to really annoy me to see the wastage - we all paid the same price per stable, but I needed under half of the hay other liveries were using with my two native ponies, and it felt like I was subsidising those with horses!

 

[Barton Bounty]

I am not saying this is you, BestSundayDress, but on one livery yard I was on, where hay was included, a fellow livery, who was very precious with her horse, always gave their horse far too much hay, and then emptied at least one net worth of perfectly good hay on to the muck heap each morning. It used to really annoy me to see the wastage - we all paid the same price per stable, but I needed under half of the hay other liveries were using with my two native ponies, and it felt like I was subsidising those with horses!

In these cases, she shouldn’t have been wasting hay. But i like to feed mine what I want. So I would happily pay extra so that its fair for everyone, but there are some very mean and weird folk out there