Yard owners - Advice please

A

applechaff

New User
Joined
21 August 2010
Messages
9
Visit site
Me and my OH rent 2 stables to a woman on our small DIY yard.
She is disruptive, rude and doesnt look after her horses so 2 weeks ago we gave her notice.

Shes now come back to us saying that one of her horses cannot be moved as he cant be transported (he has problems with his nervous system) and that if she has to leave he will have to be put to sleep :(
I said the decsion still stands .. horse should have been put down years ago IMO he has no quality of life but shes got to my OH who is now saying she should be allowed to keep this one horse on our yard :mad:
This wouldnt solve the problem because her and another livery argue constantly, and it gets very nasty which is forcing other liveries to leave :o

Please tell me im not being a heartless B***h, and what would you do in this situation? :(
 
not your problem.

Why can't she ride or lead the horse to a new yard?

ETA what is the problem with the nervous system that he can't be transported? Can he not stand? You can get specialist transporters that have slings to support horses that can't stand during a journey.
 
I'm not a yard owner but I don't think you are being heartless, you have a business and she is detremental to it. Why would he have to be pts? Could she not just find another yard locally which offers diy and the horse would settle at? I know easier said than done! X
 
i'd say the decision still stands but if she is giving you grief through others with emotional blackmail then maybe tell her you want to speak to the vet and ask the vet yourself if the horse can travel or not?
 
Been at the yard 3 years, constant trouble! But things have come to a head now - i wont have physical violence on my yard :mad:

We dont have any local yards with spaces, and horse is very lame so road walkings a big no-no according to vet :o
 
Can you maybe ask your vet for some advise on this horses conditon with regard to travelling, to either see if its true or tofeed back some advice to her or tell her to connect her vet for advise on how to move the horse. You have a business to run and if other liveries are leaving your yard will soon get a reputation. Got to do whats best for you and your business.
 
I am very sorry for you but I would stick to my guns. I suspect she will not PTS if she has kept him beyond his "sell by" date anyway - these people never do. If she does it is her fault for being unpleasant not yours.
Don't give in to blackmail.
 
Stand by your decision, it's your yard, and your losing buissnes because of one person, it's just not worth it. If the horse is that lame, then surly it must be put to sleep anyway.
 
Forgot to put, horse came onto the yard roughly 2 1/2 years ago in very poor condition (considering its only a 15 yr old cob!) but i wasnt fussed as he was on loan from her and i know loans can go wrong. But hes never picked up condition and around 6 months after he was on the yard he fell on the road and caused whatevers wrong with him (which she never told us what exactly) and he has been severly lame since then i know its not easy to have a horse put down, but this horse had been in practicly 24/7 in the winter since and limited turn out in the summer :o:(
 
I sure he could be transported by a professional transporter in a sling

If she is unwilling to pay for extra expense, that is her problem. She just seems unwilling.
 
hard though it seems, you have to stand by your decision. If she doesn't look after them properly now, there's no way she will if they are on 2 different yards. Then you will end up in an even worse situation! good luck
 
Stand by your decision.
Sounds like the poor horse needs to be PTS anyway so in a round about fashion it could be a win/win situation for the poor soul IF she follows through.
If she doesn't then he ends up on another yard and you don't get left with a nasty livery and no customers.
 
sorry but im another one to agree with everyone else. By the sounds of it i almost think you are doing whats right in the horses best interest. The life that you have described is no life at all, he is a horse and should be able to go out and run around :( to be lame like he is, is not fair. If he is not able to stand a short journey i dont believe he should be alive.

If this is not an injury that is going to mend (and the time he has had suggests not) Im sorry to be so blunt but i think the HO is being very unfair. Do the horse a favour and kick her out ;)
 
Stand by your decision - it is not your fault that the horse is unwell and if she really wanted to keep him alive she would find a way. If it was a short term illness then that would be a completely different of course.

Can I suggest you get her to move as quickly as possible to stop her poisoning the minds of everone else on the yard.

Good luck
 
This is from the top of my head - so better to check with a professional but.........As a yard owner you have the right to terminate the contract when you like, as long as it's in keeping with the contact, ie, one month's notice, etc, as does the client. I'm pretty sure that you don't have to specify a reason but providing your client with the reasons why strengthens your position and provides her with something tangible. However, remember that as a YO you have a 'duty of care' to both the client and all horses with you. This especially depends upon the type of public liability insurance you have (whether you have some or all of the care over the horses, etc.)
In my experience, things should always be kept professional - no shouting, name calling, etc. Simply calmly state the reasons for your decision and don't get personal. Simply state that the horses would be better suited in another yard, as so and so down the road is more relaxed about care (or something like that.)
I would suggest however, that you and your husband (think that's what HO means?) must agree however, on your course of action. You can't have one of you saying one thing and the other person saying another. That's not fair on the client.
If she is still stating that she can't leave then it may get nasty as it is a civil matter rather than a legal matter (can't think of the proper word here!) This is definitely the case, if there is no contract in place. That's why it's always better to keep things as nice and as calm as possible. Arguments can easily escalate where you might end up with a psychotic livery client coming at you with a pitch fork! Good luck!
PS. There are agencies out thers who provide advice, such as the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association.
 
I agree with everyone else. If the livery is causing problems on the yard, then she needs to go. The responsibility is her own. If she cannot behave in an acceptable manner, then she is responsible for the consequences of that.
Would also agree, that if the cob is so lame that it needs to be stabled so much, with little chance of recovery, then having it PTS would be the kindest thing to do.
 
If she couldn't move her injured horse she probably should have thought about behaving better, shouldn't she?

I agree with what a lot of the others have said. The horse sounds like it's in pain. You could well be doing it a favour by insisting on her leaving and her having him finally PTS.
 
starbar said:
Decision still stands, don't give in to emotional blackmail. Good luck :)
Click to expand...

I agree - no matter how difficult you may find it. But if in your genuine exerpience the horse has not quality of life any way - then you're probably doing it a favour.

Tough though.
 
I read all the above and suggestions of transporting horse in a sling by a professional sounds like a good plan. I'd put it to her. Other than not wanting to spend the money she can't abject to that. If he can't even be transported under those circumstances then he prob should be PTS for his own good.
I'd say call her bluff, I doubt she's serious about PTS, its just emotional blackmail.
You say there was violence on the yard, did she hit someone? I'm so nosey :)
 
Interesting about the transporting with a sling, will have to look into it :)
I would rather he was PTS but its her descion after all.
Thanks everyone, we do have a contract which states 2 weeks notice and i have given her 4 and i gave her notice in writing, wanted to do everything properly as ive never had to give notice before :(

Koda - will send you a private message :)
 
A very sad situation with regards to the horse but I agree that you should stick to your decision. She has responsibilities to you as YO's as well as to her horse. And it sounds like she has failed in both areas. If the horse is that bad then being PTS might actually be the best thing anyway.

Horrible that you have been emotionally blackmailed this way though. Speaks volumes for the individual concerned I think.
 
I am sorry but I believe that it is not up to you regarding the quality of life of this horse. His accident was 6months ago? So still very much a good chance of being able to recover.
Could you specify that she may keep him there, with a month or whatever rent paid up front and must pay for somebody else to do him, so that she is not causing angst?
It is not the horses fault after all and unless it is the expert opinion( vet not yard owner!) that he has no quality of life then I would strongly feel that it is wrong of you to go down this course.
We all know how opinionated YO's can be and we are only getting one side of this story...
 
SusieT said:
I am sorry but I believe that it is not up to you regarding the quality of life of this horse. His accident was 6months ago? So still very much a good chance of being able to recover.
Could you specify that she may keep him there, with a month or whatever rent paid up front and must pay for somebody else to do him, so that she is not causing angst?
It is not the horses fault after all and unless it is the expert opinion( vet not yard owner!) that he has no quality of life then I would strongly feel that it is wrong of you to go down this course.
We all know how opinionated YO's can be and we are only getting one side of this story...
Click to expand...

No accident was 2 years ago, 6 months after he came to the yard i put that on another comment up the page :)
No im not a vet and no i dont know everything but how can any horse have a quality of life when lame and in 24/7?
 
stand by your decision you will only put it off until another time ,yes it will be stressful until/when she goes but think of your life after !
 
Stand by your decision, I suspect the poor horse is being used as emotional blackmail, she should provide you with impartial veterinary proof if her horse is so very lame it cant be moved properly.
It isnt the horses fault, but neither should you and other yard users be subject to her bad behaviour (which is also bad grammar, sorry!)
 
Not up to you sadly, people have many differing opinions on quality of life. I would ask her to get a vet to asses the horse with you present regarding transport and go from there? Then you will hear the vets opinion as obviously this is difficult for you and you should be able to have your yard back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top