Yard whinging

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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My horse hates the winter, the sideways Scottish wind and rain. When the weather is bad, she paces up and down the fenceline. This has been a longstanding issue. Drives me f ** ing nuts. I try to get to the yard earlier in the day to rescue her, but can't manage that every day. Last year wasn't so bad because I was working from home writing a novel, but this year I am back at uni for a masters, so I'm not as flexible and live further away. She's on full livery, but not brought in 'till four-ish. Her paddock is like a wind tunnel and has no shelter to speak of. I established with the YO a few years ago that there was zero possibility of building her a field shelter.

Today was horrendous, and she was dutifully pacing away. When I got out to her field, I noticed that one of the other paddocks, which is downhill from hers, is nicely positioned against a barn and some haylage bales, affording a lot more shelter. So I suggested experimenting with swapping my horse with the two mares in that field, who don't fencewalk when they are annoyed. YO told me no way; it wouldn't work. He says the hedge behind her field, which is about 1.5m high, provides shelter and she doesn't use it. Um, there is about 4 or 5m of space and an electric fence between her and the hedge. You get no shelter worth speaking from it. That's how wind works. Anyway, how do you know if you won't try it? In past yards, we have greatly reduced or got rid of pacing by moving her to a paddock she likes. She is funny like that. But YO was intransigent. Not a chance. What about bringing my horse in first on days when she is pacing (if I am not there earlier)? That at least reduces the anount of time she is pacing. Not a chance. The horses are brought in the way they are brought in unless you do it yourself (as I said, I do when I can). YO acts like I am an idiot for suggesting any of these things, or thinking they will make a difference.

I am grumpy.

Horse is grumpy.

Why do YOs think owners are morons?

What are the chances of me winning the lottery and building my own yard?
 
Well it was definitely worth asking, shame YO couldn't at least consider your suggestions, they sound reasonable to me! I would keep mentioning it/making other suggestions/ asking if he can think of anything - he might get sick of being badgered and relent? My horse is a fence walker too when he's not happy, it's lessened when he has plenty to eat and gets on with his field neighbours (currently a mare and foal who he adores), I will put a haynet out in the field (even though there is still some grass), and I will use a treatball with grass nuts in later on in winter too to try and keep him distracted. When the tracks he makes get very wet and muddy I electric fence tape them off, he will make new tracks but at least it's on better footing (at the worst last winter a quarter of his field was fenced off bit by bit!). I hope you get something sorted x
 
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I can understand not wanting to move fields but not why the YO will leave her out while she is fence walking rather than getting her in out of the normal order, as she is a full livery so the YO is responsible for her daily care, also it is the YO's field that is getting trashed it seems very odd to me.

I bring in any horse that starts to stress for some reason, whether it is one of mine, a full or DIY livery I prefer to get them in rather than risk injury or them making the fields even worse than they need to be, this afternoon it was really gloomy and wet they all wanted to come in early so I got them all in, less hassle than leaving them, less damage to the fields and it took just a few minutes to get them, the only extra cost is a bit more hay and a few boxes to skip out at feed time.

Just to add, as a YO I do not think all owners are morons and will try and accommodate a quirky horse as best I can if yours was in my yard she would probably come in an hour or so before everything else, as long as she was happy to be in and you were happy for her to be in early it would be an easy solution.
 
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Later in the winter, he will put hay out, but just on the ground so it goes off quickly. There is none now. It does help a wee bit, because being hungry, in addition to the weather, is one of the reasons she paces. It's pretty much her way of expressing that she's pi$$ed off about something; the reasons for her being annoyed varies. I suggested making a box to put the hay in last year, but got the same, 'you're a moron' treatment.

One of the horses in the more sheltered paddock is owned by the YOs, and the other has an absentee owner.

@be positive, the YO is very set in his routine. This works for my horse -- who likes her routine -- until it doesn't, when the routine she would like and the one the YO will do are not the same thing. Changing the order he brings in the horses, not a chance! It does not make a lot of sense, but it's how things are.

Too bad your yard isn't in Central Scotland.
 
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Is it because the owners of the other horses don't want to swap? That could be the reason, it could lead to a lot of bad feeling

eta- not saying that you're wrong to want the best for your horse and the YO should try and find some compromise, but he may be stymied if the others won't budge
 
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Well I would probably be looking for another yard personally. In the meantime, could you make up some haynets for him to put out for her? That way it's not as much effort for him and the hay won't blow away.
 
Nothing to hang nets on. Yard is a muddy bog; no trees, walls, nothing. And the fencing is electric rope so there aren't any solid posts. No idea where you would put one.

@ skint1, one of the horses in the paddock with more shelter is owned by the YOs; the other has an absentee owner, but she is ridden a few times per week by the YO's brother, who is pretty laidback (unlike YO) and I doubt he gives a sh * t where the mare is during the day.

I'm investigating other yards...
 
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Is there no chance your horse could go in with the other mares, that way she would have company and more shelter? I appreciate there may be reasons you don't want to do that, but thought I'd suggest it :)

I really do sympathise about the exposed field situation. It can be so windy up at our field sometimes that you can hardly stand and you can't walk head on into it with your eyes open! Horses hardly want to be out on those days (and you can't blame them) which is why we keep renting stables as though they live out most of the year, there are times when it is so windy they can hardly bare it for a couple of hours. We can't build a field shelter either, as the yard is in the Peak District National park and regulations are extremely strict for this property, even down to where fencing is. And we would need a solid, permanent one to stop it blowing away!
It really doesn't make sense to me that your YO won't bring your horse in earlier if she is miserable!
 
If your on full livery I have no idea why you can't have her brought in early there's a couple on our yard that come in early. There's the odd day I ask for mine to come in early and it's generally no problem
 
I used to have a YO like this...his way or the highway....we went on for a couple of months but I soon got fed up and found somewhere else, the day we gave notice you'd have thought his heart had broken in two......what did he think was going to happen?????
 
My horse does not play nice with others. She likes to chase things into corners, then kick the crap out of them. Badly socialized as a baby, before I got her, but not a lot I can do about it now. She could have a buddy if it were (a) mine so the only person at risk of vet bills is me and (b) so submissive that it would just run away, no questions asked. Since I can't afford a second one, this is not an option.

YO is fixed in his ways. What can I say. Though my friend/fellow livery told me today that the YO pretty much told her it's my fault that she paces, because I spent most of last winter trying my best to bring her in early. Yes, to stop her from pacing because they sure as hell were not going to. The horse did this crap long before she got to that yard, and I learned the hard way that leaving her to it just means she paces more. And she will do it relentlessly, which she has proven for the 16 years I have owned her. The only way to stop her is to do what she wants.
 
How irritating and just makes life difficult, we have one that will only go in one of 2 summer fields (he is 30 so gets priority) and it just makes sense to bring any stressy ones in first when they all come in at the same time so they don't wreck the ground! We have put a 'lane' up the side of my gelding's paddock so they stressy arab can come in without him coming in first (she doesn't like that!)
 
hi just read this--PLEASE LEAVE THIS YARD! you will be happier and your HORSE WILL BE EVEN HAPPIER! you must have courage and do this asap-you owq YO nothing!!!
 
I'm looking. I know I can do worse; I know I can do better. It's just a question of whether or not 'better' exists in the right geographical area. There are a lot of potentially suitable yards in places I don't live. :(

I'm crabbit because my horse is not happy, but even more crabbit because the YO won't take me seriously or even make an attempt to work with me. I know the horse better than anyone. He thinks I am a clueless idiot. This is not helpful. Nothing makes you feel more powerless than not being listened to.
 
I think the problem you may have is that no-one is going to want to swap to the wind tunnel field if there are no other fields available and if you have to be on individual turnout that probably give you less choice too. If the more sheltered field is a two horse field your field is a one horse field then it won't be suitable to swap the horses around.

Also there may be extra costs associated with bringing her in early as the longer she is in the field the less mess she will make in her stable and also perhaps she won't need as much hay as well.

Have you tried asking if you can pay a bit more to have her caught in earlier if it is inconvenient for YO to catch in outside normal catch in or it will require more work due to her being in her stable longer.
 
The field with the two mares in it is smaller than the wind tunnel field. The original theory was that my horse, being a hard keeper, has a bigger field with more grass. Except it's winter, and there isn't grass regardless of how big your field is, and the horse fencewalking for a good few hours negates having a wee bit more crappy winter grass anyway. Obviously there is no grass where she fencewalks.

They bult a new barn this summer and put the hay bales in a different spot, which means there is now a marginally more sheltered paddock, whereas there wasn't before. This is irrelevent, since the horse isn't being moved anywhere (unless it's to a new yard), but it is why I asked about it today when I saw it, and it wasn't a thing in these last five years.

I haven't offered more money for him to bring her in early (they just raised the livery prices this month; I can't), but he is often out doing other things, so he's likely to not even be there to do so and he will definitely not be changing his routine to make it work.
 
ugh, annoying.

Friend going through exact same thing where her horse is last one in a line of paddocks (so furthest from yard). He is a worrier and stressed by only having 1 horse next to him. Requests to swap paddocks with none stressy horses fall on deaf ears because apparently all horses are the same?!

it has been semi-helped by coming in earlier so i would continue to push that side of it, offer to pay a small sum?

re hay in field,what about a big trug with a couple of bricks in bottom(so wont blow away when empty) you can get 5/6 slices of hay in them easyily(we use them in stables).
 
What about windbreak fencing ? I know my ex used it for his crops and it also seems to be used for livestock ? So why not for horses ? Would that be a possibility for you ?
 
All your suggestions are really good, but assume my YO is a rational person.

Building anything in the paddock is not an option -- whether it's a shelter, a fence, a box to keep hay in. When my OH was still able to build things ( :( ) I suggested a box. So I've been down that road.

I asked if they could bring her in early and they refused. Told me that it just encourages her to pace, and it doesn't suit their schedule. Yay. As I said in an earlier post, they are blaming me for her pacing because I was generally bringing her in early myself over the last couple winters. They are not interested in an owner's hypotheses about her horse's behaviour, because they know best. Obviously.
 
er yeah i wouldnt even ask just put the trug with hay in surely? you dont need permission for a water bucket so why a hay bucket?

half they time asking is inviting trouble, just do it and breezily announce its done.

ETA is there anyone on yard who regularly goes up earlier than they normally come in? can you pay them to bring her in early or swap chores and lend them a hand at weekends etc?
 
Other liveries are pretty absentee or go after 5pm. My friend/flatmate helps when she can, but she is a doctor so her schedule is a bit mental and random.

I've left voicemails/emails with a few other yards. We shall see what happens.

The shelter thing is a bigger issue. If it's blowing a gale, she doesn't give a damn whether she has hay or not. She just wants in. I don't know if she would be better in a paddock with more shelter, but her summer field had a hedge and a dip at the bottom that provided a kind of windbreak, and instead of fencewalking, she would stand there on crappy days. That's my evidence for thinking more shelter would help.

Yard hunting is a hassle, but I hate feeling like I have to advocate for my horse to an uncooperative yard owner.
 
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As an interim measure - until you find somewhere better and get away from this tit of a yo - could she just stay in on really bad days? Would he agree to that?
 
As she is on full livery could you not move to a more suitable yard that may be further away? You may not be able to visit every night but at least she you will know she is being looked after on full livery and happier in an environment better suited to her needs.

I can understand that nobody would want to swap their horse in to the wind tunnel field, but as it's your horse with the quirks - paces, can't turn out in company, his lack of helpfulness may be that equally he'll be expecting you to want to leave and he can get an easier livery..
 
Why are you there? Your horse is unhappy, you're paying what I suspect is good money to at best be ignored and otherwise being treated like a fool. Full livery should be what you request, surely if your horse is prone to laminitis and needs to be brought in after an hour this also wouldn't work at this purported full livery yard? It seems that owners are a pain in the arse for this particular YO.
 
Horse has been happy enough for the last five years. She has been worse at other places. But part of it working for her at this particular yard was down to me doing a PhD and then freelance horse training and writing a novel, so I had a lot more control over my schedule and could bring her in early as and when needed. Like I said, I am now on a full time taught course, so less flexibility. Also, dealing with my terminally ill OH, which means I have less tolerance for bull sh ** t and stress about whether my horse is happy or not.

There was a laminitic horse at the yard this past year. His owner had to use her lunch break at work to bring him in when the grass was too rich this spring/summer.
 
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