Yearlings at livery yards?

F

Footprint

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 June 2012
Messages
134
Visit site
My filly has been at a livery yard for the first time over winter and she has settled in extremely well indeed. She has been in at night since Dec but out for a good 10 hrs daily with a herd varying ages 6-25, no probs integrating, she's proving v sensible.

But.... I do feel guilty for not putting her into youngstock livery (there are reasons for this re cost, location etc). I just want to know what others think, am I depriving her of a 'childhood' or will she be well rounded for having settled into yard life? (She had other foal company for the first year and half of her life). She is 2 in a few months. Am I forcing her to grow up too soon?
 
Im trying this yard as a last resort, if she hadn't settled I would have gone out of my way to seek alternatives. Chose it as daily turnout in winter, lots of land and she can be with a herd.
 
I don't know what to do... Find somewhere she can live out in time for next winter (she will be living out soon with the herd) she seems ok with being in but of course she would be happier out but this winter has been awful so I'd have to find somewhere with barns maybe where they are loose... Not heard of anywhere with barns round here though, are they becoming more common?
 
If she happy OP and shes getting regular turnout and doesn't seem to be stressed i think she'll be fine - whether its ideal situation who knows each to their own but i think everyone is struggling a bit this year anyway with weather - i have a rising 3 year old and hes had to be in more than i would have liked this winter - its not ideal but i dont' feel hes suffering for it - like you said the alternative is a field with 24.7 turnout but with a barn so she can get in out the weather thats not easy to find and even now she may be in stable as much as she would tuck herself up in to a barn through choice anyway, If she was stressed and worrying then id say different but if shes settled and seems happy and content in herself then i wouldnt worry so much she doesn't sound like shes deprived of anything - let her tell you i say if she changes then maybe look at something different but if all ok at the moment and shes happy let it continue.
 
I've been looking for land to buy for the past year, it's hard for everyone I know and in an ideal world she'd be with others the same age and an elder, access to field with shelter, believe me I've been looking for the past year for this! All the yards around here don't have any winter turnout at all so I know im v lucky with what I have. I'm doing the best I can but can't help feeling guilty.
 
If she's out in a herd & only in overnight in winter, I don't see an issue. If it were a 2yr old gelding with no youngster to play silly wrestling games with, & getting bored I'd say differently. But imo fillys play differently, & if there are others out who will play the sort of games she does, then I don't think she's missing out. I've got one that was 5 late summer, she has grown up with a gelding same age in the herd, although they play together sometimes, he mainly play fights with an older, but v playful gelding, & even now she plays racing games with my mare & another teenage gelding, more than with him. And at 2 was the same.
 
My yearling has been on a livery yard for all of his life. first of all he was with mum until weaning at 9 months, then he moved to my friends place where he was out with an older gelding until he was castrated, then we moved to our present yard in May last year when he was 11 months. He spent the summer out 24/7 with three shetlands of varying ages and an older gelding.

Since November he has been in at night and out during the day in paired paddocks but able to touch/scratch over the fences with up to 6 other horses.

He is growing up to be a well rounded young man with good manners. He has plenty of time for play and also a nice warm dry box to dry his legs out at night.

I get to see him every day to do routine handling etc, which if I had sent him to a youngstock livery I wouldn't be able to - as the nearest one with any space was over 2 hours drive (one direction) from me.
 
Littlelegs- I was worried she may 'annoy' the older horses but no she has surprised me how settled she's been, and shes happily accepted her lowest ranking no issues there... Ok I need to stop worrying!
 
Yep my girl has white legs so it's good to have her dry out at night, no mud fever yet touch wood! Plus she's been in a few days due to a cut on tendon and swelling, another thing I'd worry about with no stable living out!
 
I wouldn't worry at all OP id say she sounds like shes doing really well and at the end of the day theres always something out there that would be better or more ideal for our horses but thats life isn't it - in an ideal world id love to not work and have a massive indoor school and solarium for my boy but i think im about 30 years and a much better job away from that ha ha! - i say stop worrying and keep going with your grogeous girly sounds like shes shapeing up to be a really well rounded little sweety and i dont' think her lifestyle is doing her any harm at all.
 
I would not have a problem with it. We have a foal here that has never laid eyes on another foal. He will have his first birthday mid August. He is happy, settled and loved. He is on box rest at present at Rossdales, poor chap (OCD of the stifle), and I can't wait to get him back, he must feel so bewildered. But when he is not on box rest he goes out with two geldings, both in their teens. They really look after him and take turns playing with him. It is lovely to see. He also 'is allowed' to get brought in first. They both step back to let him through. I don't believe he is missing out on anything. No doubt he will be put in his place in a year or two if he gets too cocky. :D
 
My now 3 year old had a playmate until he was 2 but now lives with a 10 year old and a 23 year old gelding. The 10 year old plays a lot with him and they both squash him when he is a PITA. He seems very happy and settled. No ones life is perfect! Think of the poor in hand showing youngsters who are in, rugged and massively overfed at the moment and look at yours out all day in a settled herd - she is so lucky.
 
My long yearling is at a livery yard with a herd of mares. In at night, out in the day weather permitting.

I would rather that than out in the horrendous weather we have been having. She's already had two abscesses (this was before she came in) and an injury.

The weather this year is unprecedented and even breeders that I know have brought in their youngstock who have also had abscesses.

Count your lucky chickens she has a stable OP!!! It will do them no harm... give it a few weeks and they will have 24/7 turnout again. What's a couple of months in a stable in the grand scheme of things??
 
on one yard where i kept my youngsters there were all ages of horses, i found that they were happier with an older selection of horses rather ones their own age, the older ones would play for hours and also kept them in line where as the younger ones seemed more interested in eating than playing.
so i wouldn't say it's to do with the age but more to do with the personalities of the horses your horse is with.
 
When I first got my youngster at 6 months I had him on a livery yard on the understanding that he went out with the YO's youngsters. I did not go to plan at all! His youngsters rarely went out and when they did they were so bonded that they ran away from him:( Swiftly had him gelded and moved to youngstock livery. It's further away but he is so much happier. Out 24/7 with other youngsters, fields with access to a large barn in winter and huge rotated fields in summer. The YO is brilliant and it's a working farm so he gets used to the daily goings on.
 
I keep my (2 in June) gelding at a DIY livery with a mix of horses.

He was on his own for 1 month whilst I sorted out gelding, then he got introduced to other horses at the yard and varied turnout with them. At the moment he only has an older gelding for company and but that suits him fine and he seems perfectly happy. He has been in a herd up of up to 6 and gets along with everyone as hes used to it.

I think sometimes its best NOT to stick to too strict a routine as this can cause issues later on with separation, etc.

He lives in at night which is (to me) a god -send as it lets him dry out with all the awful weather weve been having then gets turnout out all day long.

He is a very happy chappy with this and no problems have arisen - I think you will be fine :)
 
I think it really just depends on the horse etc. But then most are actually ok with whatever (as long as allowed enough turnout).

My first colt i had on a small yard until he was about 18 months. He was in at night in winter and out in the day with other horses (older). When he moved to a bigger yard he was still out with others (older). He grew up to be a perfectly normal horse and i never had any problems with him whatsoever at any stage.

My filly was kept on a small private yard with my gelding (in at night in winter) for her first winter. I then moved to a small DIY yard but it didnt work out as she ended up being in on her own for most of the summer. Although, she was ok with it to be fair, but i didnt think it was ideal. This winter she wintered out with 2 other horses (shes rising 2). Again, shes been fine. So i dont think it makes a difference stabling them at night in winter? I know many people who do and as long as the yard suits the horse then i dont think it matters. I also know many who dont get to play with other young ones. Again - as long as they learn to interact with horses on some level, i'm not sure it matters that much? I'd have liked my filly to have had others to play with but it wasnt possible.
 
Sounds good to me!

I had wonderful plans for my filly ... youngstock livery/stud, blah blah blah ... Then she injured herself and had 3 months boxrest as a 9 month old. Can't win! She did recover and she is in a herd now, but at least I know she stables
 
I think it is unfortunate for foals who live without other foals for playtime and fun. Older horses just do not play in the way foals under 12 months do and I feel the single foal will miss out at an important stage of its development. I feel similar with yearlings, again I see how my yearling field interacts with their peers and the older horses and I wouldn't want to have a single yearling without buddies to play with. However with 2 year olds I don't think it's quite so imperative. In my 2 year olds field, I see them interact as much with the older horses as they do with their peers.
 
I have had 4 foals all born on a livery yard. All remained there. First never had anything of a similar age, was out in small mixed herd of the rest of mine. Unfortunately died in an accident at 4. Second in the same set up and sold at 6 but remained on yard, so just moved into new owners field of horses, same with third but sold at weaning, so in with her horses and last one I kept. They have all been absolutely fine. In winter they go into individual pens but can see/touch others, and youngsters have had larger pens so they can have a buck etc and have boarded them up incase of flying legs.
Youngstock livery not an option in my area and even so wouldn't do it.
 
We have 2 yearlings at my yard. They are turned out with a 4YO who is also very playful. They are out for around 12 hours a day and in over night. YO would liek them to live out, but does like the fact she gets to handle them every day.
 
I rescued a foal at 8 months.
She went into livery like you described

She did go out on loan for a year in a small herb on a huge mountain living out.
But has been back with ne since and is a great pony.
She still got to play but learned herd rules from the older horses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top