YO made me cry.... (rant :( )

NW1

NW1

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About a month ago my yard owner came up to me and said she was worried that my horse was getting a bit porky (not a surprise with the summer grass coming through), I didn't really agree with her – I agree he is a good weight but no where near fat! He is on full livery – to keep her happy, we altered his feed and cut down his haylage (not hugely) because if he lost weight – he would not be suffering, but it would make a point to her that he did not need to loose weight.

In the next few weeks I asked various other people at the yard what sort of condition they thought my horse was in – not one said fat – in fact quite the opposite – a few people said that he was the most muscled horse they had ever seen!

On Saturday my YO asked for a quiet word – the basis of her concerns were that my horse was nearly morbidly obese, everywhere he could have fat – he did have fat, she grabbed his crest and wobbled it about, which I turned round and said it was solid muscle, her reply was 'No, its solid fat', he's got a rounded bottom and a fat sheath! All through this she was saying 'I have been to college – I know what im talking about – im not having a horse this obese on my yard'. I said to her that she was upsetting but still continued to give me attitude. I reiterated to her that he is a 16h Maxi cob (majority Clydesdale) not a TB (like all of her horses) so he would not be the same weight. She also said about a weigh tape that he is now 710 KG – when I had him weighed as a 4 YO (at the vets weigh bridge) he weighed 650 – he is now nearly 7!

She left it saying stroppily – 'well I've said what I've got to say….', I respectfully said – I appreciate your opinion but I do not agree with, sorry. She repeated herself and walked off!!

I just can't believe her attitude. She really upset me, insulting me that much. Luckily one of my very nice friends was at the yard, so just as I broke down in tears she was there to give me a nice cuddle!

I decided to call the vets – they are coming out Thursday to condition score and laminitis check him. One of the YO points was that he looks uncomfortable on his feet. Of course is going to look like he needs a rest if he has been out all night, had the farrier at 7am then went on a 2 hr hack & wants a sleep!


If my horse is obese I will hold my hands up and say ok (my horses health is the most important thing to me) but I cant see how this is realistic considering how much he gets worked (probably one of the hardest worked horse on a competition yard!!) & how little feed he gets I cant see how he could be obese!!

I'm just so upset and cant wait until thursday

(If any one is interested I took a piccy the day before (just after a he'd had a bath, so if anyone is interested PM me your email & I'll send it over to you!!)
 
If he is obese - then the fault lies with her, as he is on full livery.

But - I would say that as owners, we can see our horses through somewhat rose tinted glassess when it comes to weight....

Post a picture up here - and we'll let you know what we think :rolleyes:
 
Good for you to get the vet out to condition score him, but it seems a shame to have to spend money because of your YO's bee in her bonnet.

There is a massively obese cob on our yard and, trust me, he could not tolerate the amount of exercise it sounds like your horse is getting.

Also, if your horse is on full livery, it is not up to your YO to make alternative field arrangements etc to facilitate the weight loss she seems to think is required? Not much point in complaining to you and then still turning him out in a field full of grass. If she is that worried, why is she not sectioning bits of it off?

I am sure you will get the OK from your vet. No more tears now! Let us know what vet says.
 
Its not what you say, its how you say it. If in her 'opinion' she thought he was obese she could have discussed it with you quietly and not in the manner that she did.

Some people are so brutish in their manner that what they are trying to achieve is totally lost in their lack of people skills. For your own peace of mind you have called the vet and they will advise you. They are qualifed to do this and if shes wrong then give her the bill!

Some people are so rude and its almost like bullying. See what the vet says and let us know!
 
Tricky to say much without seeing him tbh. Can you post a pic of him? I know that because I see our two twice a day, even though I am careful with their weight, I know I don't notice it sometimes as it creaps up so slowly until one of them becomes a bit of a porker. One is grey and for some reason I find it harder to condition score her than the bay! I think it is good that your yo discussed it with you. If she has health concerns over a horse she needs to say something to the owner. Though I agree with amymay, I do think if he is overweight that she shares some responsibility for this as he is full livery. Getting the vet out sounds a good plan, esp if he is a bit uncomfortable on his feet. Must say though, I wouldn't expect mine to be tired if the farrier was out early and then had a 2hr hack. They don't sleep or nap as we do so even though it might be an early morning to us, it shouldn't really affect a horse in the same way - which is good as otherwise mine would be poor insomniacs as people often leave the yard about 5am for comps!
 
Silly cow, I hate how some people think they can see things that aren't there... However, a friend of mine has a horse with a fat crest who swears that it's muscle but it most certainly aint. Not saying that yours is, her horse should not be that build at all, might have something to do with all the grass and the 2 buckets of feed she stuffs into it every day!
 
A picture will help.

It's quite possible he is very fat - many owners loose sight of what their horse SHOULD look like and 'fat' becomes normal. Just because he's fit doesn't mean he's not fat. And just because he's a 16hh maxi cob doesn't mean he should be carrying lots of fat about with him -they're the most common horses that owners let get fat in fact.

As for getting your knickers in a twist about - it's not like she call you fat!! Sounds like she has genuine concerns and went about it in a professional manner. It's the same problem most vets have - very few nowadays will say anything about the animals weight unless is't seriously, dangerously overweight as some owners take it so personally! Most will just keep quiet, even if asked.
 
amymay said:
If he is obese - then the fault lies with her, as he is on full livery.

But - I would say that as owners, we can see our horses through somewhat rose tinted glassess when it comes to weight....

Post a picture up here - and we'll let you know what we think :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ditto this.

Having horses on full livery ourselves though, we have the basic feed included [mix/nuts, competition mix, chaff,sugar beet, barley rings] and anything else the owner wants the horse to have or how much of it, is up to them if they say so. We'll subtly say whether it is a good idea or not, but ultimately, it is down to them for the final word as it is their horse. We're just paid to look after for them 24/7, we'll give our input obviously, but if it's what the owner wants, then that's what they get if it comes down to it.
Some owners are quite happily giving us the go ahead from the start to act on their behalf for what we think best for the horse and leaving us to it, but others we have to do their way. :) So even being on full livery, I still really think it is both owner and yard manager's responsability.


It does seem pretty non-complacent to go as far as keeping pushing the subject and calling a horse morbidly obese though. I mean, that's pretty strong words for one to describe.

But it's your horse, so up to you ultimately at the end of the day what you want it like. If you're not happy with the service you're getting, then maybe look at swapping yards to one you're more content with.
 
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Oh get a grip. She asked to have a quiet word with you and she has put her side across. It is her yard so she has to share responsibility for the condition of the animals on it and she clearly has a concern with your horse.

It may be fat, it might not be, without a picture (or ideally several) none of us will know who is right. However asking us, like you have been asking people around the yard, to somehow validate your view that the horse is no fat is not helpful.

The second opinion from the vet will be useful - are you prepared for the vet to say that the animal is overweight? They may not agree with your point of view after all.
 
i don't really see the problem?

YO thinks horse is fat, you don't, you are getting vet to confirm either way.

unless you post a photo i don't know what you expect people to say.

your YO is responsible for the horses in her yard- how many posts have we had here about YO's not caring enough about the horses they are responsible for?
 
OP, having looked at some pictures you posted on an earlier thread, it is difficult to say from the angles shown but I feel that to an extent, your YO may well have a point. If I were you I would condition score, see what the vet says, and take action accordingly. While it is difficult to tell from a picture, I feel that based upon those photos that your horse might well benefit from shedding a few pounds.
 
When I was working on yards years ago we had a lady who had a 16.2 Hanoverian he prob was ridden once a month that was if he was lucky :(
The YM advised her that his feeds needed cutting right down and as he was on full livery was she happy with that :)
She point blank refused saying its her horse and she wants him on what he was currently on:(
He was being fed a large round scoop of chop, beet, oats main ring blue and pony nuts, oh and bran she then added a shed loads of carrots He was also turned out on fairly decent grass and she paid for add lib hay :)
Yes the horse was obese and needed to come off his feeding regime but what more could the YM do as she would not listen and refused all advice given.
YO/YM does have a responsibility but so does the owner,
This is not a dig at Op as not seeing a pic the YO could be talking out of her A**E as I have seen that before just cause they own a yard they think they know everything and are rude:D
 
I'm not sure what sort of response you were expecting - none of us have seen your horse so it's difficult for us to comment on his weight and even then we could only go by the photo, which is not as accurate as actually seeing the animal.

It doesn't sound like your yard owner was overly rude - she could have been catting about you to everyone else on the yard but chose to have a quiet word with you instead.

I'm glad you're getting the vet out to score his condition, that sounds like the most sensible way forward and should lay any arguments to rest.

I agree with whoever said that most cobs they see are overweight, I'd go as far as to say most horses I see are overweight, or in fact most animals. It astonishes me that in a society where we're all so obsessed with being slim, our animals are often unhealthily fat.

Personally I wouldn't post the pic as there are a lot of people on this forum with ideas above their station and I'm sure you'll get responses ranging from "he's obese" to "he's malnourished" which won't be of much help - just let us know how you get on with the vet :)
 
I've just investigated your pictures on other threads too and yes, he is over weight. And if the weight trend shown (from 4yr to 6yr old) is anything to go by, he's quite likely to be even more overweight now. Yes, he is fit and muscled too, but he is still very overweight. It's sadly what is desirable in the show ring (some of the cobs at the Highland Show the other day were sickening :( ) but it's still far too heavy to be healthy.
 
As previously said, hard to tell without seeing the horse in real life :p TBH your yard owner is only expressing her opinion weather you want it or not, it is her job to feed your horse etc whilst on full livery. My YO said to me a couple of years ago that my horse was to skinny (he had been out of work and refused to eat there haylage) I said yes i am aware and its being sorted, nothing more was said about it and he struggled to put the weight on but did eventually. But there is an OBESE horse on the yard, doesnt get exercised etc and eats everything, and nothing has ever been said to her! Personally an obese horse is just as bad as a skinny one! But thats just my opinion :p
 
Difficult. People have such different ideas about what horses should look like.

With our TB she moved from my own to another yard and was declared "obese" by the YO, who was adament that you should see ribs on a TB, and when our pony came to visit they thought he was obese too. It was DIY livery but YO was very involved, and was frankly delusional about the semi magical qualities of the grazing. We were sneaking breakfasts to the TB all through summer and the whole time there she was leaner than I would have like.

Our current yard is very TB-centric, good for our TB, she looks fab, but they don't understand how it is with ponies/good-doers. When we bought our pony up to visit they thought he looked thin, (photo taken around last time he went for a visit there) and couldn't understand the concept of restricted grazing and no feeds in summer.
Here's a photo taken around the time he last visited:
SDC10514.jpg


For you, I think getting a condition score is probably the best bet, and then the YO may be more on board with feeding accordingly. Good luck
 
Honestly......You should be grateful to have a yard owner that cares enough about your horse to risk upsetting you for his benefit.
Having looked at some of your other posts, yes, I think he could do with loosing a bit of weight. Far too many animals are walking around with excess weight, and an owner who thinks that too much is better than too little. Long term, his joints will end up suffering having to carry that unnessesary excess.
 
Obese can actually be far worse than thin, as long as the only reason for thiness is underfeeding. Obesity raises the risk of many conditions, such as laminitis, joint problems, heart problems and Equine Metabolic Syndrome. It also takes three times as long to put a fat horse right as it does a thin horse. Personally, I much prefer to see a horse that is a bit on the light side than one that is too fat.
 
Heard it said before, Spudlet, that you can kill a horse far quicker with overfeeding than under feeding.
 
i would have the vet out and make sure your YO is there so she can hear it off someone who is qualified, and then all you got to say to her is if the vet doesn't think she is fat then you don't see what the problem is! also be careful its not just en excuse to have an argument with you to get you off the yard. x
 
Thank you, I appreciate everyones comments - & yes you never want to hear that people think your horse is fat, but i will take those opinions on board. I do agree that seeing a horse every day you perception of them can become tainted and this is what i mentioned to the vet nurse when i spoke to her.

I would just like to add in regards to the previous photos - there are none more recent then a year ago! & his work load has increased since then!

I obviously didn't convey how rude the YO was to one of her paying clients! I think maybe the emphasis was more on him being morbidly obese & that was she thought was gospel, i didn't convey that well.

I do wonder if i had posted him as a draft horse (which he is being a clyde. he is a HW cob he has nearly 11" of bone!!) would peoples opinions be different?
 
Well I'm no expert, but taking his breeding into account, I think he looks fine! I took Harvey to his first show yesterday and IMO he is looking fab at the moment weight-wise, but he didn't come anywhere and at least 2 seriously fat cobs were placed above him.
Your yard owner does have to show a duty of care, although a lesson in tact probably wouldn't go amiss! Perhaps she is just a tad jealous of your gorgeous boy!
Good luck with the vet this week, I hope you have your mind put at rest.
 
I agree it's never nice getting into disagreements with people, but see what the vet says and let us know!

Yard owners who care about the horses are a good thing. Maybe she was being a little overcritical? I don't know, but she obviously believed she had a point. Also, she was civil enough to discuss with you that she thinks she needs to reduce his feed. Most YO's who have horses on full livery simply adjust feed levels and t/o arrangements at their discretion according to the horses weight, temperament and what work it's doing without notifying the owners.
 
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