Livery yards and idiotic horse owners

[ManateeEquineOhara]

I am sure nobody here is unfamiliar with yard politics, I just need a little rant to get this out of my system...

Next month I will be moving yards for the first time in 8 years, this is because my best friend lives at the yard and she is moving next week which will be sad, and without her I would go mad because of the other liveries!

We have this woman there...she is clearly not really horsey, her 2 horses are status symbols just like her 5 cars. All horses are supposed to be in at night but she doesn't bother. She tells lies. And she does the stupidest things. Her mare is very skinny but she doesn't seem to care. She was turned out in the pouring rain in a torn turnout rug...over a stable rug. Her pony is behaving like a rig, and came from a yard where they never turned him out but she didn't ask why!!!
And today she did the stupidest thing ever. She put her friend's pony in with her rig/rig-like-gelding, in the same STABLE! WTF??? What the hell is she trying to do!? This made me so angry. Apparently she opened the stable door and the other pony came dashing out and refused to be caught, poor thing. Her friend is the only other livery now and a bit of a div.

Argh! They drive me mad. I would love to be able to ignore it, but it just makes me so angry. Especially when the horses are put in such stupid, unnecessary, dangerous situations.

So, I am off to a new yard, which I am a bit nervous about anyway, but I think it is the right time

[CluckyKate]

The two go hand-in-hand IME

Good luck with the move and fingers crossed the liveries at the new place are a little less nutty

[LovePinkBitsOfMyHorse]

Holy fuck. She makes me seem competent!

Do you know anyone at your new yard? Hope they are friendly and fun and a bit more normal than what you leave behind. I am laughing but also :( at torn rug in rain - would she put cold wet clothes on herself? :(

[ManateeEquineOhara]

Thanks, I know, it is laughable, but at the same time, bloody scary. Her friend only loans the pony that she tried to put in a stable with her mad thing, it could have been seriously injured.

I don't know anyone at the new yard, but it is a hard yard to get into. The yard owner is fussy about who she takes. The mad women I just described actually lives right next to this yard, and has tried to get onto the yard a few times, but the yard owner said she gets a bad vibe from her! She has waived her 'no children at the yard' rule for me, which I suppose is a compliment, but it does mean my kids can't be the feral things they are used to being at the yard!

[marialuisa]

She sounds interesting....Have to say that whilst I get the probelm with the torn rug I don't get the problem with putting it over a stable rug. When it was deathly cold all the horses and ponies at our livery yard were turned out with fleeces or lightweight stable rugs underneath their turnouts and they all seem fine . The yard owner is super-experienced so even if us liveries were being idiotic she wouldn't be doing the same thing herself! Different heavyweight stable rugs were put on them to come in overnight though-possibly with fleeces or lightweight underneath.

[ManateeEquineOhara]

Marialuisa - it was pouring with rain so through the tears the stable rug could just absorb water. It is usual to turnout with a fleece underneath in cold weather for clipped horses but it does need maintaining, changing at night, not just left on 24/7. The way your YO did it is not stupid or even close to what our yard psycho did :)

Well, managed to spend several hours at the yard today and didn't see her, she had her div friend doing her horses - slightly more bearable than she is! :)

[LovePinkBitsOfMyHorse]

My pony is wearing a torn NZ over a fleece today - he has magically torn both turnouts now so no choice and one has not dried in past 24 hours. Luckily a new one is coming in the post.

It is both depressing (£) and gratifying (told you all those rugs were necessary) to discover just how many rugs you actually need.

The drying of rugs is a problem, think will have to bring them home and drape them over my one and only radiator. They are not drying in the barn.

[ManateeEquineOhara]

Gah @ annoying rug situations, I will need to get a new one for next year but we should be okay until the end of the year. My ID that I have just sold (:() was pretty awful with rugs though. Drying rugs is a pain - I looked at one yard with a 'rug room' and a rug mending service at the yard! 'Twas well impressive

[CluckyKate]

Best way to dry a rug is to leave it on the horse....provided it's still waterproof & dry on the inside of course!

Sadly I'm one of those awful owners that keeps her horse in a turnout rug 24/7. It does come off for a groom and/or exercise though - I'm not that dim

[LovePinkBitsOfMyHorse]

I worry they will get bored of wearing the same old thing and start hankering for their purple or red or patterned rugs.

Not really, just can't bring self to put them back on if they are heavy with mud and or very wet. Sometimes I just rummage underneath them but is it neurotic to change them most days?

[ManateeEquineOhara]

Oh mine stays in her's 24/7 too, she doesn't have or need any extra rugs underneat...in the absence of a rug room it is indeed the best way to dry a rug (although I swap between 2 when they are dry, black or purple, for variation!) but to leave what is essentially a sponge full of rainwater on underneath the turnout rug is..err...stupid. She has finally changed her turnout rug for a new on without tears so at least that is an improvement. It is only one thing in her catalogue of stupidity though :(

[frostyfingers]

My TB stays in his turnout 24/7 - it's fantastic and covers him really well and barely moves an inch. I take it off and put it back on every day and his mane isn't rubbed, nor his shoulders. He had an extra stable rug underneath when it was very cold but has been snug as a bug all through.

There was an interesting article in last week's H&H, which I only got yesterday, about how they cope with the cold - -15 is no problem if the weather is cold, still and dry.

[Pixel]

As a quick hijack, was your Horse and Hound on subscription? Mine was and I've been getting them late for ages, last week I got one I was supposed to have before Christmas! I've got fed up and cancelled it now.

[ManateeEquineOhara]

I haven't read that, but I do remember being told when I was at Oaklands College (I fulfilled my dream of every lesson being horsey when I left school!), that often rugs make a horse colder, as it inhibits what the coat can do naturally. Which is all well and good but I want a clean saddle area at least!

Update on yard idiot - today she left the field gate open, my friend had to close it. And her continuous only ever wearing pyjamas is getting boring now!

[LovePinkBitsOfMyHorse]

She wears actual pyjamas to the yard? Want her to come and play with me! I might look appropriately attired for once, if I hang out with her. Does she ride in pyjamas? It's not as if open/closed gate makes massive difference to my horse, he has jumped the fence and also can just about open the gate with his magic horsey teeth and lips (how my heart swelled with pride etc).

I would just lie face down in a puddle and cry until summer if rugs hadn't been invented. The wonder of the clean shiny bits under the rug, when legs, face and tail (and bits of tummy) are thickly encrusted with mud is like a modern miracle.

[marge2]

Your yard idiot sounds bloody dangerous to me. You can't be a safe idiot around horses. Our local yard idiot got her own 2yo grandchild killed by letting it bimble around under a horse tied up on the yard. It happened before I knew her, but word of the accident spread quickly and every horsey person in the area knew what had happened. Dreadfully tragic and we all felt terribly sorry for her, but she then moved to our yard and once I got to know her it sounded like it was an accident waiting to happen. She is one of those who tries to ride three abrest on a definitely only 2 abrest lane. Leads her fizzy horse by the end of the lead rope instead of getting her elbow into it's neck on a short rope. Ties it up on the yard with yards of lead rope to spare and wonders why it gets tangled up and panics. You can tell her til you are blue!! Absolutely no horse sense.. and proven dangerous. I would have a word with your yard manager if I were you.

[Pixel]

There was a family at our place a few years ago and all I can say is thank goodness they've gone so I don't have to watch their antics. One day I had to go home because I couldn't watch any more. They had a tiny toddler running around barefooted in all the mud and horse poo. At one point I called out a warning to them because the child was standing right behind their 17hh horse's leg (almost touching, she didn't even reach his hock) and the reply I got was "Oh well she has to learn". Learn what exactly? How to get trodden on and killed/maimed for life?

The way they treat their horses isn't much better than the way they treat their children but get this, the father advertises his services as a horse trainer! I'm not exaggerating when I say he's the most imcompetent rider I've ever seen. I could link to a video so you can see his efforts for yourself but I'd better not I suppose.

[marge2]

Morons!! Sounds exactly like what happened to the poor grandson of this daft woman I know.
He wasn't supervised properly, Grandmother was getting on about her business with her horse and allowed the 2yo, who she was minding, to play on the yard. He got himself under a horse and got a foot in the head when he startled the horse. Not even a proper kick apparently. The horse didn't know he was there cos he was so small. When the horse suddenly spotted him it got a fright and spooked, and the little boy got caught on the head. Awful!

This is one of the reasons I was not happy to do DIY when my kids were very little. All very well when they are in buggies, but when they are toddlers they( my DSs) would never have sat happily so they would have to have been out.. of.. the.. buggy. I was on a big busy yard at the time......shudders!!!

[ManateeEquineOhara]

This is exactly the kind of thing I worry would happen. Well, her daughter is 11, but still an accident waiting to happen. And yes, she wears pyjamas to the yard, the shop, everywhere. Her daughter was riding in pyjamas and Ugg boots the other day!!! On the lead rein with the idiot leading in pjs too.

The putting two ponies in a stable together is still the worst though, esp. when one seems to be a rig, or a very hormonal gelding

[ManateeEquineOhara]

OMG she left the gate open again with my mare out!!! I had a little tantrum and texted her a message about her stupidity, to which she responded telling me not to swear!!! GRR! My friend moved out today :( so I am on my own now, but only 3 weeks until I move my horse! Can't wait!!!

Pixel - go onnnn, link to the video :) Knowing I am not alone in livery madness might make me feel a bit better!

Marge - that is just horrible.

We don't have a yard manager as such, we have a farmer who owns the land and I have told him of her stupidity when I gave him my notice seeing as she is a large part of the reason! He said she had always seemed nice to him - coming up to him with HUGS! Seriously - HUGS

[marge2]

Jeeez! Leaving the gate open?? Woman must be a bit simple!! Is there another field you could use away from her horses even for the 3 weeks you have left? Get a padlock!

[ManateeEquineOhara]

The only other field has a stream running through it, it floods easily and is flooded now. I responded to her 'Don't swear at me' text in a reasonable way and will obviously be letting the farmer know. This gate stays almost closed, although it can swing inwards easily enough, last year some idiot left the top gate open which stays wide open and my two went for a walk and got into someone's garden! I do not want a repeat of that.

Oh what friendliness and smiles I am sure await me at the yard today...

[marge2]

Good luck!!

[CalamityKate]

Pixel - PLEASE link to a video!

[Pixel]

Do you think he'd find out if I did? He's a nutter, I'm not sure I'm brave enough.

It's only a video of him 'training' a youngster over a 2ft jump, but he's attempting rising trot all the way up to the fence and can't even do that properly. You've never seen such bouncing about and flailing hands! Luckily for him the horse jumps quite nicely but then he collapses on to its neck. Basically he's a con man but always seem to get people to believe him, especially women (not me though, he gave me the creeps).

[CalamityKate]

Course he wouldn't find out! Is it on Youtube?