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Post by arabmania on Dec 19, 2010 20:49:48 GMT 1
i absolutely agree with you jenny. when my mares have had time off they tend to spook at anything and look for everything ! in constant and regular work they are brilliant. this is something i am aware of and work with . our yard is treacherous and both ways out are lethal. the main roads are fine though. its simply getting to them
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Post by sandy on Dec 19, 2010 21:10:06 GMT 1
There are probably 30 horses at my DIY yard but there are only 6 that are in any form of work. The rest are all well cared for and loved but the owners have either lost interest in riding or the horses have ridden issues so they are just kept as pets. They are turned out 24/7 throughout the summers months on 25 acres in a herd and then in the winter come in at night. TBH they have a pretty good life!
I used to think this was a very weird situation but now I can see that the owners get pleasure from their horses without riding. Each to their own I say!
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Post by donnalex on Dec 19, 2010 21:27:50 GMT 1
A lot of people keep horses and plan to do an awful lot with them but never really get round to it. They talk endlessly about their plans that never come to fruition. A lot are in it for the social side, they tend to gravitate towards the big yards. People get all sorts of different things from owning a horse. A vet once said to me that she felt sorry for horses that were not worked and that the ones that were kept as pets were often the most miserable. In my opinion horses that are not being worked on a fairly regular basis should be kept out as much as possible with others for company to keep them happy in their minds.
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Post by Yann on Dec 19, 2010 21:44:26 GMT 1
I think it's worth quoting myself I have a horse who isn't capable of that much work any more, but I watch her weight like a hawk and adjust her feed and grass intake accordingly. The other one is as fit as a butchers dog.
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Post by mandal on Dec 19, 2010 22:51:46 GMT 1
In my opinion horses that are not being worked on a fairly regular basis should be kept out as much as possible with others for company to keep them happy in their minds. I'll quote this then! I agree and I also think turn out and horse 'friends' are important for all horses though.
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Post by donnalex on Dec 20, 2010 9:25:34 GMT 1
It is important tosay here that by 'out' I do mean out in a field with their heads down rummaging about and enough space for all the horses to feel that they are not invaded. Keeping them out on a tiny yard eating high octane haylage all day from a haynet and bullying/being intimidated all day are not the same thing and if that is all you have in the way of facilities then they are better off in stables separated and exercised regularly. This type of arrangement may suit the boss horse but imagine being the submissive one, wanting to get away but cant, the mental pressure being 'on' all the time is not good for them at all. This is a recipe for disaster, horses trying to escape all the time, they often end up taking desperate measure but dont make it and end up hurt.
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pip
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 3,797
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Post by pip on Dec 20, 2010 10:32:35 GMT 1
As already stated, years ago most livery yards were hunter yards. The owners probably did some breaking and schooling in the summer. If you didn't have your own land by the house then the only way to have a pony was to rent a field, which is what we did. The ponies lived out 24/7, and until we got a trailer, hacked to Pony Club, shows and hunting or if we wanted to go to a show we paid a transporter to take us in a cattle lorry. Lots of people didn't ride in the winter, they took off the shoes and turned them out until the spring. But there was a show nearly every weekend and I competed in clases of up to 60 (we were the baby boomers!) So there were many fewer horses and ponies around.
Horses and ponies in the past did a lot more work than most do now. But traffic has increased and it wouldn't be possible to hack everywhere like I did as a child and teenager. I once rode through the middle of the city to a show, I shudder to think of doing that now.
A local farmer opened a livery yard to get more income and he commented to me that most of his liveries spent a lot of time there but didn't seem to ride much. Not that that worried him, he was being paid. But I think people spent FAR too much on feed when maybe the "work" the pony does is up to 1 hour tottle round the local ride. That is why, unfortunately, there are some tragic cases of exhausted and collapsing horses when their owners decide to go on a pleasure ride or take them hunting think that as they have been "ridden regularly" they must be fit. There was a note in my vet's newsletter about the number of cases they have seen of horses being injured/exhausted when they are taken out to an event and are not fit enough.
It is true that once a horse was over 12 or so it was considered old, although there were notable exceptions. The local MFH had a hunter well into its 20s and a local horse dealer, whose children did a lot of competiting, kept their old retired animals until they died of old age, up to the age of 45 in once case!
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