A question for those who keep their horses on grass livery

evilgiraffe

evilgiraffe

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May 23, 2006
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Cambridge, UK
I was just wondering - what do you do if your horse is injured and needs box rest? Does your livery cover having a stable available if you need one, even though your horse lives out 24/7? Would it be unusual for someone to have their horse on livery without the use of a stable?

I'm not in any kind of awkward situation, just slightly bewildered as to how these things work out in practice!
 
[I honestly dont know what I'd do if Falcon got injured and needed box rest. He will not, under any circumstances stay in a stable. (He would have to be tranquilised). It's a bit of a nuisance him being like that sometimes but really, it's up to him how he wants to live!!! He's on grass livery but the YO feeds him in the mornings and puts hay down throughout the day at this time of year and plenty at night. I could rent a stable so I would have one for emergencies but it would cost a lot more money than I am paying now, and, anyway, what's the point if the pony wont use it? Anyway to ebaborate on your question, most yards will do grass livery only but if you need a stable, they will rent you one at extra charge.
 
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When we were in that situation, we made up a makeshift stable in the YO's garage, which luckily was used for storage, not too full, and had a few spare 5 bar gates in it.
 
At our yard, you pay £15 a week for your field and your stable, you get it automatically when you come for livery (whether it's grass or part-grass etc), I think it's a way for them to control their numbers in case of emergency.

We have one section of the yard that is shelter rather than a stable, so it's less enclosed but enclosed enough and it has its own water trough and grazing area. We normally turn injured or ill horses in there so they don't get too stiff or stressed in the stables. It has full view of all the horses on the yard and in the fields.

If you want 24/7 grass livery, you get allocated a stable that wont be used by anyone else, just incase. It's a good idea really, because then you've got your own space for when you bring up to prepare for riding etc.
 
That's what I was thinking would be the best solution, Sammii, but I had no idea if that's what people actually did or not! I could see it all getting very uncomfortable if all the stables were in use, and then someone on grass livery needed one as well - but there weren't any to use!
 
At my yard which is a riding school we have the large barn for all the liveries which generally has at least one stable free which can be used by someone who has a horse on grass livery- i have used it a couple of times and paid by the day for instance when the farrier was coming and i was at work and noone was available to go down the road during the day and fetch him in!

Other than that there are the stables down the bottom which are part of the riding school and used during the day for the ponies but if the barn was full and one of the liveries was on box rest then they could potentially be used as well.

Most yards will have a way around the problem- at my last yard they had a couple of flat packed stables that could be put up if needed inside the barn- which was very useful when we had a strangles outbreak and some of the horses needed to be moved a bit further away.
 
I have no access to a stable or a yard - but my house with barn and small paddock is a 15-20 min walk from the field, so my plan would be to use it in emergencies. The only reason the horse doesn't live there is that the field is too small for two horses (and actually, a bit on the small side for one big one). Oh, and that the field where he lives is horse paradise :D
 
Well my place has 2 stables (plus a tack/feed room) whioch the horses have 24/7 free access to.
they are small, poky and made of unreliable wood, but i do realise hpw fortunate i am to have them at all.
 
There are actually two stables at my yard kept back specifically for grass liveries to use so long as its kept clean...i imagine she would charge though if someone had to use it for box rest.
 
When Kazz got her injury that resulted in 5 months box rest I had only just taken on a stable which was so lucky. Otherwise I would have hoped another livery with a stable would have helped... I think I would feel a bit vunerable after my experience, to go back to grass livery on a farm like where I was before with no stabling at all.
 
I have been in that situation before and it was *horrible*. Max got an abcess, the field was incredibly wet and the two emergency boxes were full.

I borrowed a stable of other liveries for a couple of days, but that was a complete hassle because I had to get him out of certain stable by certain times so that they could put their horses in, and couldn't put him in again until other horses had gone out, it was just a nightmare.

Eventually, I ended up using electric fencing to close off the entrace to the field shelter, and stabled him in there for 5 days or so. I am so lucky that he is laid back.
 
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