Right. Struggling to be objective and I need input.
To save having to read previous posts, I'll give a potted history:
Me: rode as a child, took 17 years off, got back into it again almost exactly a year ago. Loaned a horse a couple of times from the RS and bought my own to go on working livery in mid-June. Total novice owner.
My horse: 16.2HH Warmblood cross gelding, been there done it got the t-shirt. Schoolmaster. 16 years old. He jumps, does a reasonable dressage test, a good XC, is a bombproof hack, and is an absolute gent on the ground. Sustained a kick to his right front in the field on 11th Sep, has been on box rest for 3 weeks, no hairline fracture, but bone is mending itself and showed up as a white area of distress after 2 weeks of rest, at same vet assessment he was 1/10 lame, but there was still heat in the area even though it didn't appear infected. Prognosis good, but will know more after repeat vet visit on 9/10.
The things I have noticed since he has been on box rest:
1. Vet attended on 25th Sept. No handover note was done. Nothing written in yard book or first aid book when a member of staff was questioned ("are his drugs in this feed?" "What drugs? Don't know...") on 1st October. I know on Monday, Friday and Saturday that week there were no additions to his lunch. So no indication that he's been having the correct medication for a week.
2. I mucked him out on Mon 26th myself, and left his straw banked up around the edges, said to yard manager "I've left his floor bare so it can dry out a bit. Can you knock the banks down and add more straw if he needs it before putting him to bed?" Yard manager said yes that was fine. When I saw one of the grooms on Wednesday she said that Flash's floor was bare on Tuesday when she went in to muck him out, the floor was just covered in poo, she thought he needed more straw but discovered there was enough when she knocked the banks down.
3. I went down to see him Sunday (1/10) 2.30pm. He has 2 x 42l tub trugs for water. He was tied up out of reach of one, which was empty. The other was full.
4. I went up to see him yesterday (4/10) during the day. All was fine. Clean bed. I groomed him and spent time with him in his box. I went at 1pm and arrived back for my kids' riding lesson at 5.30pm. His bed was filthy- the straw had poo stamped into it and was wet. I watched my kids' lesson and we said goodbye to him- saw loads of fresh straw in his bed, but under the fresh straw was the poo-ridden stuff.
5. When I went down on Saturday, I got there at 8.45 to ride a friend's horse on a hack (she owns two there, and kindly let me ride one with her) at 9am. At 10.30 I was told off for my horse having no hay and water, and then I was nagged to muck him out "because it's been hours."
6. When he was on his initial box rest he wasn't given his antibiotics one evening because they had been locked in the office.
7. He is being fed three times a day. In each feed he is having: 1 scoop conditioning cubes, 1 scoop calm & condition (1 scoop when made up), 1 scoop speedibeet (same), 1 scoop Alfa-a. When I said "should he be eating that much when he's standing still?" My concerns were dismissed and I was told he needs to put a bit of weight on for winter. He has ad-lib hay.
8. Head coach (also oversees yard manager's job) been there 13 years and her attitude is erratic and unpredictable. At best, unapproachable, at worst, hostile. Sometimes has a laugh and a joke, other times will bite your head off. You never know which.
9. Yard owner is not very mobile and is in the office all day behind two closed doors.
10. Before box rest he was turned out in field of 26 geldings, always coming in with bites, kicks, etc. Herd was split a few weeks before into a new field with 8-10 geldings including him. Seemed much calmer. But was injured in a field by one of them while I wasn't there. Some fields are 0.6miles away from yard. Bloody long way to walk when turning out.
I viewed another yard yesterday. Seems a tightly run ship, yard owner beyond nice, I know at least 5 of the other liveries there who have been there up to 8 years (and say owner is exactly that- lovely). Owner actually knows my horse as she was his previous owner's dressage coach. He also liveried there for a couple of weeks when his previous owners were on holiday. Turn out in a herd of max 4 horses.
I have to take my horse off Working Livery- obviously as he cannot work.
Option A: full livery (still have to pay for hay/straw on top) at current yard. Going back on working livery when horse is fit.
Option B: DIY at current yard assisted on 2 days I cannot manage due to work (not actually an option at all because it is financially unviable due to astronomical costs of extras)
Option C: DIY at new yard, assisted on days I cannot do, with the option to get a sharer for those days when he is fit and worth sharing. No option of working livery as only a livery yard with no RS.
Option D: full livery at new yard.
What are your thoughts? What would you do if it were your horse?
I can see pros and cons to both places. I won't make a decision on anything until Monday when he next sees the vet. I may be asking her the question "would he be ok to travel 4 miles in a box?" Loads of dressage comps, showjumping etc at his current yard and I don't have transport. Other yard has good quality outdoor school, turnout on site, but no comps. Hacking is good at both (in fact, he probably knows all the local routes at other yard!).
I can no longer see the wood from the trees. All help and advice appreciated.
To save having to read previous posts, I'll give a potted history:
Me: rode as a child, took 17 years off, got back into it again almost exactly a year ago. Loaned a horse a couple of times from the RS and bought my own to go on working livery in mid-June. Total novice owner.
My horse: 16.2HH Warmblood cross gelding, been there done it got the t-shirt. Schoolmaster. 16 years old. He jumps, does a reasonable dressage test, a good XC, is a bombproof hack, and is an absolute gent on the ground. Sustained a kick to his right front in the field on 11th Sep, has been on box rest for 3 weeks, no hairline fracture, but bone is mending itself and showed up as a white area of distress after 2 weeks of rest, at same vet assessment he was 1/10 lame, but there was still heat in the area even though it didn't appear infected. Prognosis good, but will know more after repeat vet visit on 9/10.
The things I have noticed since he has been on box rest:
1. Vet attended on 25th Sept. No handover note was done. Nothing written in yard book or first aid book when a member of staff was questioned ("are his drugs in this feed?" "What drugs? Don't know...") on 1st October. I know on Monday, Friday and Saturday that week there were no additions to his lunch. So no indication that he's been having the correct medication for a week.
2. I mucked him out on Mon 26th myself, and left his straw banked up around the edges, said to yard manager "I've left his floor bare so it can dry out a bit. Can you knock the banks down and add more straw if he needs it before putting him to bed?" Yard manager said yes that was fine. When I saw one of the grooms on Wednesday she said that Flash's floor was bare on Tuesday when she went in to muck him out, the floor was just covered in poo, she thought he needed more straw but discovered there was enough when she knocked the banks down.
3. I went down to see him Sunday (1/10) 2.30pm. He has 2 x 42l tub trugs for water. He was tied up out of reach of one, which was empty. The other was full.
4. I went up to see him yesterday (4/10) during the day. All was fine. Clean bed. I groomed him and spent time with him in his box. I went at 1pm and arrived back for my kids' riding lesson at 5.30pm. His bed was filthy- the straw had poo stamped into it and was wet. I watched my kids' lesson and we said goodbye to him- saw loads of fresh straw in his bed, but under the fresh straw was the poo-ridden stuff.
5. When I went down on Saturday, I got there at 8.45 to ride a friend's horse on a hack (she owns two there, and kindly let me ride one with her) at 9am. At 10.30 I was told off for my horse having no hay and water, and then I was nagged to muck him out "because it's been hours."
6. When he was on his initial box rest he wasn't given his antibiotics one evening because they had been locked in the office.
7. He is being fed three times a day. In each feed he is having: 1 scoop conditioning cubes, 1 scoop calm & condition (1 scoop when made up), 1 scoop speedibeet (same), 1 scoop Alfa-a. When I said "should he be eating that much when he's standing still?" My concerns were dismissed and I was told he needs to put a bit of weight on for winter. He has ad-lib hay.
8. Head coach (also oversees yard manager's job) been there 13 years and her attitude is erratic and unpredictable. At best, unapproachable, at worst, hostile. Sometimes has a laugh and a joke, other times will bite your head off. You never know which.
9. Yard owner is not very mobile and is in the office all day behind two closed doors.
10. Before box rest he was turned out in field of 26 geldings, always coming in with bites, kicks, etc. Herd was split a few weeks before into a new field with 8-10 geldings including him. Seemed much calmer. But was injured in a field by one of them while I wasn't there. Some fields are 0.6miles away from yard. Bloody long way to walk when turning out.
I viewed another yard yesterday. Seems a tightly run ship, yard owner beyond nice, I know at least 5 of the other liveries there who have been there up to 8 years (and say owner is exactly that- lovely). Owner actually knows my horse as she was his previous owner's dressage coach. He also liveried there for a couple of weeks when his previous owners were on holiday. Turn out in a herd of max 4 horses.
I have to take my horse off Working Livery- obviously as he cannot work.
Option A: full livery (still have to pay for hay/straw on top) at current yard. Going back on working livery when horse is fit.
Option B: DIY at current yard assisted on 2 days I cannot manage due to work (not actually an option at all because it is financially unviable due to astronomical costs of extras)
Option C: DIY at new yard, assisted on days I cannot do, with the option to get a sharer for those days when he is fit and worth sharing. No option of working livery as only a livery yard with no RS.
Option D: full livery at new yard.
What are your thoughts? What would you do if it were your horse?
I can see pros and cons to both places. I won't make a decision on anything until Monday when he next sees the vet. I may be asking her the question "would he be ok to travel 4 miles in a box?" Loads of dressage comps, showjumping etc at his current yard and I don't have transport. Other yard has good quality outdoor school, turnout on site, but no comps. Hacking is good at both (in fact, he probably knows all the local routes at other yard!).
I can no longer see the wood from the trees. All help and advice appreciated.