[loosie]

I've generally kept my horses on big properties - 20+ acres, so picking up poo was a rather foreign idea to me, until I kept them in small paddocks. Perhaps that's the case here, that while it's been normal for you, perhaps it's not necessary here either, so you don't need to be stressing over it. Yeah, others not worming is frustrating, but if you're not even going to bother asking the owners, you're just assuming they're not, assuming the worst of them. Same with the water. Who's to say someone hasn't turned up to fill buckets, found them already full(because you've been doing it)?? Wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

As others have said, speak to the owners & speak to the property owner. Ask. If it's not to your liking, you need to either suck it up, or move your horse.

 

[Textan49]

I don't like self care barns for many reasons. They might work well with a small number of like minded owners, but very often there is someone who wants to do less than their share. Barn owners are often too lax in having rules such as requiring a coggins test on new horses, vaccinations and worming. I would have to be hard pressed to board at a self care facility and won't offer it at the barn I manage. As for your concerns about worming, I would continue with the fecal egg count and worm accordingly. There is also the danger in over worming and developing wormer resistant parasites that aren't going to be eliminated by any product currently on the market.

 

[Yogiwick]

Wow I need to move to where you live!!
In uk ivermectin is £15 a pop!! And that's for the cheap stuff!!! So no I don't think I will pay to worm their horses:/

I'm pretty sure we are probably more expensive in general lol!!

That's insane. Ivermectin is just the cheapest for us. Other wormers are more. Shrug. Oh well.

 

[jaydee]

I did work at a place where we had usually between 15 and 20 DIY (self boarders) at any time but because the yard was run as a horse facility with a hands on owner and manager (me) everything was well ordered. A lot of places where they have DIY livery's do control things like worming and include hay and bedding in the cost and have rota's for poo picking or take care of it themselves - same with water tubs but in the UK there are a lot of people that just rent out grazing and some stabling/storage and just leave it to the horse owners to sort themselves out. IMO those places never work out very well unless all of the owners are on the same page

 

[Saskia]

I've only ever done self care. Its fairly uncommon to use full care in Australia, outside of the inner city.

Honestly, I've had few problems. I've never been anywhere that I was asked or required to pick. I've only done that in a private paddock. Places have worming, usually twice a year, often you worm your horse, write their name on the tube and chuck it in a box.

Being in self care requires you to be more flexible and adaptive. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I find the best way to have a good self care place is to ask all these questions before moving. You should be able to go on a tour, check the water, check the fences. Ask about worming policies, quarantine, rotation etc. See what documents they give you to sign. If all these things aren't right on the tour don't move.

I feel for you in your frustrations, I've had a couple of frustrations with people I board with (families with kids usually). However many of your issues seem to be ones you could have noticed and cleared up on your first tour. It really sucks being at a boarding place where everyone seems to have a vastly different idea of care, or ideas on training or just have no clue at all.

However you can't just turn up at a place and expect people to change. If they didn't pick, worm or fill water for the last however many months or years, they're not going to start now.

 

[jaydee]

The UK has an ever shrinking rural landscape but an increasing equine ownership one. Even in the 80's you struggled to get a place on a really well run DIY yard - and places with large acreage are not that common. Mostly you can't pick and choose and if you want a horse sometimes you just have to make do with the best you can get which might seem like a decent place when you check it out but until you are there and get to know other owners you have no idea what they'll be like and then it isn't always so great. A small yard can start out fine and then a few owners leave and get replaced with others that are a real pain. It's very difficult.
The first place DH and I had of our own we inherited the existing DIY people, two were actually OK and pulled their weight but one of them struggled to handle her pony and was always knocking on our door for help, another's idea of checking her pony every day was for the father to drive past and glance at it over the fence - I think if it was upright that passed as it being OK. She came to ride it twice a week and that was the only time it got touched.

 

[Chaz80]

Yogiwick...yeah wormers are a ridiculous price here...I use equest and equest pramox,you can get a year pack with 2 equest and 2 pramox it's £60!!

 

[Yogiwick]

Let us know when you do a fecal on your mare, I'm guessing it's not as high as you're expecting

 

[Chaz80]

Let us know when you do a fecal on your mare, I'm guessing it's not as high as you're expecting

I think I might just worm her as I would have to worm for stuff that doesn't show in the count at this time of year,i will then worm count in jan-feb next year.

 

[Prairie]

I think I might just worm her as I would have to worm for stuff that doesn't show in the count at this time of year,i will then worm count in jan-feb next year.

Normally in the US we wait till after a hard killing frost so bot flies are not going to be laying more eggs on the horses. Do you wait till after a killing frost in the UK for t fall worming?

 

[jaydee]

If you had to rely on a 'killing frost' for anything in the UK you wouldn't want to hold your breath on it!!!