I really hate

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Katiean

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Since my illness I have had to leave my horses to others. For the next 8 weeks I have a 5 lb weight limit. Those I left in charge of my babies kept feeding them the way they thought I was feeding before. But all they were feeding was 2 cups dry beet pulp,1 1/2 scoops hay cubes and 1 cup of cob. My poor babies sat out there day after day with out anything else since they were on a dry lot. So, I had some hay delivered (was out when I got sick). I told them it was to supplement what they were getting. So yesterday Hay was all they got. I think we have it all ironed out today. Regular food and 1 flake of hay between everyone just so they have something to do during the day and don't eat dirt.
 
Doesn't seem like it should be that hard to do, just follow directions and feed LOL but I go through it too every time I leave someone else in charge of feeding.
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Fortunately there haven't been any catastrophic errors and the horses all survive.

Jan
 
I hear ya. My family hasnt been on vacation since we were married because of not knowing who is reliable enough to care for our animals. I would worry about them too much and not enjoy my time off...
 
oh. How hard is it to feed an amimal, i mean really?

We send out horses to my friends house, she has horses and a mini and I know that they get the care that they need. Her mom also works at the track (standardbreads) so she can handle my little colt. : P
 
oh. How hard is it to feed an amimal, i mean really?

If they are not horse savy, it is soooo hard for them!! Really, they have no earthy idea that each mini needs far more water for the day than it drinks while they watch! How much hay is enough, how much grain is toooo much, grass all day, in extreme heat water gets tooo hot, and so on and on.

Heck, there are some that don't even understand they should not put certain ones together, etc.

It's a worry if I left and didn't know for certain that they not only knew "horses" but, MY horses.
 
I now have someone who is reliable & trustworthy so I'm not too worried anymore. I don't leave town often at all, maybe 3 -4 weekends a year but it's such a relief and peace of mind to have someone you trust. In the past, I've returned home wondering if things were done correctly because things just looked like they were done sloppily and not put where they were normally kept. But since I was asking an 'in-law' to do the favor, I just figured ok, well, maybe he's just lazy. Well, when we returned home to see that no one had water, that was it! It wasn't just laziness, he just didn't give a rat's butt.......and he was family!
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Because of that I'm super paranoid about leaving my animals. So to make sure there is no question, I leave a detailed list of who gets what and even describe the container that the feed is in dowm to the color and exact location. On my instruction sheet, I'll list each and every animal needs both am & pm, with a written reminder to fill all water buckets. I keep this sheet in a plastic page protector so that it's always clean and readable. I always pre-measure feed in ziploc bags, labeled with the day & am/pm. I instruct to give 1/2 flake of hay in the evenings but I've thought about measuring that too.
 
But all they were feeding was 2 cups dry beet pulp,1 1/2 scoops hay cubes and 1 cup of cob. My poor babies sat out there day after day with out anything else since they were on a dry lot. So, I had some hay delivered (was out when I got sick).
You cannot criticize your "help" for not feeding hay if they didn't have any hay to feed! That's not their fault.
 
oh. How hard is it to feed an amimal, i mean really?


Heck, there are some that don't even understand they should not put certain ones together, etc.

They ended up letting all my horses out together and then put my silver dapple mare in the stud pen and the stud was left with the other mares. Thats what kind of fun things can happen.
 
But all they were feeding was 2 cups dry beet pulp,1 1/2 scoops hay cubes and 1 cup of cob. My poor babies sat out there day after day with out anything else since they were on a dry lot. So, I had some hay delivered (was out when I got sick).
You cannot criticize your "help" for not feeding hay if they didn't have any hay to feed! That's not their fault.
I dont think she critisized them for not feeding hay she ment when she did get they hay that they stopped feeding the hard feed
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I dunno just how i read it?

and i deffinatly dont like leaving my babies in others hands i have to literally TEAR myself away from them for a horse show even!! Hehe i havnt had a holiday in like hmm for ever lol a day is a strugle to stay away
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yes i am a sad sad person lol
 
I am rather fortunate to have several men in the neighborhood that will feed my horses and do it like I want it done. I usually ask the one young man and if he can't do it for some reason, he will get his dad or brother to do it. I also have another neighbor that comes down at least twice a day to check water--whether I ask him or not--if he sees or knows we are gone. He figures that as long as they have water, they will be ok for two days. There is another guy that would do it if I asked, so I am lucky there.

I am very meticulous when it comes to directions. Each stall has a name and a number on it--a must since I have 35 filled stalls in the barn minus the horses we have with us at a show. I have a big dry erase board that has a list of who can go together and who shouldn't and the stallions names are in red bold letters. When making a feeding list, I make it very detailed and keep the feeding as simple as possible. My main concern is always water. I have only had one problem in 11 years and that was because of an emergency on the person's part. Now I have a back up. I also put the number of the vet, both our cell phone #s and the number of someone close they can call in an emergency. They may already have all these #s, but in an emergency, they can see them easily and there is a phone in the barn they can use.

Forgot to add that I usually call them about once a day
 
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Heck, there are some that don't even understand they should not put certain ones together, etc.

They ended up letting all my horses out together and then put my silver dapple mare in the stud pen and the stud was left with the other mares. Thats what kind of fun things can happen.

I bet your stallion was happy though! I know what you mean I hate relying on other people and like others for any of my animals I leave idiot-proof instructions!
 
We have a neighbor that is reliable that always takes care of ours when we go out of town, which is really nice because in the summer we are usually gone every other weekend.

But we just try and make it as simple as possible, a scoop with electrolytes for the QH and Paint, and up the the line for our mini. And everytime you feed fill the trough up all the way. They have a round bale, so we don't have to worry about hay. Our biggest problem is feeding on time so my QH gelding doesn't break the fence boards off, but even if he does we just have to nail them back up.
 

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