# Horse Too Unfit To Do A Lesson!!!



## RachJeremy (Sep 14, 2012)

This isn't about my horse... But it makes me so mad... The horse who is kept with mine. Is an ex-polo pony. He is 24/25. The people who have been sharing him used to be up really often so the daughter could ride with the other girl who had her horse there... But then they moved their horse. And eventually the girl who shared the ex-polo kind of lost a bit of interest really... Not that she'll say anything. She's already in my opinion a very spoiled girl who is perfectly capable of doing things alone, not that her mother will let her and wraps her in cotton wool >.< (not literally!)... She's always liked her jumping. But the pony has done his tendon in. For a while now, they've only covered (we are a DIY yard and we all chip in and do days since there's only two horses - i cover 3-4, the lady whom i share my horse from does 4+ unless said otherwise, and the lady who owns the ex-polo pony does 6!!! I am hoping to take a day off her so she only does 5) one morning a week on Saturday. And even then the girl only rides when she wants to, which isn't often, for about half hour, where she basically rides in walk for a few strides then trots up and down the drive and sneaks in a canter without her over protective mother seeing. Her mum won't let her go off the drive without someone walking with her. Now... They were also supposed to be riding Sundays. But my horse's owner and the owner of the polo, still cover Sunday between them. Usually my horse's owner will pick the girl up and they will go out riding together. But that's not happened in months, not that she enjoyed the girls company as she's very self obsessed and likes to hack out at a million miles per hour! 
She doesn't ride much anymore.., Even on half term when her mum (who is a teacher) is off work too, they don't come up to ride during the week.

Recently this month, both the horses had the vet come out to check them over. The poor old pony had mouth ulcers and now has a heart mumour (spelling?)!!! He already has cushings, so he's had a clip aswell...
But the owner had booked the young girl in to have a dressage lesson with a Grand Prix instructor.... Safe to say, the girl wasn't really overjoyed about the whole thing and her response was "i prefer jumping"... :O And her mum told the lady who owns my horse that her daughter finds dressage boring and much prefers to jump... So basically they don't tell the owner this and just let her pay out for it all!!! Even to the point of buying the horse new saddle pad and boots for the whole thing.

The instructor asked at the start of the lesson how much work the horse is in. And they say two days a week for a couple of hours a day, walk trot and canter... And if they have time in the week or half term they come down too... Now i wasn't there for the lesson but the owner of my horse was, and when she told me that my response was a very loud blast of a laugh, followed by a word that involves the waste of a male cow!
Only for 15 minutes into the lesson after a bit of trotting... The instructor stops the lesson as the poor horse is coughing his guts up and said this horse isn't fit enough, either that or he needs to see a vet!!! And he refuses to teach the rest of the lesson... 
To top it off, they were supposed to be covering this afternoon on the yard, as my horse's owner is covering the morning today for the owner of the ex-polo as she's away, and my horses owner has a meeting late tonight. Only for them to come up to her and say they cannot make it as her car is in for a service... She lives a 10 minute bike ride down the road!!! Or half hour walk. The amount of times they've down that... Made some excuse not to do the yard. So someone else has to change plans and do the yard. Heck, a saturday a while back, they were supposed to be on the yard in the morning about 8am to get the boys out and stick to the routine. I wanted to ride before 12pm as i was getting my car taken apart to be fixed that day at 1pm and no promise it'd be done before 5pm. So i turned up at the yard at 10:30am to find both horses in the stables, no breakfast or hay, my horse had no water left, the stables weren't mucked out... I rang my horse's owner to see if she'd heard anything after phoning the lady and daughter to see where she was with no answer. Then receiving a text to say they'd overslept!!! So i said i'd do the yard since i was there and i wasn't going to not feed the already angry two horses... Only for my horse's owner to bump into them at tesco at just gone 11am!!! :O That wasn't long after i'd spoke to everyone. So obviously getting her shopping was far more important than the two horses left with no food. 


But anyway. I've now offered to do tonight, so my horse's owner hasn't got to rush around to get to the yard. Of which point she said to me she didn't want to take the mickey with me covering too many days. I can understand, as i'm the only one of the lot who actually works with horses, so easily have the most physically demanding job of all of them, and i've recently moved back to my mothers house, so i've got a lot on my plate, and she feels bad having to rely on me so much enough when i have a lot going on. But it isn't a bother to me to go up to the yard an extra day anyway... I just do not understand why these people keep on with the horse, if they cannot spare an extra day a week, even on half term... And if the daughter cannot be bothered to ride anymore. Or is upset about not being able to jump... But trouble is, me and the owner of my horse don't want to say anything, as we don't want to cause any trouble... Or look like bad people or anything. 


I can only sit and hope that something changes for the sake of the pony. As at one point i was riding him aswell as mine... But i said to the owner of mine yesterday, i'm sharing Boycie... Not this pony. Its not up to me to keep him fit. And if everytime i ride him i end up having a battle because he's fresh and thinks he has to canter/gallop whenever he hits grass isn't fair on me... Yer, i can sit well to his bucks and rears. He hasn't managed to get me off... But the owner doesn't want to ride him for that very reason. And now he's got this mumour... He definitely cannot go 0-60 in a few seconds like he does with the girl.
I know i have no say... But it really annoys and upsets me seeing horse owners and sharers who are like this.. It's not good for the horse/pony in question.


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## toffee44 (Oct 21, 2011)

God in glad mine is on livery with a proper YO!

If I were you do not ride this horse. Try and keep out of it. I think they have lost interest as horse can't jump anymore which is a shame. 

Yards are difficult and horse people are odd ( sorry but we are).

Can you and owner say that you can't do her horse of a while?? For whatever reason. She won't have a choice. If I turned up at the yard and found my horse in with no hay or water when someone else was meant to do it I would go mental.


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## RachJeremy (Sep 14, 2012)

toffee44 said:


> God in glad mine is on livery with a proper YO!
> 
> If I were you do not ride this horse. Try and keep out of it. I think they have lost interest as horse can't jump anymore which is a shame.
> 
> ...


We could... But. Hitch of it is, the owner of the polo, is very protective of her horse, and even though she does so many days already, if anyone couldn't make it, even just out of laziness, she would turn up at the yard and do it all... And i feel like because of this, the sharers are taking the mickey BIG time... But because there is only two horses and little to do really, it never really makes sense to have everyone there, hence why we've all worked out a rota. But the days they offer to cover as extra when they can, or when we ask them, several times they have bailed out because they have something more important to do. :\ That meaning if one of us has asked them to cover our 'shift' so to speak, then we either have to cancel what we've got, get the horses in early or work around it, or ask someone else if we really cannot do it.

But no, i'm definitely not riding the pony again... It's not up to me to keep him fit. However, i even said to my horse's owner, if the owner of the pony wants him fitter and wants me to ride, i'll happily take him out for a bit and get him worked for £5 a ride. I am not doing it again out of generosity, as it's getting dangerous. Especially if i have someone else riding out on my horse, for example, my boyfriend who is a novice and not very balanced... If something went wrong and i fell, he wouldn't know what to do!

It's a shame really, as i agree really that horse people are odd... I'm not really normal to be fair XD But seeing as i work with horses too... I seem to understand to get rid either through sale or loan of a horse if something isn't right and is for the best. I know it can be hard for an owner to give up something they love so much... I can only hope the sharers will give him up or she'll find someone else... For the pony's sake.


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## Lel (Mar 21, 2012)

I think when you are on a small yard in this situation you just have to let people get on with it.

Ultimately if the woman who owns the pony doesn't care enough to find a sharer who IS interested then what can you do?

Either you are concerned for the pony and you offer to exercise him, or you accept that you are just going to focus on your own boy and let them get on with it.

In summer in particular when there is so little to do, I personally would lose the rota altogether and just worry about your own horse and let the others do theirs. Between two of you there shouldn't be much to do?

Either that or you all sit down and have a chat to say you feel some are not pulling their weight and you all need to do a fair share. If you think that would make a difference.


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