HELP! Need advice as a new leaser.
Hi guys! At the beginning of this month I started leasing a beautiful 20 year old horse. He's in good shape for his age, and his owner has had him for 9 years. He used to be a competitive jumper, and she has taught kids' lessons on him too.
As a leaser, I am responsible for 3 days a week. I am responsible for mucking out his stall, paddock, refilling stall water, exercising him, and assembling his grain with his medication.
The barn he's boarded at only takes care of hay, grain without medication, and paddock water.
I have always loved horses and I'm thrilled to be able to get back into this world again. I used to ride as a kid/teen & am now re-learning everything and I am a complete novice.
Here's the catch - I'm nervous that perhaps his owner is cutting corners. 😬
I realize I'm COMPLETELY new, but I have seen a few patterns happening and I'm not sure how to proceed. Any information or opinions would be much appreciated, please be kind! 💗
My concerns:
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I lease him 3 days a week, on non-consecutive days. I strongly believe she isn't visiting the barn on some of her days. (Extremely low water, extra messy stall, medication not being moved in tack room, etc all indicate she wasn't there)
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a week into leasing, he began turning his head to bite & his back end to kick when putting his blanket or saddle pad on. He did this to both me & his owner at separate times. He didn't seem to be in pain while being brushed or touched though.
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the vet came to look at him, couldn't see any obvious issues and put him on bute.
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the behaviour with the blanket stopped, and I rode him on Monday with her approval. Everything was fine.
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she had a few back-to-back days, and I don't think the medication continued (as I don't believe she's going to the barn on her days). It is now Thursday, and the behaviour started again today when I tried to put his saddle pad on.
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she has said he's super predictable and he was, UNTIL the issues with the blanket started. He was calm while doing the bute treatment, but today was extremely spooky and wired again.
I have now leased him for a month & ridden once during that time. He is SUCH a sweetheart, very social and affectionate. He's totally fine until the blanket comes out, and he gets visibly aggressive/upset. Even the saddle pad (with no saddle) just sitting on his back today continued to upset him once it was on.
I'm at a bit of a loss of how to proceed. Should she be at the barn every one of her days to be doing his stall, water, and exercise? I'm not sure what's normal, what's okay, or what should/shouldn't be happening.
Any input would be much appreciated!
TLDR: I'm a new leaser & there is some weird shit happening. Help.
Submitted March 26, 2020 at 06:07PM by Hespertine
via reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Horses/comments/fpmsjw/help_need_advice_as_a_new_leaser/?utm_source=ifttt
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