Conflict with boss' views regarding feed and worming for horses.. help??

Question

I work on a breeding farm. My boss switches their feed at least once or twice a month. Last week some of them were on 1 scoop 2x daily and some 2 scoops 2x daily of 14% pellets (complete feed).. a few days ago he bought 12% pellets (the cheap stuff, not complete) and he wants me to double what everyone is on overnight. In addition to their grain they get poor quality hay, 1 flake 2x daily. Now I've had horses all of my life and I was always taught to be consistant and if you change the feed you do it gradually. Also, I have a worming issue. All of the yearlings were wormed a few months ago then again on Saturday. He wants to reworm them in 2 weeks. I've heard that horses can overdose on wormer. In my opinion they don't look bad. You can see a little bit of ribs on them but they are yearlings, I think that's normal. They seem to me to be in good shape. He wants them fatter. I know that he is my boss and I should do as I'm told but at whose expense? I don't want to hurt these horses.

Answer 1

Your only moral choice would be to flatly refuse to double the feed on the grounds that you can't be responsible for potentially causing the death, or at least severe pain of colic, in these animals. In order to do that, you should be prepared to quit.  Sad as it is, he has the right to do this and no laws can stop him...so, it boils down to whether or not you will be a party to it.

Answer 2

I must agree with you.  If you change the grain or feed, you should do so gradually.

If you are going to continue to work for this man, you must follow his rules.  Or  quit working for him if you  don't like what he is asking you to do.

Answer 3

If you believe the horses are truely being mistreeted, turn him in for animal abuse, otherwise as you said , he's the Boss if you don't like the way he does it quit.

Answer 4

His horses stand a good chance of getting sick. This is a breeding farm??!!? The backbone of a good breeding program is excellent nutrition, proper healthcare and knowledge.

Is your boss the owner of the farm or the manager? If the owner, he needs some really good reliable education in a hurry.

If he's the manager, the owner needs to know what's going on before something bad happens. He may be trusting that this person knows what he's doing and not know what's really going on.

Yes, feed should be changed gradually, horses should not be overwormed and underwormed. A fecal test is simply done and can tell whether worming is needed and for what types of worms. Yearlings should be slim, not fat. Fat yearlings can suffer from a host of growth issues tthat will affect them for the rest of their lives.

If you can see your way to it at all, try and talk with this person and let him know what is wrong with what's going on. It can be quite stressful to work somewhere where you have to do what you feel is wrong. If you can work a change for these horses, it will be a great thing. If you keep quiet, they will not benefit and if you quit, another person who may not know better may be the next hiree.