Access to your horses on a livery yard

[StormyMoments]

Used to be on a yard where we weren't allowed on the yard before 8am or after 6pm unless it was an emergency and in which case you had to tell the YM in advanced, well before you entered the yard... I hated it... I didn't last long!!

 

[skint1]

I couldn't have kept my horse there with those hours even if it were otherwise perfect. I guess there must be enough of a market to make that kind of restrictive access viable.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

We Yard owners have one advantage (or disadvantage in some cases) over just a livery person who has always been a livery, we know what its like to be on both sides of the coin so we have experienced being a livery then a Y/O.

We try our hardest to run a yard where most don't make much profit, for our livery's and respect that we need our down time of an evening.

We know what its like to rush home from work or college and try do your horses. I have never been on Part livery always DIY or grass, all the yards I worked at and trained at had opening hours and times when everyone must be off the yard except the WP/student and the BHSAI who was the senior over them who do that night check taking it turns each night to do it.

Its a buyers market out there with loads of yards to choose from, when viewing you should mentally or physically have a check list which a yard should do / have when you view. Sometimes you have to sacrifice somethings to have others,

Being a livery from 1983 - 1996 I learnt a lot about running a yard and ways I noted which I would use on my yard (if I ever got one) and what I would not do.

We Y/O - Y/M are VERY flexible having been on the other side we appreciate some nights require people to come later, all require is notice if someone is to be late out of normal yard hours. These hours vary from yard to yard and providing the Y/O shows the rules and hours prior to arrival then you have to accept that THIS yard owner requires a closed yard where as others do not. There is no right or wrong but let it be said that it should not be expected and assumed that all yards Should not have restriction.


Had this been in mentioned in a less directional way members here including me would not have jumped on the band wagon about restriction. Its perfectly normal for some to like a yard without restrictions their choice no right or wrong to think that.

When I read this

you should be allowed access whenever you wish, regardless of whether their house is next door.

As no livery yard should have restrictions on any yard and blow the privacy of the Y/O they should just lump it, owners feelings don't come into it. Then of course the poster will get a reaction from a yard owner who feels they work hard all day and get no privacy and have the yard noisy and lights on all the way up to midnight

 

[Penny Less]

Totally agree HGA 12

 

[Marydoll]

i had a livery yard, and I put a restriction on it. 6.30am to 9pm in winter and 10pm in summer. And the reasonable people accepted it. The unreasonable people left. Result

Every one had a contract they signed, and the reasonable people read it, liked it and adhered to it. The unreasonable people could not be bothered to read it, but still signed it and ignored it. I realised that unreasonable people are selfish, stupid and inconsiderate of all others, whether human, or equine. They wanted everything their way, they were the most important and no one else mattered.

My yard was secure, safe, with well managed grazing and all year turnout. But still I had people who put their own personal needs ahead of their horses. They would go home after work, have their dinner, watch TV relax, and at 11pm they would turn up and finally feed their horse, who had been brought in by another livery as another of our rules was no horse left on its own in a field. That poor horse had no tea, had not been mucked out and was generally treated badly. I would frequently get a call at 9pm, asking me to muck him out and feed him, as they had been out for a meal.

So the unreasonable person was asked to leave............ and guess what, they called me unreasonable for having a closing time.

I would happily let people arrive earlier and leave later and would personally stay up all night with the owner if a horse needed it ( hell I even put my camper van in a stable so the owner could sleep next door to their sick horse)............ but I only did that for the reasonable people, so if you find our YO is being unreasonable ............. have a look at your own behaviour. A good YO is on alert 24/7 but its hard enough looking after other people's horses, without having to put up with unreasonable liveries.

As a shift worker i sometimes need to be on the yard at 05.30, im not an unreasonable person, just 1 owner with 4 horses, please stop being so narrow minded and declaring anyone needing to be on a yard early unreasonable, because from my side you sound like the unreasonable one

 

[Marydoll]

This thread makes me glad i rent my own place from a great landlord

 

[Spring Feather]

I don't have opening or closing times. My people can come whenever they like. The vast majority of the horses here are on full care livery however so their owners don't come very often to see their horses. When they do, all of them message me to let me know. I've never asked them to do this and I've always said they can turn up whenever they so desire, but they are all professional people so I guess they make appointments, that's the way they run their lives. Fine by me tbh. I do have a couple of people who do DIY as they have multiple horses that each of them keep in their own fields, so need tending to daily. These people can come and do what they need to do whenever they like (as far as I'm concerned) but neither of them come at hours outwith daylight. Their fields are the furthest away from my house so they don't disturb me. My dogs know their vehicles so they don't bark regardless of what time they arrive.

My farm is big enough that although all fields surround the farmhouse, no one has cause to actually come to the house unless in a case of emergency. Everything is laid out for people and it's an easy farm to be on. My farmhouse sits on a knowl much higher up than the fields. Parking is nowhere near my house so people have no need to drive up to the house, instead they drive down to their horses/tack room/arena etc. I have unwritten rules about when I can be disturbed at the house and no one bothers us when we're in the house or when we have friends around. Because my farm is so spread out, the usual means of communication from all of my clients is to message me if they need me, then I will go down to wherever they are and help out, or do whatever they are contacting me about. People here are quite self sufficient, they don't need their hands holding and are capable of just enjoying their horses without the need for an overseer. Suits me fine.

 

[JFTDWS]

As a shift worker i sometimes need to be on the yard at 05.30, im not an unreasonable person, just 1 owner with 4 horses, please stop being so narrow minded and declaring anyone needing to be on a yard early unreasonable, because from my side you sound like the unreasonable one

This thread makes me glad i rent my own place from a great landlord

Likewise! Keeping odd hours doesn't make one unreasonable. Turning up out of opening hours if you agreed to them before moving on, signed a contract or generally ignoring the conditions agreed when you moved onto the yard is unreasonable.

 

[PolarSkye]

I'm surprised any yard that wants to close on Sundays afternoons has clients, that's bizarre. As is being told you can't see your horse on a Monday.

I kept my boy on full livery at a RS for about six months (suited me at the time as I was working in London and travelling quite a bit) and they were shut on a Monday. Seemed perfectly reasonable to me . . . the horses and staff deserved a day off and I respected that. I am sure if I had really wanted to go see/ride Kal on a Monday, it would have been fine . . . but I understood that if the yard rule was that the horses had a day off on Monday, then disrupting everyone else's routine by rocking up and riding would mean that other full livery clients would do the same and the yard wouldn't be a nice quiet, restful place for all concerned.

P

 

[PolarSkye]

Oh, and I'm a little flummoxed by the idea of people knocking on YO's door at all hours asking for haylage/hay/straw . . . surely people are more organized than that? I know when I'm running out and notify whoever accordingly - at a sociable/acceptable time. At current yard, I can contact the farmer direct . . . but even when I was dependant on YO to provide, I made sure I stayed on top of current stock so that I could give YO plenty of notice - and not at 8.00 p.m. on a Sunday night.

So much of what is being discussed here comes down to good manners.

P

 

[Theocat]

There are some very odd views on this thread about running a business.

If you choose to run a business, it is completely up to you what rules you lay down. If people don't like it, they won't use your business and you'll go under. Most livery yards will have rules in place that strike a balance between meeting the needs of the business owner and keeping the business profitable.

It's silly to describe certain opening hours as unreasonable or selfish - they clearly work for the owner and for enough of the liveries, or they would either go out of business or change the hours to attract more customers. If you don't like it, shop elsewhere, but if it's their business, it's their rules.

 

[Gingerwitch]

I fully understand the need for opening and closing times, and I agree that you judge with your with your feet, but to be told after you have arrived that you cannot access the yard on a Sunday afternoon is just not on.

Fortunalty for a change it is not me, it for my mate whom has managed to move from the control freak yard, she just seams to have gone to another one that is not what is said on the tin !

What is more dissapointing the reason given is that the yo does not trust any livery to be on the yard whilst she is off-site and that to me speaks volumes about the previous liveries

 

[PolarSkye]

the reason given is that the yo does not trust any livery to be on the yard whilst she is off-site and that to me speaks volumes about the previous liveries

Actually, it also speaks volumes to me about the YO. If she has such a bad track record with liveries a) why is she still in the business; and b) is she perhaps either a poor judge of character or unable to lay down the law?

What on earth has gone on that has prompted YO to be so controlling that she doesn't trust any livery on the yard without supervision?

P

 

[Gingerwitch]

Actually, it also speaks volumes to me about the YO. If she has such a bad track record with liveries a) why is she still in the business; and b) is she perhaps either a poor judge of character or unable to lay down the law?

What on earth has gone on that has prompted YO to be so controlling that she doesn't trust any livery on the yard without supervision?

P

It would appear that she has had owners with a large number of horses, or some clicky mates, that have run up a large sized bill and then done a flit when she was not on site.

 

[Spring Feather]

Oh, and I'm a little flummoxed by the idea of people knocking on YO's door at all hours asking for haylage/hay/straw . . . surely people are more organized than that?


So much of what is being discussed here comes down to good manners.

P

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

 

[PolarSkye]

It would appear that she has had owners with a large number of horses, or some clicky mates, that have run up a large sized bill and then done a flit when she was not on site.

So Option b then . . . if she still wants liveries, she needs to be slightly less controlling . . . and if she can't be less controlling (and that's perfectly understandable) then she needs to jack in the livery business.

P

 

[Gingerwitch]

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

OMG !

 

[skint1]

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

On that front I don't blame you at all, that is beyond a cheek! My YO does live on site, it's a working farm, but only time I darken his door is when I am paying the rent (through a letter box in the farm office) or something is severely broken and I can't fix it (like the lights in the barn one winter evening, it couldn't wait because I couldn't see anything!) I mostly communicate through the YM rather than the YO and via text as they can choose to answer when convenient

So Option b then . . . if she still wants liveries, she needs to be slightly less controlling . . . and if she can't be less controlling (and that's perfectly understandable) then she needs to jack in the livery business.

P

I see a lot of small private livery yards run by people who very clearly don't want liveries, but do want the money I guess, generally not nice places to be for either the YO or liveries. I've got a friend with a small private yard, I don't keep my horses there because whilst she's a good friend she's a truly terrible YO and I have seen how she goes on with her liveries. She knows this herself and so she doesn't rent out the spare boxes anymore, a shame in one way but probably for the best in the long run.

I think if I had to move yards now I would avoid small, private yards that are part of someone's home or even a bigger yard where someone is trying to run it as their sole business, seems to be a lot more unhappiness on this type of yard from what I can see.

 

[PolarSkye]

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

Wow - just wow! And two years? Why didn't you kick her sorry backside to the curb sooner?

P

 

[Spring Feather]

Wow - just wow! And two years? Why didn't you kick her sorry backside to the curb sooner?

P

I'm a tolerant person and I generally try to ignore idiots but take a step too far and I'm no longer tolerant!

 

[miss_c]

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

Blinkin' 'ell! The cheek of some people!!!!!

 

[gembear]

I'm a tolerant person and I generally try to ignore idiots but take a step too far and I'm no longer tolerant!

And I bet she was totally shocked and couldn't understand why when you gave her the notice...

I mean, you'd have to be ignorant to think that behaviour is okay.

 

[Highlands]

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

Sorry I'm laughing at what a cheek ... Fair enough to use the hose pipe .....I suppose people think of your house as an extension...priceless

 

[dogatemysalad]

Spring Feather- Please tell me you have Shower Girl on Utube somewhere. That's jawing droppingly funny stuff. You could win the prize for the most outrageous livery.

 

[AmieeT]

I don't think I could manage restrictions. I'm often down at 5.30/6.00 in the winter and sometimes leave at 10pm in the summer.

Luckily I'm on a tiny private yard, DIY. We each have our own set of kets. Only rule is make sure lights and taps are off and the gate is locked if you're last out.

Ax

 

[Spring Feather]

Blinkin' 'ell! The cheek of some people!!!!!

I know eh?!

And I bet she was totally shocked and couldn't understand why when you gave her the notice...

I mean, you'd have to be ignorant to think that behaviour is okay.

Oh I think she saw my face lol! I'm sure she didn't think we'd be gone such a short time and so thought she could nip into the shower and out again before we came home.

Sorry I'm laughing at what a cheek ... Fair enough to use the hose pipe .....I suppose people think of your house as an extension...priceless

I laugh about it now but at the time, I was like WTF! Lol!

Spring Feather- Please tell me you have Shower Girl on Utube somewhere. That's jawing droppingly funny stuff. You could win the prize for the most outrageous livery.

I wish I had! Her face was a picture when we came into the kitchen with all our groceries and she's just standing there dripping!

 

[Tobiano]

Hehe SF that is almost as bad as random people from the internet you have never met turning up and inviting themselves to stay xx

 

[spotty_pony]

Yes I was once - but was only there for two months. We weren't allowed there after until after 7.30am and had to be gone by 8.30pm in the week and at the weekends we weren't allowed there until 8am and had to be gone by 6pm! This made riding impossible for me at weekends during the winter because I worked 8-4 and I was lucky my mum was able to muck him out at weekends for me as I wasn't allowed to go and muck him out and turn him out early before work! Ridiculous! One of the reasons I didn't stay there long!

 

[mynutmeg]

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

thats ridiculous - one yard we were on the yo had a fairly open house policy, you knocked and went in to try and find her. I always felt so uncomfortable just walking into her house, never mind havign a shower etc!

 

[HashRouge]

Oh but they do! All hours of the blooming day and any day they choose, some people are so inconsiderate and that's probably why so many livery yard owners do have to put time rules in place. It's a shame that the minority can be so insensitive to others privacy. I don't have anyone like that now but I have had!

One day my husband and I popped into town to go grocery shopping, only gone about 15 mins and when we came back one of my liveries was coming out of my house with soaking wet hair saying "oh I just had a quick shower as I'm going to meet my Grandmother" ...!! She's one of the few people I have given notice to. Girl was an inconsiderate so and so and the biggest pain in my butt and after putting up with all her ridiculous antics for 2 years I just had enough and sent her on her way. I've had people wander through my house when we've been out the back with friends on Sunday afternoons; I've had people come into my garden and sit down with the friends while we're having private parties/BBQs. I don't have people like that anymore, and if I get a whiff that they might be like that when they're viewing my farm I simply tell them I'm full and they need to look elsewhere for livery.

How on earth did she get into your house?