Advice from all Liveries and Yard Owners

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MillionDollar

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A few questions for you all.

How many acres of grazing does your yard have? And how many horses does the yard have?

How is it split and what size fields does it have/number of horses in each? Are the mares and geldings kept seperate?

Also what is your yard's worming programme?

I have 50 acres of grazing, although we could make this to 80 acres next year if needed, but I'm not sure how to split it. I currently only have 1 field split into smaller paddocks...
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So suggestions and help please!
 
There are various small businesses on our yard but of the DIYs there must be about 40 horses. Mares and geldings are kept apart, geldings seem to get year round field rotation, but mares only have a winter and summer field. Mahoosive fields. A few small paddocks for rehab.

Worming seems to be Equest Pramox Spring/Autumn and Equest Winter/Summer, everyone has to use the same product on the same date.
 
We have 1 acre paddocks each, rotate every three months, daily poo pick, worm count sall the same time, worm for tapeworm etc same product same night, 18 horses on yard. all individual turnout, we have a few show ponies so they defo want ind turnout and i prefer it
 
I can't really help with the livery stuff (I'm sure you know what goes on here!) but I just wanted to say how gorgeous those horses are!!
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Our DIY liveries are in with a few of ours, mixed bunches.
In an ideal world I would have lots of small paddocks that I rotated with just a few of the same sex in each, but husband refuses to divide up the fields as they are then difficult to maintain.
You can mix them but the criteria is there must be sufficient room for anything being bullied to get away, so injuries are kept to a minimum.
I think in your situation I would go for 5 horses per paddock keeping the sexes apart if you can. Don't be afraid to try old/young together as they often work well, the biggest problem is shod horses as they tend to do damage if they kick.
We get very few injuries in the main herd which is always 20 plus, they split into smaller groups and avoid any they don't get on with.
 
Surely that would be a great place for Chestnut Cob???!!!
Shes looking for a place near banbury!

Very very tempting.

Can I come and have a nose??
 
Not very helpful on normal turnout coz ive been at places where both kind work - heards and single turnout
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Can I just make one suggestion, as an owner of a horse who has had 2 very long periods of box rest followed by increased turnout I think it would be a good idea to have some re-coup fields. Maybe a couple really small ones and a couple medium sized. Also may help if they are close to the stables - less far for a re-couping horse to walk.
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right ok I have
six 4 acre paddocks with between 3-5 horses
two 2 acre paddocks,
two 1 acre paddocks
two little turn out areas
didnt plan these but they have just happened with the fencing but are great when you need to have ones on restricted turn out for injury etc - better than having to electric fence them off !!
 
Wish I could have been there when my YO planned our yard - Ive really struggled to get the turnout I need for my boy. Glad to have helped in a small way
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We have two large fields (7 acres & 10+ acres) and we have a mixed age size and sex group of 12 out together this works very well, theres a smaller two acre paddock where any week, very old or sick horses go, there's currently two in this field we give each field 3/4 months rest a year and they are regularly topped and harrowed.
I wouldn't move to a yard were mares and geldings were seperate as I have a mare and a gelding and I find single sex groups are usually nasty if they are mares only or very boistureous (sp) if geldings only. We haven't had any injuries that were more than a scrape for nine years. I also wouldn't move to a yard that didn't have turnout (minimum of 12 hours a day) in large fields.
The local vet does us up a worming programme at the beginning of year.
 
I think what you need to decide is what types of livery you will have and how things will be managed.

For instance I think for DIY you have one of 2 options - smaller individual turnout whereby the DIY is responsible for their own poo-picking or larger fields whereby you rotate and harrow. Chuck a load DIY'ers into a large field and expect them to poo-pick and all get on will take a fair bit of management time from you!

I think you would do really well to offer both small individual paddocks or larger group. People seem to gravitate quite strongly towards one or the other and so you will keep your market open by doing this.
 
Not sure what total yard acreage is but each horse has its own paddock which is about an acre I would think. I personally wouldnt go anywhere without individual turnout. Worming prog is equest / equest pramox though I did a worm count with mine instead last autumn and as clear YO said ok not to worm. Not sure its that essential to have yard worming programme if horses have individual paddocks as opposed to group turn out.
 
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How many acres of grazing does your yard have? <font color="purple"> approx 300 </font>
And how many horses does the yard have?
<font color="purple"> 13 stabled 4 grass livery</font>

How is it split and what size fields does it have/number of horses in each? <font color="purple"> we try not to split the grazing as we have cornish feilds. so we have 8 horses on 14 acres, 4 horses on three fields each 3-4 acres, 2 grass liverys on 5-6 acres, 1 on paddock rest 1/2 acres oh and 2 on 10 acres(2 fields, the liveries rest one and use the other)</font>
Are the mares and geldings kept seperate?
<font color="purple"> depending on the charecters of the horses. we have 3 of g [eldings only and one mixed/color]
Also what is your yard's worming programme?
<font color="purple"> we tend to leave it up to the owners however yard policy is that 4 times a year they must be wormed (spet double strongid p)</font>

<font color="purple"> i would split the field into whatever makes it easier to get water to. </font>

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We have 30 acres I think and we have one 20 acre field then 5 other fields of varying sizes. Currently there are about 50 horses and ponies - but much more good doer ponies than horses.

It is a riding school and so there are three main groups, school horses, retired school horses, competition liveries. Liveries can chose to turn out with school horses, retired or competition liveries.

My pony lives with the retired school horses as he likes being out 24/7 all year round and its a small group that always live out. I don't think they would let him in the with school horses as he is a very dominant 5 year old and has been known to kick just to show his authority. He is now the boss of his own little herd of retireds and that works very well. They are fed hay in the winter and it is just added on to my bill.

All are mixed sex but the competition livery field is a day time only field and they tend to go out in pairs or small groups and not normally all day.

The fields are rotated and the other liveries vary where they turn out out depending on the weather and also which field - the 20 acre field is 3/4 a mile walk from the yard! Some fields are not open every days eg the school horses field is currently only open Sun-Tues as they want to rest some of the grazing and harrow it.

Worming is well organized and we have to worm on the same day using the same product - we are using equest at the moment.
 
I have been in small turnout groups but I currently have individual turnout and I much prefer it. Daisy can be a bit "funny" with people she doesn't like and livery yards can be bitchy at the best of times, when your horse is flapping her hooves at people things can be very unpleasant. I don't have to put up with people not poopicking and no-one complains when I want to feed my horse hay in the field.

I would also need to be able to seriously restrict my horses grazing, either by using electric fencing or by transferring her to a starvation paddock during spring and autumn.
 
No idea on acreage, 4 horses (max 6), DIY yard.
We all have our own designated grazing areas. We can open up the fields to "pair up" horses if we want to, at our own risk and by agreement between the relevant liveries. Expected to poo pick ideally daily, but certainly several times a week. Also we are expected to remove undesirable weeds from our own paddocks etc. We all worm at the same time, with the same product by mutual agreement between ourselves.
 
No idea for acreage.
There are 25 horses i think and all liveries (about 7 full the rest diy or assisted diy)
Mares and geldings are seperate which works well. The boys all play together and the girls graze happily together.
The fields are all big fields spilt to allow smaller groups.
Mostly about 4 horses per field but there are a couple with a few more(they are in the larger fields).
They are out 24/7 in summer and in at night in winter.
The fields are rotated every few months.
We have 3 small paddocks used for injured horses/isolation if anything new comes in.
All are wormed with equest on the same days. Don't know how often as YO puts wormer outside stables so i just worm my 2 and don't pay much attention to when!!
The fields are poo picked by the yard. They have one of the machine things.
 
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There are various small businesses on our yard but of the DIYs there must be about 40 horses. Mares and geldings are kept apart, geldings seem to get year round field rotation, but mares only have a winter and summer field. Mahoosive fields. A few small paddocks for rehab.

Worming seems to be Equest Pramox Spring/Autumn and Equest Winter/Summer, everyone has to use the same product on the same date.

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Gosh you sound like your on my yard
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