Am I being unreasonable....YO question (and hi - newbie here!)

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emma_newbie

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First off, hi everyone, I am new here but been reading for a while! Just had to post and get some opinions on the situation at our yard.
Basically, the YO's wife is a bot weird, and she fired our previous YM about 2 months ago, and said she was going to run it herself. Now she isn't really horsey, had ponies years ago but not currently and has no qualifications etc.
So we all pay quite a decent amount of money for what are OK-ish facilities. But now YO's wife wants to get involved in everything - field rotations, new rules regarding conduct on yard etc etc, which is fair enough I know as they do own the place - but then when we ask for something to be done, they don't do it! Eg several gates have been broken since the spring, and no sign of them being fixed. There is a faulty lock on our tack/feed room, and they just haven't bothered replacing it. The roof of the tack room leaks as well.....
So my question is, would it be foolish of me to consider moving? I just feel like the amount of infuence they want to have is not maching up with the amount of effort they want to put in......or is it the same everywhere and am I unlikely to find anything better??
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Thanks in advance for opinions, I just don't know if I am being unreasonable??
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Hi from another who's not been posting long !!
I'd certainly look around and see whats available / price / facilities as can't hurt and may find better (or better value) elsewhere. If you compete ask other local riders about where they are - it can be a good way of finding out about other yards (unless you find all the rich riders with their own place - then again they may want company !!)
I moved just over a year ago and although facilites not as good it's nearer home, cheaper & MUCH better hacking so I prefer it.
You never know what's out there unless you look.
 
I would have a good look around your area to see what else is available - but don't jump out of the frying pan into the fire
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Move definitely.

I might put up with a fussy YO if the facilities were impeccable, but I wouldn't put up with a YO who fussed and invented rules while failing to see that their yard is a dump.
 
Maybe have a word with her about the jobs that need doing, if she has little experience she may not know how important these things are. If it doesn't work or you don't fancy wording her up I'd have a good look around to see what else is about. If the broken gate etc are a hazard to your horse I would definaltey say something and politley demand these are fixed, it's not worth risking having your horse injured, would she cough up for vet fees? I think not!

Good luck , what ever you decide to do and welcome!
 
Hmm, yeah, I can see what you mean ziggy. Yard isnt exactly a dump, but just feels like they want the money and the 'power' without the work involved! Also rules change as and when it suits them....
As a matter of interest, for a DIY yard with 25 horses on, how many hours/days a week would you imagine a YO/YM would put in on maintainence etc?
 
On my DIY yard the YO is up for a good few hours each day (she has her own horse up there anyway which helps!) and does repairs as and when necessary. Something important like a broken lock on the tackroom would be fixed within an hour or 2, or we'd be taking our tack home for the night.

ETA - in answer to your question, probably a good 3 or 4 hours a week on maintenance depending on how destructive the horses happen to be.
 
[ QUOTE ]
As a matter of interest, for a DIY yard with 25 horses on, how many hours/days a week would you imagine a YO/YM would put in on maintainence etc?

[/ QUOTE ]
Well it really depends on whether buildings/fencing/gates etc are older or brand new. If they are brand new then I wouldn't imagine a YO would need to spend much time at all doing maintenance on the infrastructure, however I would expect them to have land management jobs. If everything is a bit old or has seen a lot of use then a minimum of a few hours each week should keep things up together.

I have around 40 horses on my yard; all live out and all are on full-care board. I would say that the maintenace jobs on our farm vary. Right now we are fencing so obviously we are working a number of hours a day. Routine repairs probably cost us about 4 or 5 hours per week. Any important jobs such as roofs, doors, fencing breakages etc are fixed immediately the problem comes to light; some of these jobs will take half an hour, others will take 3 or 4 hours; we keep going until the repair is done properly.

Rule changes; these should be made no more than once a year; unless a danger is highlighted and something needs addressing immediately. My yard rules have been the same for 20 years, Lol! and I've never had any problems with people not abiding by them; maybe because there are hardly any rules on my yards and I have been lucky in that my liveries have mostly all been very respectful.
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Thanks again for replies - Tia, buildings are fairly new but there are problems (such as broken latches on gates, not enough space in haybarn, leaky roof etc) that have been brought to their attention 6 months ago or more and not rectified....only work they have done on yard since I arrived in the spring is all with the intention of getting more liveries in.
I think the liveries at this yard are generally a very respectful bunch and also help out whenever possible, but think we are being taken for a bit of a ride....she never does anything like a few hours a wek - I mean, how long would it really take to fix a gate??! Can it really take 6 months?!
Hmm, will def start making enquiries I think.
 
Ah yes, I would agree that your YO is pocketing the money and yes she may accept in her mind that you are simply renting space from her, however she is wrong; she takes the money in exchange for a suitable environment for the horses living there and to try to accommodate the owners.

Leaky roofs and broken latches on gates are "important" in my book and should be mended as/when liveries draw her attention to them. Yes I think I would start to look elsewhere.
 
I don't think you are unreasonable at all. I'd have a look around for somewhere else if I were you, unless you really want to stay for any reason?

My YO is brill - any maintenance that needs doing is pretty much done straight away, fencing is well looked after, tack room secure, lights all work etc. She has even had the school resurfaced as I said I would need to move my horses to a yard with a better surface!
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I would hate to be somewhere that I wasn't entirely happy with. If you do think about moving, be careful though - make sure you don't move somewhere worse!!!
 
Hello new personage,

No your not being unreasonable, your being perfectly normal, of course you want the best for your horse, you needs things to be safe, secure and you need a YO or YM to take responsibility for providing a safe environment for your horse to live in, extra faculties like a ménage, jumps, horse walker etc etc...there the perks that you pay extra for, but fencing, secure gates, good grazing is vital and should be your YO/YM first priority...for there own reputation and indeed piece of mind.

But there is no point moaning about it behind YO/YM's backs (not saying you...but its surprising how many people do) so yes, do the right thing, you all need to bring it up over a coffee with you YO, all of the liveries need to have some input so she realises that its not just you, its everyone's concern, at the same time involve her with what she also wants to do, have a positive and construction meeting so everyone is happy, but stress that if you do not see any changes in the next week then you wil have to look for another livery where the horses are a priority.

Perhaps this lady wants to make a good go of this livery yard, which is great, but she's going to need to guidance of you guys, in return she needs to get her finger out and lay some money out on the essentials before she starts worring rules of conduct etc.

Hope it works out:)
 
first off, hello and welcome

well i would say its reasonable for you to look elsewhere, there are plenty of good places out there, it does not sound terribly nice from what you describe, you have nothing to lose by the sounds of it by leaving there
 
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You say that these issues were raised 6 months ago - presumaby with the YM who is now no longer there? Has anyone mentioned these to the YO since then? Could it be a case that everyone thinks someone has asked and nobody has? It may be that she's not aware that they need doing - it's no excuse really as she should be looking out for these things as part of her maintenance checks etc.

How about suggesting to her that you put up a blackboard of jobs to be done so that she knows what needs to be done but without everyone pestering her if you put in the terms of "making your life easier" it may just be the gentle nudge she needs?
 
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