Anyone embarrassed to take people to their livery yard?

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zoeshiloh

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Something our YO said made me chuckle at the weekend - she was selling a pony, originally bought for her young son. This YO has never sold a horse in her life, and the only reason this pony was for sale was because the son was no longer interested. Anyway, she turned around to me and said "I bet the people coming here to view (pony) will think I'm a dealer or dodgey or something". This was said in relation to the state of the yard.

The yard itself is lovely, with well built stables, ok fields, and a lovely 60x20 arena. However, her husband is a scrap dealer and the whole yard is filled with cr@p. Literally there are broken down cars, lorries, old farm machinery, harrows, pallets etc all over the place - it looks like a travellers site. When we first moved there it was clean and tidy but now it looks awful. If even the YO is embarrassed of the place, that is a bit of a warning! I hate having people come and visit, I am sure they think the place belongs to travellers, even though there is a house there!

By comparisson the yard I rent is beautiful - post and railed fields, new stables, flat concrete yard - but sadly no sand school (hence keeping the two working lads at livery yard).

Just wondered if anyone else finds themselves having to make excuses for the disrepair/state of the yard their horses are at.
 
I only wish I had the chance to be embarrassed about my yard. I don't even have one! I just have a field overfull with horses, some of which are very poorly looked after, no electric, no light, [****] everywhere since hardly anyone poo picks right next to the motorway.

Hmmm.......bitter much?! My horses are happy and healthy and I daren't move since Monty hates change and at 29years old I think it would do him in. Once he is no longer around I will DEFINATELY move
 
Nope I'm probably at the smartest yard in the area
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Nope, although my yard is on a working farm it is tidy and our particular bit even more so since I am a compulsive sweeper and tidier - in fact the YO ambled in yesterday and commented on how posh our barn is looking - I haven't been redecorating I promise, just sweeping and tidying
 
The yard I'm at now has well built, smart stables that have all been regularly creosoted a nice dark brown. It's got two blocks that face each other which had about 8ft of concrete outside to tie up on etc, but then in winter the middle was just a boggy, slimey, mess. It was awful and made the whole yard look disgusting. Anywho, thats since been concreted and now that section looks all smart.

However the back part of the yard is all grass and our "storage," areas are like old lorry trailers, medical huts and a caravan for everyone to have all their tea etc. It looks a bit
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I expect to some people but I think we've made it look quite good
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Helps to be liveried at a plant nursery! However it's also a working farm so we do have the odd bit of machinery by the sand schools but its usually all in a line etc and generally out of the way.
 
Nope. Your YO doesn't need to justify herself to anyone, it is a pony she is selling, not the property.

I always tell people that there are no frills at my place and not to expect any. What you see is what you get, it is tidy, but lived in.

I never judge a book by its' cover. If anyone judges a horse or pony for sale by the appearance of the property then they are fools. Someone once said to me (and he is a well known, and succesful producer and rider of show horses in the UK) "It isn't the wagon the horse comes out of, but the horse that comes out of the wagon" The same applies for stables/yards. My horses are happy and healthy, and that is ALL that matters.

If people are more impressed by aesthetics and want perfection then they can go someplace else (and pay accordingly for the pretty stalls/flowers and stable staff) because I don't actually want them here anyway! Their loss not mine, I have a waiting list for Boarding spaces and the ponies and youngstock I produce.
 
Enfys, I agree that flowers and shiny paintwork make no difference to the care of the horses, but would be put off by a scruffy dirty yard, particularly if it featured a sprawling muckheap, dodgy fencing and smelly stables.

There is a middle ground and tidiness and observance of the basics of health and safety cost nothing
 
I have to admit i like a nice tidy yard, and when i moved to new yard, the stables had obviously not seem creosote in ages, so YO brought the stuff and i painted, cleared mess from last people and a general tidy round.
Just hate mess
 
The difference between a good yard and a bad yard is attention to detail ,24/7. perhaps they cant afford new concrete, or nice brick built boxes, or even a super school. I have no problem with that as long as my horse is checked properly and regularly, fed well consistently, and has adequate bedding.Also that I am kept informed of anything relevant.
 
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