Approaching livery yards.

[Wishfilly]

So, for the first time as an adult, I'm in the position where I'm potentially looking to buy a horse. I had ponies (mostly on loan) as a teenager, but at that stage I never needed to sort out where I was going to keep them as usually they stayed on the yard where they were on, or my parents sorted that side of things! And as an adult, although I've worked with horses in the past, I've never been able to finance my own.

For various reasons, I'd probably want to put any future horse/pony on part livery, at least at first. However, I have a bit of a potentially silly question about this.

There aren't that many livery yards in easy driving distance of where I currently live, but I've got 2/3 possibles I'd like to check out. However, I want to make sure I have somewhere suitable to keep a horse before buying it.

Is it normal/unusual to approach yards to have a look around before buying? Or if I ring up and say "I don't have a horse yet", will they think I'm an idiot/timewaster?

To make things work, I think I'd really need to have a horse in the right set up, so I really need to have a look at what's available before committing!

 

[milliepops]

very normal to have a look round you need to try and find somewhere you like before you get a horse, it could be a right scramble otherwise.

draw up a list of questions to cover all the things you can think of (e.g. turnout arrangements summer and winter, bedding options, what forage they provide, storage, do you need a place to park a trailer etc, that kind of thing)

 

[laura_nash]

I found my yard before buying, no point finding a horse and having no-where to put it. None of the yards I contacted seemed surprised or bothered that I hadn't got a horse yet.

When I found a yard I liked I put a deposit down but didn't need to pay livery until I bought,
I guess that would depend on the yard and how full they are. I also had the YO come look at some with me (I paid her) as I was new to the area so had no suitable knowledgeable friend.

 

[Wishfilly]

very normal to have a look round you need to try and find somewhere you like before you get a horse, it could be a right scramble otherwise.

draw up a list of questions to cover all the things you can think of (e.g. turnout arrangements summer and winter, bedding options, what forage they provide, storage, do you need a place to park a trailer etc, that kind of thing)

I found my yard before buying, no point finding a horse and having no-where to put it. None of the yards I contacted seemed surprised or bothered that I hadn't got a horse yet.

When I found a yard I liked I put a deposit down but didn't need to pay livery until I bought,
I guess that would depend on the yard and how full they are. I also had the YO come look at some with me (I paid her) as I was new to the area so had no suitable knowledgeable friend.

Thanks guys!

Yeah, it definitely makes sense to find somewhere before buying- but I have a tendency to overthink things and keep talking myself out of approaching yards! But I guess I've got no excuses not to start contacting places tomorrow!

I'd be more than happy to put down a deposit to secure a spot at the right yard, or even potentially pay livery in advance if the place was perfect.

Definitely drawing up a list of questions- I'd need somewhere I could at least pay for services some of the time too, so have questions to ask about all of that!

 

[neddy man]

Find local yards on www.*******.co.uk & www.*******.co.uk pick the ones you think might be suitable ring and have a chat or call and have a chat with the yard manager/ owner . Also think about travel times to the yards

 

[Wishfilly]

Find local yards on www.*******.co.uk & www.*******.co.uk pick the ones you think might be suitable ring and have a chat or call and have a chat with the yard manager/ owner .

I've got some possible options already, but I'll definitely use those if my current ideas don't work out!

 

[Baywonder]

Before buying my first horse, and after a short break from horse ownership, I found a yard, paid a deposit, and they held my stable for me.

I would have a good look around and find a suitable livery yard first - the last thing you want is to buy a horse and have nowhere to keep it!

 

[yhanni]

I found a livery yard before I relocated and bought a house! My OH thought I was completely bonkers but it was more important for me to have somewhere suitable for my precious horse. I then had to find a property within a 25 minute drive of the livery yard!! It all worked out in the end ….

 

[P.forpony]

Definitely start looking!
The right yard will make or break your horse owning experience, I’ve been on amazing yards, and one that made me feel sick on the drive there every day it was so flipping awful.

Ask questions, take a notebook, write questions down. Chat to other liveries if you can and go back for a second visit and ask all the questions you forgot the first time around.

If any YO thinks this is time wasting or seems less than enthusiastic about it then that’s not the kind of place you want to spend a large amount of your time and money!

Good luck on your new adventure ?

 

[Midlifecrisis]

You absolutely must check out the yards locally before you buy...and the good businesses will understand why you have to go through the process and how they handle your enquiry will give an indication as to how the business is run...in general terms.

 

[Wishfilly]

Thank you for all the advice so far! I've spoken to a few yards this week, and there's a yard very near where I live that I thought was only DIY, but apparently offers assisted DIY as well- so I've arranged to go and see them tomorrow.

Plus sides so far are that they have good facilities (floodlit school, jumping/exercise field, access to hacking etc), the location would be really convenient (15 minutes from home, and even less from work), they seem to be able to offer what I would need in terms of assisted DIY, the price seems reasonable, and they sell forage/bedding at a reasonable cost. And they have spaces available at the moment, which would be good. The yard owner sounded really nice on the phone, too.

The current downside is turnout- they do individual turnout only, which seems really common, and it sounds like all horses are in overnight. This wouldn't be my ideal way of keeping a horse- I'd prefer more turnout and company, but I am not sure there is anywhere around here that offers 24/7 turnout and I do know there are downsides to horses being in a herd on livery too. Long term I would probably look at getting a companion, but I don't want to get ahead of myself!

Anyway, if I decide I don't like it, I have spoken to a couple of other possibles, but they are both more expensive and further away.

 

[9tails]

Find the yard first! I paid a deposit before viewing any horses, although I bought the first one I viewed and she was installed two weeks later. That's not normal though, I was prepared to hold the stable at full price until I found the right one.

 

[dogatemysalad]

You're very wise to check out yards before buying. I generally check out yards before buying a new house. Good yards are harder to come by.
However, don't underestimate how demoralizing lack of winter turnout can be, for you and your horse. I once moved to an area where most yards seemed to only offer individual turnout and very limited turnout in winter. Did a bit of yard hopping because YOs promised daily turnout but once I'd moved the horses in, I discovered that periods of 3 weeks of stabling 24/7 was a regular occurrence.

 

[Buster2020]

You’re very wise to start looking at livery yard the only downside to doing that the yard could get full and you could might not get a stable. It depends on the yard most places don’t allow you to deposits .

 

[Wishfilly]

Find the yard first! I paid a deposit before viewing any horses, although I bought the first one I viewed and she was installed two weeks later. That's not normal though, I was prepared to hold the stable at full price until I found the right one.

I'm definitely prepared to pay to hold a stable at the right yard! Either a deposit or the DIY rate. There aren't loads of yards around here offering what I would like, so I'm more than happy to pay!

You're very wise to check out yards before buying. I generally check out yards before buying a new house. Good yards are harder to come by.
However, don't underestimate how demoralizing lack of winter turnout can be, for you and your horse. I once moved to an area where most yards seemed to only offer individual turnout and very limited turnout in winter. Did a bit of yard hopping because YOs promised daily turnout but once I'd moved the horses in, I discovered that periods of 3 weeks of stabling 24/7 was a regular occurrence.

I definitely wouldn't be happy with 24/7 stabling. I actually drive past the yard I am going to visit on a fairly regular basis, and last winter there were definitely horses in the fields all year round (with a few exceptions when we had severe storms, I think), so hopefully it's not a case of no turnout in the winter. I will definitely check this though!

 

[Wishfilly]

You’re very wise to start looking at livery yard the only downside to doing that the yard could get full and you could might not get a stable. It depends on the yard most places don’t allow you to deposits .

I do understand the risk of this- I'm hoping with the yard I'm viewing tomorrow they might allow me to hold a stable as they currently have spaces and it sounds like people have not been looking to move yards due to Covid etc. I'd happily pay the DIY rate for the stable to hold it though!

 

[yhanni]

It might be worth asking what their position would be if we went back into lockdown (God forbid) but if they were a yard that shutdown last time and wouldn't let owners visit at all, then I wouldn't be taking the risk.

 

[Wishfilly]

It might be worth asking what their position would be if we went back into lockdown (God forbid) but if they were a yard that shutdown last time and wouldn't let owners visit at all, then I wouldn't be taking the risk.

This is a really good point and it will definitely go on the list of questions!

So far in terms of questions, I've got:

-Summer and winter turnout arrangements. I know it's all individual turnout but in terms of how long they are out for and if turnout is ever unavailable.
-Forage/bedding. This is provided but how is it charged for/what are the arrangements. I'm also not 100% about the bedding they provide, so also want to know if it would be an option to provide my own.
-Storage for tack and other equipment.
-How does using the school/jumping field work in terms of booking times vs jumping in when there is a space.
-What assisted DIY services are available, and what the costs for these would be.
-What the hacking is like (I have some idea there may be some decent hacking close by, but I think it might be limited in terms of distance).
-If it is possible to reserve a stable, and how I would do this!

I am sure I've forgotten lots of important things, but hopefully I'll think of them before tomorrow morning!

 

[Wishfilly]

Just as a little update, I went to view the yard this morning. It seems really nice and there were lots of positives. It seems like a really viable option and there are lots of positives.

My biggest concern was definitely the individual turn out, but the YO did say that some people do "double up" and join two paddocks together and put two horses in them, or use one summer, one winter, etc. So it is nice to know that this is at least an option. The YO said the aim is to have turnout all year round, and the land does seem like it drains well (and it is managed with this in mind).

I chatted to some other liveries whilst I was there, and they seemed friendly and positive about the yard, which was good! One of them mentioned it is rare for spaces to come up on the yard, which seems like a good sign! (The spaces that have come up now are due to someone moving horses off the yard due to losing their job, unfortunately).

I asked about Covid related stuff, and it seems like they ran a rota during lockdown so people could still visit their horses once a day. If I had to self isolate, the yard staff would provide basic care for a cost of £8 a day, which is ideal.

It seems like they are very flexible about assisted livery services, which would suit me a lot, as I'm a teacher, so could theoretically pay less in the holidays when I could do more (if that was what I wanted). But as long as I organised everything in advance, it seems like they could offer what I wanted.

The costs are (in my opinion) really reasonable, and the yard is so convenient. They also do a monthly vet visit (so no callout charge) and run a yard wide worming program so the costs of wormer/faecal egg counts are reduced due to being done in bulk.

I've bought a contract home with me to have a look through, and then if I want to reserve a stable I would pay a deposit, and if it got to the point of being the last stable left, I would pay a monthly fee to hold it, which all seems very reasonable.

I am going to view another yard before making a final decision- the other yard is further away and more expensive, but does seem more set up for formal part livery and has, I think, better hacking- although I'm not sure if their other facilities are as good!

 

[Baywonder]

Thank you for the update @Wishfilly! From what you have said, this yard seems like it ticks nearly all of your boxes. Sit down with a cuppa, and have a read through the contract thoroughly, and note anything down that raises questions you need answering.

I'm glad you are going to view another yard too, as this will allow you to make a good comparison.

Keep us posted on your search!

 

[Wishfilly]

Thank you for the update @Wishfilly! From what you have said, this yard seems like it ticks nearly all of your boxes. Sit down with a cuppa, and have a read through the contract thoroughly, and note anything down that raises questions you need answering.

I'm glad you are going to view another yard too, as this will allow you to make a good comparison.

Keep us posted on your search!

I'll definitely keep everyone updated- it's helping me organise my thoughts, too. I'm going to see the other yard on Monday, so a little bit of a wait!

I've also spoken to a couple of other yards and ruled them out for various reasons, which is helping me work out what are my non-negotiable and what I just see as a "nice to have".

 

[P.forpony]

Well done WF that all sounds quite positive. Fingers crossed for you and don’t forget to enjoy it ?

 

[Wishfilly]

Well done WF that all sounds quite positive. Fingers crossed for you and don’t forget to enjoy it ?

Thank you!

 

[Wishfilly]

Non-livery yard update, but I am going to go and view a pony tomorrow! It's a bit younger/greener than I really want, but it sounds very good in traffic/out hacking, which is key to me, and is pretty local so I thought it would be worth viewing just to get the first one under my belt! So there might be a new thread tomorrow about "thoughts on this pony".

 

[Buster2020]

Non-livery yard update, but I am going to go and view a pony tomorrow! It's a bit younger/greener than I really want, but it sounds very good in traffic/out hacking, which is key to me, and is pretty local so I thought it would be worth viewing just to get the first one under my belt! So there might be a new thread tomorrow about "thoughts on this pony".

Good luck can you please keep us updated

 

[Wishfilly]

Good luck can you please keep us updated

I definitely will! I'm really excited about all of this, so it's nice to be able to tell people who share my excitement!

Pony I'm going to see tomorrow is a 14hh 5yo Registered Connemara mare. I've always loved connies, but always felt they would be out of my price range- but this one is affordable, and although green in the school, it seems like she has done a lot of hacking out and is safe in traffic, which is really my number one requirement!

I'm just hoping the wind dies down a bit tomorrow for when I go and view!

 

[Wishfilly]

Update on the viewing here: https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/would-this-worry-you-and-general-thoughts.794197/

For anyone who is interested!

 

[Wishfilly]

Just in case anyone is still interested, I went to view the other possible livery yard today. It's a very nice yard, with decent facilities, but it's both more expensive and further away- it's actually a longer drive than I thought, and on roads that can get filled with tourists in the summer. Other downsides are that they have good hacking nearby but you have to ride through the village to reach it, and although they do group turnout, they are quite exposed and have to keep the horses in quite a bit over the winter- usually just for single days apparently, but it doesn't sound ideal!

So, I've decided to go with Yard no 1, and put down a deposit on a stable!