Best and Worst Yard Award

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MosMum

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Swansea, Wales
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You may have up to 10 reasons why you have the best yard (either own or your horse is on) and we can vote on who 'wins' Best Yard Award. :)

Equally, up to 10 reasons why your yard isn't brilliant, its pitfalls and what you wish could change, and we will vote on 'Worst Yard Awards'...

Best:

1) Its a private, small yard and only has 3 horses- 2 of 'mine' and 1 which YO asked me if it was ok before allowing to come.

2) There's no other horsey people to tell me how wrong I'm doing things (maybe that should be a negative!) and no bitching apart from when the filly is being marish.

3) The YO is a quiet older woman who brings me cups of hot chocolate or hot squash, even though I don't ask for it.

4) YO (with permission) often gives Mo loves and cuddles, as well as apples and carrots during the day when I'm not there

5) I pay a measly £10 a week for full use of 4 fields over 10 acres and a stable block including a paddock- all used as and when I wish with no increase in pay for keeping the horse(s) in or out.

6) YO recieves my hay/haylage deliveries and puts hay/water out for the horses if I can't get up for a day.

7) The yard is set in some of the best hacking country in Wales with access to several flat/mountain bridle paths.

8) I can take my dog and/or children with me and they have run of the place as YO doesn't care

9) I have electric, several taps, a tack room, a feed room, a utility room and an area for making tea/coffee, and yard lighting (motion detection) and a stream which runs through 2 of the fields so I don't have to worry about water too much.


Worst:

1) The Driveway is a steep mountain 'road' which is not good in the winter!

2) There is no school, at all.

3) There is only one gate which leads to all 4 fields, so essentially the gate-yard is always in use and never gets rested.

4) The mountain is made of red clay and there is no escaping it every time it rains :|
 
Best:

1. Fantastic facilities (Indoor school, Outdoor school, lunge ring, horse walker, wash box, solarium, etc)

2. Rubber matting in stables and automatic drinkers

3. Choice of hay/haylage

4. Full/Part Livery only so all horses are looked after the same

5. Lessons/competitions onsite

6. Fabulous hacking/hunting close to yard

7. Well maintained, safe grazing with post and rail and electric fencing

8. Adult only yard

Worst
1. Limited Turnout in the winter

2. No DIY livery option
 
Best
1) extremely caring knowledgeable YO, who will help and give advice also go far beyond her role if needed to help the horses and their owners(Running home from work early when Cappy had a small bout of colic, even though we were there). She also puts up with Cappy's little "quirks" that would get us kicked off any other yard, such as taking off gates etc.
2) Each horse looked after to its own needs, one size does NOT fit all at our yard. EG Cappy hates being out in this weather/ Fany loves it or rugging/feeding/ stable etc.
3) Excellent home grown organic haylage
4) small with only our 2 and one other livery with 2 horses.
5) quiet yard that is well run, clean and tidy.
6) Own tack room.
7) Excellent indoor school.
8) Huge stable especially created for Cappy because he loves to roll.
9) Good quality rubber matting and automatic drinkers which are fed by their own spring so nothing added.
10) Excellent hacking almost straight onto the fells or 10 min to the beach
All this for £60 per horse full livery AND Free free range eggs, cups of tea and a warm by their Aga.

Worse
1) 15 min drive from home.
2) It gets extremely icy on the yard.
3) no competitions.
4) some limited turnout in the winter.

Never going to move my 2 and hope to add another if Fany has a foal.
FDC
 
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Good Qualities:

1) Massive school
2) Indoor lunge barn
3) field for jumping
4) large hay field you can have a good gallop in
5) nice people
6) close to home
7) jumping & dressage clinics
8) lots of people to go and do different things with
9) private tack room
10) All year turnout with grass!

Bad Qualities

1) Cant live out in summer
2) Would like large indoor arena
3) Lots of things half finished / poorly maintained
4) Very unusual ym
5) busy road to cross to get to field
6) any longer hacking is via busy fast roads
7) very expensive services
 
Best :D
1 - happy horses and extremely helpful YO, horse always comes first, we have full and DIY but all horses treated the same. She goes above and beyond to look after horses.
2 - extremely helpful YO's OH, our yard is a working farm, separate to livery side but great for getting horses used to tractors etc. And YO OH is always doing stuff, kitting out feed room with shelves, adding a roof over part of hard standing paddocks so horses can have shelter out there when its raining and fields too wet. He was out defrosting the automatic waterers this week too. will park your trailer and the paddocks are beautifully maintained! Also they have been clearing the road to ensure all livieries can safely access yard from main road, which is around 2 mile from yard, in this deep snow and ice.
3 - the muck heap is great its at the end of the barn and is a tractor bucket emptied daily so no getting wet or falling on the ice with wheel barrow!
4- the arena, its a fabulous surface to ride on and is not frozen though its buried under snow!
5 - the hacking, lots of off road hacking with lovely scenary
6- our stables - big boxes with rubber matting and auto waterers and they are split into blocks of 4 and you get a tack room to share between 4.
7 - the other liveries such lovely helpful folk!
8 - the caravan i.e the tea room, plenty hot drinks and kettle on with biccies and cakes!
9 - small herds, only 3 horses out with my boy and they can be moved if they dont get on.
10 - dressage and jumping clinics on site.

drat i could go on and on, absoultley love the place :D

Worst bits:

only 1 its 19 miles from my house, ah well i cant have it all!
 
I love my yard, it is just awesome! :D

1) Part and Full livery - everyone's horse is always done with a set routine which means all the horses are incredibly calm and stress free - it is the happiest Bailey has ever been; all bedding, feed, hay included in price

2) YO is awesome. Approachable, knowledgeable, doesn't belittle you for asking questions or make you feel stupid (has happened in past with others) and has backed and ridden away loads of youngsters with really good results and reputation. Staff are also very good, and should you have a problem for some reason, no offence is taken and the matter is dealt with immediately

3) Yard facilities are fab; indoor and outdoor school, cross country course, lush hacking, large stables, plenty of storage, secure tack room with alarms, automatic drinkers, jumping field and plenty of jumps for indoor school and outdoor school

4) The setting is perfect for having a youngster - lane outside yard which lead horses down to fields is ideal for introducing them to traffic, plenty of turn out all year round

5) Really good mix of liveries, no one over bearing or bitchy - not cliquey in the slightest

6)YO not out to try and run you dry on stuff - he is fair and understands that keeping a horse is some people's only luxury and they do not always have the most disposable of incomes!

7) They are very aware of each horse's individual needs; hay is weighed and put in the net appropriate to horse's need (large or small holed etc) and feed is on the same basis

8) You get a text to say when you are running low on supplements so know to go and get some more! :D

9) Clinics and small shows held there

10) PROPER TOILETS!! :D and a proper tea room (in the tack room) with supplies of biscuits, loads of milk and tea and coffee :) Tack room also has heater put in it when is going to get cold to stop any of the tack getting affected by cold weather


Bad Points:
1) It is about 20 miles from my house - but this is my fault as I picked it!! Will be moving closer soon :)

As I say, I am so proud of my yard - I am always promoting it on here as I am so happy there :)
 
Best:

- We have a decent school.
- Walker.
- I get paid for wroking there.
- Get to travel to a lot of places in the Eventing season.
- If we're only taking one horse to a show, I can tag along and play in the warm up :D
- Completely private.
- All year turnout.
- IT'S FREE! :D:D

Worst:

- The school isn't enclosed on one side.
- There's sometimes some bitchyness (doesn't effect me but makes the atmosphere unpleasent)
- Nothing actually works.
- There's no one my age and pretty much no one to talk to.
- My horse never has a stable :(
 
Best bits-

1) 24/7/365 turnout if we want it- although mine are in today.
2) Competitions in summer
3) fantastic YM.
4) feed shop onsite
5) amazing hacking

Bad bits

1) the fab YM is leaving this week- to be replaced by a girl who although lovely, has no idea.
2) too busy- theres about 70 horses now, it was ace when it was 50, 70 is just too much
3) interfering 'friends' who are wedged so far up the YO a*** they get what they want
4) YO who thinks she knows more than she does
5) surly weekend staff who dont listen...

the yard is great, just a shame about the staff situation...
 
fine_and_dandy I think you're on the winning score for me so far!!! I want your yard, it sounds fantastic... but can I keep my YO anyway? :)

solstar, sorry but so far your yard wins worst :( Or koko's, although she didn't list her reasons I gather the yard is quite crap lol.


Anyone else?
 
Best bits-

1) Great Facilities - Indoor Arena, Large Stables, full set of show jumps, soon to be outdoor arena
2) Hacking is fantastic and loads of it!
3) Couldnt ask for a better YO - she looks and rides my horses perfectly. Everybody else that works on the property are knowledgable and friendly.
4) All the other liveries are great (esp when I fall over like an old grandma and burst in to tears) and there seems to be no bitchness. Everybody helps each other
5) Beautiful looking historic property
6) Close to public transport
7) Not that many liveries there, will soon double to 24.
8) Has great hotels and pubs next door (very important to have a glass of pimms or mulled wine after riding ;))

Bad bits

1) It takes me 45min-an hr to get there by train but I really couldnt find a closer property so its all not that bad :)
 
Okay bad bits:

1. Muck heap hasn't been emptied in 6 months (30 horses on a yard) its vile
2. YO is not interested in anything at the yard
3. Has the biggest rep around here for being bitchiest yard
4. It floods
5. 2 paddocks are un-usable as they may have the toxins which caused Koko's death
6. If something breaks your lucky if it gets fixed within the next 6 months and if you fix something you get in trouble
7. Very close to housing estate so get chavs around the horses
8. Kids run around like its a playgorund
9. Pheasants are bred nearby so we have about 15 roaming the yard at a time
10. No hacking unless you go for about 30 mins on the road

You said only 10 but can do more unfortunatly. I am looking for a new one atm as I'm fed up of it up there
 
Best:
1) 20mtrs from my back door :p

2) have 2 stables but 1 horse living in

3) access all times

4) neighbour has a lovely menage

5) all weather turnout

6) tackroom, barn, storage all on site

7) great hacking all year round in longleat woods.. no need to go onto a road :)

8) the best mum in the world who does my horse when i am at boarding school even though last year she was known as the only one in the area who didn't know a thing about horses! (thats changed now!)

worst
1) at the bottom of slope, gets icy

2)only 2 acres for 2 horses.. gets a bit muddy

3) no hot water.. we cant have it all!! :)

4) dad insists muck heap must be on other side of muddy field.. (its on a slope) and 200mtres away! (thats a lot in mud!)
 
Yeah Koko you stole Worst Yard Award out of Solstar's hands as far as I'm concerned!!! Hope you find a decent yard very quickly, sounds incredibly stressful for you and the horses!
 
MosMum said:
Yeah Koko you stole Worst Yard Award out of Solstar's hands as far as I'm concerned!!! Hope you find a decent yard very quickly, sounds incredibly stressful for you and the horses!
Click to expand...

Its a blinking nightmare, luckily if you go up at stupid times in the day no one around to bitch about you, I've taken to riding in the mornings before college and in the evenings I put my headphones in a keep my head down. Hopefully we find one soon as well :)
 
Best

1) Big fields, plenty of turnout on good grass.
2) The YO keeps to herself, so no stupid rules or being bossed around!
3) Nice arena (though it's frozen now)
4) Spacious, well lit, ventilated stables

Worst

1) Rude liveries who seem to believe they own the place
2) The fields are all far away!
3) Lots of randomers wandering around
4) Some people keep leaving gates open
 
MosMum said:
fine_and_dandy I think you're on the winning score for me so far!!! I want your yard, it sounds fantastic... but can I keep my YO anyway? :)

solstar, sorry but so far your yard wins worst :( Or koko's, although she didn't list her reasons I gather the yard is quite crap lol.


Anyone else?
Click to expand...

Hee hee, well you can keep your yard owner but you can have Fred as well because he is awesome :D
 
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