Colts/stallions on livery yards?

S

staceybing

New User
Joined
16 January 2013
Messages
7
Visit site
Hello, have recently moved to a livery yard with my yearling colt and all going well x yard owner happy as he is very well handled every day and currently in own paddock with mares either side and hes more interested in grass!! My plan is to keep him entire to ahow etc, my YO has asked me to look in to whether there are any contracts/agreements that we could use "just incase" anything happens etc which i am more than comfortable with doing and colt is fully insured with public liability etc - anyone signed an agreement or had any experience with colts on a livery yard x
 
Had to get my own place as there seem to be two kinds of yards - those who are horrified you have an entire and say you can move on as long as you have them gelded (erm why even suggest that?), and those that say they are OK and then impose some crazy wild regime when you do move on!

l experienced both types - the second type decided on the day l walked my boy off the box that he was to be stabled 24/7 with half an hour turnout twice a day. The agreement had been that my two would be turned out together with electrified stallion fencing, 24/7 in the summer and in at night in the winter. l put the pair of them back on the box and drove off. Luckily a kind friend lent me her field for a year and now l rent my own place - so much easier!
 
My YO is very reasonable and i totally understood that turnout would be restricted but the only rule imposed is that he must be well handled and he is :-) they have even said he can go out at night and in during day x they are just looking for some form of agreement that if something was to happen then people would come after me not them for compensation etc x
 
Fides said:
Had to get my own place as there seem to be two kinds of yards - those who are horrified you have an entire and say you can move on as long as you have them gelded (erm why even suggest that?), Why not? Unless it's very special it should be! and those that say they are OK and then impose some crazy wild regime when you do move on! And again, why not? They YO has a duty to make sure everyone and every animal on their yard is safe, livery yards are virtually public places where novices and the non-horse savvy are likely to be around.

l experienced both types - the second type decided on the day l walked my boy off the box that he was to be stabled 24/7 with half an hour turnout twice a day. The agreement had been that my two would be turned out together with electrified stallion fencing, 24/7 in the summer and in at night in the winter. l put the pair of them back on the box and drove off. Luckily a kind friend lent me her field for a year and now l rent my own place - so much easier!
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I really don't think stallions should be accepted on regular livery yards. Have a stallion if you want, but you should keep it on your own ground or a specialist/pro yard, not on your average DIY that will have it's share of novices, numpties and children.
 
I've had a number of stallions and loads of colts at my farm, all living out 24/7. I don't mind having them so long as they are well handled, have good manners and are polite with other horses. I like stallions though and I'm set up to accommodate them and have good fencing and fields arranged in ways that work to incorporate stallions/colts. I've never had any stallion/colt owners sign anything; it's never been an issue for me as I have full care of all horses who reside on my property so I make the decisions as to how and where they're kept.
 
marmalade76 said:
Sorry, but I really don't think stallions should be accepted on regular livery yards. Have a stallion if you want, but you should keep it on your own ground or a specialist/pro yard, not on your average DIY that will have it's share of novices, numpties and children.
Click to expand...

l take exception to being told l should geld my stallion - l choose how l manage my horses (as does everyone else) and take exception to being told how to manage them. lf l ring a yard (advertising stallion facilities) l do not expect to be told that l can only take him there if l geld him - nonsense...

This was a specialist yard. They had other stallions. Until l got there it all sounded like a perfect setup. l was just warning the OP to be careful and terms can change once you move on - we've all seen it with 24/7 turnout to tempt you to a yard that turns out to be a total lie. lt's bad enough with a 'normal' horse but to find a specialist yard at short notice is impossible - l was very lucky!

l am so happy with my life now - l have my house, land and stables and am moving to a place with a floodlit school too on the 8th April. The joy of being able to manage your own horse without interference (and disproval) is amazing. OP have you considered this? The place l am leaving is a 2 bed cottage, 5 acres and 3 stables for £770 a month - this is much less than l was paying when l lived in a 2up2down terrace and using livery...
 
Yes this is something that we are working on but unfortunately i live in one of the most heavily populated equine areas in the uk so land prices are through the roof 😡😞

The yard i am on doesnt allow children and i am stabled away from main yard so people dont have to walk past colt and my spring field will be away from any walkways, mares etc
 
It depends on the person. Some people seem to have a real fear of what a stallion 'might do' and treat them like another species.
You need to be careful, yes, but I hate seeing stallions stabled all the time 'because they're stallions.' In some countries, geldings are very much in the minority, and they laugh at us for being so neurotic about stallions.

Suggesting that a stallion shouldn't even be allowed on a normal livery yard and needs to go to a specialist is a prime example of this.
 
Is there any good reason to not geld a stallion that won't be used for breeding? There are good arguments to geld, of course - welfare, safety, convenience. However, if a stallion can be kept entire in a way that doesn't compromise his well-being, pose a danger to the owner and others who have to deal with him, or entail major inconvenience, why not? It is certainly possible, albeit in a fairly narrow range of circumstances. Keeping a stallion stabled and socially isolated is undesirable whether or not he is siring offspring. If people are justified in arguing for less than ideal husbandry for breeding stock, then I don't see that this by itself can be used as an argument against keeping a stallion entire for reasons other than breeding, e.g. temperament and any athletic advantage that may confer.
 
Maybe some kind of document so that everything is written down for both you and YO to see and refer to? Both what you need from YO, and what YO needs from you (e.g. fields, handling, whatever). That way, you won't get into the situation of things changing down the line.

I've never owned a stallion, but have been on a yard with one. I'd rather see a well-behaved stallion than a badly-behaved mare/gelding, any day!
 
Fides said:
l take exception to being told l should geld my stallion - l choose how l manage my horses (as does everyone else) and take exception to being told how to manage them. lf l ring a yard (advertising stallion facilities) l do not expect to be told that l can only take him there if l geld him - nonsense...

This was a specialist yard. They had other stallions. Until l got there it all sounded like a perfect setup. l was just warning the OP to be careful and terms can change once you move on - we've all seen it with 24/7 turnout to tempt you to a yard that turns out to be a total lie. lt's bad enough with a 'normal' horse but to find a specialist yard at short notice is impossible - l was very lucky!
Click to expand...

Ah, well that's a bit different.
 
I've been on a few yards where stallions and colts were liveried. If the YO is experienced and is able to accommodate them, its no big deal. We currently have a couple of stallions and their manners would put many mares and gelding to shame.
 
OP, I would be VERY VERY careful about signing any form that admits you accept liabilities for your horse (whatever sex it is!) if the form is different to any other of the yard horse owners.

If an accident occurs in any way or shape, are YOU willing to accept that your horse could/would be labelled the scapegoat?
 
Patterdale said:
It depends on the person. Some people seem to have a real fear of what a stallion 'might do' and treat them like another species.
You need to be careful, yes, but I hate seeing stallions stabled all the time 'because they're stallions.' In some countries, geldings are very much in the minority, and they laugh at us for being so neurotic about stallions.

Suggesting that a stallion shouldn't even be allowed on a normal livery yard and needs to go to a specialist is a prime example of this.
Click to expand...

That may well be your opinion, but I can assure you that, as someone who first skivvied on a yard with three WB stallions from the age of 13 and later been on a yard with six stallions that it's not the stallions that are the problem, I've witnessed stupid acts that could have ended very badly and this was on a yard full of pros! Apart from anything else, it's far too easy for any old numpty to own a stallion these days without making them the norm on regular DIY yards.
 
We have our 4 yo stallion on a mixed livery yard. The plan is to keep him entire until he has proved himself in the competition field and then he MAY be used for breeding. We prefer to keep our options open. Once off they can't be replaced!
He has his own field next to geldings but is stabled amongst mares and geldings. He is better behaved than a lot of the mares and geldings on the yard but we made a point of making sure he respected people from the day he was born. He is groomed and saddled up in the same place all the others are and sometimes there can be mares (in season) in the adjacent stables. He is initially allowed to look and neigh and then we demand his attention. He absolutely hates being shouted at. He gets very vocal and hyper when a new horse arrives as he regards all the other horses as his herd but settles down again after a few days. The yard owner and some of the other liveries know how to handle him properly. I agree with marmalade76 about it not being the stallions that are the problem.
I think stallions easily fall into the debate about nature or nurture!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top