Cost of DIY livery

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Mossi

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Hi all, I know this subject has been broached before, but I would like opinions on DIY livery costs.

My horse is on a working farm. We have a stable (indoor old fashioned barn style) but all year turnout (24/7 in summer and daily in the winter). We have to buy bedding and hay/haylage from the farm.

We have no menage, no toilets or hot water for washing things and a very small, shared, cramped tack room.

Unfortunately all the fields are barbed wire fenced.

For this we pay £25 a week.

Is this too much?
 
There often seems to be little difference in price between yards with good facilities and yards without.
I have paid £25 p/w for similar set ups and the same for those with all singing and all dancing extras.

The money you're paying is pretty standard but personally, I'd vote with my feet on a yard like yours and find better.

The money is not the issue really, I wouldn't want to stay on a yard with no menage, toilet or hot water and barbed wire for any price. (Unless I had a quiet retired horse who needed turnout but no riding.)
 
Yes, I'm there because of the turnout, but it is the most expensive yard in the area, although some don't have the winter turnout.
 
Thanks for your replies. Horse rider - I do find it difficult without toilets and a brew room too, as I have to travel a few miles to get there in the first place, but as its the nearest place with all year turnout I have moved there for my horse's sake as I don't want him stabled for six months of the year. I haven't yet found a yard in my area though that, unfortunately, doesn't have barbed wire. Its so frustrating as livery yards could be so good, but are nearly always designed and run, should we say, not so good.
 
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We are on a farm and pay £20 per week if we have stable and grazing or £15 per week for just grazing.

Horses can stay out 24/7 if you wish or you can bring them in. There is minimal barb wire (only in the fields that neighbour the cow fields), automatic drinkers in nearly every field, lovely big stables, your own storage, someone living on site and you get two free bales of straw per week per horse if you wish. If you prefer you can buy your own shavings in.

The farmer checks all the horses every day for all liveries and is always very helpful if you need something doing.

Forgot to add - we also have a toilet (inside) and hot/cold water. Plus there are 6 taps/hose pipes around the yard for when we need to fill buckets or bath the horses

There is no menage but you can ride in the majority of the farmers fields or hire the local menage which is a 10 minute hack away and only £5 per horse per hour :)
 
Mossi said:
Thanks for your replies. Horse rider - I do find it difficult without toilets and a brew room too, as I have to travel a few miles to get there in the first place, but as its the nearest place with all year turnout I have moved there for my horse's sake as I don't want him stabled for six months of the year. I haven't yet found a yard in my area though that, unfortunately, doesn't have barbed wire. Its so frustrating as livery yards could be so good, but are nearly always designed and run, should we say, not so good.
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Yes, it's frustrating that yards which could be excellent, aren't. It's always a compromise, but I've done the same as you in the past. Choosen turnout over facilities for a rehab horse.
I carried a flask of coffee and had a bucket for those leg crossing moments, :p and roughed it, so the beautiful prima donna could enjoy her holidays chilling with her mates in the fields.
And like you, had to pay for the priviledge. :rolleyes:
 
Hi,

I pay £88 pcm for the stable and facilities (including turnout, indoor and outdoor ménage's) then I have to buy hay and straw on top of that from the farm (£5 per bale of hay, £2.50 bale straw)

This is near enough the same at any yard in my area (DIY) +/- couple of pounds.
 
I pay 25 per week for grazing and a stable. No school, no kettle, no hot water etc plus we buy our own hay & bedding in as yo is too expensive
 
Wow some of you have real value for money, including the most important thing - all year turn out for your princes and princesses, but it seems a bit of a postcode lottery and these days I'm finding that I'm spending as much, if not more, on fuel as I am on keeping my horse.
 
All year turnout, stable, ménage, straight onto beach hacking, a little run down but £20! And no turnout restriction even in winter!!
 
I pay £160 a month for DIY livery in Sussex - for stable, direct off road hacking, herd turn out on good turnout (about 100 acres in total) all year around but not 24/7 with very limited storage facilities and it is not the smartest yard in the area.

On top of that,

Monthly Extra's:
Assisted Livery - I pay the allocated Yard Manager for assisted livery especially in the winter (in the winter 1/2 days of full livery, bringing in in the week and usually either a turn out or a bring in Saturday and Sunday) - at the summer, it is usually just turning out if I fancy I lie in. At this time of year, it is about £90-£100 a month.
Hay - £20 a month (ish)
Straw - £15 a month (ish)
Insurance - About £25 a month.
Lessons - £35 a lesson, I usually aim for two a month.

Less frequent extra's
'Hard feed' - A bag of Simple System chaff will last about 6 months, Simple System nuts about 3 months and Allen and Page Fast Fibre will last about 2 months.
Physiotherapy - Due to an ongoing injury, he is having physiotherapy every 3 months at £45 a go.
Supplements -Magnesium lasts about 6 months, general purpose supplement lasts about 3 months. Both are around the £20 mark.
Trimming - £45 a go with an EP, every 7-8 weeks.

I am lucky though, and have a hardy, good doer, low maintenance native pony and we don't currently compete - although next Summer, I am looking to start some low level Trec and Endurance competitions.

On an average month - he comes in under £300. He could cost a lot less, if I cut down on my assistance, but quite frankly, I would rather pay to have a lie in or be able to do something non-horsey with the other half of my weekend day!
 
I don't mind paying more if the stables, grazing and tack space are good, but I think £20 is probably about right for the facilities I have, rather than £25.

Also the access in the winter snow and ice is a bit scary, as the yard is up a very steep hill and the winter grazing is also very steep over a large area and we were unable to find our horses a few times! The access roads are very gritty and stoney and play havoc with hooves.

A lot of horseowners in the area have actually been put off the place because of these issues.

I'm always on the look out for somewhere that would suit both my horse and myself better and considering the amount of time we horsey people spend with our horses, I would be willing to pay even more for something with more suitable facilities - all year turnout being a necessity though.
 
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Wow some people dont get a lot for their money! My boy is in DIY livery on a private yard in Cornwall. £30 a week for stable, 24 hour summer turnout, day turnout in different fields for winter. Lots of offroad hacking, massive arena, use of jumps, etc, own lockable tack rooms and unlimited haylage! All I have to do is buy hard feed and bedding! Ooo and there is a toilet. lol.
 
Sam_1985 said:
Wow some people dont get a lot for their money! My boy is in DIY livery on a private yard in Cornwall. £30 a week for stable, 24 hour summer turnout, day turnout in different fields for winter. Lots of offroad hacking, massive arena, use of jumps, etc, own lockable tack rooms and unlimited haylage! All I have to do is buy hard feed and bedding! Ooo and there is a toilet. lol.
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Sounds great in Cornwall. I'm getting really fussy in my old age now - why shouldn't we have the full monty, a brew room, trailer parking, a horse shower and water piped to the fields too, and I could do without strong wind (the weather I mean)! LOL
 
I pay £160 a month in Bucks for DIY including hay. If I wanted straw I could pay £2.50 a bale but I've got my boy on wood pellets. There is a loo, kettle, outdoor school (not the best but usable), enough grazing and ok hacking. Also helps that it's 5 mins from home. I used to pay £120 with straw & haylage included but the grazing was rubbish and it was half hour from home so with the extra petrol it was more than I'm paying now!

Also helps that the owner is lovely and the other liveries are nice too!
 
Ooo forgot we have a horse shower too! And water in each individual paddock! Lol. Yeah its good here if you get a good yard. A lot of places only do working livery etc but I've been lucky! Also we have moors and back road and clay pits to ride around!
 
some of you sound like your very lucky. The majority of yards with facilities around here are part /full livery or polo yards. The DIY ones are over subscribed and are a mixed bag. Most limit turnout as soon as it too wet and horses can be in 20 hrs + if not all day!. Facilities vary but if there is a menage, toilet, tack/rest room, lorry parking (up to £40 a month extra at some yards) price varies from £140 to £240 a month. I know I live in a 'wealthy' area but not everyone is. Most people I have met over the years are normal working people with an expensive 'pet'. I value turnout very highly and have forgone human comfort for a farm which does have a menage. If another yard was available with everything I would have gone there but as I said most good yards are full. I have a 20mile + round trip. If you think you are paying too much think again - most people here would love to pay £25 a week.............
 
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