moodymare123
Well-Known Member
as per title really.
TIA.
TIA.
difference between full livery and retirement livery?
- Thread starter moodymare123
- Start date
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
As I understand it full livery is so the rider can go and ride when they want. The horse will be stabled, groomed, and there will be facilities for the owner, such as coffee, toilet, arena, hacking, stables.
Retirement livery is where the horse is left, it is likely to be 24/7 turnout, the grooming is likely less, most horses may be barefoot. The heard will be more stable as horses are not going in and out all of the time. There is less labour involved, as the horses are likely more Au Natural.
Most of all though, the people running the retirement livery have peace and quiet, as there is not the expectation of frequent visits and faffing with owners!
Retirement livery is where the horse is left, it is likely to be 24/7 turnout, the grooming is likely less, most horses may be barefoot. The heard will be more stable as horses are not going in and out all of the time. There is less labour involved, as the horses are likely more Au Natural.
Most of all though, the people running the retirement livery have peace and quiet, as there is not the expectation of frequent visits and faffing with owners!
Theocat
Well-Known Member
Fundamentally the YO is assuming full responsibility for daily care in both scenarios. The requirements of care will differ tremendously - care of a non-working horse at grass is less complicated than that of a stabled horse in work - but certainly retirement livery is more closely related to full livery than grass DIY, IMO.
PonyclubmumZ
Well-Known Member
Agree with Red really
Full livery - they do everything but the horse is ridden regularly and kept fit and ready to go at the drop of a hat. Likely to be a busy yard.
Retirement livery - they do everything but the horse is out with no shoes and not ridden at all, likely to be be a much more hands off type yard.
Full livery - they do everything but the horse is ridden regularly and kept fit and ready to go at the drop of a hat. Likely to be a busy yard.
Retirement livery - they do everything but the horse is out with no shoes and not ridden at all, likely to be be a much more hands off type yard.
pastel
Well-Known Member
I run a retirement home for horses, the difference between our livery and full livery is the horses are not ridden and groomed less because they are out more in the fields, they have shoes off . They are stabled in the winter, rugged,,etc we have to keep health records as it's important to monitor any changes incase it's the start of something ... Basically I tell people it's similar to a human nursing home but for horses !
Lastly it's cheaper than full livery!
Lastly it's cheaper than full livery!
Tillyizzythomas
New User
Hi there..whereabouts is your retirement livery please?
exracehorse
Well-Known Member
I have a horse on retirement livery. But actually it’s full livery as he has special requirements. I have to bring in in bad weather. So stabled at night in winter. Needs his meds. Cushings. Dropped fetlocks. Can’t be on a group set up as would get bullied. Gets mud fever. Has sweetitch. But he’s a sweetheart. And he’s 27. So an old boy. And after his owner suddenly passed away due to cancer and her parents are elderly and not horsey .. I took him. I charge 60 pounds a week. All in.
conkers
Well-Known Member
When my horse was on full livery, he was stabled with full muck out, bring in / turn out etc and I had use of the facilities for riding etc.
He is now on retirement livery where he has free access to a barn that is bedded down with straw and where he has ad lib haylage and which is shared with 4 others. He also has access to a 6 acre field and he can come and go as he likes. The horses are checked twice a day and the barn is skipped out daily.
The retirement livery is much cheaper than full livery as I don't use any of the facilities other than the car park.
He gets just as much care and checking but there is less for the yard owner to do physically e.g. little to no mucking out, no moving him around daily. For him, this works as he has a back leg that fills up if he stands in for any period of time.
Some retirement yards I looked at did stable overnight. It depends what you are looking for.
He is now on retirement livery where he has free access to a barn that is bedded down with straw and where he has ad lib haylage and which is shared with 4 others. He also has access to a 6 acre field and he can come and go as he likes. The horses are checked twice a day and the barn is skipped out daily.
The retirement livery is much cheaper than full livery as I don't use any of the facilities other than the car park.
He gets just as much care and checking but there is less for the yard owner to do physically e.g. little to no mucking out, no moving him around daily. For him, this works as he has a back leg that fills up if he stands in for any period of time.
Some retirement yards I looked at did stable overnight. It depends what you are looking for.
Xmas lucky
Well-Known Member
retirement livery in my area the horse live out 24/7 winter and summer they are out in storms they aren’t stabled, barefoot wormed and are only stable if they have a abscess or a injury. The horse isn’t ridden. Winter they get the rugs put on they pretty much live without much human interference.
full livery horse are stabled at night and turned out in the day for you. the also muck out for you and feed the horse for you. they also give hard feed if you request it. They also do rug changes and some include your horse being ridden most yard don’t offer it only care .
full livery horse are stabled at night and turned out in the day for you. the also muck out for you and feed the horse for you. they also give hard feed if you request it. They also do rug changes and some include your horse being ridden most yard don’t offer it only care .
hollyandivy123
Well-Known Member
that is how i would like to keep my horse now.............the option of in if it wants
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
In my experience...
Full livery = horse turned out/brought in, stable cleaned, hay and hard feed given and usually included in price. I have never come across full livery where they groom or ride it. Owner manages farrier/vet stuff, but yard can help if required.
Retirement = horse mostly out in a field and all meds/feed as well as vet/farrier appointments managed by the yard. No facilities for riding provided. Absentee owners are the norm rather than the exception. When I wrote a story on it for HHO a few years ago, I spoke to a few retirement yard owners who did not allow horse owners unfettered access to their animals. The owners had to book visits in advance, and they were not allowed to remove their horse from the field, lest it disrupt herd dynamics.
Full livery = horse turned out/brought in, stable cleaned, hay and hard feed given and usually included in price. I have never come across full livery where they groom or ride it. Owner manages farrier/vet stuff, but yard can help if required.
Retirement = horse mostly out in a field and all meds/feed as well as vet/farrier appointments managed by the yard. No facilities for riding provided. Absentee owners are the norm rather than the exception. When I wrote a story on it for HHO a few years ago, I spoke to a few retirement yard owners who did not allow horse owners unfettered access to their animals. The owners had to book visits in advance, and they were not allowed to remove their horse from the field, lest it disrupt herd dynamics.
Goldenstar
Well-Known Member
It does vary but on the yards I worked full livery was exactly that we did everything tack cleaning grooming exercise unless the owners where coming.
Some owners did not see their horses for months .
Some owners did not see their horses for months .
ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
To me Full is Full all the yards I worked at.
services you pay for are
- facilities
- groomed
- tack cleaned
- 2-4 schooling sessions per week
- mucked out
- bedding
- hay/haylage
- feed turned out
- caught in
- feet done
- rugs changed
- leaving only the owner to ride when they can, everything else is done.
Retirement
- turned out and caught in
- rugs changed
- flick off if ness
- feet done
- bedding
- hay
That is what I would expect
Part the same as full except no riding or grooming maybe not ad lib hay
Celtic Jewel
Well-Known Member
Just a word of warning you need to now if you’re full livery yard allows you to keep a retired horse at yard as a lot of time the minute a horse turns 25 regardless of ridding ability you are pressured to put in retirement and then buy another horse. i wouldn’t personally ask a yard owner about it I would figure it out yourself . A lot of retirement livery don’t treat horses good and go days without checking them in my area but most full livery yard don’t want to deal with a retired horse . Just thought I would warn people who might be looking at this post in the future.
Last edited:
ThreeFurs
Well-Known Member
Retirement should be a bit cheaper, as your not using all the facilities.
Ideally, it would be a place where horses at the ends of their careers are cherished and respected. I've been lucky enough to have a place where my 28 year old Small Tour School dressage schoolmaster, is in with a friend, he's surrounded by fellow liveries with working age horses, so there's activity around. So they're not bored. There's always things going on for them to observe in their nosey way!
I'm up two or three days to check on him and his mate, and poo pick. Yard owner and I share this duty, one week one week off. I also take mine and his mate for raceway halter walks out, which they love.
I supply all feed for mine, but its fed out for me, and rugging is part of his fee.
Hope that's useful. x ps current place is perfect for us, but ironically I wouldn't have a younger horse there, because of the arena surfaces.
ps so, re: your VERY good question. I wouldn't say there's actually that much difference. The contract agreement I have with my Barn Owner, means she will monitor the 'old dudes' everyday, let me know if its like, a farrier needed, or the dentist, or they're losing weight, or they need moving onto an adjacent paddock. They can get into as much trouble as their younger, in-work mates. So you need some one whose really on the ball. But of course you do anyway.
Ideally, it would be a place where horses at the ends of their careers are cherished and respected. I've been lucky enough to have a place where my 28 year old Small Tour School dressage schoolmaster, is in with a friend, he's surrounded by fellow liveries with working age horses, so there's activity around. So they're not bored. There's always things going on for them to observe in their nosey way!
I'm up two or three days to check on him and his mate, and poo pick. Yard owner and I share this duty, one week one week off. I also take mine and his mate for raceway halter walks out, which they love.
I supply all feed for mine, but its fed out for me, and rugging is part of his fee.
Hope that's useful. x ps current place is perfect for us, but ironically I wouldn't have a younger horse there, because of the arena surfaces.
ps so, re: your VERY good question. I wouldn't say there's actually that much difference. The contract agreement I have with my Barn Owner, means she will monitor the 'old dudes' everyday, let me know if its like, a farrier needed, or the dentist, or they're losing weight, or they need moving onto an adjacent paddock. They can get into as much trouble as their younger, in-work mates. So you need some one whose really on the ball. But of course you do anyway.
Last edited:
ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
The livery most people around here would describe as "full" doesn't include tack cleaning or exercise. Those would either not be offered, or paid for as extras.
That could also be retirement livery, the difference then being that the owner never rides the horse and there is no use of arenas etc.
Livery to include exercise would sometimes be described as hunter livery or competition livery, depending on what the horse was doing, but "full livery" meaning the owners turn up and ride a fit, clean horse with clean tack has very much fallen out of use around here.
The place I was before, in Bristol in the 80's had "full livery" including 3 days exercise a week, but still no tack cleaning and none offered, and precious little grooming either.
.
That could also be retirement livery, the difference then being that the owner never rides the horse and there is no use of arenas etc.
Livery to include exercise would sometimes be described as hunter livery or competition livery, depending on what the horse was doing, but "full livery" meaning the owners turn up and ride a fit, clean horse with clean tack has very much fallen out of use around here.
The place I was before, in Bristol in the 80's had "full livery" including 3 days exercise a week, but still no tack cleaning and none offered, and precious little grooming either.
.
Lady Jane
Well-Known Member
@Celtic Jewel I have never heard of what you describe and my horses are incredibly well cared for at their retirement livery.
Retirement livery in my book is being out with a group of horses who are not ridden (so no bringing horses in and out the field). Ad-lib hay when needed, rugs changed as needed. Mine also manages farrier vists (I pay for the trim) but all the horses are on the same schedule so everyone comes in/goes back out together. If additional feed was needed I would buy it, they are checked at least twice a day (more in practice as the field is adjacent to the full livery block so people are working there all day). They could charge for holding for vet and giving medication but I haven't been charged yet. I did have to pay when one horse had a foot abcess and had to be stabled for a while. And the icing on the cake is they have free access to a barn all year round. And 10 minutes from where I live
Retirement livery in my book is being out with a group of horses who are not ridden (so no bringing horses in and out the field). Ad-lib hay when needed, rugs changed as needed. Mine also manages farrier vists (I pay for the trim) but all the horses are on the same schedule so everyone comes in/goes back out together. If additional feed was needed I would buy it, they are checked at least twice a day (more in practice as the field is adjacent to the full livery block so people are working there all day). They could charge for holding for vet and giving medication but I haven't been charged yet. I did have to pay when one horse had a foot abcess and had to be stabled for a while. And the icing on the cake is they have free access to a barn all year round. And 10 minutes from where I live
Celtic Jewel
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately I just live in a bad area for retirement livery. A Few of places that offer it have a bad reputation and usually have too much horses and not enough land and are too busy doing different types of livery that the horses aren’t checked for days . There is places that are hour away that do look after the horses well and have enough land for it I think doing your research is the key to retirement livery.
Lady Jane
Well-Known Member
Agree re research. What part of the country do you live?
MrsMozart
Just passing through...
We have a small retirement livery. It's more labour intensive than many folk would think...
Horses physically checked twice a day, and as we live on-site there's just an on-going 'keeping an eye out' through the day (and through the night if the weather dictates!), daily feeding and meds given, groom as required (usually just when coats change), mane/tail detangling, bathing if needed, all farrier/vet/worm programme/dentist sorting and lotions/potions adding, and any health treatment such as dealing with abscess, and whilst owners visits certainly aren't daily they can come almost any time so we have to be available - they're all lovely so it's not an issue.
All out 24/7/365 as most are arthritic and need to keep moving. Hay is ad lib. Feed is tailored to what they each need. We have additional small paddocks with stables, kept ready (bedded with Aubiose) just in case there's a need.
All this takes time and money. More than I'd ever realised when I was a livery. I would say that, other than being stabled, and the eternal question about whether 'full' livery includes riding aside, we're the same as full livery.
We're in Scotland and have owners from fairly nearby to the far end of the country.
Horses physically checked twice a day, and as we live on-site there's just an on-going 'keeping an eye out' through the day (and through the night if the weather dictates!), daily feeding and meds given, groom as required (usually just when coats change), mane/tail detangling, bathing if needed, all farrier/vet/worm programme/dentist sorting and lotions/potions adding, and any health treatment such as dealing with abscess, and whilst owners visits certainly aren't daily they can come almost any time so we have to be available - they're all lovely so it's not an issue.
All out 24/7/365 as most are arthritic and need to keep moving. Hay is ad lib. Feed is tailored to what they each need. We have additional small paddocks with stables, kept ready (bedded with Aubiose) just in case there's a need.
All this takes time and money. More than I'd ever realised when I was a livery. I would say that, other than being stabled, and the eternal question about whether 'full' livery includes riding aside, we're the same as full livery.
We're in Scotland and have owners from fairly nearby to the far end of the country.