Anita B
New User
On the H&H forums I see a lot of people complaining about DIY livery yards, the costs, politics, yard rules and most of all the YO. I own my own small yard and have run it as a DIY livery yard for 8yrs. But I have now come to a decision.... I am only going to accept Part liveries from this point forwards.
After my experiences I would advise anyone who owns or rents property to read this before they think that trying to generate a bit of extra income is worth having DIY liveries. I am a responsible and qualified horse owner who was just trying to supplement my own horses keep.
After 8yrs, I will now avoid taking in a DIY livery as it isn't worth £30 a week for all the mess, aggravation, abuse and damage that they cause. DIY liveries are irresponsible in their behaviour, horse care and respect for my property. They have destroyed my paddocks and gateways (now unusable knee deep in mud), caused structural damage to the stable buildings, stolen my property, given me verbal abuse, threatened me with physical injury, threatened to set fire to my yard, refused to pay monies owed (went to small claims court), flooded the yard with water, blocked the drains, broken the toilet seat.... The list goes on! The most upsetting part is their so called 'horse care' - I have had horses left unattended for 5 days, underfed and malnourished, owners refusing to call the vet when necessary, refusing to worm their horses when requested, and refusing to poo pick their paddocks.
In 8yrs, I have called the police twice, gone to Court once and had visits from the RSPCA, this is despite having a comprehensive Yard contract/agreement. That is without the mental stress of recieving text messages and phone calls from 5.15am until 11.30pm, having abusive comments posted on Facebook, and worrying that they have closed gates, locked up, turned off lights etc. when I am not there.
Having had DIY liveries, I now realise that they caused me much more work than if I was just keeping my own horses. DIY owners are needy and their horses cause damage and chaos. In short DIY liveries are not worth the hassle! Next Summer my horses will benefit from the extra grass available and next Winter my bank balance will benefit from having more grazing available for my own horses (less hay to put in field). My yard is now immaculately clean and tidy, and I am now stress free
After my experiences I would advise anyone who owns or rents property to read this before they think that trying to generate a bit of extra income is worth having DIY liveries. I am a responsible and qualified horse owner who was just trying to supplement my own horses keep.
After 8yrs, I will now avoid taking in a DIY livery as it isn't worth £30 a week for all the mess, aggravation, abuse and damage that they cause. DIY liveries are irresponsible in their behaviour, horse care and respect for my property. They have destroyed my paddocks and gateways (now unusable knee deep in mud), caused structural damage to the stable buildings, stolen my property, given me verbal abuse, threatened me with physical injury, threatened to set fire to my yard, refused to pay monies owed (went to small claims court), flooded the yard with water, blocked the drains, broken the toilet seat.... The list goes on! The most upsetting part is their so called 'horse care' - I have had horses left unattended for 5 days, underfed and malnourished, owners refusing to call the vet when necessary, refusing to worm their horses when requested, and refusing to poo pick their paddocks.
In 8yrs, I have called the police twice, gone to Court once and had visits from the RSPCA, this is despite having a comprehensive Yard contract/agreement. That is without the mental stress of recieving text messages and phone calls from 5.15am until 11.30pm, having abusive comments posted on Facebook, and worrying that they have closed gates, locked up, turned off lights etc. when I am not there.
Having had DIY liveries, I now realise that they caused me much more work than if I was just keeping my own horses. DIY owners are needy and their horses cause damage and chaos. In short DIY liveries are not worth the hassle! Next Summer my horses will benefit from the extra grass available and next Winter my bank balance will benefit from having more grazing available for my own horses (less hay to put in field). My yard is now immaculately clean and tidy, and I am now stress free
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