DIY v Full Livery

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Berkeley

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Hi there

I am interested to hear your thoughts on DIY and full livery.

Have any of you changed from one to the other? How did it work? How did you feel? did you change back?!
 
I've always been on DIY livery, because TBH I could never afford full livery! I don't mind though, I enjoy doing all the jobs myself, it gives me an excuse to spend more time with my ned
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Over the years I've had grass livery, diy, part and full depending on my circumstances at the time. As long as your horse is getting a good standard of care and a regular routine you need to chose what works best for you at a particular time.
 
Hi there - could I ask is it just the money that stops you?

The reason I ask is that I have just changed from DIY to FL to have more time with my family/partner/work. Its a big change (not just financially) and I am not sure if it is the better option.

I feel I have lost a bit of control over the way they are looked after. Before when I was on DIY it was all me and what I decided. I don't know, perhaps this is a common feeling.
 
No, I don't think I would go to full livery even if I could afford it, as you say its nice to have full control over how your horse is looked after. Plus I wouldn't trust my current yard enough to put my horse on full livery with them!
 
No.....if I had the money to pay for full livery for 3 of them I wouldnt....I like it on a morning when I stagger through the yard with one eye open that they call to me, and they know when my car pulls up on the drive to come to the gate.

I make all the decisions about my horses ( one is OH's- he leaves her to me also) and thats the way I like it.

I think perhaps I am a control freak......
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I used to be on Part livery and am now on grass livery and wouldnt ever change from DIY again.

I used to work on a livery yard looking after full liveries and it seems a lot of money to pay when you could just pay for a lesson, especially as a lot of the liveries only rode once a week or on the weekends. I tend to think it only really works if you want to seriously compete but dont have the time to look after your horse 24/7
 
I do a combination!

I'm lucky that my YO will allow me to be on livery through winter and DIY through summer.

So in the summer I drop to DIY to save some £ and just have the horse living out 24/7.

I work some unpredictable hours and sometimes have to travel so to make sure he has a regular routine through the winter, and also so I am not a walking zombie, I find that livery is the best option for me.

I have no desire to shovel horse sh*t and more than happy to pay someone else to do it, I see and ride my horse most days and livery allows me to do this through winter.
 
My first pony was on kind of full livery - she lived out and was brought in with the other ponies during the day and tied up in a stall. She was fed at lunch time and turned back out at night. This was standard yard routine and as I was at school and lived 15 miles away it was the easiest way. I rode twice during the week and was there all weekend and school holidays.
I've never been on full livery with my last 2 horses - could only afford DIY.
I am lucky that in the winter my YO will bring Zippy in/ turn him out if I am going to be late which really helps. Also I only live 10 mins from the yard.
Despite all my grumbling about 6am starts (and there is a lot of grumbling time between october and april
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) I wouldn't have Zippy on full livery if I could avoid it. He's very affectionate and we have a really good bond as it is me who does everything for him. (also I am horrendously picky about having everything just so and would probably drive everyone mad with lists of instructions)
 
I went on to full livery last autumn simply because I could not get to the yard morning and evening to do mine (already leave house at 6.30 for work and get back at 7pm).

Pros are that it has freed up a lot more time - not just to do non horsey stuff but to spend 'quality' time with my horse. When I was on assisted DIY I would get to the yard at about 7.30pm, groom and ride as quickly as possible, then spend the rest of the evening poo picking til 10pm and I could no longer see! I always felt I was rushing him and it was easy to get impatient at times.

I do miss being more directly involved with the care of my horse though, and look forward to looking after him myself again one day when I have more time (and don't work in London!). But in the meantime FL is the best arrangement for us.
 
I have just moved my 4 yr old to full livery (she's being backed ATM but will stay on full once broken). My yearling will join her at the end of July, unless she miraculously sells beforehand.

The yard is 5 mins from my house and I could go on DIY however, my OH and I are splitting up and I'm going to be busy enough with work / child / house / dog etc without having to kill myself to get down there to muck out etc twice a day - particularly in the depths of winter. So for now, it's a practicality issue, things may change again
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I have always been on DIY as can't afford full livery but equally wouldn't want to as I love spending time with my horses and looking after them. I can understand why people would want to keep their horses on full livery but it wouldn't work for me, it would drive me mad! Fortunately I have the time to keep my horses on DIY (though occassionally when you're knackered it would be nice not to have to drag yourself down to the yard but oh well).

To the OP i hope it works out for you. If you are worried about not having control just nag the yard stafff to make sure they do everything properly! Most yards are accomodating to owners needs/ways!
 
Always been DIY apart from when horses went up to Yorkshire while I was sorting myself out after a baby and throwing up dead beat dad.

I wouldnt be on anything else, even with the money, doing them in the morning sets me up for the day. Even on those cold nights when it is hell I love seeing them and kissing their big noses
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Was on full livery, changed to DIY after 18 months because they put the FL prices up ... would never go back! I feel Dylan's much more settled with just me looking after him, and I noticed that we got on a lot better almost instantly.
 
Went over to Assisted DIY, which was a bit like part livery: you could go days without seeing your horse and he'd be 'looked after'; however, a series of things happened that led to me being unable to trust my batty YO (or anyone else for a while) with either of my horses' care, so I slowly removed her from the equation and ignored all she told me.

I now have my own rented yard a mile from my house, which costs me £130 a month. This is a world apart from the ADIY 10 miles from home (nightmare in the snow), with a batty YO and little say in how we kept our own horses. I would be wary of ever, EVER moving away from DIY again. I'd rather get a sharer.
 
If I manage to get a job locally or at least outside of London, I would think about DIY. But London careers and DIY livery sadly never (or rarely) match...
 
My horse is on full livery because of my job. I never know what I'm going to be doing from one week to the next and sometimes I'm away on business, so it's good to know he's sorted.
Before now I've always had horses on DIY, since I was a child. I'm quite liking being able to just go up there and not worry about getting things done. I can just worry about spending time with my horse. So I find that I just spend a lot more time just being with him, rather than hairing around trying to do all my jobs.

Most of the time I'm there riding in the evening anyway, so it's usually me that feeds him, which I think is always good.
 
I could not be on completely DIY livery because of work but I think assisted DIY is really good as then you have some help when you need it and get some time off if you need a rest or don't feel very well.

My pony lives out so no chores and he is on assisted DIY as he lives out with YO's ponies as well as 6 other liveries so YO will check everyone is ok when she checks her ponies and also if necessary feed if I leave a feed made up for him ready for the next day. The liveries all do keep an eye out as well and in the winter when they have hayledge we help the YO will putting it out.

I do like looking after him myself but if he lived in would definately need help as I cant do weekday mornings and would probably need someone to bring him as I get to the yard a bit later than when most people bring in during the winter. The one thing that puts me off FL is that often you have little choice over what feeds you can use.
 
I'm probably going against the grain. I have been on full livery for years dt work commitments, but have extended the family and so have gone DIY. I would go back to FL any day if I could afford it.
FL has a routine and i think horses thrive on that. (well mine do). I find that although I make decisions on DIY with regards to feed, mucking out standards etc, I find my horses get stressed by other people who change their routine on a daily basis. Also sadly the DIY yards (not many) that I have been on seem much more bitchy. * ready to be shouted down*
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I also find that I spend so much time on looking after the horses rather than enjoying the grooming and riding. Dont get me wrong I dont mind mucking out in the least, but when time is limited I would rather spend time bonding with the horse instead.

I think it is a personal opinion, and depends on the standard of full livery. I think a pure FL yard offers a far better service than a mostly DIY yard with a bit of full livery. I also think you have to trust in the YM on FL otherwise it wont work.
 
mine are on DIY...when i first qualified as a teacher i went on full livery til i worked out that i could fit the horses in as well. i have to say that i HATED Full livery. don't get me wrong it was nice to not have to get up at 5am or have to muck out but i felt totally out of the loop with what was going on. probably didn't help that YM was a very cocky so and so who delighted in telling you all the things that she'd been doing with horses and she used to change their feeds and routine without telling/discussing with me which pissed me off. i think i must be a control freak!
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I was on DIY for years but went back on to full at the start of the winter just gone when I changed my job and moved house. New job involves longer hours and much more travel so I can't always get to the yard every day, and certainly not twice a day. It took a few weeks to get used to full livery (well, part really as full at ours includes riding 5 days a week) as I'm such a control freak. It was really odd getting to the yard and not having anything to do but ride. Once I'd got used to it, it was fantastic. Had a few disagreements over things like feed and the amount of rugs he wears (I like minimum, YO likes toasty and warm) but we sorted it all out. It's been great knowing that if I don't go up every day, my horse is mucked out, fed, hayed, turned out etc. It worked brilliantly and he will be on part/full livery next winter as well.

Now back on DIY for the summer - found that odd to start with too! I spent over an hour skipping out and doing haynets the first night in case I'd forgotten something, when before going on full livery, I'd got that down to 20 mins
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. Since going back on DIY I'm finding I have much less time than on full livery, as I have to do stable duties. I don't mind doing them but I do have to be more organised so that I get to ride as well.
 
My boy is on part livery. He is turned out in the mornings, and will be mucked out/fed in the morning during the winter, or turned out if weather not too bad.

It enables me to get into work earlier, which is good as I get to miss the traffic and can finish earlier, giving me more time in the evening to ride. Am also studying for an extra qualification, so managing my time like this suits me.

Had him on full livery for a short time, whilst I was horrendously busy with work issues, but never intended on it being a permanent arrangement. I actually enjoy doing all the chores, and I think it helps to create a bond with your horse..
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