Do I need to give livery notice if my horse was PTS

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smellycat

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Hi, Devastatingly my horse died in an unexpected emergency. The yard owner has requested a months notice despite me not having any contract. Can anybody please advise what I should do? I do not feel that I should pay for an unexpected event (particularly as there are still plenty of vacant stables). Or is the yard owner correct? Any suggestions appreciated :)
 
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Sorry for your loss :( so very sad.

I think it would depend on what's in the contract. If the contract says you must give a months notice, I imagine you will have to unfortunately. Very sad and unexpected event.
 
Your yard owner is absolutely disgusting :( I hope should you get another horse you won't be lining her pocket with your hard earned money. She doesn't deserve liveries if she has such a callous attitude. Its no wonder there are other empty stables. Make sure you drop it into conversation casually with other horsey people you know and I'm sure they will be equally disgusted and will make a mental note to forewarn anyone thinking of going to her yard ;) I've been at many yards and all yard owners have been totally compassionate in these situations with the exception of one bitch from hell (don't suppose you're in West Sussex are you ;) ) XX
 
Thank you. Still very emotional at the moment.
Apologies, the first post was written poorly. There is no contract at the yard at all. I have always left notice at previous yards. But this is PTS -- with no contract.
 
I am so sorry for your unexpected loss. Money is the last thing you want to think about. I am a bit confused though, you say the YO has requested a months notice despite you having a contract. Do you mean 'not having a contract'? If your contract says notice is required I think you may have no choice but to pay it. There must be someone on here who has had a similar experience. I hope you get a better answer than mine soon.
 
neddynesbitt said:
Your yard owner is absolutely disgusting :( I hope should you get another horse you won't be lining her pocket with your hard earned money. She doesn't deserve liveries if she has such a callous attitude. Its no wonder there are other empty stables. Make sure you drop it into conversation casually with other horsey people you know and I'm sure they will be equally disgusted and will make a mental note to forewarn anyone thinking of going to her yard ;) I've been at many yards and all yard owners have been totally compassionate in these situations with the exception of one bitch from hell (don't suppose you're in West Sussex are you ;) ) XX
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Phew, at least I am not the only person who felt this way. (And no, not West Sussex).
 
I am so sorry for your loss, try to remember the good days and treasure your memories.

With no contract you are not under any obligation to the yard owner, and quite frankly, his/her behaviour is shocking.

Assuming you have no intention of using the yard again, I would just quietly collect your belongings and put the whole thing behind you. If you start again find a different yard.
 
vickyb said:
I am so sorry for your unexpected loss. Money is the last thing you want to think about. I am a bit confused though, you say the YO has requested a months notice despite you having a contract. Do you mean 'not having a contract'? If your contract says notice is required I think you may have no choice but to pay it. There must be someone on here who has had a similar experience. I hope you get a better answer than mine soon.
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Apologies - first post written with haste. There is no contract at all. Other people have left without paying notice (which I was not impressed with to be honest).
Makes you wonder why you bend over backwards to help an owner with their issues (for free) only to see them have a different view on things when the boot is on the other foot.

Thanks for all the replies by the way. :)
 
So sorry for your loss x

If you have no contract, and don't want to use the yard again I would just refuse, nothing they can do about it.

What a horrible person to even try getting this from you in the circumstances :(
 
So sorry for your loss, i think the yo sounds rather tactless and callous, you dont have a contract, so the choice is yours really whether you pay any notice.
If you choose not to pay and you get another horse, where will you keep it ?
If you were happy where you were you might need to consider this before making your decision.
 
There was no contract, therefore she cannot ask you to honour one.

I am so very sorry for your loss. To be honest, if you really don't want to pay, I would be as polite as possible, but I would just either say, or clear my stuff out and leave a letter to the effect that due to no formal contract being in place and the mitigating circumstances, you will not be paying for any further than the time that your horse was there.

I wouldn't...I think I would just pay and never go back to the yard.

Just take some time and think on it.
 
So very and sorry for your loss.

I think the YO is despicable and I have never heard of any reputable yard doing this. I always pay my way but in this circumstance I just wouldn't especially as there s o contract. The only time I might pay is if the YO would really struggle financially with the sudden loss of income however they really should have some financial buffer for such circumstances.
 
Sorry for your loss. Your yard owner is incredibly cold hearted and greedy, you havent left through choice. I had to have my pony pts due to colic in the middle of the night 9yrs ago at the end of this month and I never paid any notice, I stayed by her side til the crematorium were due to collect her and then my friends took me home, that was the last time I went to the yard for months. My lovely friends packed all her things up for me and shared her bed between them.
 
Thank you very much for all the swift responses. They have been a little varied but also very sensible.
You can never say never but I have never planned to replace my horse. (I may ride other owners horses in future).
I think I will just try to be as diplomatic as possible and emphasise that I have no contract.

I wish you all many more years of enjoyment with your pets :)
 
So sad that there's more than one Yo like this :( my friends had kept their horses at the yard I was at for 11 years when we had a new horse arrive, the new horse was very aggressive and my friend requested it be removed from their field but the YO refused :( the very next day my friend found her horse with such a bad broken leg it was very nearly severed :( the YO did the same as yours and charged my friend (actually sent a bill with the horses name on it) we had no contract either. All the liveries were horrified and began searching for a new yard. 8 of us all gave notice within 2 days of each other and it only left her with 2 liveries and she had the audacity to be upset about losing so much money that she may have to shut the yard. By doing what she did with my friend made us realise the type of person she was and we voted with our feet as didn't feel we could trust her after that. What goes around comes around ;) I will still speak to her if I see her but would never go to her yard as a livery and ensure I tip anyone the nod about not only her greed but total lack of management of the yard.if she'd agreed to remove the agressive horse my friends may still be alive (since found out hers was the 3rd PTS with a broken leg by this mare):(
 
Every time I read this sort of thread I realise what a great yard I'm at. Horse was PTS unexpectedly, monthly bill adjusted accordingly (have 2 others) & they kept my stable vacant for 2 months before even asking if we were getting another, then kept it for further 3 months whilst we horse shopped - despite a waiting list.
 
tell her to sue you for it. it is standard practice to have to offer notice of the length of time you pay... ie if you pay weekly you give a weeks notice , if you pay monthly a months notice... but in this case id not pay and wait and see what the courts say if she could be bothered to sue.
 
Sorry for your loss x I wouldnt pay her purely because she so tactlessly asked .

I think I would tell her why and that I was going to make a donation to the relevant charity and make her feel guilty.....then it becomes not about money but about manners............
 
I am so sorry for the loss of your horse. Absolutely heart breaking.

Has this yard been good to you? Mine has and I wouldn't dream of not paying a months notice, even if they tried to refuse it.
 
Mine never did, I think it's highly unfair, unless you are planning to leave stuff there, get another one. But even then I wouldn't of brought it up just yet anyway!
 
AdorableAlice said:
I am so sorry for your loss, try to remember the good days and treasure your memories.

With no contract you are not under any obligation to the yard owner, and quite frankly, his/her behaviour is shocking.

Assuming you have no intention of using the yard again, I would just quietly collect your belongings and put the whole thing behind you. If you start again find a different yard.
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This ^^

Really sorry for your loss, what a horrible situation for you. :(

Best wishes x
 
Oh my god, That's the most callous cold thing ive ever heard. Im really shocked!
When I was in your situation the yard owner helped every bit they could and were really kind and lovely. Money was absolutely not ever mentioned. They even held my stable for free for a couple of months til I needed it again.

Im so sorry for your loss, Walk away from the yard.
 
Wow! That's pretty hard hearted - partic within 24 hours of the horses death! I had a standard contract at my fIrst yard, which stated that on the death of the horse, the contract would be ended immediately, with no notice period required
 
I am so sorry for your loss. I have no words for the yard owner's behaviour. I do like the idea of paying the money to charity and telling her that.
 
Pretty appalled by the YO's response. I manage a yard and if this should happen to one of my lovely liveries I (nor the YO) would even dream of asking for a month's notice in this situation, and we have a tight contract in place for every livery. It's about having a bit of compassion; Yes we are running a business but sometimes there are more important things than money. I think as someone else has stated, this person has showed their true colours and if I were in your shoes and I wanted to find another horse i'd do the same as some others have said; leave quietly without fuss. If she gets funny about the money tell her to go through the courts - it will cost her in the long run.
So sorry for your loss OP.
 
So sorry to hear of your loss, it must be devestating.

I think the reason your YO has empty stables is because she's a btich.
 
How awful, so sorry for your loss. I would not pay. I agree with packing your things and telling her to sue you for it. She will have absolutely no case.

As we have seen above, many yards that do have a contract would not expect it, and if she wanted you to pay a months notice in the event of death then she should have detailed that in a proper contract... A contract I would have read and thought twice about signing, but at least you'd be prepared.
 
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