Does this sound fair to you?

If it's £220 per calendar month that is actually £50pw. As others have said you need to go up to a proper charge now and not a bit now and then find out it's still not enough. You need to do a bit of number crunching to decide what that should be and see what others near you are charging.
 
I pay £350 a month for that without the poo picking! I would put your prices up to £250 with another intended increase of £ a month in 12 months time. See where this leaves you with liveries, other yards and your overheads.

I think my yard is cheap and I always tell my Yo I'd stay if her prices went up because the service is worth it.
 
Last edited:
As Dixie says, £220pcm is NOT £55/week, it's less than that as there are more than 4 weeks in a month (except in February in non-leap years). You need to remember there are 12 months in a year, but 52 weeks which is 4 quarters of 13 weeks each.

Another vote for you are way too cheap! We pay something like £42.50/week for DIY here in the south, although we do have very good facilities. What you are offering would be £80+++per week down here.
 
In Worcester also, I pay £75 per week + trailer parking for 5 day livery incl' hay & straw. Ok yard with average facilities.
 
Where did you get your figure from in the first place OP? I have my own yard & used to have liveries I looked at all my costs & also factored in my time & charged accordingly even a few years ago I was charging £90 a week for that although it was 7 days
 
I run a v small yard with 3 liveries I put my diy price up a few months ago to bring myself in line with other yards in the area. We had spent quite a lot putting in new lights and felt we were underpricing ourselves. Liveries were all spoken to and given 2 months notice of increase they all stayed. I'm going to have to increase again as lib Haylage price for this winter was set at £10pw last year and I was out of pocket will increase to £15pw as all liveries are horses on 2 large nets per night and another 1-2 nets through day. Liveries all know I was out of pocket last winter so will speak to them beginning of September. They are the sort that would be happy to pay increase rather than have hay restricted to one net a night
 
You need to work out your costs and pay yourself a wage and also find out what everyone else is charging and do a one off price hike to bring it in line. Make it clear to the liveries who will absolutely know they have had a good deal, that the yard is going under otherwise.

If you have a nice yard and charge inline with everywhere else in the area they aren't going to move.
 
Here in north Wales/Cheshire border, yard I was on charged £280 per month for all you are doing, they also had a groom in the mornings to muck out, turn out and feed. It was a nice friendly yard, but owner used to make up her income by offering transport and doing lessons for liveries and outsiders.. I understand she is putting it to £300 a month in sept.. I think you are selling yourself short. Do a bit of telephoning around others yards in the area and ask what they are paying.. Any that moan and complain when it goes up can either move or put up can't they.
 
You sound incredibly cheap. The farmer I rent my field from runs a yard, DIY only, and charges £120 for that including hay but no straw. With straw in the winter its up to about £145, and a girl who does jobs for people, bring in turnout and muck out with no poo pick, charges £10 a day, which I think is fair. The services alone cost money to provide.
I would ask around other yards to see what they are charging, but I would be putting the prices up to at least £75 a week, providing you have good basic facilities. We only have a basic school with no lights and no jumping allowed, but good hacking, based in the South West.
 
Wow that is incredibly cheap although i guess some of it depends on the facilities you have?

I am at a good yard in the south with very good facilities, but not great hacking and we get;
-4days of full livery (full muck out bring in/ out and everything else apart from riding and grooming)
-3 days of 1/2 livery (bring in/ turn out one end of the day or a morning skip if staying in)
-all hayledge/ hay (although if yours are in over the night in the summer you have to pay an extra £5 per week over winter, if yours go out at night in the summer you dont pay the extra as you obviously used less hay all summer)
-bedding (1 bag of shavings or 2 bags of pellets a week)
-lorry/ trailer storage
-worm count every quarter
-all poo picking done/ field waters done
this is £360pm and good value for our area. The prices went up last September by £10 per week (prior to this we did all our own poo picking, after the increase we dont do our own anymore) i think we were given a letter in the July as a warning that with effect of the 1st September the prices would be - this gave anyone who wanted to move a chance to find somewhere and pay their notice at the old price - nobody did leave as its still a good deal!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top