Don't know what to do! Opinions please!?

kerrie_jay

kerrie_jay

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Hey everyone.

I am currently at a diy yard that is a two minute drive from my house. Everything has been fine there for the last two years however all of a sudden the yard owners have started bringing in what I see as silly rules and restricting what the liveries can do - therefore restricting my enjoyment. In the past two weeks they have brought in the following rules.

You are not allowed to tie your horse up outside your stable if there is one other horse tied up already.

You only allowed to lunge in the school for ten minutes at a time.

You are not allowed to jump in the school (!!!).

They had the school extended over the summer and the YO decided that he would put the fence up to save a bit of money. No problem really but the fence is still not finished and we are only allowed to use half of the school. He has also had to disconnect the floodlights as he is doing the fence so we are now unable to ride after work as it is too dark. He is going to be putting more floodlights up as the school is now bigger but has said that to use them for 30 minutes will now cost you £5! Now if I ride after work three times a week that's an extra £60 a month on my livery bill which I don't want to pay and can't really afford if I'm honest.

It seems to me that he has forgotten that we are paying customers and thinks that he is doing us a favour.

I think I know what I am going to do but I would just like some opinions from you knowledgeable people to reassure me that how I am feeling is not unreasonable.

Sorry for the long ramble! I hope it makes sense and by chocolate and biscuits for all those that get to the end let alone reply!

Thanks in advance.

Xxx
 
poor you! that is really unreasonable and ridiculous, i would be furious!

I think you should look for another yard, and tell the yard owner your feelings and say that you are leaving because of his new rules.

Are there other liveries? how do they feel about the rules? If you all complain about the rules he may change his mind about the rules as he will have no liveries!!

Let us know what you decide. hope you sort something out :)
 
There are other liveries but most of them only hack and don't really use the school except for one other and she's really annoyed and looking to move too. Going to have a look at a couple of yards tomorrow so will see what they are like.

Thanks for the reply.

Xx
 
I couldn't be doing with any of that! Way too precious with the school- what's the point of having a decent all weather surface if you can't use it fully?! They need to look at how to maintain it rather than banning people from churning it up. The electricity charge would especially annoy me, if it is a big extra cost for them they should incorporate it into their livery fee.

What's the rationale behind the not tying up more than one horse outside? Is it because the stable layout makes it a safety issue?

Vote with your feet!
 
£5 for 30 minutes?!?!!?! that is insane.

Can you club together with the other liveries and get a spokesperson to approach the YO? Express your views?

Might be worth a try if you were enjoying the yard.
 
They've just done a first aid course and I think that's part of it. My horse is grumpy in his stable and although he wouldn't do anything its just not enjoyable for either of us to groom or be groomed in the stable. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks its unreasonable!

Xx
 
I don't think there is much point in talking to him to be honest he is one of these people that will just say if you don't like it then there's the door... It's either put up with it or go.
 
I would vote with your feet as others have said. Yard owner is being pedantic in my view and totally unreasonable. I would do it alone and don't count on others. I have found that whilst people may talk and moan about situations rarely if ever do they stand by each other about yard issues. Usually someone will get singled out. That spokesperson will be deemed a troublemaker as you can bet that the others if asked their views will back down and make that single person look stupid and totally alone.
So rather than confronting the owner I would simply look for somewhere else, without saying anything to anyone and then smugly give the yard owner your notice.
Good luck and I hope all works out. Don't let anyone ***** on you in this life. Stand up for yourself and don't get taken for granted either. Life is full of dipsticks and it sounds like you may have just run into one of them! x
 
Hmmmmmm, does he give reasons for the rules? If not, in your place, I'd certainly be asking/negotiating.

Playing devil's advocate here...

It seems to me that he has forgotten that we are paying customers and thinks that he is doing us a favour. ...but isn't he? The school has been enlarged, new floods going in, it will be better for you, if you were the YO what would you do? Presumably the DIY yard is a source of income rather than just a hobby.

Tying outside. If horses are tied up outside are they close together, obstructing people/other horses? Has there been an accident that may have lead to this decision?

Lunging. Do lots of people lunge there? Is the surface getting worn, deep? Do liveries help rake the school or whatever, or does the YO?

Jumping. Reason given? Do people put the jumps away again afterwards? Has there been an accident? Jumps damaged, broken? If they are who replaces them? YO at his own expense?

Charge for the school. How much was it enlarged by? When you are able to use it will it be better? Would you be happier paying a bit more on your livery rather than by the hour? Lighting isn't cheap, it isn't just the electricity, it is the installation and purchase as well. He is possibly just trying to get a bit of his money back, my Boarders will have a choice when my indoor goes up, they can pay another $20 a month (peanuts) on their board for unlimited use or they can pay by the hour, as outsiders will do, their choice.

As a YO I can sort of see the reasoning for the charge. Why should I spend $60,000 on an indoor school for people to use as they wish, basically for free? At the end of the day though, if you aren't happy with your situation it is probably better for your own enjoyment etc if you found somewhere else where you can be.
 
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The school wasn't small to start with 50x30 and the only reason he has extended it is because his wife does medium dressage and needs to practice in a 60x20. We were all perfectly happy with the 50x30 and nobody asked for it. There hasn't been any accidents because we use our common sense when tying up our horses. There are only two of us that lunge and we don't churn up the school excessively if at all. I don't see why I should have to mess around going in an out of the school to make up my 20minute lunging session. As for the jumping I don't have a clue what the reason is everyone always looked after everything and put it away before.

Thanks for a different opinion though!

Xx
 
You are the "paying customer" but that doesnt give you the right to decide what charges/rules are made. It does however give you the right to move yards if you are not happy. So that is your only option really.
 
I am not expecting to be able to make the rules and set the charges I would just like them to be reasonable which I don't think they are. I just wanted to see what other people would do if they were in my situation really.

Xx
 
I was at a yard that tried to do silly things like that and make us bring the horses in at 2pm when they knew most of us worked until 5pm!
You say it has affected your enjoyment so I would move as the point is to enjoy your horse and all that comes with it.
Good luck.
 
£5 for 30 minutes that's insane.

We pay £5 a week to use our 40 x 20 Indoor arena! and we are getting a new surface!

Just move its not always worth the hassle :)
 
Debz87 said:
I was at a yard that tried to do silly things like that and make us bring the horses in at 2pm when they knew most of us worked until 5pm!
You say it has affected your enjoyment so I would move as the point is to enjoy your horse and all that comes with it.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

Agree with this 100%. We had a similar experience and voted with our feet. The YO lost 5 liveries at once as a result and struggled to fill the places up for quite some time. It is up to the YO what they charge etc BUT they have to appreciate they are a service business, there is a maximum price point people are prepared to pay and if people aren't happy then they will vote with their feet.
 
I would be looking to move if it were me and wouldn't be happy with only being able to lunge for 10 mins at a time or paying each time I want to use the arena. May as well go somewhere where you will be happy.
 
I think your answer is quite simple, if you're not happy and dont feel you're getting value for money, just move.

At my previous yard, the YO's had the attitude of like it or lump it, insulted your intelligence, failed to maintain the yard and introduced rules like having to turn your horses our 24/7 for the whole of summer (to save on straw and haylage as was inclusive in your livery).
Well they lost 19 horses in the space of about 6 weeks, have now dropped their livery fee by about 20% and still remain practically empty. This is in complete contrast to their closest competitor who has over 40 horses on livery - doesn't interfere, no silly rules and remains full.

They will soon get the message that people aren't happy if they vote with their feet.

I do however agree with the notion that you can't expect anything for free, if new facilities are provided I would expect an increase in livery but a reasonable one.
Our school is floodlit - you put £1 in the meter and it lasts about 2 hours, so £5 for 30 mins is extortionate x
 
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