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I'm on my 2nd yard move in 2 months and it's been absolutely soul destroying. I'd be on the lookout for somewhere else immediately - you don't have to move straight away but knowing you are taking action will make you feel better.
full livery only helps wioth the actual work. You still have to be vigilant and keep a close eye on what is happening.. As it sounds as though you aren't an adult you need to calmly, without any hysterical whining point out to your mother that all does not seem well with your horse and you aren't getting your moneys worth. You need to keep a written log of what is happening with dates and times. If your mother agrees with you then ask her to speak to the YO/Yard Manageress, giving her a copy of the log. (Keep the original yourself). If this doesn't improve things she will need to put your complaints in writing.Posting under a different name.
Recently moved yards and finding it difficult to settle in.
When we went to view the yard, it seemed to tick all the boxes. It was perfect for us apart from the fact it was a little further away than we had anticipated. But we overlooked this. The yard has a huge outdoor floodlit arena. They have american barn style stables all fitted with rubber matting. We were also shown the fields which looked in fairly good condition taking into account the bad weather we have had recently. We did not get to see all of the fields as some of them sloped down a hill, so we could only see the ones at the top.
It looked and sounded like the right place so moved the horses in about a month and a half ago. Previously, I was on DIY livery (and always have been) but I am now on fully livery, so it feels like a big change for me. Not to mention, I am paying a lot more. There are some things that I am a little unhappy about though, not all of them that major:
1. Horse 1 has a fully matted stable, but horse 2 only has front of the stable matted. Spoke to YO about it who said they had ran out of matting. Never said they were going to get more. I guess it’s not that big of a problem - it’s just that I am paying full livery prices and a fully rubber matted stable was included within the package.
2. The fields. Top fields are in good condition, but the 2 fields down the slope are horrendous. Typically, it is the 2 fields my horses are in. They are on clay as well which makes it even worse. The fields are just muck, no hint of grass. They are standing up to their knees in clay all day. YO never said it was clay or took us down too see the fields, so had no idea. Probably should have asked, but never thought.
3. The arena. This is the major problem for me. It’s basically unrideable at the minute. There is continuous patches all over that are really deep and uneven and there appears to be unexpected holes as well which you can’t really see. The outside track is the worst, can’t go anywhere near it. The only thing I can really do is medium sized circles in the middle. Even then, horse is still dipping and tripping at certain spots.
I usually hack out once at the weekend with other people, but can’t really hack out during the week as horse 2 doesn’t hack alone, YO doesn’t allow people to go out on their own, and rarely anyone to hack out with during the week. I don’t have a trailer/lorry to hire an arena elsewhere, so this is extremely frustrating. I am DYING to get lessons and start dressage and jumping again. I get myself to the point of tears because I get so frustrated.
Have spoke to YO about the arena. Said they were aware of the problem, it has never been like this before and put it down to all the rain we have had recently. Ponies have been let loose in the arena over the winter when the fields have been too wet so have dug up the arena a bit. YO said as soon as there was a few dry days they would get the digger out and trudge it up. That was just over 2 weeks ago. It has been dry for the past week, but nothing has been done to the arena yet. They do harrow it most days, but it doesn’t really make much of a difference.
Some stuff of horse 2 has been damaged. Clip snapped on the head collar and been put back together with a bit of plastic. Turned out horse had stood on it which is fine - these things happen. Came up the other day to find outdoor rug with huge rip on it and sursingle (sp?) broken. Someone hadn’t put the sursingle on properly, horse 2 then stood on it which caused the rip. Went up yesterday couldn’t find the head collar, groom found it - whole head collar drenched in muck, couldn’t see what colour it was. Apparently no explanation for it. They aren’t left on the horses in the field etc. If someone had dropped it in the field or whatever that’s fine, these things happen, but at least give it a clean once it’s dry! Would just prefer it if someone said, “Horse 2 stood on sursingle and ripped the rug” rather than no one even mentioning it and me wondering what happened to it for weeks.
I just don’t feel happy there at all, but I don’t know if this is because I need to give it more time. Moving from DIY livery to full livery might take time to adjust also. I don’t want to have to move the horses again and unsettle them even more. I don’t know if I am being reasonable with the issues I have raised, or I am nit picking because I would do it differently. My mum owns horse 1 and she quite enjoys the yard. She isn’t keen on the fields. Arena isn’t a problem for her as horse 1 is unbroken as still a baby. Not sure what to do. Like the people there, but just feel for the money I pay, I’m not getting much out of it. Think they will eventually get the arena sorted, but what if the same happens again this winter? I can’t not ride for 4 months. It’s so frustrating.
What do you think? Quality street chocolates for anyone who got this far
