Etiquette when moving yards.

Amaretto

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When I moved from my last yard (which I loved), it was because they didn't offer livery, which I needed because I had just got injured (broken back) and I couldn't muck out, lift haynets etc. Ended up staying at the new yard as my boy settled really well and there was no reason to move back. I would never have moved in normal circumstances.

My friend has been on her current yard for nearly 7 years and has tolerated excessive price hikes, non maintainance of facilities and less than perfect service. Mainly because it's a stone's throw from her house and she has been friends with the yard owner since she was a small child.

She has plucked up the courage to find somewhere more suitable and informed the current yard owner today. The yard owner was really upset and my friend felt upset too and has been working herself into a frenzy in the run up to handing in her notice.

To me, it should be about what's right for your horse and what's right for your circumstances. But it's so hard when friendships are involved. I think you should always have a grown up conversation with your yard owner and not get personal - after all, it's not useful to burn your bridges.

How have you all dealt with difficult situations such as this?
 

FrodoBeutlin

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Some people / YOs seem to take it very, very personally and react in a totally surprising way, even when you have perfectly valid reasons for moving, like in your case. I have no idea why!

I've had some weird experiences in the past. I have moved *a lot* of yards (because I have moved a lot myself, and the horses have followed most of the time!) but some of these have been very difficult purely because of the YO's reaction. In one particular instance -- my horse was in Italy, I was in Italy too at the time but accepted a 6-month job in the UK, so I decided to move him to my trainer's who could offer training/competing livery. He was 6 and doing well in young horse classes - what other option did I have? I definitely wasn't going to leave him in a field for six months, LOL! So I moved him meaning to go back to the old yard (which was lovely, cheap, and very very close to home so I genuinely would have been happy to go back, I wasn't just saying it!) after the 6 months but the YO was so upset at me leaving that she actually *did* burn all bridges and hasn't really spoken to me since! :eek:
 

Sneedy

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The last yard I was at was run by a friend (not anymore tho, she hasn't spoken to me since I left ;)), and the circumstances sound very similar ie unreasonable price increases, facilities promised but never appearing and sub standard care, I could go in but will end up ranting ;)!

It is very hard when there are friendships involved and the YO WILL take it personally, but your friend has got to do what is right for her and her horse! It is one of the hardest things she'll do, I made myself ill whittling over it (took me 3 months to decide, new YM was very patient!) then plucked up the outrage to tell YM I was going.....she cried (great, not what I wanted!!)......then proceeded to ignore me for he longest 4wk notice period ever ;)!

If anything, her behaviour reinforced my decision to move, would have been harder if she'd been nice to me!!

Anyway, leaving was the best decision I made and I never have a day where I regret my decision......but it was hard!!!
 
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xspiralx

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It's difficult sometimes - even when the decision is nothing personal some YOs do take it very personally and it can make life very tricky!

I've had a couple of interesting ones - one with a loan horse - when I told the YO I was moving him they tried to kick ME off the yard and said they were keeping the horse!! And another one where the (already quite mean) YO got really horrible after we told her we were moving, made life very uncomfortable, and threatened to shoot my horse!

Not sure there is a way to avoid these kind of situations, only thing to do is to take the high road and remain polite and friendly at all times, and just keep your head down.:(
 

LeannePip

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i agree with above a lot of yard owners will take it personally if/when you decide to move because they probably put a lot of work into the yard so it is a more personal thing but if the reasons are right for you/your friend carry on! it is hard but you just have to do it! :)
 

labruyere

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ummm
i may be missing the point, but...

hand your notice in and leave...

they are a business, you are a client, they don't meet your requirements, you are complying with the contract by giving notice....

and if you're totally paranoid... pay your notice period but move the horse immediately

you're not divorcing your partner - you're moving your business to a better supplier (like going from npower to british gas or vv)

if they are running a business as a business then they will have no problem with this, or possibly propose a better deal to retain your business
unfortunately many people in the horse industry couldn't run a business as such if their life depended on it, in which case they deserve to lose business
 

labruyere

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having re-read original post, if i understand it correctly
it seems your friend has gone about this in pretty much the worst way possible

either find a new yard then inform current yard you are giving notice

OR raise your grievances with current yard and give them the opportunity to offer a solution
(personally i would recommend you'd put out feelers at other yards anyway before this.. at the very least it gives you information to bargain with - eg such and such a yard provides individual turnout for the same price, or whatever
- you also just might discover you're not on such a bad deal after all!)

IF mutually acceptable solution can't be found then move

but saying you're going because you don't like it there but you're not sure when and you're not giving them the chance to sort
to be fair i think they have a right to be a bit peeved...
 

Tnavas

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I've just had to deal with a YO - I gave him two weeks notice, thanked him for the time I had been there - almost 1 year. I explained why I was leaving - because I was riding my horse now and that I wanted to be able to keep riding and that I was moving to a place with an arena, a 1km surfaced track so would be able to keep riding through winter.

There has been an empty paddock for several months after I moved my youngster to other grazing and I've tried to find a replacement person to take the paddock. Each person has said the same thing - far too expensive - 1 field, a wash bay and the use of a stable. No other facilities. I felt that it would be a help to let him know what people have said.

He got really nasty and told me to be off the place by 5pm that evening! I was stunned - he was really rude to me, accused me of lecturing him on how to manage his property - he blamed me for the thistles, docks, daisies and ragwort! Because I harrow rather than pick up dung! I told him that I didn't feed hay out in the paddock so was not responsible for the weeds that were already growing in the paddock and that I was not prepared to pay for the paddocks to be sprayed. I was paying $50 a week about £26.

Fortunately the new place were happy to take us on straight away.
 

TheoryX1

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I never get it with YOs sometimes. As said before its a business - I dont cry and bitch if a client takes their business elsewhere in my line of work. I accept it, try and find out why, learn from it and move on.

Our last yard was awful, so when I gave in my notice I left immediately and paid my livery in lieu of notice. It was costly, but it stopped a lot of upset, which I had seen other liveries endure. Life is far too short as far as I am concerned, and if you have horses, you should be enjoying them, not dreading going up the yard.
 

FrodoBeutlin

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Our last yard was awful, so when I gave in my notice I left immediately and paid my livery in lieu of notice. It was costly, but it stopped a lot of upset, which I had seen other liveries endure. Life is far too short as far as I am concerned, and if you have horses, you should be enjoying them, not dreading going up the yard.

Yes, I've had to do this once too - better to pay one month's livery than have to stay there one extra month, says it all really!

Totally agree re. other lines of work. Can't understand why some YOs can't be equally professional!
 

charlie76

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We have just have five liveries leave for a variety of personal reason s. They all gave adequate notice and we put on a farewell party for then with over 80 people attending.there is o reason for
 

charlie76

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Stupid phone! - There is no reason for anyone to leave on a bad note. However I have in the past asked people to leave immediately in the past after they have refused to pay their hay and feed bill!
 

henryhorn

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I think a lot depends on how the livery approaches the notice giving.
If someone comes to see you, explains that although they have been happy circumstances dictate a move, either for more grass, better hacking/distance etc, then 99% of YO are pleasant and wish you well.
If however you come with a list of complaints, make comments like you are moving to a better yard etc then expect a frosty send off !
We had a livery move recently who had given us notice and told us she was moving at the weekend. Half way through the week at 10 am her horse was missing and we had to ask around to find out if she had gone. Turns out at 6 am she had moved it without having the manners to tell anyone except a friend who dropped a note in at 6pm that day. She arrived early at her new yard without bothering to advise them either..
This livery changed yards with a bad feeling totally due to her own rudeness.
Every YO understands liveries swap and change, I did myself when I was a DIY. Yard politics often dictate a move, and without sounding horrible, nine times out of ten you fill their space very quickly.. Once you and your horse have left the yard, the YO mostly forgets you exist, which sounds harsh but is the truth !
You get good liveries and simply dreadful ones, and if like us it isn't your living you can afford to be choosy, half the troublebeing until they have been here for a while, you can't tell which they will be. After having liveries for over 40 years I've seen them all, and am very tempted to write a list of what to do to upset your YO.. Top of the list would be not sweeping up after yourself. How many people bring their horses out of a box to turn out and leave a trail of shavings? Or turning up at your yard before 6am or after 11pm? Fine if prior notice and a show day, but otherwise just not acceptable.
I read on here yesterday a complaint from someone about whether a lady should stay on a bad sounding yard that how could anyone stay on a yard not poo picked daily.. Well I wondered how much it would cost me to pay someone to poo pick here after up to 40 horses every day, would she be happy to share someone's weekly wage on top of her livery bill?
People need to be realistic about what they get for their DIY money. I think when some Yo get shirty it's because they feel totally unappreciated in what they try to provide for their liveries and when one leaves it's peeving when they have fallen over backwards to be obliging, hence the frosty feeling. If you work out the cost of buying say 80 acres at £10k per acre plus the building of a school, stabling, rates, maintainance, electricity, fertiliser, machinery and water, your weekly livery payment is a drop in the ocean. Add horses who need to be kept on their own/with others/kick/break fences/chew gates/damage stable walls and doors and fighting sometimes non paying liveries and you begin to understand why some YO are always on their guard !
Your friend sounds to have had good reason to move, but there is a right and wrong way to go about things. Stay polite, thank the YO and leave on good terms, me, well I'm just pleased these days I am no longer a YO, it's my daughter's yard and she takes the flack.......!
 

gunnergundog

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I ALWAYS keep the relationship with YO a business/professional one; that way it is much easier to have 'difficult' discussions, should they be required.

I see so many instances where owner/client become 'best buddies' and then it all goes pear shaped! I am NOT anti-social, but I go to a yard for my horse, not for my social life.

Last yard I was on for six years, another yard I have been on twice for five and three years.....moving is normally due to either job changing location or the yard facilities no longer suiting the horse that I currently have.
 

1Lucie

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YES. I moved my horse 2 weeks ago and was in exactly the same position. Was absolutly awful! It took me 4weeks to pluck up the courage to say anything.. actually felt ill:rolleyes:
 

Amaretto

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having re-read original post, if i understand it correctly
it seems your friend has gone about this in pretty much the worst way possible

either find a new yard then inform current yard you are giving notice

OR raise your grievances with current yard and give them the opportunity to offer a solution
(personally i would recommend you'd put out feelers at other yards anyway before this.. at the very least it gives you information to bargain with - eg such and such a yard provides individual turnout for the same price, or whatever
- you also just might discover you're not on such a bad deal after all!)

IF mutually acceptable solution can't be found then move

but saying you're going because you don't like it there but you're not sure when and you're not giving them the chance to sort
to be fair i think they have a right to be a bit peeved...

I completely disagree. She has given a reasonable amount of notice and had chatted with the yard owner previously to say that further price hikes would make her stay there untenable. I didn't say my friend wasn't sure when she was leaving. She also has good reasons for moving - not merely because she doesn't 'like' it. I didn't put all this extra detail in my original post, as didn't think it was needed. Sounds like you may have been stung yourself?
 
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Lark

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I think a lot depends on how the livery approaches the notice giving.
If someone comes to see you, explains that although they have been happy circumstances dictate a move, either for more grass, better hacking/distance etc, then 99% of YO are pleasant and wish you well.
If however you come with a list of complaints, make comments like you are moving to a better yard etc then expect a frosty send off !
We had a livery move recently who had given us notice and told us she was moving at the weekend. Half way through the week at 10 am her horse was missing and we had to ask around to find out if she had gone. Turns out at 6 am she had moved it without having the manners to tell anyone except a friend who dropped a note in at 6pm that day. She arrived early at her new yard without bothering to advise them either..
This livery changed yards with a bad feeling totally due to her own rudeness.
Every YO understands liveries swap and change, I did myself when I was a DIY. Yard politics often dictate a move, and without sounding horrible, nine times out of ten you fill their space very quickly.. Once you and your horse have left the yard, the YO mostly forgets you exist, which sounds harsh but is the truth !
You get good liveries and simply dreadful ones, and if like us it isn't your living you can afford to be choosy, half the troublebeing until they have been here for a while, you can't tell which they will be. After having liveries for over 40 years I've seen them all, and am very tempted to write a list of what to do to upset your YO.. Top of the list would be not sweeping up after yourself. How many people bring their horses out of a box to turn out and leave a trail of shavings? Or turning up at your yard before 6am or after 11pm? Fine if prior notice and a show day, but otherwise just not acceptable.
I read on here yesterday a complaint from someone about whether a lady should stay on a bad sounding yard that how could anyone stay on a yard not poo picked daily.. Well I wondered how much it would cost me to pay someone to poo pick here after up to 40 horses every day, would she be happy to share someone's weekly wage on top of her livery bill?
People need to be realistic about what they get for their DIY money. I think when some Yo get shirty it's because they feel totally unappreciated in what they try to provide for their liveries and when one leaves it's peeving when they have fallen over backwards to be obliging, hence the frosty feeling. If you work out the cost of buying say 80 acres at £10k per acre plus the building of a school, stabling, rates, maintainance, electricity, fertiliser, machinery and water, your weekly livery payment is a drop in the ocean. Add horses who need to be kept on their own/with others/kick/break fences/chew gates/damage stable walls and doors and fighting sometimes non paying liveries and you begin to understand why some YO are always on their guard !
Your friend sounds to have had good reason to move, but there is a right and wrong way to go about things. Stay polite, thank the YO and leave on good terms, me, well I'm just pleased these days I am no longer a YO, it's my daughter's yard and she takes the flack.......!

100% agree. Please create your list HH :)
In relation to the OP, I have been on both sides of the fence and telling the YO you are leaving is never easy however it is business, it happens and people come and go all the time for a mulitude of reasons.
The killer for a YO is when there is an issue with a client that the YO is completely unaware off. People can be all smiles but seething internally about something that is entirely resolvable.
Communication is key.
 

tonker

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I moved yards simply to save money, I was being charged £25 per week, for the stable, £45 twice a month for haylage, £35 twice a month for straw,paid upfront every time, THE HAYLAGE AND STRAW OFTEN FOUND ITS WAY IN OTHER PEOPLES STABLES, when I refused to buy any more from the on site tack shop, and refused to buy food and coffees I was shunned by the YO, When I stopped having lessons with the YO, I was made to feel guilty, when the fences were made from ropes and broken planks off wood, with nails sticking out and no water in the fields, winter or summer, when the grass had totally disappeared by bad managment, and the sick paddock was no longer in use I gave up and got on a yard where the people are friendly, the hay is fantastic, the grass is there all year round, the fences are wooden post and rail, the water trough is kept fully loaded winter and summer and the hay and straw is included in my monthly fee of £130. What would you do?
 
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