expectations of full livery

I'm on full livery @ £370 a month.

She is put on the walker for half hour in the morning, then rugs changed and turned out. Mucked out (decent sized shavings bed), fed, watered, brought in, rugs changed, legs washed/feet picked. Farrier/vet/physio etc are attended by them, but booked/paid for by myself (leave money for them in advance). Rugs are also washed which is included.

If you want them brought in/groomed/bathed/tacked up you can write in the diary (FOC) but I never do this as feel it's taking the pee! Haha

I feel I get very good value for money... and as I keep her with her breeders, she is treated like one of their own, as she was one of their own!!
 
Slightly different full livery, but I have full grass livery.

Pony is checked daily, rugs changed if needed and hay’d in the field, any emergencies dealt with.
I pay extra for lunging, bringing in for farrier, I also have the option of grooming and tacking up ready for me to ride if required, which will be very useful when it starts to get lighter in the evening so I can go straight to ride after work and not spend half an hour of daylight faffing.

To be honest it is totally invaluable the amount of time full livery saves me, I do miss seeing the pony every day but sadly working full time, working for my partner’s business, studying accountancy, walking the dog and running the house have to take a priority!

I also have to trust in my yard owner and the staff, with my horse and her belongings, not to mention that my stuff for my 13.2 pony isn’t really usable on most of the horses on my yard as they tend to be around the 16-17h mark! :D
 
Dizzle said:
Slightly different full livery, but I have full grass livery.

Pony is checked daily, rugs changed if needed and hay’d in the field, any emergencies dealt with.
I pay extra for lunging, bringing in for farrier, I also have the option of grooming and tacking up ready for me to ride if required, which will be very useful when it starts to get lighter in the evening so I can go straight to ride after work and not spend half an hour of daylight faffing.

To be honest it is totally invaluable the amount of time full livery saves me, I do miss seeing the pony every day but sadly working full time, working for my partner’s business, studying accountancy, walking the dog and running the house have to take a priority!

I also have to trust in my yard owner and the staff, with my horse and her belongings, not to mention that my stuff for my 13.2 pony isn’t really usable on most of the horses on my yard as they tend to be around the 16-17h mark! :D
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I id not know full grass livery existed :P definitely what I want when I am working shifts in a few years time!
 
It varies so much.
Depends on cost, basically you get what you pay for.
Also look at the yard and other horses and take them as an example.

Basically you have ti ask lots of questions to be sure you know exactly what you gey for your money.
 
Don't forget the questioin was concerning FULL LIVERY - not part/assisted/DIY

FULL LIVERY - means absolutely everything required to maintain your horses health, well being and fitness and YOU pay for it.

Therefore
A horse on FULL livery will

Have all feed supplied, measured and fed at the appropriate times
It's box will be mucked out daily and skipped out during the day
It will receive Hay/Haylage as and when required by the yards routine
It will be quartered
Exercised - we did at least one hours steady trot everyday around the roads
It will then be strapped
Tack/boots will be cleaned
Rugs will be added to/changed as required
If horse is turned out it will be and then brought back in, cleaned up and rugs changed
If you require the horse to be plaited for hunting/shows etc - this is done, you may have to pay extra
A member of staff is on hand when you return from hunting/show to receive your horse from you, tidy it up and put it to bed.
Your tack is cleaned
When you are able to ride - you phone up several hours or 10 mins (if you are the PITA owner) before you want to ride and your horse is ready and waiting for you.
On your return you hand the reins to the groom, pat the horse on the neck and leave
Each week the head girl went round all the yard horses and checked shoes, if the Full livery needed shoeing it was booked and one of the staff held the horse for the farrier.Same for vet, chiro and dentist. Any injury was taken care of by the staff.

Now this used to happen a lot - we had many horses on full livery - one family had several. They enjoyed the riding but not the getting dirty. They really loved their horses. Eventually I even had one of mine on full livery when my job involved being at work for 14 hours a day every day for a whole month. It was a life saver and I certainly didn't mind, my horse was being completely cared for.

Many had very busy work lives - riding was their way of relaxing.

They had the money - I had a job.

I loved looking after the full liveries - the owners were generally very nice peopple glad that someone cared for their horses well being - I always had pockets full of Polo's for the horses so the horses got loved.
 
Copperpot said:
Cheshire Chestnut I work shifts too, ranging from a 2am start to a 11.59pm start, that's why he was in full livery. I always knew he had a routine and was looked after.

Now he's DIY he doesn't always look quite as smart and tack isn't always quite as clean :)
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Haha me too. When I was turning out in the rain and freezing cold at 7am this morning following a 12 hour night shift and really wanting my bed, I have to say I has a tiny bit jealous of those on full livery :(

Maybe 2014 is the year I will win the lottery! Best get buying a ticket...
 
PolarSkye said:
I was working in London and travelling a lot at the time . . . yard had a yard farrier/dentist/physio.

Livery was £800/month.

P
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Wowzers, I'd have to live off beans for the rest of my life to spend this on livery! Smart Price beans. Mind you, you do get a lot for your money in a way, and by doing DIY you appreciate how hard work and time consuming looking after a horse is. Therefore I can totally see how they justify these prices.
 
trottingon said:
" Owners can ring to say they are coming to ride and the horse will be brought in, groomed and tacked ready" OMG do people really do this????? I'd be completely embarrassed if I couldn't even be bothered to tack up my own flippin horse!!!! I know people lead busy lives but that takes the biscuit {8-O !!!
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They do indeed, I know someone who simply turns up ready to ride, the YO even puts the horse on the lorry for her! This is quite normal for hunting liveries IME.
 
What is or isn't offered varies so much but if you are a wanting someone to look after your horse properly 7 days a week if you can't get there then it is everything needed to keep your horse sound and healthy. This would include good clean beds, plenty of forage, good-turn-out, exercise if required, grooming and feet-picking, rug changing, tack-cleaning, vet, farrier etc. supervision. In addition you want staff that are observant and who see a nick and treat it or spot signs the horse is developing mud-fever or looks a little tucked up. This I've found severely lacking on a lot of yards.

Then really it is combination of a clear contract on what is provided and for what cost. A part-livery package where you may be there a lot more in the evenings and weekends would not need to provide as much.

I would expect the staffing ratio to reflect the number of horses and the level of care to be given and barring emergencies it is infuriating when a paid for service is not delivered because "we don't have time". Either don't offer the service or get more staff. I don't expect something for nothing either but I know some people do.
 
Cheshire Chestnut said:
Wowzers, I'd have to live off beans for the rest of my life to spend this on livery! Smart Price beans. Mind you, you do get a lot for your money in a way, and by doing DIY you appreciate how hard work and time consuming looking after a horse is. Therefore I can totally see how they justify these prices.
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Honestly? I prefer DIY . . . and not just because it's a darned sight cheaper ;).

Kal was very well looked after there, but I felt like he wasn't really mine if that makes sense?

P
 
Full livery at most yards around here means they feed, turn out, muck out, bring in, change rugs. That's it. At my yard, they hold for farrier but if you have one with foot issue that needs discussing or a behaviour issue, you'd really better be there. Vet appointments are up to you, though obviously if there was an emergency and you couldn't teleport there fast enough, they would deal. I like the yard a lot because they do their thing, have all the horses in a routine, but leave you to do your thing and won't tell you how to manage your horse unless you are doing something extremely stupid or dangerous. I have been at other yards where the YO tries to micromanage how you deal with your horse and is a fountain of unsolicited advice, telling you that you're doing things wrong and making you feel like you just bought the horse yesterday. I found that to be a massive culture shock, coming from the US, where all the barns fed, mucked out, turned out, brought in, but didn't think that meant they could then treat you like you didn't know anything and obviously you made your own decisions about rugging, feeding, shoeing, vet, etc.

I later learned about the predominance of DIY and the assumption that if you're not at a DIY yard, you probably don't know anything.

It was a breath of fresh air, when I moved to current yard and said, "I want my horse given X in her feed," and they said "okay," rather than telling me why I shouldn't and Y was much better.
 
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My "Full-Livery" is what some people would call "Part-Livery".

Everything is included apart from riding/grooming/washed legs/feet picked. Though I know if I asked for T's legs to be washed, it would get done no problem.

Feed x2 daily (Hi-Fi and Nuts in summer, the same in winter but with fast fibre)
Hay x1/x2 daily nets (1x net in summer, x2 in winter)
Lunch x1 in winter (ready grass)
T/O at 9.00, brought in at 14.00.
Mucked out with decent sized beds (x1 hunter provided weekly, though I tend to buy extra)
Hold for farrier/ vet/ physio etc. YM usually organises.
Rugs changed if required, but most of us keep them in T/O rugs.

Weekends is complete DIY (Turn out, bring in, muck out yourself etc)- YM will feed in morn and evening.

I pay £370 for this (I'm in south east)
 
Tnavas said:
Don't forget the questioin was concerning FULL LIVERY - not part/assisted/DIY

FULL LIVERY - means absolutely everything required to maintain your horses health, well being and fitness and YOU pay for it.

Therefore
A horse on FULL livery will

Have all feed supplied, measured and fed at the appropriate times
It's box will be mucked out daily and skipped out during the day
It will receive Hay/Haylage as and when required by the yards routine
It will be quartered
Exercised - we did at least one hours steady trot everyday around the roads
It will then be strapped
Tack/boots will be cleaned
Rugs will be added to/changed as required
If horse is turned out it will be and then brought back in, cleaned up and rugs changed
If you require the horse to be plaited for hunting/shows etc - this is done, you may have to pay extra
A member of staff is on hand when you return from hunting/show to receive your horse from you, tidy it up and put it to bed.
Your tack is cleaned
When you are able to ride - you phone up several hours or 10 mins (if you are the PITA owner) before you want to ride and your horse is ready and waiting for you.
On your return you hand the reins to the groom, pat the horse on the neck and leave
Each week the head girl went round all the yard horses and checked shoes, if the Full livery needed shoeing it was booked and one of the staff held the horse for the farrier.Same for vet, chiro and dentist. Any injury was taken care of by the staff.

Now this used to happen a lot - we had many horses on full livery - one family had several. They enjoyed the riding but not the getting dirty. They really loved their horses. Eventually I even had one of mine on full livery when my job involved being at work for 14 hours a day every day for a whole month. It was a life saver and I certainly didn't mind, my horse was being completely cared for.

Many had very busy work lives - riding was their way of relaxing.

They had the money - I had a job.

I loved looking after the full liveries - the owners were generally very nice peopple glad that someone cared for their horses well being - I always had pockets full of Polo's for the horses so the horses got loved.
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Many moons ago when I was a groom we did hunter livery which was all of the above. What a job. I basically got to ride and care for a quality horse 6 days a week, rode it though some amazing countryside, had access to immaculate stables and grazing and in return the owner paid a lot of money to hunt the odd Saturday, as he worked long hours and you never saw him at other times. We did only have two liveries but they were treated like kings, groomed at least an hour each afternoon, hot clothed, apart from their tails when they came back from hunting they never had water on them and they never had their legs hosed they were brushed clean when dry.
 
At the yard I work on, full livery is:
Skip out twice daily, full muck out twice per week as they are on a deep bed, so two bags of shavings per week
3 feeds per day
Hay 3 times a day (soaked or dry)
Rugs changed, turnout, feet picked out, brought in for lunch, feet picked out rugs changed etc.
Full tack clean after every ride/session, including washing saddle pads and numnah's weekly, full tack clean every day and boots washed / cleaned every day too.
Horses exercised a.m. Either hacking, lunging in Pessoa or side reins etc, schooling, jumping, summer can include cross country or schooling in the riding paddocks, horse walker etc. I believe hacking can be 5 days per week, and schooling sessions 3 times per week, owner chooses at their disgression
Full groom every day- as in a real full groom, feet oiled, manes tails whiskers trimmed/pulled
There are 18 horses, 2-3 members of staff. I believe it is around 850 per month, so whatever that makes per week, but it IS a competition yard and the owner is a highly regarded dressage rider.
There is an outdoor ménage with flood lights, and special facilities to enable para riders to get on/off etc.
Yard has a solarium, hot cold shower, kitchen, alarmed tack room, jumps, hacking and summer fields to ride in.
This is in Buckinghamshire
 
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