Fair offer or cheeky ask ?

[Joe Public]

When have I said the horse will be on its own all summer. ?

The whole point of the post it to ask if someone would be willing to use the field with us in the summer. Possibly use it themselves in the winter
If not we need to accept its not possible and come up with something else, we wouldn't want a lonely horse.

The other issue is the horse forming bonds in the summer and then being moved to livery in the winter.

I am very concerned that the last thing you are considering is the welfare of the horse, OP. Horses need equine company. It is a basic welfare issue and if you are not prepared to provide that company then you shouldn't own a horse. This horse will be alone all summer (as I doubt anyone will want to keep moving their horse backwards and forwards to livery, or have it alone all winter). It will then be put in a livery where it will have company and form bonds, only to be wrenched away again in the Spring/Summer. Not a kind way to treat a horse IMO. I am actually thinking this post is a wind up.

 

[Joe Public]

No worries, thanks for the advice

I find myself asking why you are bothering, for one horse.

Why not just rent the field to a farmer/horse owner, and keep the one horse you have in the livery stables all year round? It sounds like a heck of a fuss and disruption for very little gain to me.

You need to organise managing a track system, maintaining and grading an arena, etc, etc, just for the summer. Your wife is scared to go there after dark in winter, so how bad is the security in summer? Do you realise how much of an annoyance carrying water is likely to be? And how unreliable many farmers are when work is needed on very small pieces of land? And how much upset it can cause when a livery horse bites or kicks yours?


I give it one summer before your wife and daughter decide that they want the comfort and companionship of a livery yard year round., sorry !

 

[Joe Public]

Er no.

I'm very happy having another piece of land in our pensions portfolio to balance it.
I have a farmer willing to farm the land which would be no work for me, just a small return on the land
My wife would like a paddock. I'm here to see if what she wants is workable. Its looking like it probably wouldn't be with just one horse or without her accepting winters there.

To me, this is reading very much like something you want and are organising,

 

[AnShanDan]

In my experience, people who have fields separate from their house for their horse(es) have to be very committed to the project. They end up spending a lot of time there and maintaining it is part of the whole attraction. For example I have good friends who own a small yard/paddocks about 3 miles from their house, the dad is up there all the time doing stuff (painting, fencing, harrowing the arena etc), they have made it their family hobby.

I think the main attraction for most people in this situation is getting away from livery yards, and it sounds like your family really prefer a livery yard.

Not to mention, no electricity is bad enough, but generators are a solution, no water is trickier. Other friends who lost their water supply at their field used a water collection system from the roof of their stable, but this only worked in autumn-spring, in summer they had to bring a bowser up. They eventually got mains water re-installed.

 

[ester]

*feeling ignored*

 

[Joe Public]

Sorry for ignoring you ester. Thank you for your reply

Paying for livery isn't an issue.

We wouldn't want the other person off the field in winter and there would be room if they had two horses

To start with tracks would be soft so no use in winter. But the other part of the field would be accessible.

Maybe we will find someone that is flexible, has 2 horses and if we do we will be more than willing to be flexible with them.

If we do it we will set up water tanks, butts to make the water situation better but not perfect

Does your wife have somewhere sorted that will allow her to flexi-livery or do you intend to pay for the livery all year round and move out to the field in summer anyway- I know some people that do that to get more grazing but usually only if they have to.

Good yards usually have waiting lists so to be able to go to and from one just in winter - which is usually the busier time anyway might not be that easy unless you have something sorted already - and that is also the problem you would be putting this other person in if you want them off the field in winter.

Do you actually want them off the field in winter? Is your track going to be grass or hard? I am asking because you might be able to find someone with two horses for whom the 7 acres would be plenty to not damage the grass too much in winter, presuming you have a fairly good doer if you want to track them anyway. Then you could just join them in summer.

 

[Joe Public]

Thanks for the advice

In my experience, people who have fields separate from their house for their horse(es) have to be very committed to the project. They end up spending a lot of time there and maintaining it is part of the whole attraction. For example I have good friends who own a small yard/paddocks about 3 miles from their house, the dad is up there all the time doing stuff (painting, fencing, harrowing the arena etc), they have made it their family hobby.

I think the main attraction for most people in this situation is getting away from livery yards, and it sounds like your family really prefer a livery yard.

Not to mention, no electricity is bad enough, but generators are a solution, no water is trickier. Other friends who lost their water supply at their field used a water collection system from the roof of their stable, but this only worked in autumn-spring, in summer they had to bring a bowser up. They eventually got mains water re-installed.

 

[9tails]

When have I said the horse will be on its own all summer. ?

The whole point of the post it to ask if someone would be willing to use the field with us in the summer. Possibly use it themselves in the winter
If not we need to accept its not possible and come up with something else, we wouldn't want a lonely horse.

The other issue is the horse forming bonds in the summer and then being moved to livery in the winter.

Horses form really strong bonds, they don't like being uprooted in this way. I can't imagine it would appeal to many people, many someone with a couple of pet ponies. But I'm wondering what the point is as during the summer all the fun is happening and your wife will be out of the livery yard loop to fun rides/events/shows.

 

[ihatework]

If you are essentially wanting company for your horse in the summer only and a way to get holiday cover sorted for while you are not there, my advice would be to advertise for hunters x 2 on holiday.

You could offer hunter summer turnout, and then with whatever you charge could then pay a freelancer for your holiday cover. Or you might find someone local to you who with hunters who would do the reciprocal arrangement you seek.

It's certainly a fair exchange, you just need the right person. I do think you will find it easier to have 2 non ridden horses come in so that your wife could then ride hers without having issues leaving one on its own.

 

[Joe Public]

Thank you for your advise. Another good point Cheers

Horses form really strong bonds, they don't like being uprooted in this way. I can't imagine it would appeal to many people, many someone with a couple of pet ponies. But I'm wondering what the point is as during the summer all the fun is happening and your wife will be out of the livery yard loop to fun rides/events/shows.

 

[Joe Public]

thank you.

If you are essentially wanting company for your horse in the summer only and a way to get holiday cover sorted for while you are not there, my advice would be to advertise for hunters x 2 on holiday.

You could offer hunter summer turnout, and then with whatever you charge could then pay a freelancer for your holiday cover. Or you might find someone local to you who with hunters who would do the reciprocal arrangement you seek.

It's certainly a fair exchange, you just need the right person. I do think you will find it easier to have 2 non ridden horses come in so that your wife could then ride hers without having issues leaving one on its own.

 

[ycbm]

Er no.

I'm very happy having another piece of land in our pensions portfolio to balance it.

I thought that would be what was behind it.

I have a farmer willing to farm the land which would be no work for me, just a small return on the land
e.

Good luck with that. I live in farming country and my own experience is that most farmers are not easy to deal with over the management of small patches of land. My advice to you would be either to let him rent it all, or keep yourself self-sufficient, or be prepared to do most of the real work yoursel even thigh you think he has agreed to do it.


The hunter suggestion above is a very good one. But it's a very small market. Around here, people either keep their hunters going all summer doing other things, or they have land of their own to turn away on. Hunters are also generally brought in to start conditioning for autumn hunting long before your wife would probably be wanting to return to the livery yard.

 

[ester]

We've managed a fairly good deal on getting our hay made (nothing else) after 10 years of occupancy. Local hay/straw merchant makes it and takes it so we don't have to store as big names and brings it back to us over winter/or some of his other stuff and we get a certain amount free.
However we also have sheep for him in the summer which mum keeps an eye on and waters etc and his daughter had all our poly jumps. We still have issue getting the field harrowed and rolled every year at the right time as he doesn't have that kit so someone else has to do it.

 

[alainax]

If the person could bring and keep their two horses there all year long, your wife's horse could come and go as it pleased. I doubt many people would move one horse elsewhere when your wife's horse came back.

Are you going to be keeping the hay from the field to feed the horses?

 

[Joe Public]

Exactly what we've been offered on the other half of the field. Farmer does the farming and we get a % of the haylage. He does this for several other people we know with no issues or drama.

We've managed a fairly good deal on getting our hay made (nothing else) after 10 years of occupancy. Local hay/straw merchant makes it and takes it so we don't have to store as big names and brings it back to us over winter/or some of his other stuff and we get a certain amount free.
However we also have sheep for him in the summer which mum keeps an eye on and waters etc and his daughter had all our poly jumps. We still have issue getting the field harrowed and rolled every year at the right time as he doesn't have that kit so someone else has to do it.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Just want to say thank you to everyone for all the help. I'm hearing the issue regarding the second persons horse in winter. So we need to find someone who'd like to leave livery in the summer and go back in the winter. My wife stills wants the whole livery yard experience.

I'm wondering if someone with more than two horses might be interest in sending one of there horses for summer.

Another horse for us might be an option sometime in the future but we'd need to pay for help when the we can't get there.

I doubt it, as that would mean that they had to visit 2 yards at least once every day.

 

[SO1]

Ideally you need to find someone who wants to do winter livery at the same yard as your wife. Then you dont have problems with having to reintroduce the horses to each other every six months.

Another option is youngstock livery.