From Livery to Private Yard... Your Tips!

L

loverly

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 July 2010
Messages
559
Location
In the middle of nowhere (Devon!!)
Visit site
So I've finally had enough of interfering livery people (and owners) and have found myself a field with two stables to rent about 10 minutes drive from my house.

As a person who has always been on a livery yard with pretty much everthing I need at hand, is there any tips and time saving recommendations?

Do your horses live out most of the time, including winter? As I would like them to be out as much as possible as they only have a couple of hours a day max (if its not raining or frozen) at the moment.

What items would you not live without?

Ahh I can't wait to have a routine that suits both myself but mainly the horses :D
 
I did it 4 months ago and i love it,3 mins from my house, im so lucky, floodlit arena , hot horse shower, solarium and 5 acres for my 3 horses.
They go out through the day and in at night.
My arena is graded and rolled by my landlord and fields maintained by them as well
 
I have rented two stables and 3 acres for about 5 years, and love it! I am lucky in that I also have a sandschool, surface not fabulous but better than nothing. I picked up an old harrow for £20 and am able to level school using my car. I use electric fencing to section off field, so I can rest part of it. My landlady bought a roller and I use her car (a 4 x 4) to roll fields in the spring. I order in hay and shavings as and when I need them (I have a barn for storage). My horses are out in day, but come in at night all year round as the grazing isn't good enough to support them living out 24/7 in the summer months. I think the only things you need to ensure you have are first aid things for horses and farrier tools to remove a shoe in an emergency. I have also ensured that my landlady has my contact numbers and my vet's number in case of any emergencies. I have a very good relationship with my landlady and ensure I always pay my rent on time and keep the yard swept and tidy and, she in turn pays for repairs to fencing/stabling and altho she isn't horsey is happy to turn the pony out for me when I am away all day at an event with my horse!! I enjoy the peacefulness of being on my own and never get lonely (altho an occasionaly lie in would be nice!!)
 
Where I moved mine to it was pretty much set up for us, but I'd definitely recommend lighting - invaluable in winter so make sure you've got good lights. If things aren't already in place make sure water access is easy enough, hosepipe is in working order etc. Make sure every gate is securely locked especially if you're in a quiet area. Remember general essentials e.g string! You want to devise a rotation of fields for summer/winter grazing, separation etc etc. Consider electric fencing. If they're going to be out 24/7 at all you want shelter in the field, whether this is trees or a man made shelter. Also you want good location for a muck heap if not already there. I can't think of anything else...mind's gone blank.. umm there's probably loads I've missed out!

Mine are out as much as physically possible, which is at least for a good few hours (often 8am-4-5pm in fair weather) every day. Summer they're out 24/7. Its so much easier!
 
Monkey mad how close are you to your stables ? i go down occassionally at night about 9 and skip out then put up big nets so i can get a long lie in the morning but my guys are only a couple of minutes away
 
Marydoll, I am less than 5 minutes away from yard - I have been tempted to go down in the morning in my pyjamas to just feed and hay, but once your up your up and the feeling of staying in bed has gone!
 
hi, we moved into our own place in november, with the ponies in the backyard ;) make sure you have good contacts for hay straw and bedding - and if you school make sure you can rent one nearby. have a thought about where to keep the tack ( mines in the house due to a break-in nearby ) and make sure pipes are well insulated.


most of all, enjoy!! best thing i ever did :D
 
A head torch is invaluable, as suggested insulate water pipes and find a friendly
farmer to remove muck heap, shelter for your hay, bedding is invaluble, we keep
tack in the house, due to damp air making leather go mouldy.
Enjoy
 
I have been renting a private yard for two years. We have two stables and 3 acres. I love it and would never go back to a livery yard. The horses live out 24/7 all year, they came in at night for two weeks last winter when it was torrential rain.
My advice would be to poo pick everyday, use electric fencing to rotate grazing and stock up with supplies in winter. Get your horses used to a head torch and then you can go up when you want to. Enjoy :)
 
double pad lock your gates if hinges are not upside down.. ie gates can be lifted off.

do you have water
electric,

how much land do you have?
 
It's just over 3 acres for two horses and a miniature although he won't take up much space. I am definitely going to section the field off so that there is some grass all year round.

digitalangel - I didn't think of asking someone nearby with a sandschool, will get onto google maps! I'm used to going in the school upto 3-4 times a week, so its going to be hard not having that convience.

Does anyone section off part of a field for schooling/jumping in the summer? It's not entirely flat but a part up the top whch would be about 20x40 is fairly level which Im thinking of using.
 
We use a section near to our stable for schooling in the summer ... but don't think about riding in the paddocks/lunging in the winter months! You will regret it :)

During winter, try and get hold of some big plastic dustbins (the old fashioned ones) to fill with water and leave in your stable/barn, so if your hose freezes you've still got some water for their buckets.

If you can have two wheelbarrows; one for mucking out & poo picking and another for hay when you're haying in the fields.

My boy lives out 24/7 but in the winter, we leave his stable door open and he wanders in and out of the barn and puts himself to bed whenever he feels he needs to. This seems to work for him as if you go up early in the morning 9 times out of 10 he'll be lay down in his stable having a snooze!

If there are any other people with horses close by, speak to them about where they get their hay/bedding from and see if there's a possibility of having yours delivered with theirs and splitting the cost of delivery. Always make sure you have 'back up bedding' and a few bales of 'back up hay' (doesnt go off as quick as haylage) just in case you run short and cant get a delivery.

Manage your paddocks well (rotation etc) during the winter we allow the horses to roam over all of the field and the barn area, and then when it dries out again we put them back into paddocks and start rotating. Having them wandering everywhere during the wetter seasons means that we never get churned paddocks (by gates/water troughs etc) as they're not forced to stand in one place all the time. This isn't an option for everyone but depending on your yard layout it's worth a go :)

Make sure your muckheap is easily accesible for a tractor/trailer and isn't leaning against anything that could be pushed over when the tractor comes to dig it up :)

If your pipes/hose does freeze, a few piles of horse poo over the top of the pipe might help to thaw it out!

Good luck, you're going to love it. it's a much more relaxed pace of life and you'll really notice a difference in your horses too!! xxx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top