Full livery - advice please

They're taking the pee out of you.

i especially dont like the sound of the attitude of the staff if you get the feeling they begrudge mucking your horse out in the morning and cant be arsed to put a headcollar on.
How well would they be looking after your horses when you're not around would be bothering me.

i'd be off.
 
I'm another that says move - I keep my girls on full livery (some call it part as I do the exercising!) for c.£100/wk/horse (in Dorset) and that is all feed, ad lib haylage, bedding etc. I like to be very involved in the care of my horses and the yard is fine with that - I make the decisions regarding supplements etc and they administer - if they want to adjust the feeding etc, then they ask me first. Obviously they use their own discretion when deciding on appropriate rugging etc. For me, full livery lets me be involved with the care but without having the worry of the commitment (like you, job involves working away plus awkward hours!). Incidentally, the headcollar thing would be a complete dealbreaker for me - sounds terribly unsafe in any environment and certainly not good for a youngster. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
That's appalling and I'd be very annoyed. There are some crap yards out there but there are also good ones so don't lose faith.

A good yard should not have horses that are losing weight and you shouldn't be made to feel like they are doing you a favour. At the end of the day you are paying them for a service and paying their wages - sometimes I think a few YMs forget who their customers are!!!

Ad lib hay should be provided if that's on your contract, however they may have underestimated how much your horses eat and this cost is making them ration a bit more. If you're happy there then I'd tell them your concerns and give them time to act and if nothing changes then I'd move.
 
I'm afraid i'm going to agree with the majority of answers and say i think it's time to move on...definitely.

Reading what you've wrote,...i find most of it pretty unnacceptable for so called 'Full Livery'.

Your 4 year old you say is a handful...,...mmmm, leading around 'via her rug' isn't going to help matters there,..she'll be taking advantage sooner rather than later i bet!, just hope no accidents happen as that would be a bit of a worry for me personally.

The haylage situation is poor,...very poor. We all know that fibre is one of the most important feed sources and to be denied this is really not on to be honest.

Adding supplements to both your horses feed without telling you is jaw dropping for me!...i'd be livid if they were doing this without my permission. As has been said,..this could lead to a number of things and a vets bill to go with it too.. absolutely out of order.

As has been said there are good and bad in all yards... i hope you find a good one and soon. Full Livery i'd be expecting to pay at least £100 a week per horse.

For what it's worth i moved from a yard because of a number of things that i found out were happening and some of them exactly the same as you are experiencing. I wasn't full livery, but even so, there are things that i will just not accept at all, so i voted with my feet (and hooves) and vacated as soon as i found somewhere.

Best move i've made in a long time to be honest...and nearer to home too!

Take care and really hope you can find somewhere for your horses, should you decide to move on.
 
I live in the north east, just on the border of Tyne and wear and county Durham. I work full time but in 2 different places, one is near Stanley and the other near Newcastle airport. My current yard is Consett/Stanley area

I'm on a lovely full livery yard same area, some of the yards our way are dreadful - I'd still move and risk it :)
 
I own a small livery yard and I charge £95 week for 5 day part livery and £115 for 7 day part livery (full board - all feed & forage provided). I am in the South East and my facilities include a floodlit all weather arena and daily turnout. As I have bred and backed many young horses, I wouldn't dream of leading a horse around by its rug! I am appalled that anyone would think that is appropriate, especially when a client is paying for a level of responsible care.
 
Top