Full Livery Expectations

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Laura-Lou80

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Hi everyone,

What are your expectations from a full livery yard with regards to care and facilities? My livery bill is going up to £120 per week and in this current climate I'm not sure I can afford to own a horse anymore, especially when it means I can't afford to go out and about with my horse. So I wondered how much other people pay for full livery and what it includes? However the other side of this is that I have complete peace of mind where he is now. Sorry I'm gabbling now so I'll go and do some work!
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If your bill really is for full livery, then it is cheap! Do you mean part livery? For part livery, I would expect horse costs to be included such as feed, haylage and bedding. I would expect the horse to be fed, watered, rugged, turned out, hooves picked out, stable mucked out. If full livery, then I would expect all the above plus exercise at least five times a week, tack cleaning, and grooming.

Other additional costs may be clipping, preparation for shows or hunting and transport.

As a yard owner, my costs have gone up for everything, haylage, feed, fuel, electricity and water. So that is why prices are rising. Feed prices, for example have risen by 20% this year alone.
 
I used to pay more than that...5 years ago....for part livery....5 days a week so had to do everything on weekends and bank hold......

So my expectations of full livery at that price would be 'not very full' :-))))))
 
Well it depends where in the world you are I suppose. In my area it is £120 for full livery and around £70 to £80 for part livery per week. Full livery includes grooming
 
Sorry, phone messed up and can't edit.

Full livery includes grooming and riding. Part livery doesn't and you have to bring your own horse in on a weekend if you want to ride, they will bring in during the week
 
So for less than twenty pounds you have to feed change rugs muck out do water do hay sweep yard sort muck heap lead horse to field put bed down walk back to field ,catch horse groom horse wash feet feed skip out clean tack buy the horses food and bedding and pay a groom a wage that allows them to eat ,Pay for electricity and water rent for the yard and maintence of the yard OP does not say if exercise is provided .
 
we are offered two types of full livery.
the first type (£130/week) includes grooming, tack cleaning after every ride, turning out/bringing in, use of facilities including four arenas, lunging pen and walker.

the second type (£170/week) includes having the horses schooled for you on top of everything already mentioned. they will also compete for you if you want that done as well.

it's expensive but nowhere else has the same facilities and my horse is going the best he's ever gone so I figure it's worth it
 
Notice you are in Herts and I know local prices.

For £120 a week I would expect it to be part livery so everything except tack cleaning, grooming and riding. However I have noticed yards are quite variable in how they use the terms full and part some using it to show the difference between 5 and 7 day.

My last yard I paid £105 for 5 day part, the one before that was quite cheap at £85 per week but I supplied my own feed.

For 7 day part I would expect it to be between £120 and £150 depending on the yard.
 
Full Livery can mean so many different things, as has been mentioned by various posters. Some think it means mucking out, feeding, turning out, bring in, rug change etc, haynets & occasional groom. This also includes the cost of feed & hay & bedding etc.

Others believe it to be all the above plus daily grooming, tack cleaning, exercising, schooling horse several times per week & tacking up horse ready for when owner comes down to ride.

When people post that they pay £x or £y for their 'full livery' it doesn't really mean too much as there are so many variants to take into account. Clients expectations invariably far exceed the amount of money they are prepared to pay as well.

As the old saying says.....you get what you pay for!
 
Seems expensive to me. But in this part of the UK, full livery seems to mean the horse gets its stall cleaned, turned out, brought in, rugs changed, feet picked out, fed, and watered. Part livery means all of the above, except the owner mucks out the stall and puts hay in it. I've paid between £85-90 per week for the former. I've never been at a yard where grooming/tack-cleaning/riding was even an option.
 
Sorry, should have stated, it's 7 days a week, it does NOT include riding/exercising or grooming. I realise the cost of everything has gone up and I'm not disputing that these costs be passed on. So other part to this is what kind of facilities would you expect to be made available to you and maintained for this price (in Herts)?

Thanks for all your feedback so far :)
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By full livery, do you mean exercise is included or it is just full care of the horse?

I take full livery to mean everything done bar riding but some people class that as part livery.

Full livery to me is full care 365 days/year, including Xmas, new year, bank holidays etc.
All usual yard duties and t/o, b/i, rugs changed, horse brushed off, feet picked out.
All forage, bedding and basic hard feed included.
Includes preparing horse for, and supervising, any vet/farrier/dentist visits too.

You can get all of the above around here for £90-110/week.
 
Same as prices in Surrey for the same service. It costs much more down here as the actual yard rental is more than say, Scotland. Like everything it costs more in the South!. A friend moved to Kent a year or so ago and there was a difference of around £100 a month between Kent and Surrey prices. Same service, products, facilities etc but basic yard rental was apparently a lot less.

Can't say the YO's are raking it in either. Everything keeps going up and we are all being stealth taxed in horrible ways. Salaries aren't increasing but everything else. 3 years ago it cost me £60 to fill up my jeep. Now £60 gives me just over a half tank.

Maybe talk to you YO to see if you could do a 5 day livery? so you muck out? or look for a cheaper livery but I know in our area, prices don't vary that much from yard to yard.
 
I was on 5 day part livery before I moved here and at that time it was only working out at the most 20p cheaper, but I think they had better maintained facilities. I should also add that I work there over the weekend to help with the cost. I agree I don't think the YO earn much out of it either, especially as we have 3 empty boxes at the moment (hint, hint - anyone in Herts looking for a new yard?! :) )
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Laura-Lou80 said:
Sorry, should have stated, it's 7 days a week, it does NOT include riding/exercising or grooming. I realise the cost of everything has gone up and I'm not disputing that these costs be passed on. So other part to this is what kind of facilities would you expect to be made available to you and maintained for this price (in Herts)?

Thanks for all your feedback so far :)
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I don't live in Herts but do still live in London commuter belt, so would expect comparable costs.

Round here you can find 7 day part livery for £110-115 but there is compromise on that, with some corners cut or non bespoke feeding etc.

To get the real service and attention to detail, you are looking in the £120-130 price bracket per week.
 
Laura-Lou80 said:
Sorry, should have stated, it's 7 days a week, it does NOT include riding/exercising or grooming. I realise the cost of everything has gone up and I'm not disputing that these costs be passed on. So other part to this is what kind of facilities would you expect to be made available to you and maintained for this price (in Herts)?

Thanks for all your feedback so far :)
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For £120 for 7 days which is towards the cheaper end of the market in Hertfordshire, I wouldn't be looking for state of the art facilities. Good usable school, reasonable turnout (though some would restrict in winter), dry safe stable of suitable size for the horse, enough hay and bedding to keep the horse clean and healthy, reasonable feed included though maybe not special feed.

As for empty boxes there are all sort of reasons why that is the case. I can think of one yard where there are no frills, two good schools, hacking, fields you can ride it etc but they charge top prices (I think £165 atm) because they have such a good reputation and a waiting list. Other yards have on paper as good if not better facilities but have empty boxes because things are just not done properly and do not have as good a reputation.

I left one yard partly because although they had lovely facilities and were very well priced, there was a bitchy clique who had been there for years and treated it like their yard. When I noticed I was timing my visits for when they weren't around, I realised it was time to move.
 
At £120 for 7 days to include everything (care, bedding, feed etc.) except exercise I would only expect basic facilities in the area you're in - so one sensible sized school that's OK surface. It's only £17 a day and when you take off direct costs for hay/ bedding/ feed, then maintenance costs for the land/ buildings, then minimum wage for rug changes, turn out bring in, muck out, skip out etc. you've not got a lot left.

If you put him on DIY at £25 a week for a bare field then bought everything else yourself separately and spent diesel going to see him twice a day I'd be sure it would cost you more in cash, let alone the time!
 
I'm part livery - I have a rubber matted stable, horse walker everyday, turn out 3times a week on average and of course bringing in, legs washed down, turn out boots washed after each turn out, feet picked ect. Mucking out, feed, hay, bedding. And of course use of arena and jumps field

I pay £100 p/w

Full livery includes exercising twice a week and horse groomed as and when required and tack cleaned once a week £130
 
What they call full livery at our yard costs £86 a week, this includes haylage (up to a certain limit) and two bales of shavings a week. It includes bring in/turn out, rug changes, muck out, change water, put in feed hay etc. No grooming or feet picking out and no exercising or tack cleaning.
 
Our 'full' livery is £320 pcm. It includes everything bar exercise, every day.

We arrange farrier / dentist / vet visits and hold for all of the above. Tack is cleaned regularly. We wash all rugs / saddle cloths / boots and arrange any repairs.

Owner basically has to turn up and ride.
 
I'm laid up so my usually DIY horse is on full livery for the next month at least. I'm paying £65 a week for 5 day livery where she has everything done 5 days a week and then my sister is doing her on a weekend. I think 7 day livery is £80. This includes turnout, muckout, ad lib haylage, ad lib bedding, waters, fetch in and fed. I provide the feed (she's on specifics because she's 9 months pregnant).
 
littlemisslauren said:
Owner basically has to turn up and ride.
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I have to say I kinda don't get the point of this - I do understand that people don't have time to do them but to me part of having my horse is caring for her and it means I know her so much better than I ever could if I didn't care for her
 
mynutmeg said:
I have to say I kinda don't get the point of this - I do understand that people don't have time to do them but to me part of having my horse is caring for her and it means I know her so much better than I ever could if I didn't care for her
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I understand your point. Some clients have had their horses for years and years and simply have no time to do them anymore and want a nice retirement for them. Others are at uni etc and need the peace of mind in knowing that their horse is fully cared for day in day out.

It does mean that we may know some of the horses better than the owner does, but considering we are the ones dealing with day to day care it is a good thing. We can instantly spot 'not normal' behaviour and act on it.
 
If the yard has half decent facilities... indoor/outdoor or just a decent outdoor with lights, decent grazing, fencing, hay and nice people I would say your £120 is right on the money.

I can get 5 day for that around here for the same!
 
littlemisslauren said:
Our 'full' livery is £320 pcm. It includes everything bar exercise, every day.

We arrange farrier / dentist / vet visits and hold for all of the above. Tack is cleaned regularly. We wash all rugs / saddle cloths / boots and arrange any repairs.

Owner basically has to turn up and ride.
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Sweet jeepers where are you?
 
mynutmeg said:
I have to say I kinda don't get the point of this - I do understand that people don't have time to do them but to me part of having my horse is caring for her and it means I know her so much better than I ever could if I didn't care for her
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Having always been on DIY my career is about to throw a spanner in the works which means that I simply can not do everything - ie turn out and bring in specifically, of course I can get up at 5am and turn out but my mare wont stand for being shoved out on her own at that time in the morning, nor will she tolerate being the last one left in the field and I will be pushed back from my regular 4.15 arrival to something more like 6.15pm!

Needs must, I love her to bits but I'm not about to give up my career just so I can continue my ideal which is having my fatty on DIY. I will hate not mucking out poo mountain and her cantering over to me at bring in but needs must.
 
mynutmeg said:
I have to say I kinda don't get the point of this - I do understand that people don't have time to do them but to me part of having my horse is caring for her and it means I know her so much better than I ever could if I didn't care for her
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actually I look at part livery as giving me the time to spend with my horse. I've seen too many diy scenarios where the owner comes up in a rush after work, mucks out while horse waits patiently by the field gate, puts in to bed and goes home. In that time knowing mine is well looked after i can groom, have a nice ride and spend quality time.

A fair proportion of people with horses in herts where i am (and the op is) may live or work in London. Given a drive of 40 mins to the yard and work finishing between 5:30 and 6, livery is a sensible option.
 
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