Full Livery

Anuka

Anuka

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I was chatting to another horse owner yesterday, who mentioned that they thought people who kept their horses on full livery were lazy and there was no point in them having a horse if they were prepared to let someone else do all the hard work. My boy is on DIY, as is their horse, but i thought it was a bit unfair to generalise like that, especially since they don't know everyone's full situation. So it got me thinking... Do you have your horses on full, or DIY and what are your reasons for doing so?
 
i have my 3 horses on diy - i like this due to the fact i get to do everything i enjoy doing mucking out grooming tacking up and riding - i dont think i could be on full livery with just going up as and when and just riding as most of things are done for you. but each to there own - like you said we dont know there situations.
 
I have my horse on full livery and I think I have a pretty genuine reason! I live in Central London and work in Central London (8am-6pm) so it is impossible for me to have a horse on DIY livery. This works out well as he is under full supervision if anything were to go wrong. They will even exercise my horse in the package, although, I dont think I will need this most of the time, apart from when I am abroad.
 
I would not say lazy to all of them. Some people work long hours and dont have the time to look after their horses properly on DIY. I have had mine (when I only had one) on full livery before. Now lucky enough to have four of them in my back garden (so to speak) but I often wish I could wisk them away to full livery so that I have time to have my hair cut and actually ride them all so that I could compete more. I couldnt afford 4 on livery now though. I have done DIY for many years and I have seen horses on DIY that are not properly looked after as owner is too busy and would probably benefit from part or full livery but owners can not afford it - but that is a whole other argument :)
 
I have had full and DIY recently. I prefer DIY but only because I am a control freak. The full livery also worked out to cost about the same as my DIY now due to stupid London/Herts prices of hay and shavings (and feed!) combined with the sheer volume my horse eats. Being on livery also meant that I always had someone there to do my horse.

However since having him on complete DIY he has changed to be a different horse and we are both much happier and settled with each other! So Im on DIY mainly for that now and it means I can have my bed how I want it, feed the specific food and amounts I want and feed however much hay I want!
 
I am on DIY however, I was on full livery on my last yard as I had no other option. My working hours were 3 13.5 hour shifts a week, so I had 3 days where I was not at the yard as yard hours were between 9am and 9pm when I was at work. They didnt do assisted livery so it was either full livery or not be able to tend to my horse 3 days a week which is not an option, especially not in winter.

Now I have more sensible hours I can do DIY and I love it - I do prefer it to full livery but I would never condem someone for using full livery as they have their reasons. I know one woman who doesnt work, has no children and still has her horse on full livery, because thats the way she likes it- who am I to judge and tell her any different - her horse is well cared for and she adores him.
 
(in my opinion)

If you love your horse, but have a hectic lifestyle with a full time job, the responsible thing to do is to keep your horse on part livery. A horse thrives best in a solid routine, and there is nothing I hate more than people who keep their horses on DIY, but who lead very busy, hectic lives trying to fit everything in. They turn up at different times everyday, rushing round to get their horse's jobs done, and sometimes if time is really tight, corners will be cut.

(edited to add)
I prefer keeping my horse on DIY and I find it very rewarding and satisfying, but when I'm having to stay at work late, to meet a deadline, I can't bear the feeling of knowing my horse is left in or out, and having to make phone calls to the yard to ask favours, at the last minute is not an ideal situation at all
 
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Am on DIY and really wouldnt have it any other way. It is difficult as work Mon-Fri full time but I like the mucking out, poo picking and just being with him. I have been on full livery which was nice ish for a short time, gave me chance to do my own stuff but meant that me and my boy didnt have a very good bond. Think that for some (not all) and probably a minority, full livery is a lazy option but hey ho thats peoples personal choice. I also found that when I was on full livery I was made to feel a bit like I didnt know what I was doing, maybe just yard I was at!!!!
 
I have mine on full livery, I work full time, I have to communte 1hr to my office and I often have to visit sites all over the country and have to stay over. It wouldn't be fair to have a horse on DIY livery, as what possible routine could I offer him! Also if I didn't have my job, I could not afford to keep my horse. I am not lazy, where possible I do lots of extra jobs I help out the YO with her horses at the weekend and run the yard if she is away at a show, I'm also a AI and dable in a bit of teaching now and agian, so its really what best for my horse and a strite routine is what my horse likes.
 
Full Mon-Fri. I work in London and can't guarantee I will get to the yard each day. I want to know my horse is safe and comfortable, irrespective of what my hours are! I also have full on the weekends that I am away with my boyfriend or with friends. It wouldn't be fair on them to refuse to go away with them ever because I had to do the horse. Sometimes I have my stable mucked out even if I am there on a weekend but I am eventing. By the time I have left the yard at the crack of dawn for the event and got back after dark, it's so nice to put her away in a nice clean stable, rather than have to muck out! That probably is lazy, but hey ho. We are all lazy in some way. I should probably do more sit-ups and bathroom-cleaning too.
 
Also,
(sorry, I'm getting a bit emotional, as I had no sleep at all last night)

My horse got colic late last night, if my horse wasn't on part livery (which is almost the same as full, ie everything is done, except ridden exercise) he would not have been checked late last night, and it would not have been spotted and my vets say that my horse owes his life to the fact that it was spotted straight away!
 
Baileysno1 said:
I don't think doing Leonards bed and filling his haynets enhances our relationship, just wish I could afford full livery :)
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Totally agree! I'd have ours on livery if I could afford it. When I had just one, and was single, and working away, I had my horse on full livery. The horse was perfectly well looked after, and I had much more time for the horse than I do nowadays with a herd of them at home to do myself!!
 
I have done nearly the lot with my boy! DIY, assisted DIY, 5 days part and now 7 day part! Yes ok sometimes I think I would prefer to do DIY as I am ridiculously picky and OCD about how everything is done for my horse but realistically with my job and lifestyle I just don't have the time to do everything myself! I would much rather spend the time that I do have spare doing things WITH my horse than for my horse. I'm sure he doesn't mind that I don't muck out his stable for him and I still deffinatley have a better bond with him than any of the staff. :cool:
 
Mine are on full livery (everything bar riding).

i work fulltime, have 2 x young horses to do and last winter on diy i spent all of my time in the week mucking out, doing feeds etc and only riding on the weekends.

i was still getting home after 7pm in the week, still knackered all of the time but not getting any benefit out of actually owning horses and they weren't benefitting from sitting in a field for 6 months of the year.

if anything my relationship has improved with my horses as i spend far more time WITH them instead of cleaning up behind them, the cost is not much more and it has been a total godsend that i don't have to worry about the horse's when i am currently laid up with a broken collarbone.
 
I keep mine onf ull livery. The only decent yard with all the facilities I want plus good hacking within about 15 miles of where I live only offers full livery or working livery.
I'd love to do DIY, but there isn't a good yard near enough and with work, past ill health and everything else I no longer think it is the best option for me.
If anyone thinks I am lazy for having my horse on full livery then that is their perogative and I don't actually value their opinion enough to give a stuff!
 
I actually think that anyone who calls someone with their horse on full livery lazy is either very full of themselves, or jealous! You have to live in their shoes (and life) to be able to judge.

When my horse was on full livery I have to admit that I was baffled by the few full liveries that only visited their horses once or twice a week, and never rode them. Just because it seemed a heck of a lot of money for something that they didn't really seem that bothered about. Most of the other full liveries spent hours at the stables riding and bonding.
 
I have my horse on full livery with exercise if im not there. In summer i do go most nights if im at home, but i work 8-5 with 1hr+ commute on top of that.

I work away alot too, so its handy that they do everything as he must be kept in full work at all times (he has had a now recovered back injury). I dont have to go to feed shops, worry about clipping, pulling manes etc. - everything is included.

I could even have him tacked up (but even im not that lazy!).
 
Misinterpreted said:
If you love your horse, but have a hectic lifestyle with a full time job, the responsible thing to do is to keep your horse on part livery. A horse thrives best in a solid routine, and there is nothing I hate more than people who keep their horses on DIY, but who lead very busy, hectic lives trying to fit everything in. They turn up at different times everyday, rushing round to get their horse's jobs done, and sometimes if time is really tight, corners will be cut.

(
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^^ I have a hectic lifestyle, work long hours, run a home and also like to SEE my husband ! So I am on part livery, my mare is in a routine, I go every night and its DIY at the weekends (bank hols) so my horse has a surrogate "mum" in the YM and me each night to do all the "nice" things- groom, ride, treat ball etc. My mare is genuinely settled and happy as are the other 13 steeds on the yard. And when I am away on hioliday, she's well looked after and I don't need to worry or stress that she's not getting a good level of care. She's used to the YM doing for her and my friend at the weekends (we take care of each others horses at holiday times as needs be) so she's not so stressed. So no, not all of us on full/part livery are lazy or don't love our horses any the less, we just choose to pay a little extra for having a little less stress to cope with....
 
millitiger said:
if anything my relationship has improved with my horses as i spend far more time WITH them instead of cleaning up behind them, the cost is not much more .
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This is so true, I have just made the switch from DIY to part livery and me and my horses are so much happier. I am not rushing to get my jobs done after work and can actually spend time with him as opposed to always rushing to get things done so i can ride and get home at a decent hour!. I liked DIY for the fact that i could stipulate exactly what my horse, ate, did, rugged, looked like etc but if you get a good full/part livery yard as I have you should still be able to have a say in those things - another bonus is that i get to ride/compete much more, to say people on full/part livery are lazy is utter nonsense!!
 
Im on part livery 7 days a week.
I was going to keep my horse at home...but...well he didnt like it...liked a yard environmnet, so took him to the yard up the road, he loved it, that was that. When i got my new horse, had the option of having her at home....noooo way!
The yard and part livery is a godsend to be honest.
I work 6 full long days a week.
My yard doesnt do DIY....its part or full. Tbh...what i pay for part livery is a hell of a lot less than i would pay for DIY.
I would never go back to diy or keeping my horse at home because.....
In my package...i get all the hay and straw i want.
Its put there so i dont need to worry about getting things delivered or ordering hay/straw etc. Its all there for me to use.
My horse is fed in the morning. Rug put on or off or flymask on or off depending on weather/season. In winter, she is rugged up and turned out and brought in.
In summer rugs are checked and changed if necessary.
In summer....because she is a cowbag to catch...they catch her for me so that when i get to the yard in the evening she is in her stable so i dont waste valuable riding time! (i know i am very lucky with that one!)
I dont have to worry about getting rid of muck heaps etc.
I could never afford full livery. I only do it when i am away for a weekend or i am going on holiday etc.
If i could afford it i would poss do it one or 2 days a week....so that i could have dinner on the table at a sensible time every now and then or be able to clean the house at a sensible hour!! But part livery works perfectly for me!

I wouldnt say that people on full livery are lazy at all....riding is a time consuming sport and i couldnt imagine trying to work full time, look after a family, run a home, and have a horse on DIY! so i would think that full livery would be a complete godsend in that scenario. Or if you work away alot so that you know your horse is safe and happy.
 
I really don't think people on full livery are lazy! I said this many times before, DIY yards only exist in the UK, does this mean all Europeans are lazy?!

I have not mucked out for years (since having a horse at home), but I definitely do not feel I care any less for my horse or anything like that - he couldn't care less who cleans his stable or feeds him! Even if I did have time I would not do it, it's a service I pay for.

If anything, people who go ride their horse twice a week max, and even when they do go, get the grooms to groom them, tack them up, and hand walk them while they sit having a coffee with their friends..those are lazy (and plenty of people like that, especially young ones, in Italy!)
 
I wish I could afford to keep my horses on full livery, I could ride a bit more without having to do all the other mucky stuff :rolleyes:

I wouldn't get away with it though - I keep the horses at home :)
 
I have my stallion on full livery, not by choice its all they offer,and i walk outside my door and he is there!!! all my mares i do myself, but im still waiting for my planning for my own stables as soon as it comes through i will be doing him myself.
 
Its a better way for me as I am at school and doing gcses, so does give me some free time.
Also, it works out cheaper in some respects as all the bedding etc is paid for in the lovery charge, whereas it's seperate on some DIY's
 
I can't wait to put mine on full livery this year. Having had him at home for 3 years and trying to manage horses, regular 12 hr days at work, 5 days a week and a family, I'm sick of poo picking and riding at 10pm because I can't fit it all in.

The bliss of just grooming and riding and no stinking chores:).
 
I'm on DIY but my OH does my mucking out for me in the winter. Through the summer my horse lives out 24/7 and I do the poo picking.

If I could afford full livery and it was offered I would have not problem opting for it. I would be able to spend all spare time with my horse grooming or riding - absolutely no chores.

I'm not lazy and want to spend as much 'quality' time with my horse.

Same with my kids, they don't love me because of the cleaning, cooking, ironing - but for the time spent together (haven't checked this with them though :) )
 
oh so this sanctimonous claptrap comes up AGAIN. DIY is "better than full livery" because you have a better bond/give up more/horse loves you better. What utter rubbish. I'm totally with the poster who said she doubts her horse really cares who mucks out/hangs up his haynet.. point is as long as its done - thats what is important

Any horseowner who has any degree of experience/longevity has clear ideas on how they want they horse cared for. It goes in the same category as how you turn out your horse, barefoot v shod, this saddle v that saddle type, and so on.

A geniune horse owner/carer is someone who makes the best provision for their horse and themselves, however they end up looking after it. I work full time, long hours and have a lot of travelling to and from customers. I do not have to worry about my horses routine - he doesn't care if I turn up late to ride/play because his basic comforts are taken care of.

I very much doubt that title of "lazy" can be posted onto most horse owners. Having a horse in your life, even if it was retired and living in a field is still a major commitment in terms of finance and time. Our choice but not upto someone else, who makes an ill informed swipe at how we care for our animals.
 
My girl is on full livery not because I'm lazy but because I work full time I also work away from home on a regular basis so I can't possibly do DIY. The other important factor is that she is well looked after, likes her routine, is happy and I don't have to worry about her. :)
 
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