Grass livery?

LollyDolly

LollyDolly

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Hello all!
So for a while now I have been contemplating trying grass livery, I have always been on livery yards though so I have no experience with it!
Firstly, how much would I be expected to pay per month for a field and two/three stables? I live in Cheshire, North West if that's any good haha!
Secondly, how about riding? I know that in summer it will be fine but what about winter? Is it ok? How do you people on grass livery cope?

And finally, is there anything else you can tell me about it?

Any good or bad experiences?

I would love to know everything that there is to know about it!

Thanks! :D
 
LollyDolly said:
Hello all!

Firstly, how much would I be expected to pay per month for a field and two/three stables? I live in Cheshire, North West if that's any good haha!
Click to expand...

If you do find it at all, for any price, please let me know! :D I'd love to try it too, but if it was single grass livery with no other liveries it seemed to have an expensive premium on it and I could never find anywhere with stables on it :mad: Maybe depends where abouts in Cheshire you are though
 
My definition of grass livery is just that - grass, no stables! So if you've found somewhere with stables then that would be worth a look!
 
I keep one of mine on grass livery in Cheshire. Is one of the best kept secrets in the area! Is very close to Somerford park and is fab. Pm if want to know more.
 
Well what I am looking for is a field with two stables or a field shelter really.

Thanks Poppy but Somerford is a bit too far for me :(

Although I would very much like to know your opinion on it! :D
 
Well mine has a ligament injury and is on field rest, so it suits me perfectly. The place also has a covered barn with stables, which makes it so much easier to 'do' stuff. Best of both worlds really. We don't have a field shelter and that would defo help you sleep better at night when it's hammering it down and cold and windy!
 
We found the field and stables we wanted to rent (behind our house!) then door knocked till we found someone who knew the owner

We pay £100 a month for 3 acres, there is a smart red brick stable block (two stables and tack room) and a lean to hay store

No water or power though which is a pain (we are smallholders and when lambing we are often up there all night) but we have an IBC water tank fed by the stable guttering and take up some water in containers when that is empty. If the field had running water and electric it would be worth so much more in rent so its just as well it doesnt!

Its tricky to get on the field in wet weather so we leave the car at the gate and take feed and water up on a little four wheel cart but that can be a real bind in winter so we try to do it all at weekends to make things quicker and easier in the week

At the start of the winter we get straw, hay, shavings and as many bags of feed as is practical on to the field and stored in the hay store

Upkeep is necessary of course - we employ the services of a paddock maintenance man and probably pay out about £250 a year for various services but we dont have enough animals to eat the grass down so that includes topping

It cost us £500 to get enough permenant fencing up to make half the field secure and we use electric fence to separate up other areas
 
What you are looking for is not grass livery but your own private yard to rent?

Grass livery is normally the option to live out 24/7 all year round and you can get this on livery yards as well as by renting your own field. However often you don't have a stable but it does not mean that you don't have access to a school.

My pony lives out and we have a school to use and all the same facilities that those who have horses living in at night. I am in the SE so an expensive area so pay £140 a month. I do have a stable which is mainly used for storage.
 
Mine were on grass livery until recent move. It was £10p/w with optional stables at £2.50 p/w extra We had piped water in the fields, electric, feed room, tack room and field shelters in 14 acres.
The downside was having just a grass school and no floodlights. Winter riding consisted of mostly hacking in daylight hours. Ice on the roads severely limited our riding.
The horses thrived and probably came out of winter looking too well due to decreased riding opportunity and large bales of hay in the fields.
 
Grass livery is usually around £10 per horse, depending on your area....but it is just that, grass, no stables. For what your asking about, i used to rent 4 acres, 2 stables & a large shed for storage for £80 a month, that was about 3 years ago, the rent is still the same though as i know the people who have it now.
 
Until 18 months ago I rented 4 acres and 3 stables from a farmer. Electric and water in the yard but water had to be carried to the field. I enjoyed it while I was there as I had small children and I wasn't worried about them annoying people. I moved out when my daughter gave up riding and my friend I shared with moved. I love being back on a livery yard. I paid £150 a month.

I don't have to go up twice a day myself any more without fail. I don't have to lug water across the fields in a barrow. I am not the one who gets a phonecall to say the fence has been pushed down. I don't any longer spend hours mending , maintaining and replacing fencing. I don't have the hassle of electric fence energisers that fail, don't work and need replacing. I don't have to worry about getting the field topped (even if the horses eat the grass weeds need controlling). I spent hours trying to eradicate docks to no avail. I don't have to remove the muck from the field just pick it up and leave it for someone else to move. I usually have someone to ride with. When going on holiday or (as I was) being taken ill in the middle of the night I don't have to worry about who will look after the horses and make sure the water etc is topped up. Getting someone to look after them in a separate yard is a much harder job than if on a livery yard. I don't have to clean the barn out of all the old hay and find, order and unload and stack hay.

All in all I enjoyed it but it was a lot of hard work. It was a cheaper way to keep 3 horses but not when I was down to one. I know some people prefer their own place but I enjoy the social side of being on a yard. I am lucky in that I am on a fantastic friendly yard which is really well run and not too expensive.
 
Down south u r looking at around £100per month per stable with grazing plus £100 extra total for use of school. If just grazing £10-15 per wks per horse.
So max of £200 pm plus ur up north and is no water or electric them less again. Maybe £100-£175 pm?
But that's a guesstimate from other info I have read and based on it been cheaper than down south.
 
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