Help me decide on a yard?

[Rafie]

Hi all,
I would like some help deciding on a yard. I have 2 geldings, both like being out but are ok stabled. One needs a lot of hay throughout winter.

Yard 1 (where my 2 gelding are ATM)
£28pw
15 geldings in 1 field
Winter field on hill, very steep in some places.
Horses in at night from October-April
Buy hay per haynet £1.25, medium size net( this will be quite expensive in the winter as my big gelding needs a lot of hay)
Small Indoor and lovely big outdoor school
Services if needed
Professional rider on site.
Good hacking
12miles from home

Yard 2
£35pw
Own field or share with one other gelding
Nice large fields, organic land
Fencing is rubbish! Some barbed wire
Horses can be out as much as we like
Buy own hay in, space to store large bales
Outdoor school, no lights, wood chip surface
No official services but help if needed
Better hacking can hack to 2 competition venues
Yard is abit messy
6miles from home

What's the verdict? Thankyou!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

As I've got a horse that was badly injured on barbed wire, that would put me right off yard two unless I had permission to run electric tape inside the fence to keep the horses away from it.

 

[Rafie]

As I've got a horse that was badly injured on barbed wire, that would put me right off yard two unless I had permission to run electric tape inside the fence to keep the horses away from it.

It does scare me. I'm quite sure I would be able to do that. Would you go for yard 2 if you could make the fencing safe or stay put?

 

[NellRosk]

I would personally prefer yard 1. I think it's invaluable having someone onsite and services should you need help. My experience of woodchip arena surface has been a bit rubbish so I'd prefer 1 for the facilities and you won't be able to ride all winter at 2 if there's no lights and you work FT. It would work out really expensive to run your own fencing to keep them away from the barbed wire. I'd stay put and keep looking

 

[Meowy Catkin]

For me, the main concerns would be how the land stands up to winter turnout as I need to turn my horses out daily for their own sanity and how good the hacking is. The yard being in cycling or walking distance would be a bonus as I did have to walk to see the horses a few times one winter when the roads were impassable by car due to heavy snow. I don't care about hills (mine are on a steep hillside now), schools (I like to go out hacking) or having a professional rider on site. A helpful YO and good atmosphere is worth a lot though.

You need to have a good think about what matters to you and what suits your horses.

 

[webble]

Wood chip surface and a school with no lights would be a complete no for me. That said do they have plans for lights? Or do you only ride in the day? If the school isn't an issue for you personally and you could electric fence off your own field from the barbed wire then yard 2 but if you need a school with lights/ good surface then yard 1

 

[Spreebok]

Hmm, tough one. I'd say stick at current yard if yard two is your only option, but try to make some sort of arrangement for hay in the winter, charging £1.25 is a bit of a ransom!

If they won't let you buy your own in and store on site, maybe find somewhere to store a small square bale at home, and fill the nets up at home to take with you? A bit extreme I know, but £1.25 a net is going to rack up fast depending on how many he gets through. And what about if the winter paddock runs out of grass? Are they going to provide hay then and how much will they charge?

I'd be put off yard two because of the fencing issue, and it having only an unlit outdoor school with woodchip. If you don't leave work and get to the yard until it's dark, you're going to have a very boring winter. I'd also be put off by how 'messy' it is. If it's a bit basic but maintained, that's not so bad, but if it's rundown and generally a bit mank, I'd be hesitant, having been at a place like that.
And no official services but help if needed is a bit wishy washy for my liking, I like to know that what I ask for is going to get done, and if that means paying for it then so be it.

 

[9tails]

I'd keep looking, I would not like to keep my horse anywhere near barbed wire or mess. Horses have a knack of injuring themselves without outside help in the form of mess around the yard.

Hay on yard 1 is expensive, but livery is also £7 cheaper per week than yard 2 that doesn't give anywhere near as many benefits as yard 1 nor does it supply hay. So there's almost 6 nets of hay per horse right there. If horses are out during the day over winter, I'd say great.

 

[Annagain]

I think Yard 1 too. What you pay out in hay, you save on livery (and obviously you're saving that all year round, not just in winter). £7 a week is £364 a year per horse. That will buy you 291 haynets or 1.6 haynets a day before you are beginning to pay "extra" for the hay. If you feed two a day you'll need 365 haynets so it will cost you £92.50 (per horse, but assume your other one won't need that much) I doubt very much you'll buy enough hay for the winter for that much money if you're at the other yard, even at a cheaper price.

This, coupled with the extra facilities at yard one and the poor fencing at yard two would seal it for me.

 

[Rafie]

Wood chip surface and a school with no lights would be a complete no for me. That said do they have plans for lights? Or do you only ride in the day? If the school isn't an issue for you personally and you could electric fence off your own field from the barbed wire then yard 2 but if you need a school with lights/ good surface then yard 1

They did say they were thinking about lights but doesn't sound too promising.

What is wood chip like to ride on?

 

[SusieT]

Yard 1 - yard 2 wounds like the owner cant be arsed and will end up being annoying!

 

[Rafie]

I think Yard 1 too. What you pay out in hay, you save on livery (and obviously you're saving that all year round, not just in winter). £7 a week is £364 a year per horse. That will buy you 291 haynets or 1.6 haynets a day before you are beginning to pay "extra" for the hay. If you feed two a day you'll need 365 haynets so it will cost you £92.50 (per horse, but assume your other one won't need that much) I doubt very much you'll buy enough hay for the winter for that much money if you're at the other yard, even at a cheaper price.

This, coupled with the extra facilities at yard one and the poor fencing at yard two would seal it for me.

Thanks for the reply ! Looks like yard 1 is the favoured choice.

 

[webble]

They did say they were thinking about lights but doesn't sound too promising.

What is wood chip like to ride on?

It can be slippery

 

[Rafie]

Thank you for the replies everyone. We are staying put for the time being. I was really unsure before but seeing written down makes it a lot clearer. All I see now is BARBED WIRE! It is a shame really because I know I made yard 2 sound messy but it really is beautiful there with brand new big stables with windows, quite idealic. They have just scrimped on some things.

Oh I forgot to mention on yard 1 we have to phone everytime we take a haynet-hay is a very touchy subject ha!

Thanks again for the replies it has really helped!

 

[Piaffe123]

I'd also stay put.

Wood chip isn't ideal from my experience, it gets very deep in the winter and we basically couldn't use the arena from October to about March time at my old yard before the surface was changed. It's also very uncomfy when you fall off on it - I know falling off is never nice but I had a couple of falls that wouldn't have been that bad and the wood chip cut my skin!

Barbed wire also gives me the heebie jeebies - my old gelding broke out of our field (electric) into next door's cow farm and then decided he wanted out of their field too. They had barbed wire! We came to the yard to find no horses in there and went strolling across the fields looking for him, found the daft thing standing in the barbed wire fence and it was pretty horrific. Huge scar down his hock for the rest of his life and he's lucky he got away with that!