HELP-possibly relocating to LONDON- can it be done??

BlairandAzria

BlairandAzria

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Are there any londoners with horses? How do you cope?

My boss has dropped a bomb-shell, in that he has put me forward for a position down in our london office- based in the 'city'. Professionally it would be a great move for me. Buuuut.......does anyone do it? have horses and work in the city- without the mega pay. Im still only a trainee so will not have a mega salary by any stretch of the imagination.

I have just one horse a 15.2 tb x gelding and im currently based in the north-west.

So how do you do it? Can you do it? Is it horrendously expensive down south- i currently pay £55/ week part livery (5/2) only doing local competition so thats not really a worry for me- its more the time/ money issue.

Im in a bit of a quandry- really, any advice or experiences of having horses and living in London would be really appreciated!!

Thanks Bxxxx
 
Hey Blair,

I am a fellow Londoner! I live and work in Central London but I keep my horse out in Surrey. I dont have any transport (no need as you can walk most places here in London, if not, tube, bus, train) and it takes about 40mins from Victoria for me to get to my horse.

Admittably, I have my horse on full livery as I work very long hours, but I am hoping to start a new job soon and obviously with summer dawning, start to ride on week nights. It can be done, it just depends on your budget and where you keep your horse.
 
I work in London and keep my horse in Surrey- about 30 mins on the train from London. I currently get up and do/muck out/turn out before work and someone brings in for me.. all for £120 pcm which is really good for the area im in (DIY though) Part/full livery can be very expensive but depends what area you want to keep them in and if you can do anything yourself...
 
Hi
I work in for the City of London as a librarian - so definately not mega well paid, but not too bad. I live in Essex and that's where I keep my horse about 15min drive from home. My commute takes about 1 hour from door to door and I use Liverpool St station - obviously the journey time can go up horrendously when there are problems on the line but generally it's ok.

I keep my horse on part livery as I would find DIY a struggle as I work odd hours, and I like the peace of mind of knowing that if I am delayed then George is fed and happy. I pay £440 a month for this and it is a struggle at times, but it really suits us both and I usually go up and ride 6 times a week.

Good luck with the move.
 
We have all year turnout during the day, in the summer it is from 5.30am-5pm on lovely paddocks, then in the winter about Nov-March they go out in an old 60x30m sand school in small groups for about 5hours every day. I've been there 3 years and can't remember a day when they've ever had to stay in!

Hacking round us is pretty good, bit of road work, but quite a few linking bridlepaths and also a big equestrian centre (Norton Heath) in hacking distance.
 
kickonchaps - my horse gets plenty of turnout where he is kept. I think he is put out in a 3-4 acre field with a couple of others for about 5 hours each day. They have at least 6 different more fields of this size and change which field they are turned out in regularly. There is a DIY side of the property but I am not too sure how large the field sizes are etc.

Hacking is great - we are right on the Epsom Downs Racecourse and you have hours of hacking. Dont even need to ride on the road to get to the Downs! Plus the facilities are excellent - large stables, indoor arena, huge new outdoor school with full set of jumps.
 
I work in London and keep my pony in Surrey - about 40 minutes drive away and turnout / hacking is excellent.

Part livery though as DIY would just be impossible... I pay £84 a week (7 day care)
 
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I don't live in london but in Surrey so know a fair few londoners that keep horses in surrey inc at my yard... admittedly Surrey is pretty expensive particularly in terms of livery but it is doable!
 
I worked in the square mile for 10 years and kept horse in hertfordshire, going back this summer after a spell abroad and prob going to essex. Its doable as others say! Just find out where you will be and what transport is good for you to get to work on and so where is good. I always went for living near the horse and commuting to work as housing is cheaper in the burbs too. Berkshire could be good if you are working westward. City is much better from herts, essex, kent - think that's where you said you would be ?you can get hacking and turnout too. Will prob cost you a little more but see if you can get a little uplift for london as its pricier all over

Good luck !
 
Several owners on our yard live in central London. Our yard is in a village, on the Met line, and it's less than 30 mins from London by car or tube, and we have reasonably decent hacking.

I don't think you'll be able to find part livery for £52 a week I'm afraid. Our yard is £35 for grass livery, £45 for DIY, and part livery is £110 for 5 day, or £120 a week for 7 day part livery, which is average for this area.

There are a few places that charge less, but from what I have seen they are pretty grotty.
 
imr said:
I worked in the square mile for 10 years and kept horse in hertfordshire, going back this summer after a spell abroad and prob going to essex. Its doable as others say! Just find out where you will be and what transport is good for you to get to work on and so where is good. I always went for living near the horse and commuting to work as housing is cheaper in the burbs too. Berkshire could be good if you are working westward. City is much better from herts, essex, kent - think that's where you said you would be ?you can get hacking and turnout too. Will prob cost you a little more but see if you can get a little uplift for london as its pricier all over

Good luck !
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Thanks! Yep would be based near the LLoyds building in the 'city' . Its not definite yet, and would hopefully be able to negociate some kind of london weighting to my salary - i'd have to, just been having a quick look at rent and its horrendous- so i imagine that if i could get a decent livery yard within commuting distance I would be opting to live out of London near horse, rather than live near work!

Ahhh i feel like i need a stiff drink after today- totally full of nervous energy! one the one hand its flattering to be considered for what is effectivey a promotion- on the other it could not have come at a worse time personally! ek!
 
In terms of turnout and facilities and hacking I would definitely be looking at Surrey possibly parts of North kent. Would mean living in south west london /surrey which is nice. South london would be cheaper (depending on which bit).

Essex is hugely oversubscribed and you will rarely find anywhere with winter turnout let alone grazing. Its heavy based clay and of course in the winter the fields are just a nightmare.

Herts is also another option - quite good turnout and hacking depending on where you are. Means living in north london/barnet area which is fairly decent price wise.

Places near chorleywood etc usually have good turnout/hacking and are on the met line but it is a fair commute into the City. Depends on what your hours are like.

It is definitely doable - you just need to sort out where you want to be based and start looking!
 
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I think as a rule of thumb, the farther out you are, the cheaper it will be. I live on the Kent/Surrey/E Sussex borders and livery is quite expensive round here, but the housing is a lot cheaper than in 'London'. You can get a train up in about 1/2 an hour (don't forget to factor in your train fares if you chose this option - they have just gone up horrendously!).

You can find cheaper places and the standards vary a lot. I don't think mine is to bad (£180 pcm for grass livery, though)Do you know anyone at all that lives 'down sarth' that can do a bit of investigation for you?
 
I work opposite the Lloyds building and live in Essex. My horse is in DIY livery here and it costs £30 a week. 24/7 in summer and all day in winter until about 5pm. I do ask someone else to bring her in during winter though as I would get home too late and find a sweaty crazed thing if she were left out until 7pm, but quite a few have theirs out as late as 8pm during winter.
 
MrsHutt said:
I think as a rule of thumb, the farther out you are, the cheaper it will be. I live on the Kent/Surrey/E Sussex borders and livery is quite expensive round here, but the housing is a lot cheaper than in 'London'. You can get a train up in about 1/2 an hour (don't forget to factor in your train fares if you chose this option - they have just gone up horrendously!).

You can find cheaper places and the standards vary a lot. I don't think mine is to bad (£180 pcm for grass livery, though)Do you know anyone at all that lives 'down sarth' that can do a bit of investigation for you?
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Thanks everyone for all the replies, i really appreciate it!
Sadly i dont really know many people down south at all, a few uni mates but none in slightest bit horsey! It takes my company ages to organise anything so i dont imagine it would happen over night, so i think lots and lots of googling will be the answer. If i research the price differences, and take them into the meeting as ammunition i might be able to wrangle a decent -ish london allowance! well -thats the plan anyway.

Seafarer- i will defo look into a sharer, but my boy is a 15.2 tb x who is not a novice ride and would need a lightweight competent rider, so it might be difficult to find someone suitable who would be willing to pay to loan him!
 
9tails said:
I work opposite the Lloyds building and live in Essex. My horse is in DIY livery here and it costs £30 a week. 24/7 in summer and all day in winter until about 5pm. I do ask someone else to bring her in during winter though as I would get home too late and find a sweaty crazed thing if she were left out until 7pm, but quite a few have theirs out as late as 8pm during winter.
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Humm you'd be just along the road from me then! If it all comes to pass, i might pm you for some details! :D that turnout arrangement would be perfect for my boy!
 
There is some lovely hacking on the borders of London and Essex, Epping Forest goes on for miles. Livery is available but obviously tends to be more expensive. Aldborough Hall Equestrian Centre has masses of land (an old airfield), indoor and outdoor schools and excellent on site tuition, tack shop etc. It is within a 5 minute drive from Newbury Park Underground station.
 
I'm sure you will find somewhere. I would strongly suggest not looking to rent in London though, it will cost you a fortune, let alone your horse. As the others have said North Kent, Surrey etc. My boyfriend lives in Chislehurst (north Kent). Train straight into London Bridge, so 10 mins walk to the city - where i work too. There are quite a few yards around that way and lots of hacking/forests. I keep mine in Brighton where i live and that is only a 1hr 20mins journey into town. Livery will not come cheap though. £55 pw you should find a good DIY with stable. Part is at least £80pw upwards.

Hope you get sorted. PM if you need any help! xx
 
Hello

I both work, live and keep my horses in London. I am lucky enough to have a 20 acre field that I rent. Hacking is not great but we cope by boxing out and doing lots fun rides. If you need any help or names numbers of yards please do feel free to PM. :)
 
hello
sounds exciting!
i used to live North London and had my horse with me.
there are yards reasonably close in (but not great t/o and expensive)
barnet, stanmore, finchley, enfield etc
bonus is that transport isn't as much and you're not travelling all hours.
i used to do DIY. I'd do everything one end of the day including riding and they'd do the other end so I was only travelling etc once a day. I have never paid more than £30/week DIY.
I'm now out in Herts. Loads of choice to suit anyone (really cheap up to mega expensive, not many facilities - to loads). But travel is very expensive (you might be able to get a company loan for it though). Also rent can be just as expensive as in greater London as they tend to be nice villages/towns in commuting distance of London so desirable! (in fact my husbands commute to work is shorter from Herts than it was when we lived in Southgate North London!)

Good luck
 
Hi: There are plenty of livery yards in and around Epping Forest which, has loads of really lovely hacking. You would need to buy a licence from the City of London (about £40 per annum). The forest stretches from Chingford E4 to Epping in Essex. Chingford has British Rail into Liverpool Street - journey time about 25 mins. In and around the other areas of the forest there is the central line tube service (Epping, Loughton, Debden, Buckhurst Hill, Woodford) straight into the City of London.
There is also Hainault Forest - free hacking but smaller. The central line operates in this area too from Hainault Tube station into the City. Renting property in this area will be a whole lot cheaper.
Bear in mind that the further away you live, the more expensive your travel will be.
 
I used to keep my horse in North London but moved as there wasn't much hacking, limited turnout and expensive for what you get. Am now in Herts and there are loads of yards round here from the cheap and cheerful to the seriously smart. I do 5 day part livery and he goes out every day so don't have to worry if I can't ride. There is fantstic hacking and we are close to Patchetts for competitions.
 
This is all really interesting, thanks for the info everyone! I'm in a similar position, will definitely be moving to London for 2 years minimum so debating what to do with hoss. He's another that would be tricky to loan - too old and too difficult - but feeling more optimistic after reading all these posts!
 
It might me worth looking at Central Bedfordshire as well - Harlington, Flitwick or at a push Leagrave stations on the Thameslink link - direct trains from those stations into City Thameslink in about 40 mins. Travel won't be cheap but rent is much lower than in some of the areas quoted and DIY livery at a yard with decent facilities, ok hacking and turnout all year round will cost you around £25 per week, most provide assisted livery. Although your travel costs will be more, your other cost savings may make up for it and the commute is not too bad. You would need a car at the "home" end though to get to yards etc but well worth looking into. I may even be pursuaded to rent you a room if you could cope with a drafty old cottage with a resident cmad cat in a tiny village! (but only 5 mins by car from station!) There is even a yard within walking distance - no school but good all year turnout and amazing hacking (and cheapest around for miles!)
 
I'm from Bromley originally (South London). Kept horses all over the place - Bromley Common, Coney Hall, Biggin Hill, Chelsfield, Bexley... Each of these areas has a good few yards around, although they can be expensive and don't expect great hacking. From Bromley South the train into Victoria takes about 15 minutes. All those areas I just mentioned are between a 10 and 25 minute drive from the station :)
 
I work about five mins from the Lloyds building, and live north west london / herts border: out on the Met line so about a 45-60 min commute. My horse is out in Herts - about a 20 min drive from home (near Chorleywood). He is on full livery as I couldnt do DIY with my commute and then drive over.
Great hacking round there, it's not cheap compared to some areas, I guess there could be cheaper options, but for me this is the way that means I can enjoy my horse and not spend all my time during the week doing chores rather than riding! And more importantly, he likes it there too :D :D
I should say, I am not a native Londoner (am from Newcastle) so if you want any info on what it's like to make the move feel free to PM me.
 
I keep my pony on grass livery so yes he does have plenty of turnout but he is a good doer and the grass livery at our yards is only really suitable for good doers.

I think the main problem is most people are going to have a long commute to the yard if they work in central london and if you are reliant on public transport to get to and from work there can often be delays which could lead you to get home or to the yard much later than you expected so you will probably need assistance or a horse that either lives out or does not mind waiting to be brought in late or left on its own till you arrive.

Public transport is very expensive I pay £210 a month to get to work and I manage to not run a car as I can walk from the station to the yard and only need to go to the yard once a day. However I often don't get home till 8.30pm and that is without riding!

My livery is very reasonable £135 a month in the summer and £165 in the winter (they get hay in the field in the winter). Although I am a grass livery this includes a huge stable so my pony can come in for extra hay and a rest or to wait for the vet/farrier or something.

We have decent hacking not as good as some areas but bridleways and we have two riding clubs within hacking distance.

There are plenty of livery yards around but you will have to accept it is unlikely that you will get to the yard before 6pm, I don't get to my yard till 6.30 at the earliest as it is 1.5 hours from my work.
 
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