Horse at home or livery? advice appreciated :)

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Hello All

Long time lurker but taking a leap of faith and hoping you'll all be gentle! :) This is a long one and to some may seem a bit trivial so get comfy!

I sold my horse and gave up a horsey job to go back to study five years ago. I miss horses everyday, all my social life and friends were horse related and now I feel lost and down a lot as my horse was my stress relief and only hobby.

I have started a full time job and although not great money now I am hoping in June after a pay review I will earn enough to have a horse again. (I have enough saved for the actual horse)

I have a lovely brick built stable and field at home (live in flat attached to parents house) neighbour has 2 horses that go out 8-4/5 all year round and stabled at night, the fields are a short distance from our fields). In theory I could keep a horse there but am worried that without a companion for my horse that there would be issues if I wanted to leave mine out later or 24/7 plus I would struggle if I was ill and I worry that without a school and access to transport I would feel cut off and lonely.

The other option is a yard 4 miles away with great facilities, all year turnout, livery includes feed, straw, hay 5x turnouts a week etc and it holds regular shows in the summer plus lots of people around. However it would cost approx £260 a month without other associated costs like wormers, vaccs etc.

I could go to a cheaper DIY yard but I feel that if I was there I may as well be at home especially after factoring in hay/bedding prices!

I am unsure about what to do and I would appreciate any advice or opinions positive or negative.

Dairy milk bubbly to all those who got this far :)
 
Agree that keeping alone without an immediate neighbour should not be done. Do you have room time and money for a companion? If not livery yard is the right option.
 
I have 2 youngsters at home and my riding horse at livery. Did have 3 at home, but I really missed the company and facilities a livery yard provides.
 
second a companion... there are plenty of ponies that want a home for not alot of money, feed or day to day work! What about something small and welshy off a mountainside for £25 + hay and trim...? Our 11.2hh and 15.3hh horse used to share a stable at night with no ill effects (12 x 12 stables) you just fill the floor with bedding and have 3 piles of hay so there's no squabbling!
 
What you could do is keep your horse at the yard and make some new local equine freinds and you may find that one of them would make an ideal sharer of your fields and stables. (Could try it out one Summer)
You can of course buy a horse that is happy living by itself in a field.
 
My mare used to be fine by herself, had horses passing along back road behind her field which she liked. Only reason I moved was for facilities and company for myself, that's a good idea as before find someone to share your field if there room?? Then there always some one to help you if needed ill etc
 
Hi, I have been at some lovely livery yards over the years but nothing is better than keeping your horse at home. I love waking up and travelling the 20 yards to stable to sort out etc. I supose it does have its draw backs like being on your own, but i go to the local livery yard to use the school and its amazing who you can find to hack out with. And as someone else mentioned, a lot of horses are happy to be on their own.
Im lucky, I have a friend who will check on them when im away.
At home you make the rules too, and theres no gossiping either that can often happen in an all female environment and can get horrible.
Hope you get sorted soon.
 
I would normally say no to keeping a horse alone, however my friend did have two horses at home but moved one to a different yard and the other really did not care, she loves human company and apparently she was a little noisy for the first few hours but then was her normal self again. So I guess it depends on the horse, but most would prefer company.
As to keeping them at home, it is amazing and so easy. I do really miss having better facilities though.
We pay people to look after ours when we are away, we have had a professional before, just a local horsey person and a friend look after them for us.
 
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I keep mine at home and have done for 3 years, I am currently looking at getting some more land so I can increase my herd and have a school.

I do miss the yard environment, I was on a 640 acre farm with plenty of people who talked about riding. I didn't have to go near a road to ride if I didn't want to and there was a school. I now have to do 4 miles of roadwork before getting to any off road riding. I have no one to agree to ride with (the encouragement) and as a result ride quite a bit less! I miss the yard but being at home is great, no driving to the yard, extra time, extra money, my rules.

My horses are happy at home, they were happy at the yard. Its a finance and motivation decision in the end!

I got a small companion for mine.. he's really cheap to look after aswell!
 
Aside from the companionship issue, i would be tempted to go to a livery yard for the first few months to get used to having a horse again before going it totally alone. Then I would find a way of getting a livery/companion..
 
If I had the option to keep mine at home I most definately would. I've got a riding horse and my mum has a shetland so I'd say if you could get a little companion that would be better.
 
Hated having samba at home ( rented field by house) so went to livery to find friends as I also know no one here.... Loner :)

toffee my oldie is still at home and currently has some neighbours and cows the otherside. How about a goat? Or sheep as company?
 
Thanks everyone! Lots of really helpful replies :)

I would love to have a little companion but again would worry about separation anxiety problems if/when I go out for a ride!

Ideally I would be able to move between livery yard and home in the summer and winter months, however its a desirable yard and I probably wouldn't be able to move in and out as I please.

Which would be better company and facilities to school and compete in the summer and the choice of how I do things in the Winter at home or the other way round so I have help and facilities when its awful weather and can leave the horse out longer in the summer and have time to ride when I come home from home (I have a 45 min commute to work). Ahhh its so difficult !

I may see if the yard does grass only livery in the summer? That would be an option and save some money also!

The more I think about it the more confused I get! :)
 
We have two ponies at home and while I personally would never like to keep a pony/horse on their own my two are fine when I take the other one out even for a day. I do leave the remaining one in the stable with hay as I don't like the idea of them running up and down the fence. When we get home they are pleased to see their friend return, but not distressed.
 
I would say that as part of your reason for getting a horse is to get back involved in the social side of things that the livery yard would be your best option. I' sure you could find a horse that would cope happily on it's own at your stable (not thatI believe in keeping a horse alone), but from what you have written you might find you get a bit lonely.
 
I have mine at home in the winter, no stressing about getting to them in bad weather and they can live out 24/7 (both hardy natives) If I want some company I then move them somewhere else for a few months in the summer . I find this works for me and the cheapest option :)
 
Honey08 said:
Aside from the companionship issue, i would be tempted to go to a livery yard for the first few months to get used to having a horse again before going it totally alone. Then I would find a way of getting a livery/companion..
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Ditto this.

In the past I've been a punter at various livery situations; and now am in the situation of being able to keep mine at home, which is SO convenient, so there are pro's and cons.

The biggest problem for you OP could be the companion issue; unless your sure yours will be OK on its own temporarily when the other horses aren't there. Mine would be fine with that - is so preoccupied with his belly that he just wouldn't notice, but not every horse is like this.

You could always go to a horse rescue centre and get something from there as a companion, and see how it goes?
 
In your shoes I think I would keep the horse at home, get a companion and join a local riding club for making friends. Or could you pay to use the livery yard facilities? That way you get to spend time there without keeping the horse there :)
 
Sorry, I'm about to come across as a total biatch but...

I would love to have a little companion but again would worry about separation anxiety problems if/when I go out for a ride!
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^ This is an incredibly selfish reason to not get your horse a companion. :mad:

If I had a single horse, then I would go for the livery option.

If I could have two then I would have them at home and deal with any separation problems if they came up.
 
Faracat said:
Sorry, I'm about to come across as a total biatch but...



^ This is an incredibly selfish reason to not get your horse a companion. :mad:

If I had a single horse, then I would go for the livery option.

If I could have two then I would have them at home and deal with any separation problems if they came up.
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Completely agree with this!
 
I have my riding pony and a small companion at home - if you don't make a big deal out of the separation thing then they don't either - within a few days they get used to the idea that 'although she's gone out she's coming back'. We take the companion out for walks occasionally just to keep the ridden one in practice so to speak. Mine call a bit when you are returning but apparantly whoever's at home settles fine (hubby has sneakily watched them to check), and whoever is going out is keen enough to go!!
 
I have mine at a livery yard in the summer and at home in the winter,as I have no `facilities`but on a farm so plenty of straw and hay we have a couple of youngsters to keep her company.Works well for me and saves me alot of time and money.
 
Cocorules said:
Agree that keeping alone without an immediate neighbour should not be done. Do you have room time and money for a companion? If not livery yard is the right option.
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I keep my hunter at home, 2 miles from OHs horses. He has never been alone before, he eats feed, haylage and grazing a lot better alone, he also stays out longer and has a lot less battle wounds than he did when I kept him with mums mare.
Prior to moving him home alone I was very worried about lack of company, it is honestly the beat thing I've done for him.
 
Faracat said:
Sorry, I'm about to come across as a total biatch but...



^ This is an incredibly selfish reason to not get your horse a companion. :mad:

If I had a single horse, then I would go for the livery option.

If I could have two then I would have them at home and deal with any separation problems if they came up.
Click to expand...

I would hate to be on a yard with you- what happened to each individual horse?
Not every horse needs a companion, fact. I'd rather not have a horse than be on livery judging by this place.
 
claireandnadia said:
If I had the option to keep mine at home I most definately would.
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This /\/\

But that is my preference. I grew up with our horses on our own land, only joined livery yards much later when my parents sold up.

I suppose it really is a personal thing. If I had the option to keep my horse at home I would. Further to that I would want it to have a companion. Plenty of horses are happy or cope perfectly well on their own, depends on the horse.

You could always trial it keeping at home and if you did not like it then move to livery, good luck either way :)
 
Having done both, I'd never go back to a livery yard. However I'd never keep a horse without a companion. In your case, if you could put yours in the same field as the neighbours' and share your grazing with them, that sounds fine, although I personally would prefer to own my own companion, not have to rely on someone else. Some horses are quite happy to be the last out, left on own for a while, so that needn't be a problem, it depends on the horse. One of ours is glad of the peace and quiet, the other two, less so but ok if brought in with something to eat.
 
RunToEarth said:
I would hate to be on a yard with you- what happened to each individual horse?
Not every horse needs a companion, fact. I'd rather not have a horse than be on livery judging by this place.
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I find that very sad - you've never met me and I honestly have my horse's best interests at heart. Not a bad thing surely?

I can only go by the horses that I have met and the only one that was happier on it's own was 'sub-normal' socially (I hope that makes sense) as it had been kept on it's own as a youngster and really didn't understand horse body language properly.

It's not a big secret that horses are herd animals. They are very social and it is very interesting watching how they interect with each other and who is friends with who. Watching the older horses teaching the younger ones how to behave is also a wonderful way to waste time.

When I was at livery, the mares were in one herd and the geldings in another. If when it was time to bring my mare in and there were only two left out, I would bring the last horse in too. Infact I arranged this with the horse's owner and did that for a whole winter as she worked late. There wasn't a problem between us at all. She didn't want her mare left alone and it wasn't any hassle for me to bring in two rather than just one.

I'm not at a livery yard anymore, so you can't livery with me anyway! :p
 
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