How far would you travel for the right yard?

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Bedford Joy

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I have found a lovely yard which will allow my horses out all year and it has natural shelter, and they will put haylage in field in winter. Over the road from indoor/outdoor school, miles of woodland hacking on door step but it's 9 miles away cross country. Much cheaper than current yard which is only 4.5 miles away, but there are no stables.
 
The furthest i have travelled was around 15 miles. It wasn't anything sparkling but the hacking was good. If the roads are decent then i would go for it as 9 miles isn't much.
 
I used to drive about 10 miles to the Welshies I shared/helped with, and their owner had a similar distance. They had 2 large fields shared variously with 1 or 2 other ponies and stables/tack/feed room, plus hard standing, running water and small parking area (but only a bucket loo!). It was all rented and the neighbours were friendly and would call the owner in event of any problems noticed with horses, fences, etc. The hacking was great, and quiet lanes for driving (primary job for the Welshies). If everything else adds up then it may be worth the petrol/diesel money to travel as your nearer yard just doesn't tick the boxes for you. Good luck!
 
I've been 15 miles away with my previous horse as the yard set up really suited him.

I had my current horse there for a while, but the set up didn't suit him - I'm now 2 miles away.

I was lucky as even when I was further away roads were still good (we used roads going to/from airport so always gritted and useable even in snow). Oddly enough, because current yard is down rural tracks and I have a small car although it's closer it's trickier to get to in bad weather - although I can walk if necessary (the lane has bern unuseable this winter at times). Thankfully, current yard does assistance - so he goes on full livery in really bad weather and if I can't walk.

How easy it is to get there in bad weather or if you have a contingency plan would be my only concern apart from cost.

It sounds a lovely yard though!
 
If it's across country then nine miles doesn't sound too bad, will there be much more traffic at certain times? My yard is just over six miles away - I am in south west London and this is the closest yard to me that has proper turnout and good facilities. It means that I have to be careful about when I leave home as traffic can mean that it takes me up to 45mins-an hour to get there; it takes 15-20 minutes at the very least, i.e. 7am on a Sunday morning! So I wouldn't want to be any further away based on the travelling time - will you have to visit your horses twice a day or just once? And how does it fit in relation to work - will you have do drive nine miles each way before work at 9am?
 
Would probably travel up to about 45mins away but Im on full livery so i dont have to go down to the stables three times a day like people on DIY :)
 
I wouldn't.

If I couldn't have my horses at home then I wouldn't have them at all. I cannot be doing with the politics of yards, the clockwatching, the rules and having to haul myself out into a vehicle to see to the horse/s.
Also where on earth would I find somewhere that would take 10 horses including a stallion, broodmares and youngstock? ... and more to the point - how would I afford it?!

The majority of my Livery Owners travel 20 miles or more, but only 1 comes daily without fail, others I may not see for weeks on end - good thing I only offer full board ;) It doesn't make any difference to the horses welfare, or to me, whether their people come or not.
 
I used to drive 30 mins to yard. I was on full livery so wasn't too bad but when I had time off work and wanted to ride every day, it did get a bit much. Now they are DIY and about 2 miles away.
 
Enfys said:
I wouldn't.

If I couldn't have my horses at home then I wouldn't have them at all. I cannot be doing with the politics of yards, the clockwatching, the rules and having to haul myself out into a vehicle to see to the horse/s.
Also where on earth would I find somewhere that would take 10 horses including a stallion, broodmares and youngstock? ... and more to the point - how would I afford it?!

The majority of my Livery Owners travel 20 miles or more, but only 1 comes daily without fail, others I may not see for weeks on end - good thing I only offer full board ;) It doesn't make any difference to the horses welfare, or to me, whether their people come or not.
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You sound like an ideal YO, you wouldnt happen to live somewhere near Essex would you? :D :rolleyes:
 
For me, it would totally depend on what the roads were like - would you get stuck in traffic at certain times if a busy road, or would it be cut off and impossible to drive in snow or ice if a rural area..

Personally I would prefer to be able to walk there if need be, and even though you may have a YO that does extras if snowed in, you may need to get a vet there too one day..
 
I did used to keep my horse on a yard which was a 5 mins drive from where i was living, which was brilliant. I've moved in the last 6 months and now my yard is a 20 - 25 mins drive away from my home. However, it is also on my journey back from work towards home, so although a pain at the weekend it is convienient during the week.

The facilities and turnout at my new yard were just perfect for my horse's needs, although there were yards closer to home, most were in the opposite direction to work, so i would have just been adding to my daily commute.

I'm slowly getting used to it and don't get me wrong it would be nice to be closer to home, but that is one negative against a massive list of positives.

You just need to decide what is more important to you and your horse :)
 
The yards I've been on have ranged from 0.8 miles to 25 miles (current yard)! I also work 50 miles from home so have to do a lot of travelling unfortunately.

The yard is definitely worth it as I have complete peace of mind (I'm also on full livery).
 
I had my first horse on DIY livery 20 mins from home but this was before I had my son so my time was more my own. Since having my son I have travelled 15 miles when I worked part time but shared the mornings with my friend. Now travel 10 mins but am back working full time so Max is now on part livery Monday to Friday.
 
I can't be doing with large yards with lots of people and horses. I would hate people borrowing my things for them never to return!

I'm on a private DIY yard 7 miles from my house. We have a lovely American style barn with just 4 horses between 2 owners, and over 30 acres of fab grazing. The hacking is great, the roads are quiet and you can't hear one bit of noise apart from nature.
I love everything about it and don't ever want to move!

We are in the middle of the countryside on the Isle of Man, so I never have a problem with traffic or long commutes.

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