How much do you put up with at your yard?

[Moggy in Manolos]

Well i don't have any electric or lights or anything at the moment, its very annoying as Seren desperately needs clipping poor thing is getting so hot.
I miss the facilities of my old yard but simply cannot afford them just now so we have to put up with nothing.
Its just a small place, YO does nothing to the place, me and the other two ladies have to manage the place ourselves, get our own hay in and muck removed and maintain the place.

 

[pinktiger]

been at my yard for years is all diy, but the yard owner's are totally fantastic!! summer 24/7 turnout 8 til 4 winter!! Have no complaints at all surrounded by lovely people and everybody is careful and thoughtfull of others. Today my lorry wouldnt start and even the son came out the help me get it started they just are sooo kind and do sooo much for us diyers and the horses. It all works well i put it down to the people who run it,there is not a bitchy or nasty bone in their bodies, just genuine nice people and that makes a difference imo!!! There are nice yards out there!!!!

 

[beeswax]

martlin my 1st post was in reply to a YO following a livery turning off the lights and my comment was about what happened to talking about things; your reply was immediately on the defence which has shown that you are the kind of YO who doesnt talk about things and you have actually confirmed what i have said in my post all along but without actually saying anything. All i can say is thank goodness i am not on your yard.

 

[martlin]

I think you completely misunderstood what I said, tbh. My first reply to you was only related to one point you made - 8/10 YOs run a yard to keep their horses and otherwise would pay for their horses out of their pockets. All I wanted to point out is that being a YO is a job as any other and the profit=wages, which everybody is entitled to spend as they please.
Feel free, however, to feel offended.

 

[not_with_it]

Actually Nat any member of the Public has a right of safe entry up to your front door & that is a fact. You do not have to be running a business for this requirement. Not many yards have a Street light outside the premises though, as they tend to be off the rd & quite spread out over a large area.
The only thing I can honestly say to you is perhaps have a yard meeting with the other liveries & YO, discuss having a contract with the YO & the changes you would all like to see. BUT be prepared to pay for the changes that will make everyone happy. If not vote with your feet.
Good Luck

Most of the liveries have clubbed together and made a 'kettle fund' We all put a few quid in and gave it to the YO in the hope they would give us a break with the lights.
I have to say unfortunately it didnt work. YO came and turned the lights out in my stable whilst I was in there. His excuse was that he thought I had gone home

 

[aro]

Used to be on a livery yard and the horses were kept in one small paddock during the day all winter. This became knee deep in mud to the point you couldn't walk through it to catch your horse. She never let you keep horses in during the day and insisted they be turned out, even when they had mud fever. She monitored how much hay you put in your horses net and used to make people take hay out. Horses came in at 2pm and by 6pm they would have nothing left and would have to stay like this until morning. She wouldn't let you give them more. There was no electricity. The fencing was broken and never got repaired then she would start shreikinging if they broke through to another paddock. Needless to say we moved and have now been at a brilliant yard for the past 3yrs and couldn't be happier.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Um, I'm a YO. Only offer DIY livery, but having had a quickie scan through some of the replies here I wonder if I might comment.

In the past I've had to go cap in hand to some pretty unpleasant/stuck-up people in order to accommodate my horse, and have had to pin-on-a-grin and put up or shut up, simply because there wasn't anywhere else in those days, there weren't as many yards around as there are now (I'm talking about 25 years ago!!!!), so I've seen things from both sides, both as a punter and now more recently have the huge blessing of having my own place and being able to offer DIY.

OK - someone early on mentioned they "weren't allowed to boil a kettle because the electricity cost too much". I had someone here a few years ago who boiled up SIX KETTLES of water in order to wash her horse's tail - she did this two times a week believe it or not!!! (in the middle of winter). Boiling up a kettle is one of the most expensive things you can do, electrically, and YO's aren't made of money. Also, she'd leave lights on for a pastime and I'd go down to the yard an hour later and find lights blaring out and no-one there, plus a mains water tap left on. We're on a water meter here and water is expensive. So I had to ask her please not to leave lights on unecessarily and not to leave taps running - and boy did she think I was a dragon for doing it. As a YO I'm not trying to be finickity and mean, but some liveries seem to regard it as their right to turn every light in Christendom on - even when they don't need it, and/or run metered water out of the taps ad infinitum, without any thought of how much it costs.

I've also had people here who were smoking on the premises and I didn't know about it, plus letting their dogs turd everywhere and not clearing it up.

The other thing is turnout: thorny issue I know. Basically if someone's horse (or youngster, or whatever) gallops around the fields in the autumn and churns up all the grass, that means there's no grass for later on. So if there is restricted turnout at a yard, then there will be a good reason for that and its not just the YO being petty.

I've always sought to have a good relationship with my liveries and have had some lovely people and horses. I'd hate to be in the situation of having to run a big yard and have to arbitrate between petty squabbles - I can't imagine how difficult that would be.

 

[Luci07]

crikey, think I am lucky where I am - YO is very relaxed about the lights but then can honestly say no one at the yard wanders off leaving lights on all over the place. I will leave the barn lights on while I am schooling but that is because I am normally on my own and freely admit to being a little on the scaredy side and like the light. I also put on one of the lights in the main yard (which the school is across on one side) so no one can come in the yard without me seeing when I am schooling.

But everyone is quite careful with the lights - will check if anyone else needs the school and if not, lights go off. We do also have some sensor lights when moving from the main yard to the barn which is a very good idea - and no one to get cross about them being left on.

 

[Seahorse]

It continues to amaze me at the carry on at yards.

Unfortunately anyone can start of a livery yard and that is what the problem is.

I believe that every commercial yard should have to be registered and inspected once a year. although this won't resolve all issues it will ensure that such things as fencing etc are correctly maintained and that all staff are suitably qualified.

My yard is inspected every year and has BHS approval, in fact the BHS regional deveopment officer for the south east keeps her horse there!