How much to charge for DIY livery?

C

Charmel

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 October 2013
Messages
163
Visit site
Yhinking of renting out two pony stables to help towards costs but I don't know how much to charge.

Stables 10x10
DIY Livery
24hr year round turnout with haylage in field. (unless very very bad weather)
No menage but area of field to ride in or can ride around outskirts of fields. (Hope to put in menage next summer). Secure yard parking for trailer/lorry

Good Grazing with post and rail fencing.

Good location in a village with nice hacks closeby.

Can turnout/bring in if required....

Yards around us are more isolated but have better facilities so difficult to judge by their prices.

Any Ideas

South Wales Area?
 
You need to see what people charge for similar livery in your area (look a bit further afield if nothing similar right by you) and work out what business rates and insurance you will need to pay, as this will need to be taken into account when you work out your price.
 
We used to pay £160 every 4 weeks for the type of facilities you are describing , however currently pay £130 every calender month for stable hay, straw turn out and outdorr school, lunge pen and walker. not much help I know but praps give you a guide
 
People at mine pay £35 for stable, field, use of menage and jumps ect. Have a big tack locker and space for lorry park. They buy own feed, hay/haylage, shavings ect. £45 a week if I do the horse either morning or night a couple of days
 
Charmel said:
Including haylage in the field and 2 nets a day per pony hay or haylage when in stable....
Click to expand...

Mmm, I think if you're including haylage - it needs to be unlimited. It can become a real problem when you restrict it to 2 nets (quite unworkable for many actually).

Depending on where in South Wales you are I'd say you're probably looking at around £35 a week (that doesn't include 'jobs' which you should charge for separately).
 
The only problem with unlimited is it can end up being wasted. The stables are only 10x10 so small pony sized and 2 large nets a day when you consider that there is unlimited haylage in field and 24hr turnout, should be enough for any small pony. Different if it was a large horse my 16.3 TB would eat twice that!

My Arab x Welsh pony (14h) would not eat any more than that!

But amount would be negotiable I just wouldn't want waste!
 
You will always get waste. It's how you go about managing it that's the key.

I would not go to a yard that told me I could only have two nets of hay a day. What happens if the animal is on box rest?
 
I would think most people looking at the type of livery would keep their horses out 24/7 and only stable if night before show etc. So having unlimited haylage might not be a problem; you can always let them know that if there is wastage there might be an additional fee. If you had a school etc then more likely for people to come up in evenings and ride and keep horse in overnight.

No idea how much to charge; near me, they had 24/7 turnout (no stable) with haylage in field over winter months only. It was £125 per month in summer and £140 per month in winter (near London). they were allowed to use floodlit school, wash down etc.

Just another though but will it be worth it? you will have to pay business rates etc?
 
I was charging £50 every 4 weeks to a couple of my friends who kept their horses on our yard. That was for stable and field only. We have good hacking but no facilities, they buy all their own bedding/haylage etc. They sort out turning out/bringing in between the 2 of them so I don't get involved. They also have to keep on top of poo picking the field they share. We have brand new post and rail fencing with electric around the top too.

I personally think they are getting a bargain compared to other places around here but the one friend thinks I'd be out of my mind to try and charge more due to lack of facilities but I'm not sure it's really been worth all the hassle. Friend 1 has never been a big problem apart from not keeping on top of poo picking, friend 2, well let's just say I won't miss her attitude at all.

E.T.A. The horses are in at night from October/November to March/April (weather depending) but 24/7 turnout throughout the Summer which practically nobody offers in our area.
 
Last edited:
For guidance: my livery has a 4 acre drained field, divvied into two parts, with mains water. No one but her uses it so she has free access and no other horses apart from hers turned out there. She has loose-boxes for her three horses and storage for hay/fodder, plus horse-box (we don't charge her for storage). The hacking is OK'ish round here, could be better, good road access to local venues/shows etc.

In the yard there is mains electric, water, and a lockable tack room. Plus security in place.

For this she pays £100 per calendar month. No hay or feed included, she pays all bills herself & purchases own hay etc. I am on-site 24/7 and can be around if needed for farriers/vets etc, but wouldn't normally do so unless emergency. This is East Devon area.

Hope this helps.

I saw DIY facilities advertised in the local paper recently for £45 per week for a field and field shelter.
 
I pay £25 p/w for unlimited turnout in well grassed huge fields, 12x12 new build american barn stable, unlimited use of 20x40 floodlit outdoor and free hay/straw/bedding storage
 
I'm on the outskirts of Cardiff and pay £25 a week for a 18'x12' stable (biggest on yard but 12'12 and 10x12' are same price, allocated according to horse's size) and £14 a week for unlimited haylage in winter, when they're in overnight (approx 4-5 months) so it works out about £31 a week if you spread the cost throughout the year. We have an outdoor school.

Agree with Amymay if you're going to include haylage it needs to be unlimited as otherwise it's difficult to control and will probably cause friction. Apart from anything how big is a hay net? I have one huge one that can take an entire (small) bale. Two of those a day would soon leave you struggling! People only take what they need (what else will they do with it!) and if the horses are living out together, I assume you'll be putting haylage in the field yourself so will have some sort of control over how much?

Also in 10x10 stables, you'll only have ponies, which tend to be good doers so they probably won't need much anyway.
 
if hay and haylage is being fed then £30 a week, and £20 duringthe rest of the year with hay available to buy from you at extra cost if the client requires it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top