how much would you pay for diy livery?

I wouldn't pay 50p a year to share 1/4 an acre with a horse who bullies mine and they fencing isn't secure.It's not like you could even fence it off for them, 1/8 an acre each is hardly fair...

No amount of money is worth the distress of a horse escaping and hurting itself, or potentially causing an accident. Not a cat in hells chance.

I'd rather pay £££££ to know my horse was secure to be honest.
 
rainyequine said:
What the yard LACKS
-no school
-no grazing
-no hay/bedding included at all
-no feed
-no turnout/rug changes etc
-no secure fencing (horses have already escaped 3 times)
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Mmmm, as DIY yard I certainly wouldn't be offering anything like rug changing and doing turnout, other than for emergencies such as vet, or farrier turning up unexpectedly, which has happened here and where I've brought in and held etc as needs be! A 1/4 acre field isn't much for grazing TBH, but it IS turnout, I guess...... but personally I'd want more than that as no doubt it is totally trashed at this time of year.

OK, so dunno if this helps, but here my livery pays me £100 p.c.m. for her two ponies and one horse. For this she gets her own turnout area of nearly 4 acres which isn't grazed by any other horses except hers, and which is all year round. It is well fenced with mains water supply. She can put up her jumps and use part of it for a school if she wishes, and/or erect her own fencing to separate off, that's up to her. She also has her own looseboxes for her lot plus undercover storage for bedding & feed and own tack room. She is also able to park her lorry here, no charge for this.

I don't provide any feed/bedding, or any "assistance" as such, it is strictly DIY simply because I'm not confident enough to be dealing with other people's horses and I know it, neither do I have the time, so don't offer it, period. I do live on-site, where there is a professional security system installed, plus I'm around on the place to supervise and would call the owner if something was obviously in difficulties.

The riding around here is OK'ish, could be better but could be an awful lot worse. There is a major competition venue within easy reach.

I am responsible for maintenance such as fencing, electricity, water, muckheap disposal, running repairs and field maintenance such as harrowing & rolling. Livery buys her own fodder/bedding etc and does her horses herself, including fencing off her field using her own leccy fencing and energiser/battery if she wants.

This is Devon. Hope this helps.

If OP is unhappy and/or thinks she's paying too much, then I'd counsel look for somewhere else. I personally wouldn't want anyone on the yard who's not a happy bunny. If someone is unhappy I'd want to be told up front and to my face. Tis best for people to move if not happy; and certainly if OP wants stuff like rug-change and turning out then she should be looking for an "assisted livery" set up rather than paying for DIY and grousing about what she hasn't got.........
 
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Anything with poor fencing is not good news. Your horse could suffer a serious injury.
A recent court case demonstrated that a horse owner is responsible for any accidents their horses cause whether it be their fault or not.
Horse owners need to ensure that they have Third Party Liability Insurance for no less than £10,000,000 (Ten million pounds).
There are few insurance companies that provide this level of cover (If you are a BHS Gold member you do get this cover with your membership).
 
I pay £55 a week (North East). This includes:
Stable and paddock
Water and Electricity
Haylage & Straw
Use of school (large outdoor and small indoor)
Own indoor space for feed room / rug storage
Miles of hacking around the farm including many hunt jumps.
 
I would not pay more than £ 20 pw

I would pay more and go further, your horse is your down time, time to enjoy and get away from work or home life. It is a hobby not a chore and this yard seems unpleasant atmosphere and not really anything I would consider unless it was short time while I looked for a more suitable yard.

Bad atmosphere is always a black cloud imo as it makes going to visit your horse unpleasant.

I would not stay at that place with the description you give.

Horses always need to sort out pecking order so the bully might be better given time and correct introduction, that said I would quit while your ahead. I would always always travel further for a nicer yard with better facilities

This is what my livery owners on diy get

Here it is £ 49 per week but you get £ 12 per month off the bill if you do 1 day of pooh picking.
stable
all electrics/water etc
use of tack room alarmed
storage in the tack room by means of a trunk you supply
use of large chest freezer to store rugs in
jumps
schools (indoor and outdoor)
coffee facilities
wc
well maintained turnout
post and rail fencing
cctv /security
close to hacks and local shows
friendly atmosphere
limited storage for hay and feedbins
I think that is all the list
 
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We are on a completely DIY yard (owner lives on site but is a part time farmer with a part time job too who can just about tell one end of a horse from the other!) so no option of services etc. We are £100 pcm for :

Stable and field shared with 1 other (space for 4 in each field but not full at the moment)
Use of floodlit outdoor school
Space in feed and tack room
Trailer parking if needed
Water and electric

Fencing is good and repaired promptly if needed. Likewise he keeps the school well maintained as the surface is not the best. We are on the east coast of Scotland.
 
OP

A DIY yard generally means you pay for a stable/field and that's that.

You should provide hay/feed/bedding etc. And I wouldn't expect a DIY yard to do rug changes for Free! But I would expect grazing to be fenced and secured, the lack of grass wouldn't worry me at the moment as there is no growth yet.

Some DIY yards will have more facilities - such as a school/more turnout and maybe the option of extra sevices such as £2 a rug change. But you should be expected to provide for the horse as needed.

The lack of fencing would worry me most, can you put electric tape up? Or at least seperate your horse from the others?
 
Currently pay £150 per calendar month. Possibly due to go up.

30x60 outdoor rubber/sand partially lit arena
Large stable
Two large well-fenced individual paddocks per horse that you can manage how you wish.
Fabulous hacking
Tonnes of storage for hay etc.
Heated rug room and tack room
Mainly well-maintained
Easily accessible muck trailer
No horse services provided
 
We are £75 per week, for that you get hay and straw included and either a bring in or turn out once a day and a feed put in once a day. We have monarc stables, 2x arenas indoor and out, hot water shower. Really id prefer to just have full liveries but if a decent diy'er came along and i had space i'd accept them but they have to pay a premium on a stable i could really have filled with a full. 6 of my 20 stables are currently DIY'ers.

However i agree with others a field my horse had escaped 3 times from is not one id keep my horse in. I wouldnt be able to sleep for wondering if the horse would still be there in the morning.
 
Hi everyone! thanks for your help, but after a lot of though we have decided to return our pony as she is proving too much for my daughter. We had her on trial for 2 months as it's our first time buying and wanted to be sure.

She is pointing more towards the 2 year old range, rather than 4, the age she was advertised as. It has also come to our detention that she may have been drugged/sedated when we got her, and now we can't even sit on her without her either bucking or refusing to move at all.

I know it's a cop out, and we really should persevere with her; but she is proving way too much for us to handle, escaping another two times today, breaking new fences and being bolshy and pushy on the ground.
She can be a loving pony, but honestly my daughter is not experienced enough to start from scratch with her and train her, essentially breaking her in.

We will be searching for a new horse to buy in Easter, where we will take everyone's advice on board and most certainly be moving and stabling our new pony at a different, more suitable yard which caters to ours and our horses needs.

Thank you all so much for your help, I really hope I have come to the right desicion, has anyone else had a dealing like this? Tia x
 
Sounds like you might be making the right decision TBH. If this horse IS 2 and not 4, i'm not surprised she's bucking you off. Most horses aren't broken in at that age! What makes you believe she's younger than you thought?

Did you get her vetted before you bought? Was she sold as broken in? If you got her vetted and believe she was drugged the vet should have taken blood samples you can get tested to see if she was sedated.

If this is your first horse and you both don't have any experience of youngsters I would return her. If you don't return her you'll need a professional or a person experienced with youngsters to help you break in and bring on. If you had the money and the help (and if you moved yards) i'm sure you could turn her around but you will need to spend the money training her and getting help from someone more experienced.

When looking for your new horse I would definitely be looking for an older more mature horse for your daughter, one that knows what it's doing so you don't need to worry about any retraining.

Good luck with whatever you decide :)
 
Who has aged her for you?

I cannot imagine why anyone would sedate a horse then let it go on trial for 2 months, very few people allow a 2 month trial anyway because of the risk of the horse not being returned how it started off which would seem the case here given the deterioration in behaviour. A four year old is rarely suitable for someone inexperienced anyway.
 
ester said:
Who has aged her for you?

I cannot imagine why anyone would sedate a horse then let it go on trial for 2 months, very few people allow a 2 month trial anyway because of the risk of the horse not being returned how it started off which would seem the case here given the deterioration in behaviour. A four year old is rarely suitable for someone inexperienced anyway.
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My thoughts exactly.

How did you find out the pony was 2? Have you been trying to continue to ride her since you found out?
 
A 4yo is next to never suitable for a novice. The people who sold her to you sound irrisponsible if you were honest with them about your level of experience.

When it comes to looking for your next pony perhaps take your riding instructor with you. Go for an older pony who is described as a good first pony or suitable for a novice. Having a trial is sensible though if you are able to do so.
 
The trial of the unsuitable pony sounds exactly like the sort of thing dodgy dealers do to shift stock on. They dont honour the agreement. I really, really hope that isnt the case here. Who did you buy her from?
 
This sounds like a very dodgy post and a recipe for cruelty and disaster
but one thing I am surprised at is how little people pay/charge for DIY livery I have one on mates rates but it is certainly not for profit he pays £3 per day for grazing about an acre, (more in winter) no stables, flat schooling area, storage, hay, (i poo pick most days as he works) feeding although not food, holiday care, rug changes and other day to day care in an emergency farrier/vet holding if needed. Ring fence is maintained by me and there is running water and mains electricity. I do think this is very cheap I was paying 25 a week 15 years ago for a real DIY yard if it was broke you fixed it the YM just collected the money and did nothing else
 
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Shay said:
Largely it doesn't really matter what you pay if the yard is not suitable for you and your horse. Anything without secure fencing - not matter how cheap - is too much in my view. And if they are being rotten to your daughter as well that would be the last straw.

Do you have other options though?
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This, I recently left a yard that, on paper, would seem ideal..... indoor school, outdoor manege, american barn stables.....I paid £40 a week for this which, at the start, wasn't too bad, despite being the most expensive yard in the area. But the fields weren't maintained, electric on the fencing didn't work (which can effect your insurance, if there's an incident) the grazing was VERY restricted in the winter, meaning my little herd spent much of the time in, and my boy started to develop a dust allergy. and the YO was pretty much not on the scene, most of the time. This allowed one livery to become sell appointed boss and made many peoples lives a misery. When she turned her attentions to my daughter.....enough was enough!! We moved! I'm now on a lovely yard, it doesn't have the same facilities (although it does have a menage) but the fields are maintained, the fencing is secure and there is no restriction on grazing. que happy horses and happy owners. The people are lovely, and my boy's dust allergy is no more! and for this I pay £120 pcm. Since leaving the last yard, however, I have discovered what others think about it and the reputation it has and feel a bit of a fool for staying as long as I did.
 
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