i dont know what to do for the best :(

SarahRicoh

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Hey hh.

As title really... I currently have my 14.3hh ish gelding on lwvtb.

Hes kept 5/10 mins away from my house in a livery yard on diy. Hes out during day and in at night. Yard has good facilities (indoor/outdoor sch) and good hacking but its pretty expensive. I can afford it but i cant justify the money atm really.

Pony would be happier out 24/7 as he doesnt like coming in and is happy in rain wind etc (although hes fine in stable-doesnt weave or anything) but they have to come in all year round,even summer!!

So im starting to think id be better off renting a field or finding somewhere on grass livery. I do like having the school to ride in but i have no transport to compete so all i can do is hack really!

Problem is its very hard-verging on inpossible- to find fields to rent/grass livery...

I just dont know what to do? I know of one field which is £45 a month that has several.horses in and hay is given in winter but i think.its slightly overgrazed and theres nothing there. Id have to tie up to gate and hack out from.field which doesnt really bother me. 5 mins from my house.

Second option atm is my old yard which is £70 a month for a field with one other pony with manmade shelters and can ride in field in summer. 25 mins from.mine.

Or to stay at current yard or something else? It would be nice to save money on livery cz £45 is very different to £163... But no.point being somewhere cheap if we are not happy but also.not point paying for a stable if not needed and ponys getting difficult to catch as he doesmt want to come in..

Sorry for essay * choc reindeer for all :) *
 

flying solo

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Guess it really boils down to the facilities, I couldn't live without mines. Somewhere dry to tack up and if you need farrier or vet etc. I haven't risen in nearly 6 weeks due to our indoor school not finished yet and I hate riding in howling wind and rain!

Once the novelty of everyday riding wears off the weather is a big downer on field livery only x
 

abitodd

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If you are driving to the yard,then your 2nd option of £70 would have to be weighed up against fuel costs. It might end up being much the same money.

However,many horses are much happier and healthier for being out 24/7.

If I were you.(please note i am an impulsive type!;)) I would move to the field without much grass particularly if they get ad lib hay in winter.
Horses often do better with less lush grass intake and plenty of space to move about and socialise.

Can you return to your current yard in sping/summer if the new place does not suit?
 

SarahRicoh

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Thing is with the grass livery the lady that owns it is a bit weird and i can never get hold of her and theres people that have horses there that i know are horible(the people not horses) but that doesnt really matter as i wouldnt see anyone.

My theory was that about petrol but as i go up to current yard twice a day it doesnt make much difference. Old yard was 18 miles there and back(i think) current yard is maybe 8 x twice a day 16 miles ....
People were nice but clueless and fields not managed great and i cant just do it my way as although theyre relaxed they have sheep too so some fields are for them.

Facilities dont bother me in summer its just winter weather.
 

Fantasy_World

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Out of all the options I would consider the old yard, even though 25mins away.
At £70 a month that is not bad at all compared to what is being paid for now.
TBH unless you are wanting to do dressage I don't see the point of schools, especially if you have a field to ride in. You could always buy some dressage markers and then just mark out the field when you wanted to ride if you wanted to do intensive schooling.
I suppose schools have their use in winter/wet months as depending on how wet the field is it can be hard if not impossible to ride in a water logged field.
However I have been on yards and paid for the school ( it's in the costs). One place I never used at all, and another used it once to lunge a horse that was it. In the latter when I did lunge the school was so deep in places and waterlogged that I feared for my horse's legs even though he has good bone.
In another place the school was frozen most of winter, so when couldn't get out to hack, couldn't even exercise as the school was frozen solid.
As you can see I am not that bothered about schools. Like you OP I have no transport either way, can't drive and don't have a trailer/box anyway.
I prefer hacking so maybe my response is a little biased.
However near your yard is at the moment, the fact that ponio doesn't want to come in now would worry the crap out of me come spring and summer when the grass is growing. Can't understand yards that do this, make you bring in during summer months. Have usually found through own experience it has been due to poor land management or trying to get too many horses onto the land. They compensate for the shortage of grass for grazing all year round by getting you to bring them in during summer months. Often supplying hay/haylage and bedding on top so therefore securing extra funds all year round on those purchases rather than just the winter months. Clever manipulation that :)
As someone said you will have to weigh up the fuel costs so do your maths. Calculate your fuel consumption to the yard 25 mins away compared to the one near too and the other field.
Then calculate how much bedding and fodder you will be paying in the summer months at present yard.
You will be visiting the present yard at least twice a day 365 days of the year.
At the old yard then twice a day in winter and once a day in summer perhaps, unless you can come to some arrangement with the owner of the pony that you take it in turns giving extra feed, checking water and checking them over. That should help to reduce travel to and from the yard.
I bet you will find the old yard will be cheaper overall though when you weigh it all up.
Good luck
 

SarahRicoh

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Current yard pony has 20 acres for just 3 of them so grazing is good! Think thats whyvhe'd rather be out... But theyre not allowed!
Hay and bedding is included in current yard price of £163..

Before i left old yard offered to build me a stable lol so i think if i really needed
 

SarahRicoh

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*i could get a stable at old yard but then id have to go up morning and eve so may be bit far.

Also cant share checks with pony owners as they own the land and rarely go up as sheep only need seeing like once a week.

Poor pony-i looked after theirs whilst i was there. Severely overweight,awful feet etc. Lovely people
 

Fantasy_World

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Current yard pony has 20 acres for just 3 of them so grazing is good! Think thats whyvhe'd rather be out... But theyre not allowed!
Hay and bedding is included in current yard price of £163..

Before i left old yard offered to build me a stable lol so i think if i really needed

20 acres for 3 and they don't do 24/7 grazing. Do they have more stables available for others then? I suppose the £163 is not bad if hay and bedding is included. Is it adlib on both or straw/shavings, or do you only get so much?
Is that 4 weekly or pcm? Sorry for all the questions just trying to work out how reasonable it is?
Generally DIY is around £15 to £25 per week depending on where you live, not sure on Chelt prices, but in Cheshire and Staffordshire I have found it is around that price. Some are more expensive like £30 to £40 but generally have good facilities or a few jobs included in the price.
So even at £25 a week or thereabouts you would be paying roughly £63 a month for hay and bedding.
The £63 is not bad I suppose as don't know what bedding prices are down there and for hay too per bale.
However I think if your old yard offered to build you a stable that speaks volumes about how much they think of you, I would be back there like a shot.
 

SarahRicoh

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I.know its mad but the other 2 ponies mines out with wouldnt be out 24/7 anyway due to owners.. Iv managed to get best field lol...
Mares have a much smaller field and rest have individual/shhared small paddocks.
I get adlib hay(within reason)and 1 bale bedding a week(shaving type bedding).

£163pcm at current yard.
Old yard owners were nice just clueless.. They wanted me to stay as i was a help to them as i offered to take on their pony(although in end i couldnt afford 2) and i sorted everything out for their pony as he was being neglected as daughter scared of him but was out of work for years when i started working him so couldnt sell.
I know they were happy with me there as they had several bad liveries so im sure i could go back aslong as noones currently there.
Only reason.i moved was old loan horse needed a stable due to dropping weight and current yards so close. Literally a minute away from.my work!!
 

SarahRicoh

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And yes current yard has several.empty stables but theyre careful as to who they take on aa we have lovely people-no bitchiness- and as its also part/full livery ym doesnt want it full.

Forgot to say i have the best ym at current yard.. Sooo lovely and helpful which is a big pull to stay as i know how horrible horse people can be but i need to think about money sensibly and ponies hapiness comes first!!
 

Wagtail

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I'd stay put. You are lucky to have so much grazing. Many places with grass livery don't have enough and then you have to put hay in. This causes problems if not everyone wants to pay for hay, or some horses are too fat.
 

SarahRicoh

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The ym told me field was 20 acres and she has no need to lie but it might not be that big. Either way its a good field but in bad weather apparently most dont turn out as mud is clay and gets knee deep so not worth it and i think my pony will hate being stabled more than now!

Atm he comes in between 4-6pm and goes out about 8am so hes in for over 12hrs and out for like 7/8hrs... I just dont think.it suits him.but yard is so nice!
 

Fantasy_World

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Difficult one then really. Do you think that the owners of the old place would allow you to bring someone else onto the place? Only asking as you could advertise and find someone trustworthy to share some of the chores with? That is a thought.
Sounds to me like the other people didn't have much of a clue about the pony then. Another option would of course be to look for a sharer to help with the pony ( with owners permission of course) who could also check on your's too to help with travel issues.
Only problem is that some sharers just want a summertime ride and when it comes to winter and chores then they don't want to know.
My concern at the present place is if they have 20 acres and not many horses at the minute that they will have many. You said that you moved to the yard in August. Most people tend to move in spring after a crap winter of mud and poor grazing thinking grass is greener and all that. So there could well be an exodus of peeps and their horses to your yard, then again there may not be. However £163 a month all in sounds reasonable to me, but obviously it is all year round and I don't know about you but I look forward to them going out in summer and not having fodder and bedding costs.
At the end of the day it is your choice, but I agree with Wagtail about the grass livery field as tbh I don't like the idea of my horse being in a field full of strangers especially when pecking orders surface and hay is thrown into the mix. Depending how it is given then some horses may lose out. Also what do you do if we have a crap summer and dry weather and the grass doesn't grow and you need to supplement and others don't?
So really it is a toss up between old place and present yard. I don't know what there is at the old place such as electrics and running water or if you have the facility for a generator. Ok so it would be you and just the pony, but there may be a chance you could encourage someone else to join you so long as the owners agreed.
I guess it all depends on what you think will suit both you and ponio either for the short term or long term?
 

SarahRicoh

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Thanks fantasy world :)
old yard has water but no electricity and one of the main issues was thers nowhere dry for farrier/vet etc... Next door to that yard is a yard with stables and a huge field that was being rented but may not be now that would be ideal....

Old yard is sounding good and im sure theyd have me back... Theyd take on another person as me and my sidter were there before(but we dont get on).. But grazings not ideal :/
 

lcharles

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Im in Gloucester, I pay £85 a month for grass livery with loads of hacking, indoor school, outdoor school and xc course. This includes hay andstraw etc as you can use a pen when you want to bring the horse in. Or its £100 a month with a stable. Turnout is pretty much up to you too. Most people have individual or turnout with one other

Its a brilliant yard, dont know how far it is away from you. Pm me if you want details. x
 

planete

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Checking sheep only once a week? My neighbour in Wales used to check his at least once a day and sometimes a lot more! Lovely people indeed, shame about their animals.
 
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SarahRicoh

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Planete- they are lovely people just ignorant to horses which is bad i know. Hence why i offered to home their pony but in end i couldnt afford two.

I know nothing about sheep but they dont check them every day i know that. Anyway thats beside the point!

Frostyf-pmed you :)
 
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