is there a lack of people wanting full livery?

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buddly

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hi
just wandered what people thought years ago there was alot of people around here on full livery now it seems all people want is diy or part livery y do u think this is?
we have the most amazing yard with horse walker full size indoor and some x country fences the land owner doesn't really want loads of different people coming and going at all hours so would prefer we had full liverys but all the phone calls i get are for diy is this due to lack of need for full livery?
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I have always been on DIY yards.I couldent afford full livery and to be honest it would put me off the landowner saying he dident want people coming and going all hours.I pay for a service to keep my horse at a yard i would like to see my horse as and when i wanted too.Sorry but thats probaly another reason why i dont do full livery.
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I guess the amount of livery yards are increasing and so people are finding it easier to find a yard nearer to home/work therefore being able to exercise their own horses.

I think services such as assisted diy or part livery with'pay as you go' exercise/schooling services are becoming more popular.

I dont know many people who would buy a horse then not do any of the care/grooming/exercising themselves. Its all part of the horse owning experience and people are feeling more competent nowdays with all the info available (e.g H&HO!)
 
sorry proberly worded that wrong it's not that you can't go up when u like it's just with diys they have to go up atleast twice a day etc and if u are on full livery u only need to go see your horse and ride etc if that makes sense
 
costs to much for full livery!!! i prefer to interact with my horse and strangely enjoy the whole muckin out routine!!! i personally dont see the point in buying a horse and only visiting once a week! if that was me i would rather adopt a horse from a rescue place and just go visit the horse as and when!i understand some people just dont seem to find the time to do DIY but i also work full time and am luck my hours are flexi so can fit my horse around my job!
 
I am lucky that I have my horses at home. Before that, I always had them on DIY. I want to look after my horses how I choose, I would never want to be told that I can only come up once a day - this would certainly put me off. As more and more people have more than one horse, the cost of full livery would be offputting. I agree, assisted DIY livery is an excellent idea - it really is the best of both worlds.
 
I have found in the past that DIY liveries seem to move around more, whereas Full liveries will stay at one yard for longer?... We haven't had much trouble getting full liveries, although some of those are temporary eg. breaking/schooling and problem solving...but as you say we get A LOT of people asking for DIY or part livery.
I think that the closer you get to cities, the easier it is to get the full liveries as a lot of "proffessional types" (sp.) dont have time dto do a horse every day and can afford the bills for Full livery.
 
My theory is that it's not that the number of people wanting full livery has gone down, it's just that more and more yards are doing full type livery instead of DIY so there's more competition and now a lack of DIY yards.

Certianly the case in my area. There's loads of full livery yards which are really price/facilities competitive and a good DIY yard is like gold dust!
 
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I think that the closer you get to cities, the easier it is to get the full liveries as a lot of "proffessional types" (sp.) dont have time dto do a horse every day and can afford the bills for Full livery.

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Nearly all the liveries (all full) at my yard fall in to this category.

I do not have the time or inclination to have DIY or part livery. I sometimes have to stay on late at work at no notice, or travel somewhere at very short notice, so I need the security of full livery.

Also, when I used to get paid overtime (and there was no shortage of it available), I worked out that it was cheaper to pay for full livery and work a few extra hours as my OT hourly rate was much greater than the hourly rate I was effectively paying the yard. So for me, full livery is cheaper than DIY!
 
I think it is purely down to expense, full livery can be extremely expensive. Obviously what full livery entails means different things at diferent yards.

With me it isn't just that I find it too expensive for my budget I really love being down & around my horse & looking after him. Riding is only part of horse ownership....I prefer to experience the whole bit.
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I would hate to be on Full Livery, I have horses because I enjoy lookin after them, not just riding.
I also find Full livery very expensive, especially when at our yard its £100 a month for DIY.
 
Personally I couldn't have a horse on full livery, I would hate someone else feeding, mucking out and spending time with my horse. But there does seem to be loads of full livery yards around and I assume this is because there's no money to be made at diy yards.
 
I always had my horses on DIY, but when we moved I went on to full livery. It was mainly because I have young children and couldn't find a yard close to where we live that I chose full livery. It was hard to let go, and I had one disaster, but the yard I'm on now is pretty good and I trust the YO with my horses, but I am up there most days anyway so I always know what's going on with my horses. There is a certain element of compromise, though, as no-one ever does your horses exactly as you would yourself. I would say the cost can be prohibitive - there's no way I could have afforded it when I lived down south.
 
I was probable one of those phone calls
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Can't justify full livery as I have the time to ride myself, just need some one to turn out and bring in for me, getting too old for the early mornings
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Sometimes when getting up at 5am on a winters morning I have thought about full livery, but not for long. I would not mind someone else doing the mucking out though, but I like the feeding & grooming. I dont think there is anything wrong with full livery as someone working long or funny hours would need this service.
 
I'm in the full livery camp everything included except grooming & riding, which I do myself.
I would prefer to do my horses myself, but I start work in london at 7.15am! and get home after 6pm. I also have to work late at short notice & go away with work sometimes as well. Plus the train can get delayed. All in all, I need the security of knowing they are looked after. As it is I go up most nights & ride.
 
I used to have full livery - it wasn't a happy experience - the groom called it deep litter, I called it a dirty bed. The horses were fed but I always felt the need to go up every evening and check - I really didn't trust the staff. Tried different yards but none were what they proclaimed to be.

DIY was the only alternative - nobody looks after your horse like yourself although on cold winter mornings, part livery or some kind of assisted livery is very inviting!
 
I always used to say that I would never have a horse on full livery ...

I'm now a bit older and am now changing my mind and the thought of full livery is quite appealing, although it would have to be at the right yard as I wouldn't want to loose the right to say how my horse is kept.
 
Our yard is the fullest it's ever been livery wise and we're all full liveries.

Think it depends there are some full livery yards I would not go near with a bargepole. They offer the total full service where every single little thing is done for you. Except you know half of it doesn't actually get done and your still charged for it. Then they charge extra for holding for farrier vet etc.


Mine I don't get tack cleaned and I pay a set extra for my horse to be exercised. But I know what should get done does get done and I don't get landed with extras should my horse need the physio or farrier (I pay farrier and physio etc direct but I don't get a charge for YO holding my horse etc)

My main requirement on full livery is to be able to know exactly what my bill will be every month so I can budget and that I can be sure that my horse gets the care I'm paying for. This seems to be getting hard to find now a days!
 
I agree with whats been said, I had full livery for the first six years of having my horses and found it essential when I was in a full on career in London, but considering I was paying circa £ 1300 per month for two I was very fed up having to buy additional hay, bedding etc cos the yard was so tight with their allowances. We then went to another full livery yard who were fab and have featured in H and H. I now have my own place and can keep them at home and I love it, they can have all the supplies they need and I feel I know them better.
 
I have my boy on part livery because of work constraints, they feed, turn out, bring in, change rugs and hold for farrier, vet etc for £200 a month. I then need to go up once a day to muck out, groom, ride, make up feeds, haynets etc. 7 weeks in it works well for me and I love being able to do the 'stable management' side of things, I wish I could feed him (as the YO partner sometimes does it and we think he muddles the feeds up!) but I am rarely there when they're fed. I guess a lot of people can't afford full livery, although a few of the yards I looked at did full 5 days a week and DIY 2 days a week.
 
My idea of bliss, full livery. But never went down that route due to the costs.....over time I am now firmly in the DIY camp, with assistance when needed. My thoughts are that they are my horses, my responsiblity!......
 
I have two days a week full livery to give me a break - I have a 30 mile trip to the yard and long working hours.

Rest of the week I have assisted DIY - in winter, feed, turnout, bring in and give ball and net to give them going until I get up, summer they are checked and fed and sprayed in the mornings.

I personally would not want full livery as I really enjoy doing looking after my horse, and with two the costs mount up. Plus I am a control freak when it comes to looking after them - very fussy about how they are fed etc.

My YO is very flexible, we can change day by day by writing in the book and if work is going wrong, I can ring up and ask for them to be done, but I try to do this before 2 pm and only very rarely.
 
If I can't keep my horse at home I would rather be on full or part livery, not because i can't be bothered to do her myself, but because my husband is not horsey - riding, getting to the stables and back etc makes enough demands on my time as it is without having to go up to the stables twice a day on weekends as well as on evenings. I don't resent but he can if it gets excessive and he never sees me. This way if the horse has a day off we can go for a meal or a drink or to the cinema, it just allows you to have a life outside horses more easily. I have to compromise for a happy marriage!
I love doing my own horses but I think it's unfair to imply that just because someone has them on part or full livery they don't care about them as much. I used to get a real sense of reward from doing everything for my horse but needs must unfortunately.
 
i know what some of you are saying..... i always do my own horses and like to know they are being done properly! i also think some of you got wrong end of stick (fmm) as i was just trying to get point across that if u are on full livery u only tend to go up once a day there would be no stipulation on this though!!!
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but thanks for all replys maybe it is just due to amount of yards around now
 
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