Kent livery costs & other questions

volatis

volatis

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www.volatis.co.uk
Can anyone tell me what sort of money you'd expect to pay in the Kent area for part livery - as in everything included bar exercise - feed, hay, beeding, mucking out, turning in and out etc
and full livery - as above but with exercising/schooling 5 times a week

Also (sorry for all the questions), what do people normally expect to pay for backing livery in this area, and finally for youngstock livery (at grass 24/7, in crew yards overnight in winter)

This is yard with all year daily turnout, indoor school, horse walker, great hacking, BE acredited trainer on site. But still a small yard so horses get plenty of individual attention.

Other questions about kent - what is it like as an equestrian base? Is there much demand for livery? What are competitive opportunities like?

Thank you in advance for any thoughts on what Kent is like from an equestrian viewpoint
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Im not actually in Kent anymore but i will tell you what i remeber of it.
Obviously it depends which part of Kent we are talking about, but when i was down there (about 2 years ago) I really struggled to find livery of any sort if im honest. I was at the time only looking for DIY/assisted but there wasnt anything and i cant say the yards offering part livery were any more available.
I put this down to everyone having land/stables of there own. And in actual fact in the time i had the boys down there all the yards i was at, i was sharing someones own property rather than being on a livery yard.
Its a very horsey county and again depending on the area can have some fabulous hacking/being reasonably near the beach (camber sands).
 
Kent is an expensive place to have a horse. I pay £120 a week on a small yard for everything except exercise (obviously vet, farrier, supplements etc are also extra) This is proably a little more than some of the bigger yards but my horse is looked after as if it is one of their own. Exercise, clipping etc can be done if I ask at an extra cost.

When I was based near Loughborough I could get that for £70 per week. If you look at one of the bigger yards around here with a less personally taylored service you could probably get the same for around £100 per week but the yards are larger and run more like a conveyor belt!

Not sure about prices with regards to the youngsters I'm afraid.
 
Lots of questions!!

OK well I also think its a pretty expensive place to keep a horse - I'm on a DIY basis ATM but at the yards I've been at the cost has been £125 / £130 pcm for your stable + £8 or £9 per day for full livery excluding feed. The last time mine went for schooling/backing was 5 yrs ago and that was £160 per week all in.

I think there is a high demand for livery as prop prices are so high and most places near me seem to be full with wait lists.

As for what its like as a rider, it depends where you are based. I'm right on south coast and whilst its great for going to the beach etc, its a pain for competing as you've got an hours drive before you hit the M25.
 
I live in Kent and my two horses are also in Kent. Outstanding hacking - seriously the best on this planet!

Grass Livery - £20 p/w

DIY - £35 p/w

Part Livery - includes turn in/out, Rug on/off, muck out, bedding and hay. Does not include feed or exercise - £65 p/w.

Full Livery - part livery including exercise and feed - £85p/w

Retirement - Part Livery but £45 p/w. Reason for lower cost is that you don't get to hack out on the land.
 
I am based in Kent and think it is a fabulous place for horses....though agree not the cheapest! I am 5 mins from a specialist equine vet, 5 mins from an equestrian college that has many competitions and events....I have off road hacking on my doorstep, Camber Sands is about an hour away for beach riding, the north downs which is amazing, is 20 mins up the road, I am about an hour from excellent competition venues including Felbridge and places like Pachesham and Oldencraig. There are more cross country schooling places than you can throw a stick at, one is 15 mins up the road but there are at least half a doz or more less than an hour away. for being centrally located with good horsey amenities, I think it's great though appreciate is depends what part of Kent you are in. Excellent access to the A roads and motorways mean that venues in Kent, Surrey and Sussex are easy to get to. I pay £130 for DIY which includes straw, wew have a lovely outdoor school and the owner feeds in the morning. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for all the info so far, very useful. The area we are looking at is a little south of Canterbury, 10 minutes off the A2.

Trying to decide if it is the right move for us, plus wether we stick to just taking in a few youngsters for prep and backing or if we use two of the stables for full or part liveries. Need to see if the figures stack up and if there would be demand for the livery places if we went down that route.

As a stud we will already have some of our own youngstock in being backed or preped for shows, plus I will have one or two eventers to compete, so I'd only want liveries in if it was the right type
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as we like a happy yard
 
The area you are talking about is lovely
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The riding is great through the minnises, and horses aside canterbury is a fab city!

We are right on the coast (folkestone) and I think even being that little bit further up you are better located for getting out and about.
 
I'm located just outside of Canterbury (South) and it is lovely hacking. There are quite a few smallish livery yards around that normally offer some kind of part or full livery. I have found it quite hard to find a DIY place with reasonable facilities. I have paid £190 pcm for DIY inc hay and straw and £270 for 'assisted livery' which is full during the week and diy at w.e. When i was looking around for full livery an average sort of price for an average yard is about £90 per week but the sky's the limit for the places with good facilities. An indoor school would be a massive bonus as there are only a handful of places in this area with one.

In terms of competitions i wouldnt say its hot. There are loads of local venues throughout the summer, but i would say your nearest 'big' show venues are in Hawkinge (Limes Farm), and Blue Barn (Nr Ashford). Which are both under an hour away from where you will be based.

PM me if you'd like to ask an opinions of specific places in this area as i probably know them
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I pay £25 for working livery and the full on my yard pay £85 a week. As already been said fab hacking and you have blue barn,cobham,limes farm and speedgate as the bigger comp venues but there are loads of smaller shows going on as well. Also ingleden park seems to be back on the scene as such and look to have a really good set of dates coming up - going to test it out next week. It also has really good motorway access so you can in places like norton heath and oldencraig in next to no time. It also is good for feed suppliers that deliver - I have lillicos,sppedgate,frogpool and gillet and cook who all deliver out to me so it can be really time saving as well.
 
I just thought I'd add my two pence with regard to livery.

I've always found DIY/assisted DIY is in very high demand around my way (also Canterbury area) with most yards offering this full with a waiting list. There's a yard near me with 70 horses on DIY, and its always full.

Whenever I've rung yards about livery spaces its the ones that offer part/full livery that seem to have the spaces available. Several such yards never seem to stop advertising their services, so if you do go down the livery route weigh it up and do your research very carefully.
 
DIY livery just wouldnt be cost effective and as a stud with youngsters in for backing and competition horses, having DIY owners wouldnt fit in at all with us.
So probably we'll stick to the more specialised backing and show/grading prep livery instead of normal part/full livery.

Thats if we take the plunge and move to this yard. But the area is sounding very promising and the yard is ticking nearly all of the boxes.
 
Hi,
i hope you dont mind me dropping you an e-mail. I am moving down canterbury some time at the end of next year and would be grateful if you know of any diy yards near the chartham area. Not worried about it being posh etc lol, but a sandschool would be great, what sort of prices would I expect to pay.
Hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you
scottylass
 
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