Livery average prices

equilife02

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I’m currently looking for a part time job and I was wondering whether the wages would be enough to buy my first horse? I’ve heard on some sites that you can pay £150 a month for livery but sometimes it can be £150 a week! I’d only be after DIY or part livery depending on the price difference. I’ll save up for a few months for the horse and ICE funds, but then would £400-600 pm pay enough to keep a horse? Does breed matter? Would a field just be enough or should I go for a stable as well? I want to go for an Irish sports horse type. Tia
 

JennBags

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Better to pay more and have one on site, not just the cost of the travel but the time it takes to prepare, load, unload (both ends), clean etc.
If you've got a competition type horse, you need to be budgeting 500-600/month minimum even on DIY livery, to cover livery, feed, bedding, insurance, farrier, vets fees, tack, clothing, lessons, competition entries, travel costs and miscellaneous sundries of which there are always plenty. Don't forget there will be times when you need holiday and sickness cover, you might get lucky enough to be able to buddy up with someone who can help but that means there will be times when you are also doing 2 horses which is hard work.
 

JFTDWS

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The two words cheap and quality dont generally go together......

Well that depends. I would argue that my current yard, which is by far the cheapest I've ever been on (£50pcm grass, £100 with stable DIY) offers the best horse-centric livery I've ever had. The most expensive - >£140/week - offered the least horse-friendly. The former is less good for the rider (more work and no arena) the latter was less effort (part livery, two arenas), but I'd still rather have the former as the latter had the typical issues of restricted turnout and inappropriate management common to a lot of full livery yards.

That said, I would advocate any new owner pays for part / assisted livery and has plenty of budget spare for training both on the horse and on the ground, and management lessons/ assistance where necessary.
 

Firefly9410

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You will almost certainly not get a long arena. 20x40 with a halfway decent but not perfect surface is the norm. I think realistically you need to be prepared to pay full livery in case all the DIY yards in your area turn out to be unsuitable and you need to go further out. Or else be prepared to move house! My friend did that. I would get a stable. It is better to have one and not need it than to find out the first winter that your horse does not do well living out and that all the places offering a stable are full up. Most places will not offer 24/7 turnout in winter anyway and in some areas you will be lucky to get any turnout in winter at all. If you want to rent a field by yourself you are going to need at least two horses. If it turns out the companion cannot be left alone when you ride you end up needing three. It is not that easy to rent a field. Grass livery is easier to come by but often those places have no facilities. If you want an arena DIY/part/full is your best bet. You are highly unlikely to get good quality and cheap this is unrealistic in almost every area of life. Your budget should be ok but what exactly you get for it will vary from yard to yard. Ask questions and assume nothing. Check the green stuff in a field is grass not moss. Does all year turnout mean ten horses in a one acre patch of mud during winter? Should the words But Only If It Is Not Raining be tacked on the end? Ask what exactly you get for your livery fee question anything vague and decide if the service meets your horses needs. The yard is not necessarily going to change something if your horse is not thriving eg amount of feed bedding turnout. Happy horse hunting! It is the most exciting adventure.
 

Jules111

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It is close to impossible to keep a horse cheaply. Even more so if it's your first horse and you have to buy literally everything including barrow, buckets, tools for mucking out and all of the things the horse will need. Don't underestimate the cost of gathering all of this. There are bargains, second hand/sales stuff you can pick up but that is unlikely if you need these things immediately because a horse is arriving imminently. I'd recommend sharing a horse in the short term rather than jumping into buying. That way you'll get to suss out the yards around and their facilities and "quirks". You can also start to build up your own personal stock of things and pick up your bargains along the way
 

equilife02

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it varies what area you are in. DIY here is from £20 a week to £60 a week. The more expensive yard is awful so more does not always equate to better sadly.
I’m in Nottinghamshire. I currently share a horse and I think she said she pays £80 per week but I’m not 100% sure..
 

equilife02

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It is close to impossible to keep a horse cheaply. Even more so if it's your first horse and you have to buy literally everything including barrow, buckets, tools for mucking out and all of the things the horse will need. Don't underestimate the cost of gathering all of this. There are bargains, second hand/sales stuff you can pick up but that is unlikely if you need these things immediately because a horse is arriving imminently. I'd recommend sharing a horse in the short term rather than jumping into buying. That way you'll get to suss out the yards around and their facilities and "quirks". You can also start to build up your own personal stock of things and pick up your bargains along the way
I am currently sharing an Irish sports horse. I absolutely love him but I’m definitely ready to have my own. I’ve just turned 18 so pay won’t be amazing, I wanted to get a part time job so I could have more time to spend with my new horse but looks like I’ll either have to work full time or have a part time day job and evening job.. I’d work a few months before starting the horse search so I could add to my savings. I have enough money saved to buy a horse now but I wouldn’t be able to keep it ?
 

equilife02

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You will almost certainly not get a long arena. 20x40 with a halfway decent but not perfect surface is the norm. I think realistically you need to be prepared to pay full livery in case all the DIY yards in your area turn out to be unsuitable and you need to go further out. Or else be prepared to move house! My friend did that. I would get a stable. It is better to have one and not need it than to find out the first winter that your horse does not do well living out and that all the places offering a stable are full up. Most places will not offer 24/7 turnout in winter anyway and in some areas you will be lucky to get any turnout in winter at all. If you want to rent a field by yourself you are going to need at least two horses. If it turns out the companion cannot be left alone when you ride you end up needing three. It is not that easy to rent a field. Grass livery is easier to come by but often those places have no facilities. If you want an arena DIY/part/full is your best bet. You are highly unlikely to get good quality and cheap this is unrealistic in almost every area of life. Your budget should be ok but what exactly you get for it will vary from yard to yard. Ask questions and assume nothing. Check the green stuff in a field is grass not moss. Does all year turnout mean ten horses in a one acre patch of mud during winter? Should the words But Only If It Is Not Raining be tacked on the end? Ask what exactly you get for your livery fee question anything vague and decide if the service meets your horses needs. The yard is not necessarily going to change something if your horse is not thriving eg amount of feed bedding turnout. Happy horse hunting! It is the most exciting adventure.
Thanks! Will probably go for a private yard then, my share horse is currently on a yard with an arena, it’s pure sand and slightly uneven but it works haha. He also gets individual turn out, stable etc. I know of a few indoor arenas in my area for the odd special trip out and there’s plenty of hacking if I keep it at the same yard.
 
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