Livery Contract?

Dizzleton

Dizzleton

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Hi guys,

I'm looking at getting a new DIY livery on our small, private yard to keep my horse company as his current companion is going to a new home soon.

I'm going to write up a contract for the new livery as one of our last liveries left within a weeks stay (she couldn't fit the distance between work, home and the yard)

How does this sound?

1. The Services

1.1 The Yard shall at all times during the Term provide the Services in an efficient and professional manner which meets the welfare needs of the Horse and in so doing will exercise skill, care and diligence.
1.2 The Owner will notify the Yard in good time of any information or documents required by the Yard to enable it to perform the Services including without limitation, any known vices, medical condition, and any special requirements of the horse.

2. Facilities to be provided by the Yard and duties of the Yard

2.1 Throughout the Term, the Yard shall give the Owner access, during the business hours of the Yard, to the Horse and all the premises where the Horse is kept;
2.2 The Owner shall observe any rules or requirements relating to those premises as notified to the Owner by the Yard.

3. Duties of the Owner

3.1 The Owner shall ensure that the Horse is provided with appropriate matters.
3.2 In the event that the Owner fails to ensure that the horse is provided with any of the matters, the Owner agrees that the Yard may undertake this work and charge the Owner in accordance with the sums set out in this Agreement, or where not covered by this Agreement, at the market rate.
3.3 The Owner agrees that in the event that the manager of the Yard believes that the Horse is in need of urgent veterinary/farrier attention, the Yard may summon a veterinary surgeon/farrier and authorise any essential treatment, provided that the Yard makes all reasonable attempts to contact the Owner before such work is carried out. The Owner agrees to take responsibility for veterinary/farrier fees incurred in accordance with this paragraph.
3.4 The Owner shall inform the Yard if the Horse is to be absent from the Yard's premises and when the Horse will leave and return to the Yard's premises.

4. Fees, Terms of Payment and Financial Matters

4.1 In consideration for the provision of the Services, the Owner will pay to the Yard the Fee and any additional sums due under the Agreement of £25 per week per horse kept at the Yard. Additional charges accrue by means of outdoor arena lighting and use of the provided washing machine.
4.2 In the event that the Fee or any additional sum due under this Agreement remains unpaid for more than five months after they first became due, the Owner agrees that the Yard may sell the Horse, provided that written notice has been given to the Owner (at the address set out at the beginning of this Agreement) of this intention to sell, at least seven days before sale. From the monies received from the sale of the Horse, the Yard may retain such sums as cover of any unpaid sums due under this Agreement and the reasonable costs of sale. Any remaining money shall be returned to the Owner within thirty days of sale.

5. Term and Termination

5.1 This Agreement shall last for the Term, subject to earlier termination in accordance with this agreement.
5.2 The Yard may at any time terminate this Agreement or any part of it by given written or verbal notice to the Owner of not less than 1 day. 5.3 The Owner may at any time terminate this Agreement by given written or verbal notice to the Yard of not less than 21 days.

6. General

6.1 No amendment of the terms of the Agreement shall be valid or binding unless made by prior written agreement between the Yard and the Owner.
6.2 This Agreement shall in all respects be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.



Sorry it's a bit long winded, I just don't want to get it wrong!
 
To be honest the only contract I've ever had is a verbal one.

Tell them how your yard works, what you expect, what payment is and what notice period is.

I personally don't think it has to be much more complicated than that.
 
You haven't defined what any of the terms in capital mean

Services - provision of stable or mucking out every day ??
Yard - right of access to everyones stable/ all fields? or the stable allocated to you on arrival and changed at our discression and XYZ field with/ without others.

You've committed to meet all welfare needs of the horse so I assume your happy to feed/ worm/ shoe/ vets bills to meet it's welfare needs??????

Business hours is usually 9am to 5pm - I assume your happy with her visiting outside these hours!!

Owner has to provide "appropriate matters" what are those?

Market rate for services not provided by the owner - could be a big arguement about what is market rate so I'd list these £2 bringing in etc.

Lots of other smaller things but I think you need to go back to the drawing board.

Perhaps ask if people can PM you their contracts as examples - or doesn't the BHS have a standard one?
 
You have not mentioned the Welfare Act 2006 and you need to!

You do not mention the Passport Act 2004!

I certainly would not come to a yard where you 'think' you have the right to sell my horse!

How does this work if the horse is on loan????

And not being funny have you actually seen what price horses are making these days! Unless they are william fox pitts types then forget it! Even with a full wardrobe I have seen horses being sold for as little as £100! And why would you let a debt accrue over 5 months?

You need to stipulate costs of washing machines, arena lights etc. People need to know these things.

Also where the owner has to give notice of things 1.2 what happens when the vet visits and something has to be immediate! Does that give you the right to say, sorry not enough notice so I won't do it?

Ask for examples like others have said!

Start googling other centres and see what contracts they have. Simpler is better!
 
Hmm it's a bit like rent contracts which I read through thinking "need to ask about that, that, and that". Contract for this year (I'm in student housing) had a clause about the window that made it sound like even if the window was smashed by a burglar, I'd have to pay for it. Of course, on clarification, it emerged that I would only have to pay if I smashed it.

Likewise, I think yours might lead to some confusion, or at least not be certain what's what.

I'd be tempted to go back and put it in plain English.
Define services.
Offer a price list for additional services, as mentioned already.
Section 2- you mention facilities but then don't actually mention any facilities! Stables, paddock, arena, etc?
You don't mention what hours are your business hours.
4.1- you mention additional costs, but not what they are? (you may have them in a separate document elsewhere?)

Also...giving one day's notice for someone to leave? Sorry, but that would put me straight off! How on earth are you meant to find a new yard in one or two days? I'd say the very minimum you could offer is 7 days, but really, I think you should offer longer. That could really leave people stuck.

4.2- returned to the owner, if the owner can be contacted!

Here's something off the BHS website to do with contracts, might be useful

http://www.bhs.org.uk/~/media/BHS/F...ry Yard Agreement Guidelines and Example.ashx

EDS: kateo beat me to it with the link whilst I was typing!
 
Also meant to say, having a contract in writing will not stop people from leaving after a week if they want to! If someone is going to pay for their notice period or not, having a written contract won't change that. The only benefit would be that if you wanted to take them to court over monies owed then you would have better evidence of what was agreed.
 
OP, I hope you didn't pay money for someone to write that because it seems to spend a whole lot of time telling you absolutely nothing. It is so full of solicitor speak that it would mean very little to almost anyone.

A contract is a document designed to be understood by both parties & it is to lay out what each party in the contract can expect from the other. The document you have doesn't do that.

What are you as the YO offering the client for the money they are paying you?

What do you expect from the client in return?

When do you expect payment? etc etc

That document provokes more questions than it answers. I wouldn't sign that document because it tells me nothing that I want to know. You refer to services but don't say what these services consist of etc . I have a contract at the yard I am on & I understand what the YO's responsibilities are & what mine are. I know when payment is due etc etc. Your document serves no one & is a perfect advert for the plain english society!

The document is not fit for purpose, it is no good for YO or Client. I suggest that you abandon the 'gobbledygook' & write something in plain English that both you & a client will understand. :(
 
JennyConnor said:
Hi guys,

I'm looking at getting a new DIY livery on our small, private yard to keep my horse company as his current companion is going to a new home soon.

I'm going to write up a contract for the new livery as one of our last liveries left within a weeks stay (she couldn't fit the distance between work, home and the yard)

How does this sound?

1. The Services What are the services ? What do you charge ?

1.1 The Yard shall at all times during the Term provide the Services in an efficient and professional manner which meets the welfare needs of the Horse and in so doing will exercise skill, care and diligence.Do you have relevant qualifications or experience ?
1.2 The Owner will notify the Yard in good time of any information or documents required by the Yard to enable it to perform the Services including without limitation, any known vices, medical condition, and any special requirements of the horse. If the contract is for DIY, the owner is responsible for day to day care and would be present to tell you of any thing relevant.

2. Facilities to be provided by the Yard and duties of the YardWhat are the facilities and duties of the yard ?

2.1 Throughout the Term, the Yard shall give the Owner access, during the business hours of the Yard, to the Horse and all the premises where the Horse is kept;What are the hours when the owner has access and are there exemptions for competition days and illness ?
2.2 The Owner shall observe any rules or requirements relating to those premises as notified to the Owner by the Yard.What are the rules and requirements ?

3. Duties of the Owner

3.1 The Owner shall ensure that the Horse is provided with appropriate matters.What are matters ?
3.2 In the event that the Owner fails to ensure that the horse is provided with any of the matters, the Owner agrees that the Yard may undertake this work and charge the Owner in accordance with the sums set out in this Agreement, or where not covered by this Agreement, at the market rate.Without a price list, this is a blank cheque. What is your criteria for deciding to take over care ? What would this entail ? Changing diet, deciding to rug more or less ?, taking off grass/putting out on grass etc ? Theoretically this could be a source of friction.
3.3 The Owner agrees that in the event that the manager of the Yard believes that the Horse is in need of urgent veterinary/farrier attention, the Yard may summon a veterinary surgeon/farrier and authorise any essential treatment, provided that the Yard makes all reasonable attempts to contact the Owner before such work is carried out. The Owner agrees to take responsibility for veterinary/farrier fees incurred in accordance with this paragraph.What are your qualifications to make this decision ? If no treatment is deemed necessary by the vet or farrier, who pays the call out charge ? Would this be your vet/ farrier or the one used by the livery ?
3.4 The Owner shall inform the Yard if the Horse is to be absent from the Yard's premises and when the Horse will leave and return to the Yard's premises.Fair enough.

4. Fees, Terms of Payment and Financial Matters

4.1 In consideration for the provision of the Services, the Owner will pay to the Yard the Fee and any additional sums due under the Agreement of £25 per week per horse kept at the Yard. Additional charges accrue by means of outdoor arena lighting and use of the provided washing machine. Price list ?
4.2 In the event that the Fee or any additional sum due under this Agreement remains unpaid for more than five months after they first became due, the Owner agrees that the Yard may sell the Horse, provided that written notice has been given to the Owner (at the address set out at the beginning of this Agreement) of this intention to sell, at least seven days before sale. From the monies received from the sale of the Horse, the Yard may retain such sums as cover of any unpaid sums due under this Agreement and the reasonable costs of sale. Any remaining money shall be returned to the Owner within thirty days of sale.Due from the date of service or from first billing ? Will bills be presented on time and on what date ?

5. Term and Termination

5.1 This Agreement shall last for the Term, subject to earlier termination in accordance with this agreement.
5.2 The Yard may at any time terminate this Agreement or any part of it by given written or verbal notice to the Owner of not less than 1 day. This is unreasonable and could compromise the welfare of the horse. 5.3 The Owner may at any time terminate this Agreement by given written or verbal notice to the Yard of not less than 21 days.

6. General

6.1 No amendment of the terms of the Agreement shall be valid or binding unless made by prior written agreement between the Yard and the Owner.

6.2 This Agreement shall in all respects be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.Contract is full of omissions which could be argued at great expense.



Sorry it's a bit long winded, I just don't want to get it wrong!
Click to expand...

Oh dear, I'm sure you're lovely and trying to cover your back, but just call a spade a spade. This contract would make me run. I've rarely had a contract at any yard and it hasn't caused a problem for the YO's or me.
 
If I'm right OP you've used the BHS template? We used that for ours many moons ago, the reason it's worded as such is that it's written to be legally binding, but it is very wordy. I based my contract on that and just adjusted some of the language and added in my own terms. As others have said you need to be more specific, include your rules, services included, opening hours, prices etc etc as at the moment your not giving any information. It needs to be black and white and not left open for interpretation. I would change the notice terms to one month by either party (we also have in ours that we can give a week's notice if the terms of the contract are seriously breeched) but agree for the horse's welfare a day is pretty short notice! The contract is to protect both parties so should perhaps read a little less one sided, for instance ours details that we will provide stable, grazing, well maintained menage etc etc. Should also detail insurance etc (are they liable to insure their own tack?) In this day and age sadly I think a contract is a necessity, out of 100 liveries you may only need it for one but it's there if and when you do, we have full and part liveries too and having a decent contract in place also decreases our insurance premium. It has to be fair and easy to understand though or you would quickly put people off as others have said.
 
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