Livery price increases

[nagblagger]

Just wondering, a lot of people move due to services not being provided, is there a 'dodgy livery site' like dodgy dealers' so other owners are warned?

 

[fidleyspromise]

I'd never thought of working it out per day. I'm £6 per day (£2 per horse) but we pay per field rather than per horse.
I'm moving to a bigger field but same yo soonish so it will be £8 per day.
YO moves our muck heaps, repairs fencing if needed (although I do a lot of my own fencing repairs if I can) and repairs shelters, again if needed - I put new hinges on mine.
When I move to new field I plan to electrify the fence so horses don't lean on it to keep it as good as possible for longer.
It doesn't sound like there's a plan to put ours up and it's not raised in the time I've been there.

 

[Surbie]

Ours hasn't gone up - it did last year and that was the first time in over 10 years. YO has just bought in an extra 2 lorry loads of hay so we all have it at a good price for the whole of this winter.

Just wondering, a lot of people move due to services not being provided, is there a 'dodgy livery site' like dodgy dealers' so other owners are warned?

I'd rather have a site that had recommendations for good yards, as I am betting at some point I will get fed up of cars/vans/cyclists testing my horse and will move for off-road hacking. I will have to move fairly far for that and won't know the area.

 

[Art Nouveau]

Property isn’t mortgaged. Increase is 6% so is perhaps in line with inflation. I thought everything was levelling out though.

Inflation is lower, but it's still inflation so prices are still rising. In an era of high inflation I'm not surprised by more than one price rise a year. I opened my yard in January 2022, £100 then would be £119 now. I put my prices up at the start of this year but I'm still nearly 10% lower than when I opened in real terms.

 

[ycbm]

People who don't think what their livery owner provides is costing them any more to provide (land, for example), so they shouldn't put the price up, need to understand the concept of opportunity cost. There are other uses that facilities can easily be put to, particularly dogs on land and caravan storage in yards and barns, and the price people will pay for those is rising. So even if your yard owner hasn't any more expenses, they are losing out on income if they don't put up your rates.
.

 

[maya2008]

I think people moan because their income isn’t rising, so they will struggle to pay. Hard because the yard owner/manager also has bills rising. In the end, people can’t pay and look for a cheaper option/sell up.

 

[olop]

My 5 day part livery went from 480 to 550 and then 4 months later to 700, and then 5 months later to 800! She seemed to raise the prices whenever she wanted a bit more money . But services weren't even being delivered. I left to go on DIY.

Ouch! I thought mine was bad , they increased mine by £100 a month with no warning. Most of the liveries left and I’ve been looking but can’t find anywhere that offers grass livery for my old boy where I live. I’m paying nearly £400 a month for grass livery

 

[Afon_34]

I think people moan because their income isn’t rising, so they will struggle to pay. Hard because the yard owner/manager also has bills rising. In the end, people can’t pay and look for a cheaper option/sell up.

This 100%

 

[ycbm]

The are people selling houses at the moment because they can't afford the mortgage increase, never mind horses.
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[Dontforgetaboutme]

My 5 day part livery went from 480 to 550 and then 4 months later to 700, and then 5 months later to 800! She seemed to raise the prices whenever she wanted a bit more money . But services weren't even being delivered. I left to go on DIY.

Yikes, I am not surprised you left. Mine has gone up 15% in last 2 winters. Was expecting it to go up again this year but it has been held.

 

[BallyJ]

The are people selling houses at the moment because they can't afford the mortgage increase, never mind horses.
.

Our Mortgage payments are ridiculous, we're thinking of downsizing!
We're DINKs and are starting to look at the purse strings, I dread to think how people are managing with families or a single income. its scary times!

I'm anticipating a price increase in January for my yard, and can't blame the owner for doing so! I dread to think how much their bills have gone up by!

 

[Goldie's mum]

Property isn’t mortgaged. Increase is 6% so is perhaps in line with inflation. I thought everything was levelling out though.

"Levelling out" would be inflation at 0%.

Even the 6% is based on an odd & very complicated "shopping basket" of goods and services, that the Government deems average. Everyone has their own % , depending whether they do buy lamb chops but don't buy computer games etc. For a yard owner, the inclusion of hay, insurance, fencing, wages would put their personal inflation way above 6%. Fence stobs have doubled in price for me, for example.

 

[criso]

My 5 day part livery went from 480 to 550 and then 4 months later to 700, and then 5 months later to 800! She seemed to raise the prices whenever she wanted a bit more money . But services weren't even being delivered. I left to go on DIY.

I've seen similar increases in yards around here. Yards that were £500-£600 are now £800 -£900.

My services and stable rent haven't gone up but I pay for hay and bedding as used and buy my own feed so seen the increases there.

An example would be Wood Pellets which were £6.90 gone up to £9.80.

 

[exracehorse]

I hope the grooms and yard staff are having a pay rise when I hear how much the full livery prices have increased.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I've seen similar increases in yards around here. Yards that were £500-£600 are now £800 -£900.

My services and stable rent haven't gone up but I pay for hay and bedding as used and buy my own feed so seen the increases there.

An example would be Wood Pellets which were £6.90 gone up to £9.80.

These increases were just down to her inability to plan and run a business.
She has her mate at the yard with two horses, and considering that she doesn't work, . There's no way she's paying that kind of money times two!
So makes me wonder if everyone was paying the same or if I was the cash cow. Based on those prices should have made about £5K per month!

 

[Sossigpoker]

Yikes, I am not surprised you left. Mine has gone up 15% in last 2 winters. Was expecting it to go up again this year but it has been held.

It was a total mess ,.there was no routine., mucking out and poo picking done as and when , couple of psycho liveries.....wish I'd gone sooner !

 

[Sossigpoker]

Ouch! I thought mine was bad , they increased mine by £100 a month with no warning. Most of the liveries left and I’ve been looking but can’t find anywhere that offers grass livery for my old boy where I live. I’m paying nearly £400 a month for grass livery

Wonder if you're where I was as that's what she'd do...jusg whack the prices up whenever she felt like it.
Yet her mate is there with two horses ,she doesn't work ,.so how does she afford £1600 per month? And another works on minimum wage....so i suspect I was a cash cow and subsidised their liveries.
It was a shit show.

 

[sport horse]

I hope the grooms and yard staff are having a pay rise when I hear how much the full livery prices have increased.

My yard staff earn more than the minimum wage, I pay their National Insurance & Pension Contributions and 28 days paid holiday. It all mounts up and has to be costed out. Those staff work in all weathers, often for long hours. Liveries would do well to remember that good staff are hard to find and keep, so adding to their work load by ringing in extra chores at the last minute does not help. Sadly, keeping horses has always been very expensive and it is a luxury.

 

[criso]

These increases were just down to her inability to plan and run a business.
She has her mate at the yard with two horses, and considering that she doesn't work, . There's no way she's paying that kind of money times two!
So makes me wonder if everyone was paying the same or if I was the cash cow. Based on those prices should have made about £5K per month!

Maybe it wasn't well run, that's a whole different topic. My point was that level of increase seems to be typical of the yards round here, some of which are better than others.

 

[Rowreach]

Having run a livery yard for 25 years there's no money would be enough for me to do it again, and that's not just about the costings/attempts to actually make it pay

The yard I keep mine on has gone from having 4 liveries to having just me, because the others were frankly taking the P and causing more trouble than they were worth, and the YO suddenly realised that having one well behaved livery with a couple of horses and the willingness to help out, keep the place tidy and pay on time was more useful than a group of, um, more challenging ones! The local farmer has taken the extra space, bringing in more income for far less hassle.