Livery pricing - does this sound reasonable?

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soloequestrian

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I'm in Scotland. Looking to offer a livery space - year round turnout with haylage in the field in winter, tracked grazing in summer. Access to good hacking without going on any roads. 20 x 40 sand school. One feed per day, checks and rug changes as necessary so the owner wouldn't have to visit every day (or at all if they didn't want to). In small herd - probably four horses max. I'm thinking £40 per week or £35 summer £50 winter (when they get extra forage).
Does that sound about right? Haven't had to pay for livery for a long time so quite out of touch!
 
It sounds lovely and I'd pay that but it depends on what else is available locally.

It's basically grass retirement livery with additional facilities so check out retirement livery costs then add a bit.
 
I think a little bit cheap if you’re going to add rug changes etc. although scotland does seem to be cheaper than england for livery. I suppose also depends what’s in your area too and what they charge and provide.

Do you have spaces ?! 🙃
 
If you don’t expect owner to visit daily, who’s mucking out in winter? Who’s turning out/bringing in? Who’s waiting around for the farrier/vet etc? What you’ve described is at least full livery without exercise and frankly it sounds open to abuse eg: owner says yeah I’ll do all the things then just doesn’t and you end up doing it for 40£ a week..
 
Thanks, I will look into CCC insurance. I currently have a companion horse who I look after but don't own. She is a pretty rubbish companion and I don't get any payment for her keep. This new livery may be able to replace her and I would just be doing the same for it as I do for her. No mucking out - they live out.
 
What will be your actual costs? So how many hours work for that horse plus costs eg forage and feed, insurance, muck removal etc
Then you need to add a margin.

Full grass livery around here is £45-50 per week. More on a yard with full facilities. I’d charge the same all year so average out the costs.
 
soloequestrian said:
Thanks, I will look into CCC insurance. I currently have a companion horse who I look after but don't own. She is a pretty rubbish companion and I don't get any payment for her keep. This new livery may be able to replace her and I would just be doing the same for it as I do for her. No mucking out - they live out.
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Don't mistake the value to you with the value to the livery. What you're suggesting is far too low. If A yard near me charges £60 a week for that in Cheshire, with only a short farm ride as hacking.
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What you've described is full livery (every care done except riding) if the owner doesn't have to come up at all if they don't want to.
Check locally as to what that would be in competitor yards.

if you just want one horse as a companion and money is not key driver - then maybe look at the bigger reputable charities who can loan companions.

£40 a week is £2k per year, robust insurance might be close to that and then you have the hassle of finding that one person who you get on with and doesn't take the P*$$ or trash stuff.

A loan from a charity would give you the companionship with them visiting to check maybe once every 6 months or so.
 
Is it grass only livery? I was charged..central area….for a stable and field with one turn out or bring in and a feed…£40 per week per horse but had to show up once a day to muck out etc…this was 6 years ago so prices must have increased since then.
 
I agree it's to cheap.

Grass livery at a yard up the road from me is £200 per month (possibly more now). That includes a small bale of hay in field a day but nothing else. There tiny paddocks with 3 or 4 in each, some have no shelter at all.

Yours sounds much nicer - I'd see what is being advertised locally an go from there.
 
Way too cheap, I'm in central Scotland and DIY livery around here is at least £40/50 week, that might include hay or haylage but nothing else.
I'd say £100/week would be nearer but not expensive!!
 
I’m in Scotland, in a fairly ‘cheap’ area and DIY is 40 summer 60 winter including haylage. Can be out 24/7 in herds most of the year but do need to be stabled overnight through the worst of the winter months.
 
I'd err on the side of being too dear rather than too cheap. You don't want an influx of troublemakers & poor payers that other yards have got fed up of and if you get set up & then realise you need to increase the price you may find that annoys people. You can reduce it more easily.
 
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Presumably your hay? Also depends whereabouts in Scotland. We charged £20 pw for basic DIY 15 years ago in Aberdeenshire. I’m currently paying £10 pd for grass livery with mornings covered and ad lib hay. 😊
 
I'm in Oxford, 30mins drive away full grass livery inc hard feed and hay and all jobs is £65 a week on a yard with a school, proper surfaced gallop and over 1000 acres of off road hacking. Stables if needed, locked tackroom, people living on site, car park etc etc. The care is outstanding. Rightly or wrongly, I think there's a limit to what people will pay for what is seen as very basic grass livery. This is a very expensive part of the world and full stabled livery is high hundreds a month
 
You need to work out costs, not ask people. Asda doesn't message me and ask how much to charge for a loaf of bread.
Not only include hay etc, but think of a proportion of electric, water, insurance, your time, maintenance, waste/ muck heap disposal, vehicle costs to do this/ tractor for moving bales, fuel etc, holiday cover for yourself, land maintenance, building maintenance etc etc etc.
 
I think its too cheap but I'm much further south so its generally more expensive here.

But still sounds cheap for wherever you are so break down everything, cost of grazing hay and care per week then charge accordingly.
 
I'm in Hertfordshire and pay £65pw paid monthly for full grass livery, which is very hard to find here, especially where its not retirement only. Great hacking (for Hertfordshire) but no school. Hay included but not feed. Occasional rug changes. Fields rotated and harrowed, not poo picked. Stables available but no concrete yard area, small area of hardstanding to park cars on.

I think how much you charge will depend on the quality of your yard, if you have good safe fencing, an excellent school surface, clean and tidy yard/tack room, a spare stable to tack up in or use for emergencies, and hardcore gateways in well managed fields, you can charge more (and should, as it will cost you more to own and maintain) than if you had poorly maintained wire fencing and a school with a bad surface, no storage etc. I think other poster's suggestions or working out your costs and time involvement and comparing what you'd need to charge to cover that with other yards in the area is a good idea.
 
TreeDog said:
I'm in Hertfordshire and pay £65pw paid monthly for full grass livery, which is very hard to find here, especially where its not retirement only. Great hacking (for Hertfordshire) but no school. Hay included but not feed. Occasional rug changes. Fields rotated and harrowed, not poo picked. Stables available but no concrete yard area, small area of hardstanding to park cars on.

I think how much you charge will depend on the quality of your yard, if you have good safe fencing, an excellent school surface, clean and tidy yard/tack room, a spare stable to tack up in or use for emergencies, and hardcore gateways in well managed fields, you can charge more (and should, as it will cost you more to own and maintain) than if you had poorly maintained wire fencing and a school with a bad surface, no storage etc. I think other poster's suggestions or working out your costs and time involvement and comparing what you'd need to charge to cover that with other yards in the area is a good idea.
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Similar to me in Kent. Except we have a school and daily rug changes and water top up and field maintenance is included other than poo picking. Paying £350 pm. Big field of my own that’s been divided and come summer I’ll put up a track for them.
 
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