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baykilconell

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Hi All,

Undecided about what to do, and with a Non-horsey OH i would welcome some horsey opinions !

Yard A - Current Yard

- 10/15 mins from home (depending on rush hour)
- full livery (minus riding)
- yard of around 15 horses. and 5 are full liveries the rest of breakers/schooling. looked after like their own, top notch service
- indoor/outdoor school . full set of Showjumps. horse walker. turnout all summer and when poss in winter.
- monarch spotless stables
- v quiet and no yard politics
- hacking is ok
- lessons on site
- £130 per week

Yard B - potential new yard

- 5/8mins from home
- full livery (mon - fri) diy weekends
- yard of around 25/30 - (potential for yard politics?)
- indoor/out door. horse walker. turnout all summer and when poss in winter. Showjumps, but not a full set
- hacking is much better
- £75 per week in summer and £90 in winter

So, as you can see. a MAJOR price difference and of course i would finanically prefer the cheaper one, but i worry i will be leaving my lovely yard and moving somewhere where yard politics is ripe! of course, i understand the facilties will not be as good and the price reflects that.

Some horsey person input would be good, other than the standard OH response of do whatever you want to do!
 
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My questions would be
Both yards - when it says winter turnout when possible...how 'possible' is it, or is it once in a blue moon?
Yard A - states lesson on site. Do you have to use their instructor? Do they allow outside instructors? What if you don't like they way they teach - can you use another outside instructor or are you stuck with an instructor you don't like?
 
I would say that yard A is wetter than yard B. but when no turnout possible they go on the horsewalker. I think this winter was V wet, so at yard A they were only out in the fields for a few times a week,sometimes just for a couple of hours. but as yard B is higher up, I assume turnout would be more readily available sooner as will dry quicker.
 
£75 is too cheap in my view for the facilities that are there along with a proper 5 day livery, I would wonder where corners are being cut or what is not included at that price, if they are in a lot over winter, potentially weeks on end, will they still provide enough hay and bedding or will you get an unexpected bill, or even worse restricted rations for the horse, that would be more of a concern than yard politics which you can keep out of if you choose to.
I would double check the terms, find out how much time they spend in and what their policy is regarding hay before changing to somewhere that appears cheaper but may in reality give you other issues.
 
be positive said:
£75 is too cheap in my view for the facilities that are there along with a proper 5 day livery, I would wonder where corners are being cut or what is not included at that price, if they are in a lot over winter, potentially weeks on end, will they still provide enough hay and bedding or will you get an unexpected bill, or even worse restricted rations for the horse, that would be more of a concern than yard politics which you can keep out of if you choose to.
I would double check the terms, find out how much time they spend in and what their policy is regarding hay before changing to somewhere that appears cheaper but may in reality give you other issues.
Click to expand...


sorry, I have just edited the post as I realised that it's £75 pw in summer and £90 in winter months
 
If it’s helps yard A, is £18.57~ per full livery day.
Yard B, is £15 per full livery day in summer and £18 per full livery day in winter. (Or £10 and £12.80 respectively over a 7 day week)

In this case personally I would stay put. You know your current yard and quality of care and should you need cover at the weekends on Yard B how much would that cost? Even if you don’t go on holiday sometimes there are unexpected days such as weddings or appointments.

As for turnout after the winter we have had its very hard to judge any yard for their field management. Even local yards to me that had 24/7 turnout for many years had to close turnout when their fields were a foot underwater. If you want honest opinions maybe see if you can speak to any of the liveries :)
 
baykilconell said:
sorry, I have just edited the post as I realised that it's £75 pw in summer and £90 in winter months
Click to expand...

That is more realistic, I offer part livery and couldn't do it for less than £80 for a pony in winter, £100 for an average horse so couldn't see how with staff and those facilities they could do it without some serious short cuts, I would still want to double check winter terms but can see the savings are going to make a real difference to you especially in the summer when they really can be out so much of the time, I drop mine down in summer and turn out 24/7 but they can still have a stable as and when they want, it suits my set up and means I get a much needed break from mucking out but appreciate yards with staff cannot do this and still pay wages.
 
saddleoversofa said:
If it’s helps yard A, is £18.57~ per full livery day.
Yard B, is £15 per full livery day in summer and £18 per full livery day in winter. (Or £10 and £12.80 respectively over a 7 day week)

In this case personally I would stay put. You know your current yard and quality of care and should you need cover at the weekends on Yard B how much would that cost? Even if you don’t go on holiday sometimes there are unexpected days such as weddings or appointments.

As for turnout after the winter we have had its very hard to judge any yard for their field management. Even local yards to me that had 24/7 turnout for many years had to close turnout when their fields were a foot underwater. If you want honest opinions maybe see if you can speak to any of the liveries :)
Click to expand...

Oh I realise we've just had a dreadful winter, but the yard I moved from several years ago was very restrictive with turnout in winter, even in good years and even though they had loads of land. Current yard is much less restrictive, even in bad years (and the fields don't suffer for it). So just check what they are like in general - don't just assume that because yard B seems drier, that the YO will allow more turnout!
 
If your current yard is 7 day full livery & the other yard is 5 day full livery, the 7 day livery on 2nd yard in fact is £105, so it's only really £25 per week cheaper? If you have to provide your own feed & hay on the weekends then the difference in cost is less.

You mention one has full set of jumps & the other doesn't. That doesn't really matter there are many professionals that don't have a full set as in reality you don't really need them. You can set up a course in an arena with limited jumps in such a way as to jump them until you've jumped 12 times or so.

Lessons on site don't really matter because you can have a good instructor come to you for not a lot of money.

Quote "i worry i will be leaving my lovely yard and moving somewhere where yard politics is ripe! of course, i understand the facilities will not be as good and the price reflects that."
Exactly.....leaving your lovely yard. When you are happy somewhere why risk going to somewhere that may well have issues, bitchiness, large number of horses which brings it's own issues, when the actual financial difference isn't that great. The final decision is yours but I doubt if I would move.

No bitchiness on your present yard but you can be sure that with a large yard there is bound to be some.
 
I’d stick with yard A. The extra you pay also buys you flexibility at weekends. You are happy, horse is happy - why move? Cheaper is not always better - by the time you’ve added travel twice a day, your time for diy on weekends and the added commitment plus if you have to buy bedding and hay at the weekends you are not saving much at all!
 
If hay, feed and bedding are included, which would be normal for a part livery, and you are happy to do DIY most weekends that is a saving of £160 per month in the winter, £220 in the summer, fairly significant to most people even if you want the odd weekend off, if you pay for hay that cannot be more than a bale at £5 per weekend and feed is insignificant unless you feed a ridiculous amount, bedding could be the main extra expense if they skimp and you have to pay for extra to top up at weekends but that would need clarifying before you moved and would be a sign of lack of care generally which would be a deal breaker.

Better hacking could be a bonus for many.
 
thanks for all youre responses so far. I shall add to the original post that for 7 days a week yard B is £105. and if I did choose the DIY at weekends all feed/bedding would still be included in the price
 
baykilconell said:
Hi All,

Undecided about what to do, and with a Non-horsey OH i would welcome some horsey opinions !

Yard A - Current Yard

- 10/15 mins from home (depending on rush hour)
- full livery (minus riding)
- yard of around 15 horses. and 5 are full liveries the rest of breakers/schooling. looked after like their own, top notch service
- indoor/outdoor school . full set of Showjumps. horse walker. turnout all summer and when poss in winter.
- monarch spotless stables
- v quiet and no yard politics
- hacking is ok
- lessons on site
- £130 per week

Yard B - potential new yard

- 5/8mins from home
- full livery (mon - fri) diy weekends
- yard of around 25/30 - (potential for yard politics?)
- indoor/out door. horse walker. turnout all summer and when poss in winter. Showjumps, but not a full set
- hacking is much better
- £75 per week in summer and £90 in winter

So, as you can see. a MAJOR price difference and of course i would finanically prefer the cheaper one, but i worry i will be leaving my lovely yard and moving somewhere where yard politics is ripe! of course, i understand the facilties will not be as good and the price reflects that.

Some horsey person input would be good, other than the standard OH response of do whatever you want to do!
Click to expand...

It is down to the individual, also if you work full time or part time and want to spend weekends mucking out in the 5 days livery. Have they got cover for the weekends if you go away???


I would be concerned on the turnout in the winter, as a livery here went to a yard which said turnout winter - owners reserve rights to not turnout if too bad, what she found out was they would stay in up to 2 weeks or longer if the fields were wet.


My guess is this would apply to both these places, if the yard is worried about injury in the wet field they should have a clause in the contract where the horse owner signs they accept the risk when the fields are wet and want the horse out anyway.
 
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baykilconell said:
thanks for all youre responses so far. I shall add to the original post that for 7 days a week yard B is £105. and if I did choose the DIY at weekends all feed/bedding would still be included in the price
Click to expand...

That was exactly my livery for 7 day part livery 364 days a year turnout - indoor school - out door school- hay not adlib good grazing outdoor grass arena and show and cross country jumps quick flick off. I have now increased mine to keep up with costs, as it was not financially viable to run this yard on £105 per week. So now £ 115 pw

Liveries now have the option for 3 different packages to suit them and the horses.


My choice - stay at yard A
 
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ILuvCowparsely said:
That was exactly my livery for 7 day part livery 364 days a year turnout - indoor school - out door school- hay not adlib good grazing outdoor grass arena and show and cross country jumps quick flick off. I have now increased mine to keep up with costs, as it was not financially viable to run this yard on £105 per week. So now £ 115 pw

Liveries now have the option for 3 different packages to suit them and the horses.
Click to expand...


How much is yours now, for 7 days, if you don't mine me asking and where abouts in the country are you?
 
baykilconell said:
I would say that yard A is wetter than yard B. but when no turnout possible they go on the horsewalker. I think this winter was V wet, so at yard A they were only out in the fields for a few times a week,sometimes just for a couple of hours. but as yard B is higher up, I assume turnout would be more readily available sooner as will dry quicker.
Click to expand...

Be careful with this logic. It will depend on soil type, what surrounds the fields, whether they slope... my yard is quite high up, but we have sloping fields and I also have underground springs which come up near my shelters. This makes my paddock one of the wettest (and this winter was utter pants). Another yard I was at before this was higher up, but the fields were a mess. The winter was also harsher - noticeably colder and the wind went right through you! We were often in the mist, too, making it dangerous to hack out if you went on the lane.
 
Personally, I'd move for better hacking.

I prefer bigger yards as I find the yard politics (if there are any) less than the small yards I've been on.
 
Depends on how much you like hacking - also re yard politics - how old are you? - Im on bigish yard with loads of teenagers /early twenties/ - loads of politics but as im older (enough to be their mums) doesn't effect me as don't get involved.
 
Double the amount of horses on yard B, do they have a lot more land to cope with each extra numbers if not you may find turn out may not be so good in the winter.

More horses means sharing the school with more people, do you use the school a lot? You may find in the winter that the schools get busy in the evening after work, whereas on yard A I presume that would not be case with only 5 liveries as YO would probably work those on schooling livery during the day.
 
If it was me i'd stay put.

Also at a larger yard how easy will it be for you to use the facilities with that many liveries?
 
I'd stay put. It'll be a nightmare trying to use either school at the bigger yard at any hours besides during work/school hours. And they'd need a LOT of land to be able to provide adequate winter turn out, so I'd suspect your horse would end up being in more than you expect. Plus with all those horses, there's probably going to be double that amount of people once you factor in Partners, Kids, Sharers etc, so there is bound to be conflict and cliques aplenty. Your current yard sounds like it's a better quality place all over to be honest.
 
I'd be inclined to stay put too, but I can understand why you're tempted- quiet can be a good thing but sometimes it's nice to have people to socialise with/ride out with too. Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
If you need/want to save a bit of money have you asked if your current yard would consider the 5 day part livery option.

I am presuming the £15 difference in price on Yard B between the summer and winter rate would mean that the horses are in a lot more in the winter and covers the extra hay and bedding associated with that. If Yard A also includes being put on horse walker if no turnout what would happen at Yard B? Personally I think if both yards have restricted turnout in the winter then I would stay at Yard A as in the winter unless you can get down in the day you may find that large numbers of people are trying to exercise their horses after/before work and the schools are very busy. It would also mean your horse could get out of its stable more during the winter if there is no turnout - once on the horsewalker and then you ride in the evening.

Do people live on site on both places?
 
be positive said:
£75 is too cheap in my view for the facilities that are there along with a proper 5 day livery, I would wonder where corners are being cut or what is not included at that price, if they are in a lot over winter, potentially weeks on end, will they still provide enough hay and bedding or will you get an unexpected bill, or even worse restricted rations for the horse, that would be more of a concern than yard politics which you can keep out of if you choose to.
I would double check the terms, find out how much time they spend in and what their policy is regarding hay before changing to somewhere that appears cheaper but may in reality give you other issues.
Click to expand...

I was offered part livery for mine at £78 per week, which includes ad lib hay (and yes round bale provided in the winter, constantly renewed), one bag of wood pellets a week, mucking out, rug changes, basic feed.
Doesn't include picking feet out, only skipping out really as I would do big muck out on one of my days.
So not so bad.
 
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