Livery yard advice please !

[KB007]

Hi all! I have never kept a horse at a livery yard before. I don't know much about how things go down with regards to feeding? Do you keep your own feed near to your stable? Is there a feed room that everybody uses? How are the feed bags etc kept shut and secured so they are not stolen from? Due to these confusions I have always kept horses privately on my own land, can anybody give any advice? Or tell me what happens at their yard?

 

[Theocat]

It totally depends on the yard - the YO should tell you. Lots of places will have one feed room with space (never quite enough!) for each horse, and you'll probably need to supply your own feed bins. I've never had a problem with people stealing feed but you can put locks or chains on feed bin lids if necessary.

I have heard of some places with individual feed / tack rooms but never come across one.

 

[asmp]

As above. Have usually been given an area to put my dustbins of feed. Only place I didn't was a huge yard and I didn't trust people so I kept it at home.

 

[skint1]

I can give examples from my own yard, which is DIY, but I expect it varies greatly between places so best to ask your YO/YM and find out.

Hi all! I have never kept a horse at a livery yard before. I don't know much about how things go down with regards to feeding?
Do you keep your own feed near to your stable? YES

Is there a feed room that everybody uses? YES, at our yard there are different stable blocks, each block has a feed room shared between those liveries, and a tackroom or two too. Tackrooms are locked, feedrooms not

How are the feed bags etc kept shut and secured so they are not stolen from? I keep mine in black rubbish bins, so do most people. I haven't had a problem of anyone stealing feed or supplements, and I have some expensive supplements, but maybe you could buy a bin that could be padlocked if you were worried about it


Due to these confusions I have always kept horses privately on my own land, can anybody give any advice? Or tell me what happens at their yard?

 

[Arizahn]

We each have a small lockable store - about three foot wide and twelve feet long, that we can keep tack and feed in. YO keeps spare keys for those on part/full livery.

 

[JulesRules]

On our yard we all have a space marked out on the floor in the tack room. Most people have a lockable wardrobe or similar for tack, and the feed bins along side. I just use swing top kitchen bins which are just the right size to fit a bag of pony nuts, speedibeet or feed balancer. It will only take about a quarter of a bag of chaff so I keep the excess in my trailer (or chuck in my mate's trailer when we go out)

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

If you are given your own section for your feed and rigs etc bear in mind old non working chest freezers make ideal feed storage as they are insulated and can be shut to keep out vermin.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

On our yard we all have a space marked out on the floor in the tack room. Most people have a lockable wardrobe or similar for tack, and the feed bins along side. I just use swing top kitchen bins which are just the right size to fit a bag of pony nuts, speedibeet or feed balancer. It will only take about a quarter of a bag of chaff so I keep the excess in my trailer (or chuck in my mate's trailer when we go out)

A cautionary tale, I had a swing bin with dog food in, in my KITCHEN, and hearda scrabbling in it one day....I had a horrid feeling so grabbed the ratting border terrier and holding her upside down, flipped open the lid. One shake and Ratty was dead and Terrier well satisfied, grabbing a bit of food as her Mission impossible ascent started....

Unless you have the benefit of a Taggie Terrierist, it's better to have feed bins with tightly fitting vermin proof lids...or you too may face the scrabbling muncher. :-DDD