Livery Yard Dealbreakers

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Missidi

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I'm relocating and finding that the livery yard search is incredibly stressful! I have seen a few yards so far but have discounted them all for one reason or another. Would you put up with these things or are they dealbreakers? I'm worried I'm being too picky and I know I will need to compromise on something!

Yard A: individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses
Yard B: barbed wire fencing
Yard C: 10ft x 12ft stables
Yard D: short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard
Yard E: only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely
 
Missidi said:
I'm relocating and finding that the livery yard search is incredibly stressful! I have seen a few yards so far but have discounted them all for one reason or another. Would you put up with these things or are they dealbreakers? I'm worried I'm being too picky and I know I will need to compromise on something!

Yard A: individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses
Yard B: barbed wire fencing
Yard C: 10ft x 12ft stables
Yard D: short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard
Yard E: only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely
Click to expand...
All would be deal breakers for me, bar stable size potentially, but that would depend on horse.
 
Missidi said:
I'm relocating and finding that the livery yard search is incredibly stressful! I have seen a few yards so far but have discounted them all for one reason or another. Would you put up with these things or are they dealbreakers? I'm worried I'm being too picky and I know I will need to compromise on something!

Yard A: individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses
Yard B: barbed wire fencing
Yard C: 10ft x 12ft stables
Yard D: short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard
Yard E: only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely
Click to expand...
A - complete dealbreaker
B- can you put an inner electric fence, preferably mains?
C - dealbreaker if the equine is over about 14hh
D-complete dealbreaker
E- dealbreaker - as ycbm saib above, it will inevitably end up far less than that
 
Keep looking. There are good yards but the really good ones don’t need to advertise. Word of mouth and door knocking required.
 
All ick for me (although I have accepted B in a situation where field was flipping massive (60-80 acres I think), it was internal fencing around some woodland & yard were in process of replacing it all with post & rail… that was with a horse I knew was smart enough to avoid it though, wouldn’t with current idiot!). There may be a reason that at one point my NO list contained about 100 yards!
 
Missidi said:
Yard A: individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses
Yard B: barbed wire fencing
Yard C: 10ft x 12ft stables
Yard D: short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard
Yard E: only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely
Click to expand...

Individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses - dealbreaker. I don't see how a horse could ever be relaxed in such a setting.

Barbed wire fencing - a fact of life for me, so not a dealbreaker.

10ft x 12ft stables - not familiar enough with stables to have an opinion about this one.

Short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard - that would make me sit up and take notice. What hours?? Maybe check to make sure that what you are told is true, for example if you know any people there.

Only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely - probably not a dealbreaker, but again, I'm not familiar enough with this setup to have an opinion.

So, I'd give Yard B a really good look to see if it might suit, if I were looking.
 
A - Neither of my horses would give two hoots where others are, as long as they have food. They are popular when they stay away at livery as they can be the last in and don't even seem to notice much when other leave them.

B - Nope, no barbed wire for me, deal breaker.

C - 10ft X 12ft stables. Would be OK for Rigs (15,1) but not for H (16hh) although Rigs would probably stock up overnight. He currently has a stable not that much bigger then that, but also has a patio area so he can come and go. Since having that freedom, his legs no longer fill and his CPL has not advanced any. I would be loathe to stable him in a small stable for long, but it may work if the turnout hours are long. H would doubtless gat cast!

D - What hours? What about if you are at a lesson or show early or late? If ot were 8am to 8pm, with shows allowed outside those hours, then that would be OK.

E - I could work round that with both of mine, as long as I knew when they would be in so they could be worked instead. Mine are only on arena or patio/yard turnout in winter anyway, along with being ridden.
 
Red-1 said:
A - Neither of my horses would give two hoots where others are, as long as they have food. They are popular when they stay away at livery as they can be the last in and don't even seem to notice much when other leave them.

B - Nope, no barbed wire for me, deal breaker.

C - 10ft X 12ft stables. Would be OK for Rigs (15,1) but not for H (16hh) although Rigs would probably stock up overnight. He currently has a stable not that much bigger then that, but also has a patio area so he can come and go. Since having that freedom, his legs no longer fill and his CPL has not advanced any. I would be loathe to stable him in a small stable for long, but it may work if the turnout hours are long. H would doubtless gat cast!

D - What hours? What about if you are at a lesson or show early or late? If ot were 8am to 8pm, with shows allowed outside those hours, then that would be OK.

E - I could work round that with both of mine, as long as I knew when they would be in so they could be worked instead. Mine are only on arena or patio/yard turnout in winter anyway, along with being ridden.
Click to expand...
Love the idea of the patio.
 
I'd tolerate the barbed wire if it was properly installed; i.e. at chest height with no low or trailing bits. We have it in one field (I can't remove it) and have never had a problem apart from one horse getting the rug chest clip caught on it. It would have been avoidable if the clip had been done up correctly (facing in).

I wouldn't want a curfew, or limited turnout. A small stable depends on the size of the horse and how long they are in it. And I don't like individual turnout even next to others.

Are these the only options?
 
B not a deal breaker for me. Mine have always been on farm land and there’s stories of horses hurting themselves on every kind of fencing. I have no idea if there is anything they can’t hurt themselves on. 🤦🏼‍♀️

C it would depend how long they spend in the stable. If they are out longer than in then I’d consider it but probably only if they were out all through the summer months.
 
What's your horse like OP? Is it small enough to be ok in a small stable? Does it get stressed alone or in a lot?

I wouldn't want any of them but I suppose at a push the barbed wire could work, as above if it was done correctly or i could put electric in front maybe.
 
My current place actually has barbed wire , only at chest height , so it depends on where the wire is. I can put electric over it so it's not a problem. The horses live out 24/7 and hacking is great, so I'm happy to compromise on that.

If the barbed wire was one of those fences made entirely of it ,.I'd be more nervous.
 
I'd tolerate the barbwire if there was plenty of grass in the field, installed correctly and there is no chance of arguments between neighbouring fields. It really does depend on the horse and the set up.

Depending on the turn out arrangements and the size of your horse I'd also tolerate the smaller stable. (ie, 14.2 or under, 24/7 turnout in summer, in at night in winter)

I wouldn't entertain limited opening hours (I'm not wanting to check my horse at 2am unless there unwell, but), limited turn out or individual turnout.
 
A, D & E would be deal breakers for me.

B - if it is a large acreage & good grass covering or if small but electric fence could be put up inside it then I’d be ok with this, small paddock with no electric fence would be an absolute no though

C - depends on the size of the horse and how much you need to use it e.g. can they be out 24/7 in summer or are there times when there is little to no turnout in winter
 
It’s so disheartening isn’t it?! I think if I had to go for one it would be A or B, E could be manageable based on the horse, how much work they are in, if you could hand graze on the days they don’t go out and if they can be loose schooled or lunged etc…is there a horse walker or something else? 4hrs is a lot more than my yard offers in some parts of winter! We are hoping to move though before this winter!

It might be worth going with one of those in the short term, once you are in the area more you might hear of others.
 
Barb wire for me isnt a deal breaker. It’s a fact of life up here. All I do is put electric rope in front of it with an energiser at my cost.

I also have my horse on individual turnout but he can groom and run up and down with horses on all sides so that’s not so much of a deal breaker for me unless as you said there are not horses at all he can touch then that’s a no.

The rest are hard no’s. I have no school at my yard but everything else is ideal 👌🏻 I gave up a school for year round turnout and the chance to run my field to suit myself
 
Missidi said:
I'm relocating and finding that the livery yard search is incredibly stressful! I have seen a few yards so far but have discounted them all for one reason or another. Would you put up with these things or are they dealbreakers? I'm worried I'm being too picky and I know I will need to compromise on something!

Yard A: individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses
Yard B: barbed wire fencing
Yard C: 10ft x 12ft stables
Yard D: short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard
Yard E: only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely
Click to expand...

A- would depend on horse but probably not
B- would depend on what was to be gained- a nice herd, year round turn out for more than a leg stretch, if you could fence it off yourself
C- unless the horse lived out and the stable was just a place you groomed/tacked up
D- No
E No, because trust me your horse will be in more than out
 
A, D and E are all deal breakers for me. I have been to see two yards with limited hours that were ridiculous for working clients. One was absolutely lovely and I was gutted at the end when she dropped the bombshell of '8:30 until 17:30', despite me talking about my job as we looked round.

B and C I have worked with in the past. Never had big horses, though and have seen injuries and death through all types of fencing.
 
Missidi said:
I'm relocating and finding that the livery yard search is incredibly stressful! I have seen a few yards so far but have discounted them all for one reason or another. Would you put up with these things or are they dealbreakers? I'm worried I'm being too picky and I know I will need to compromise on something!

Yard A: individual turnout in a paddock a fair distance from other horses
Yard B: barbed wire fencing
Yard C: 10ft x 12ft stables
Yard D: short opening hours when liveries are allowed to go to the yard
Yard E: only four hours of turnout max in the winter and some days in completely
Click to expand...
A - OK if I had more than the one horse so turned out together
B - OK if correctly installed and maintained and good grazing and I had a sensible horse and was involved in deciding who it was turned out with.
C - OK if there was also ample turnout and therefore the stable was not going to be in use often and the horse wasn't huge
D - Nope, wouldn't suit me at all! I have to do all my riding etc. before work in the mornings
E - OK if there was an alternative all-weather option and I intended to ride daily and a busy yard.
 
Too little experience of yards as a whole to comment on all, but our last lovely livery yard managed winter turnout which helped preserve the grass. So similar to the times you mention were applied in wet periods, but full turnout maintained whenever possible. In truth, most of the horses were generally ready to come in on short days in horrible weather. YO and husband did turnout/fetch in as needed.
Appreciate that if it is mentioned upfront as being occasional then at some yards that might end up being the most you get; without further local knowledge you may not know which situation applies here.
I think for ours it would have been preferable to isolated individual turnout.
 
A - most likely a deal breaker unless it was for a very antisocial horse
B - deal breaker, unless it was a 24/7 stable herd non ridden grass situation where there was ample acreage and a clearly defined boundary with nothing ‘interesting’ behind the wire. And only if there wasn’t an equivalent/better option.
C - deal breaker with my horses, but for a pony then fine.
D - deal breaker when I’m doing/riding, potentially manageable for anything on competition livery
E - Hard working horse, fine. Light work/non ridden then deal breaker
 
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