Livery yard dilemma. Which would you choose?

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Mikas-mom

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Howdy folks ?

So, now that I’ve finally found my lovely new horse Beans, I need to find a new yard for him. My wonderful old yard where I spent five happy years no longer does liveries due to the owners ill health, so unfortunately the option of returning there isn’t possible.
I’m not the most social of people lol, so I don’t have a huge circle of horsey friends who I can ask for word of mouth recommendations, however, after doing some research in the local area I have narrowed my options down to two yards. But I can’t decide which yard to choose, so wondering which option you folks would go with.

YARD 1:
DIY livery only.
Big commercial livery yard, less than 0.5 miles from home, so location wise fantastic. It takes less than ten minutes to walk to the yard.
Year round turnout, in a herd, with upwards of 20 horses. Fields are huge, easily twenty five acres each (there are four fields I do believe)
stabled at night over winter/during the day in summer if required.
Two schools, one outdoor school which can be used whenever, one indoor school that can be hired (£15 an hour with a 10% livery discount)
regular clinics (dressage/polework/natural horsemanship etc etc)
can buy hay/straw (large round bales of hay £35 small straw bales £4)
okay hacking, nothing special but no big busy roads.
tack/feed shop on site.
£150 pcm for stable/grazing everything else is extra.
no option of paying for help in case of emergencies just a case of asking one of the other liveries and hoping (yard owners words not mine)

YARD 2:
DIY/part/full livery/assisted DIY offered
medium size commercial yard, around 6 miles from home travel time about 20 minutes as I am not medically allowed to drive I’m going on bus times(buses are super regular)
year round turnout in large, individual paddocks (Not quite sure on size but plenty big enough) in at night in winter/days in summer if required.
two schools, both floodlit all weather schools (1 jumping school, 1 flat school)
horse Walker (bit of a novelty to me if I’m honest but hey, it’s there ?)
canter track
I’m informed that clinics are about to be started once lockdown properly relaxes, owners daughter is a HOYS winner and also offers lessons.
Hay/straw included in the livery price.
quiet hacking as it’s a village location, beach literally ten minutes away.
flexible on help (can pay daily for things like turning out/bringing in, full livery for the day, poo picking etc etc)
owner lives on site, very, very secure.
No younger people (youngest livery is in her mid twenties)
£200 pcm DIY

i think I know which one I like the best, but just wondering what you would do? Is it better to be closer to home Just in case? Or is it better to pay a bit extra and travel?

Help ?
 
Completely whichever suits you- the factor for me there would be relying on public transport which would probably put me off yard 2.

However that said- I prefer yard 2 as I like to have the assistance. Turnout in the morning 5 days per week is a god send.
 
Well you aren’t really paying extra for the second yard as it includes your hay and bedding - do for me the price is equivalent.

It’s nice to have professional help on site so that’s a big bonus for yard 2, but having to catch a bus is a big headache.

If your horse is good in a herd and the first yard is fundamentally safe and well managed I’d be trying that first
 
That's a tough one! I can imagine getting the bus every day would become quite tiring especially if horses gets sick etc. And I'm not sure how I feel about individual turnout BUT not being able to get some help in or pay for extras would be a no for me. I am having similar ponderings about yards near me ... But I haven't got the pony yet so it's purely theoretical.
 
Yard 2 for me- having help there ‘just in case’ would put my mind at rest. Also, the hacking sounds good?
 
Well yard 2 sounds the nicer but in your position I would be inclined to yard 1 purely because you can walk to it. It’d be a right pain with the other one if you had a vets appointment for instance midday.

Actually reading back on your post go for yard 2 if the assistance is reliable and the buses easy to use.
 
Just to clarify, i don’t actually have to rely on buses (thank god) but i am not allowed to drive so should my darling OH not be available there is the option to get there still ?
I just added the bit about buses as a very worse case scenario
 
And the cost isn’t an issue, I’d actually budgeted around the £400 pcm mark for livery, so both yards are surprisingly under budget ?
 
Yard 2 sounds like it has much more going for it, but I would still opt for Yard 1 as long as your horse is ok in a big herd. I dislike individual turnout and I like big fields & a yard that's close by. Would the YO be ok with you hiring a freelancer if you needed?
 
Yard 1 because I wouldn't want the individual turnout in yard 2. Also you can get to yard 1 independently any time of day and night. Hopefully there is someone on a big DIY yard who offers services.
 
When I was eventing I’d agave loved all the clinics and facilities at yard 1, plus it’s so close. Now I’m a happy hacker I’d prefer yard 2. Also depends if you religiously like to do your own or would prefer help sometimes.
 
It would be Yard 2 for me - help is important when you are ill or have some work commitments (or just when life gets complicated) & its very stressful to have to beg to organise it!

I'm one of those who prefers individual turnout after seeing too many horses die or get seriously injured in herds.
 
I’d be yard two. Is there the option to buddy up with another livery and have shared paddocks? This is what we do. After coming from a yard with a large herd and more grazing (most peoples ideal) my horse is actually much more settled and relaxed turned out with one other and on a smaller acreage (he got laminitis at the last yard and I wasn’t readily able to restrict his grazing as I can now!)
Another factor for me is paying for services is a lot different than calling in a favour (which you often have to return/feel guilty for, or atleast in my case!) as paying for the service I think means you can be a bit more specific. Ie. I ask for a bring in means he gets a rug change, feed picked out, checked over etc whereas when asking other liveries I either felt bad asking for them to do all that or they just never bothered ?

I also like decent hacking so that would sway me, and the canter track - great for fitness when the grounds either too hard/too wet which is very typical in the U.K.!
 
Yard 1 for me. Given as you had budgeted so much more, the extra would allow for a freelancer twice a week easily, which gives you a breather, and if there is someone who knows you and your horse already, it is easier to call on them in an emergency/you're unwell/want to go away.
Likewise, the extra money could maybe go towards hiring transport (for your OH to drive or with a driver) once a month to get to better hacking.

That said that is for me because I like large group turnout, as does my pony. But it's worth asking the previous owner what yours is used to/how they cope in a herd or individual settings, some horses don't cope in both, and so I probably would be swayed by that most.
Likewise, without wishing to be personal, will your OH want and be able to take you up twice a day every day at yard 2 long term? Just wondering if once the novelty has worn off or maybe their work changes how you feel about the bus as a regular option potentially (and the cost of it)
Although the hacking at yard 2 does sound good!
 
Me personally I'd keep looking if you're not fully happy with either option (but you're talking to the person who has investigated about 60 yards over the past few years... what can I say I'm picky & like the ability to micromanage yet need support due to work hours). If it needs to be one of them I'd go yard 1 as I dislike individual t/o unless there's an actual reason for it (also if you've no transport then walking distance is probably better). If you're likely to need support occasionally & it turns out the other liveries are unable to help then perhaps look into freelance grooms?
 
The 2 equal out price wise when you add bedding to yard one, what is 30 x 2 way bus fares a month cost, a 5 mile bus ride to our next village is £7 return that would equal £210 a month ouch!
 
Being able to walk to the yard is amazing. How much will the bus cost annually? There won’t be buses galore on Bank holidays. At my yard, the DIY-ers can ask mates to do chores if they can’t get up in an emergency/if sick etc. Paying to use the indoor would pee me off, having had free and easy use of the indoor at my last place. Local yards charge electric, but not for use.

I think I’d go for yard 1, unless you’re purely looking to happy hack, in which case yard 2, but I’m another asking why is there individual turnout? I wouldn’t like that for mine, even though he’s not sociable, it’s a bit weird.
 
i would prefer yard 2 as i wouldnt want turn out in a large herd as i have seen too many injuries if horses are all shod and would also want the option of help if needed. i am not keen on individual turnout but if horses are next to each other and can interact over the fence i think that would be ok....
 
Thanks for all your input :)
think I need to maybe explain myself a little better as some of you seem to be really stuck on the bus thing. Probably my fault for not wording it right.
i can’t drive myself on medical grounds (previous fractured skull and brain injury which led to other complications) but I have the most amazing OH who for the past 7 years has been my personal chauffeur, bless his heart. hes self employed and can fit his work around me, and has done, coming to the yard with me rain/shine/sleet and snow the past 7 years, twice a day, sometimes more. So I wouldn’t have to rely on buses, they would just be a back up/just in case thing.

having been to view yard 1 this evening, I’ve decided to go with yard 2.
the new horse isn’t great in a herd (has Been bullied in the past) and to be quite frank I DON’T like barbed wire fencing (wasn’t aware until I viewed) that put me off instantly.
plus the fact that while viewing we witnessed a bunch of teenage girls arguing over god knows what.
location wise it was 100%, but I’d rather travel a bit further if only for the peace and quiet lol.
but I appreciate all your comments.
thank you ?
 
The first yard for me, as I don’t like that the second yard only offers individual turnout.

ETA: I’ve just seen that you’ve made your decision! I hope that you’re very happy at your new yard, OP ?
 
I see you have settled for yard 2. That would have been my choice. I'm injury prone so knowing that someone is there to take care of my horse if I had a mishap would be a biggie for me.
 
Does yard two have spaces ? And do you have a back up if yard two has tiny unsheltered postage stamps for fields where they have plastic easily kicked over bucket s that your responsible for filling ?
Good luck
 
Mikas-mom said:
having been to view yard 1 this evening, I’ve decided to go with yard 2.
Click to expand...

Glad you've made a decision - the hacking would've done it for me and I would also be a bit wary of a very large herd that might be having horses added and removed regularly. And I'm very jealous of your beach access! Very best wishes, and of course we will need a photo when he arrives.
 
Yard 1 for me. Can't bear small individual paddocks. I'm sure there would be one or two people I'd feel comfortable enough to ask a favour of come the crunch. And of course to reciprocate.

ETA: Ooops, yep, just read of your decision. The arguing teenagers would have been a bit of a pain.
 
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Close to home and herd TO would win it for me. Plus the proximity to home means you're less likely to need help as regularly. Once you've settled in it's usually easy enough to find someone to buddy up with - if not would they allow you to pay a freelancer to come to the yard for holiday cover for example?

ETA - should have read the whole thread! Hope you settle in well :)
 
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