livery yard or own field

[Quarryview]

I'm looking for advice i currently keep my horse on a lovely livery yard with a great yard owner and a fab hacking friend. Everything is on tap, school, electric, trailer parking, stable, good security and my horse is happy.

I wasn't looking to move yards but I got asked if id like to share a field in my home village with a friend and her horse. I currently travel 36 miles a day travelling twice a day. I have never known a field become available so its unlikely to arise again. There are stables, lighting, no school, water available and muck heap is sorted by the owner of the field. The downsides are no vehicular access so planning hay/straw deliveries could be awkward but not impossible and no-where to keep my trailer.

I do use my current school but I could section an area of the field to ride in if I wanted to school. Financially its cheaper, it would be nice to be able to walk to the field and be instantly there. Although tack would have to be taken home and currently I have a secure tack room. I would be worried about security of my horse in her field but i'm assured the previous horses who were in there were perfectly safe. Although there are bridleways, there is about 15 mins of roadwork before you get to them and the roads are busier than where I am now. I'd have to find new hacking buddies too or be prepared to hack alone. I know where I am now is fab but the opportunity to be closer to home is very appealing. Any advice would be extremely welcome as i'm unsure which way to go.

 

[dogatemysalad]

Its really tempting but the downsides to having the field are lugging your tack over each time you ride. Using a bit of the field to ride in can be a pain when the ground is too hard, too soggy or too uneven and his field mate wants to distract him.
Your horse would lose his current friends and if one horse needs box rest or is being ridden, the other one has no companion.
Lack of on site security would bother me too.
I used to have my 3 horses at home, which was great in some respects, but being on a large livery yard with security and facilities is luxury. There's always someone around who can spot a sick or injured horse too.

 

[Quarryview]

Thank you dogatemysalad some very valid points to think about.

 

[meleeka]

Well I have a field a mile away from home and you couldn’t pay me to be on a yard!

I can see why it suits a lot of people. When you have a field you always have something to fix or update. The lack of facilities can be a challenge in the winter.

How well do you know your friend? Field sharing is just like flat sharing. You may find yourself getting irritated over things you wouldn’t normally because they’re always there. I think If you are fairly sociable it would probably be a good idea to stay where you are. The lack or company can be very isolating (although I love being on my own).

 

[be positive]

I can see the temptation but the potential negatives with sharing could make it difficult, if you find the 2 horses become clingy doing your own thing such as taking him out for the day to a show could be tricky, it may be near but if riding is not as enjoyable you may ride less, things such as farrier visits are not always easy to arrange for 1 horse in a wet field with limited access in winter.
I would think long and hard before moving from a yard you and your horse are happy on, saving time and money may be helpful but not if you are less able to be in control or your horse does not settle there.

 

[eatmyshorts]

I’ve done both, actually at one point, at the same time. I kept the younger, in work horses, on a yard, so I had access to a school, nice hacking, company for both myself & horses, folk to swap favours like holiday cover with, tack & feed storage, & security. The retired horses were & (still are) in a friend’s field, where not many facilities are available or needed, but I enjoy the peace & get to manage things pretty much as I like. Worth checking your farriers insurance .. I’m sure they are sometimes not covered to work in a field. I have also had in work horses in a field years ago & I somehow came by (can’t remember how) a very large walk in container (I think it may have come from an airport?) which I kept my tack, feed, & hay in, which saved lugging things about. No idea how easy it would be to get hold of something like that. If you still work your horse I’d think very carefully about things like ... if there are only two horses, how they will cope if the other is taken out of the field, conditions for riding in the field during wet weather, & as it’s been mentioned, where you stand if it doesn’t work out ... you say the chance of the field won’t cone up again, but will it be easy enough to get back into a good yard?

 

[Quarryview]

Hi meleeka, thanks for replying. I know my friend fairly well and we are very similar in how we look after our horses. I think I could be quite happy with just two of us as until recently I’d been doing my own thing and then a new livery arrived on the yard and we now hack out quite a bit which has been great so I would miss that but I could box up and visit and hopefully I could find new people to ride with if I moved. I know if the opportunity hadn’t arose I wouldn’t have considered leaving where I am though.

 

[Quarryview]

Eatmyshorts and be positive, thank you for your replies. You’ve both given me things to consider which I’d not thought of. I would hate to have my horse unhappy and she is very settled. Hearing everyone’s views is really helping.

 

[Chuffy99]

If your friends horse goes off to a show or has a stay over at the vets, will your horse be happy to be turned out on her own, luckily ours will but last one we had had to be stabled as field trotted for hours if alone( even though he hated the other horse)

 

[Red-1]

If the field was at home then I would choose the field. That way you could improve vehicle access etc. maybe even get permission for an arena. Also, at home I see my horse more times then twice a day. Currently she is seen 4 times a day: turnout time, lunchtime check, afternoon bring in and work, 9pm check and poo pick. At livery your horse will be viewed many times too. In a field it would be just twice a day, most likely.

I would not accept the owner's assertion that they would be safe unattended, unless the field is within sight of the owner's house? If not, I presume they are working on the assumption that none have died/escaped so far?

Other factors would be who is responsible for fencing? If it is the owner than do they have the same views on suitable fencing as you? What about rolling, harrowing, weed killing etc? As it is a rental field you are still on livery of sorts, so you need to be clear on who does what.

Is your horse the sort who can not be ridden for a week or two then hacked straight onto the main roads? Because in winter riding on the fields may not be possible. What about if the horse is ill, will you be able to sit with them, for example if they have colic, or do you have someone who can drop everything to go sit with them.

As it stands it sounds like you are happy where you are (presuming the 30 odd miles is cumulative, not each journey). You have all the facilities, back up, hacking buddy, trailer parking...To me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Quarryview]

Thank you Chuffy99 and Red-1. I’ve been in such a dilemma and everyone’s comments are really helpful. The new field and stables would be about 5 mins walk from my house and the owners house looks over the field. He did keep his horses there but he’s now retired from horses. My horse does love the company of others and she wouldn’t be happy on her own but the other horse im told isnt bothered. The other horse is more field ornament due to age but of course there are the unexpected things that happen, vets etc. My horse is good in that I can hop straight on if not ridden for a few weeks. I hadn’t thought of it as being still a livery which in affect I would be just with more responsibilities as I can see fencing needs sorting for my own peace of mind and I like the saying if not broke why fix it. It’s something I’d tell someone but hadn’t thought of it for myself. I think the general feeling is to stay where I am and all posts have been very helpful.

 

[Cocorules]

Agree I would stay where you are unless you can buy your own land. It is a lot of agro with your own land, but worth it for the freedom. However, for me worse hacking, only having one equine companion and still being stuck with someone else's rules and the agro of upkeep would rule it out. You get used to the security aspect.

 

[oldie48]

Not having vehicular access would be a real issue for me, as would not having a secure place to store tack etc. I am fortunate to keep my horses at home, so visits by the farrier, saddler, vet, physio etc are very easy to organise with stabling or hard standing available as required. If you can't get a vehicle to your horse, can you get your horse to a suitable area for these sorts of visits and do you have a suitable place to keep your trailer?

 

[LaurenBay]

I've done both and if I had a ridden Horse i'd pick livery yard all the time.

Having my own field was lovely, she was fully retired though and lived with 1 friend also retired, so no issues about 1 being taken out to be ridden and the other left on their own. I massively missed the social side as me and the other lady would alternate days and look after each others. It didn't always work though (especially poo picking, I'd end up doing so much more then her but paying the same money). A yard where it is managed, has people, your Horse is settled, has a nice secure place to ride sounds like Heaven! I'd stay put.

 

[ester]

I did the opposite, went from a field at home to livery. Frankly having access to a school was pretty ground breaking and it was nice seeing more people.

 

[Tarragon]

I keep my ponies on a sheep farm so not my own field but not a livery either.
I started with DIY liveries as I wasn't confident that I knew enough to manage on my own but over the years I got more and more frustrated as I realised that most liveries were not set up to handle native ponies and I started to form quite strong opinions as to how I liked to do things. So now, I am in control over how the ponies are managed and I have found out that I am more than capable of making the decisions. I love that aspect of it and I think that I have two very happy ponies.
On the down side I miss some of the social aspects of a livery yard - people to bounce ideas of or to provide help. I do miss having an arena - I school in the field but it is limiting and dependent upon the ground conditions. Sometimes when I look at my two hairy monsters I almost miss the days when I used to stable overnight and had smart clean and clipped ponies to ride but that doesn't happen very often.
I have adapted to suit my new environment and because of that I am happy. If I tried to maintain the same style of pony management that I used to have at the livery yard on the sheep farm I think that I would have got frustrated very quickly!

 

[Leo Walker]

If you want to ride your horse, don't do it! Good weather is rare in the UK. Too sunny and its too hard, too wet and itsa a bog. I'd imagine the time frame for riding in the field amounts to a few weeks a year. The rest of the time is roadwork before you get to decent hacking. You wont be able to ride in the week at all in the week in the winter as its dark morning and night. With no vehicle access its going to be a huge pain getting hay and bedding there. And a lot of farriers just wont work in a muddy field.

I've done both. Stay on the nice yard!

 

[splashgirl45]

i have done both and although i shared a field with 2 friends who i got on well with, it was hard work. we didnt have hardstanding by the stables and when our shavings were delivered we had to wheelbarrow them across a muddy field, it nearly killed us all and we were a lot younger then. we also had to collect our own hay and plan for the field to be dry so we could drive across with the trailers..and then there was the unloading and the stacking!!!!!!! we didnt have running water for many years and that is a whole other story. dont do it would be my advice...

 

[milliepops]

Chiming in to say the same! I have 2 at livery and 2 in a field with no facilities except a couple of shelters and a water trough. I leave hay and a bucket of treats, some rugs and grooming stuff there but nothing else.
No way I'd want to ride from the field, it'd be a massive PITA trapising back and forth with no proper access. OH brings my hay in on a tractor so that makes everything as easy as possible but for anything except retired horses it would be too much faff for me.

 

[irishdraft]

I would also stay at your present yard no vechicle access will be a right pain and if you use your trailer frequently even worse . Then theres all the other things like field maintenence etc farrier all the things that are probably dealt with by the yard.

 

[SpringArising]

You couldn't pay me to move from a yard with facilities to a field with nothing.

 

[DD]

if you are happy where you are then stay.

 

[Annagain]

If you were miserable at the yard I'd probably say give it a go at the field but considering how happy you and your mare are, I would stay put. The only problem with your current yard is that it's a bit far away. By the time you work out fuel etc it might be cheaper (not to mention better use of your time) to pay someone to do one end of the day rather than make another trip. Even better, could you find a friend to make a reciprocal arrangement so you turn out and friend gets in or vice versa? My friend and I do this (even thought yard is only 1.5 miles away) and it's a big help.

 

[Quarryview]

Hi to everyone, you’ve all been fantastic and hearing everyone’s views and experiences has been a real help. I have decided to stay where I am. It’s a lovely yard, we’re both happy and why upset the apple cart. I watched my mare tonight and she’s so content that keeping her where she is, is definitely the right thing. Thank you again all of you.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Sorry if appearing negative, but I'd be very very chary of sharing a field "with a friend".

I took my horse away from a livery yard many years ago now, as a "friend" had offered me a field to share with her.

Problem was that she and I didn't stay "friends" for very long; she was a spoilt rich kid and had lots of Daddy's lovely lolly to spend, and didn't like doing stuff like poo picking, or picking out ragwort, or indeed doing anything much that might get her lilywhite hands dirty! So Yours Truly had to do all the work and the lazy little madam got away with it!

We'd been "friends" from a distance at Pony Club prior to this, and being chucked together sharing the same field was certainly a revelation!

Also, the field was quite small and I only found out after going to the upheaval of moving, that the tenure of it was only short lived anyway! There was NO winter turnout permitted (contrary to what I'd assumed/been told), and only ONE stable available. So - having moved my pony across in the Spring thinking I'd done the right thing, at the end of the Summer I was then in the position of having to look for somewhere else at short notice!

Also, the "friend" I was sharing with, had shown herself to be a spoilt little brat of a rich-kid and I realised that she'd only asked me to share with her so someone else could do all the work she didn't want to do!

OP if you are in a good yard and you're happy with it, and more importantly if your horse is happy and thriving there, I would strongly recommend that you stay put rather than move in with this "friend". Bear in mind that sharing a field together may well prove difficult in practical terms i.e. turnout/chores/field maintenance etc., and your friendship may just be put to one or two tests! Also bear in mind that IF you do fall out at some point, sharing a field with someone you frankly can't stand the sight of, is going to be blimmin difficult! Whereas at a yard, even if you do disagree with someone, there's enough space to keep your distance. Perhaps you could arrange to box over and ride out with your friend at some future point? And keep in touch that way? Or meet up for a show or whatever.

But I wouldn't move, deffo. You could always cite the fact that your horse is sooohhh happy that you couldn't risk moving to somewhere else away from his fieldmates........ if she's a real chum she'll understand where you are coming from.

Stay put would be my advice, it really would.