Livery yard owners/managers

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Georgie667

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Please answer me this.......why do livery yard owners/managers seem to think that they can take your money, but provide poor quality services and that you would be happy to except this?? why do they also think that you are happy, just because you have your horse in livery, to devolve all responsibility for your horses wellbeing and saftey to them and that you will loose your ability to deploy common sense into your horses management?? Fundamentally they think they know best and you know nothing when you have owned and ridden for 30 odd years!! Please help......what is all this about??:mad:
 
My last YO was like that - took money for full livery, actually didn't feed my horse for a week (good job another livery told me, he was in a terrible state when I got to him!) - moved him three days later. Some think it is easy money, others are just lazy sods, some are just plain evil.

My current YO is fantastic, nothing is too much trouble and my horse is looked after so well.
 
I agree with Wagtail, if that's what they're doing move. My YO is fantastic and I wouldn't change her for the world. I know my horses are fine even if I can't go up, and that's how it should be.
 
Leave. If everybody who felt like this leaves,they'd be out of business and no other horses/owners will be put through suffering their rubbish.
 
Equally, there are nightmare liveries, who expect the earth, for as little money as possible.........

(not implying op is one!!)
 
I've been on yard with good YOs and not so good YOs. The current YO is a farmer who knows bugger all about horses. He is happy to take our money, but then moans when they are turned out in winter and moans when we happen to bring them in in summer just in case we want to give them a slice of hay. He does nothing to maintain the field fencing - we have gates held together with gaffer tape. He appears to think he can take extra horses on livery, building extra stables, but not releasing any more grazing, and then moans even more when the fields get trashed. If it weren't for me having good friends there, then I would leave in a flash.
On the plus side it is close to home and I can get there at dinner time as well if necessary from work, the haylage is always pretty good and the school is ok. I do have a backup yard if I ever get really peed off, but it's further from home which is the only reason I haven't moved there.
 
Venevidivici said:
Leave. If everybody who felt like this leaves,they'd be out of business and no other horses/owners will be put through suffering their rubbish.
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I agree. If the service is rubbish, why are you giving them money??! My yard owner is amazing. I wouldnt change her for the world. A real good friend to everyone and the yard is run fantastically- very laid back and its almost extremely tidy and well kept. I would not hand over the cash each month if i didnt trust my yard owner 100%. Its not fair to tar them with the same brush....as for the liverys on my yard...well. put it this way our YO has the patience of a saint!!
 
not all of us are like that , well i hope not , i think i give my liveries more than their monies worth . in our defense we only know if you are unhappy if you tell us , i tell my liveries if they have a gripe come to me i can't sort it if i don't know about it , as far as taking over your horse i'm afraid i'm probably a little guilty of that i tend to think of them as all "my" horses and often told an owner what to do with their horse forgetting that it's not mine , but i do warn potential liveries that their horse will become mine :) . the only way to put a stop to "dodgy " livery is to vote with your feet or complain directly to yo
 
Holly Hocks said:
I've been on yard with good YOs and not so good YOs. The current YO is a farmer who knows bugger all about horses. He is happy to take our money, but then moans when they are turned out in winter and moans when we happen to bring them in in summer just in case we want to give them a slice of hay. He does nothing to maintain the field fencing - we have gates held together with gaffer tape. He appears to think he can take extra horses on livery, building extra stables, but not releasing any more grazing, and then moans even more when the fields get trashed. If it weren't for me having good friends there, then I would leave in a flash.
On the plus side it is close to home and I can get there at dinner time as well if necessary from work, the haylage is always pretty good and the school is ok. I do have a backup yard if I ever get really peed off, but it's further from home which is the only reason I haven't moved there.
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I think when the diversification grants came in there were lots of yards like this appeared. The sooner legislation is passed insisting livery yards are licensed and people running them can demonstrate knowledge of a good standard of horse care the better.
 
I know what you mean - I've been on yards that have been horrible (but some of that was the other liveries) but the one I'm on now is great and I love it, YO trusts liveries and i know I can rely on YO to provide good service (which as I'm on DIY is basically fencing, school and stabling). The only problem is that I'm having to move due to my job moving and now I've got to find a new yard and go through the whole "settling in" process again. :(
 
I've been both Poacher and Gamekeeper; have had to smile sweetly and be pleasant to some very difficult people in my time, simply because there just wasn't anywhere else to keep one's horse then - now there is much more choice (I'm talking about 25 yrs ago!!!). You youngsters don't know how lucky you are!! Sorry, am being preachy - but IMO there's a lot more yards nowadays and therefore much more choice.

So I do know what people mean about awful yards and psycho YO's.

I'm I find myself a YO myself now after a strange turn of fortune, so hope my livery is happy!!! She's the best livery in the world IMO and I'm so lucky to have such a nice little set-up here. I do hope I don't come across as a harridan!

We've been offering DIY livery here now for 20 years and during that time have had five people come through the yard (includes the current one), so that shows how quick our turnover is!!! We've only had one "bad-un", who basically stayed for just a month and thoroughly neglected her pony during that time, i.e. left it without food or water (shut in the stable for 48hrs and we hadn't a clue where she was) - then thank god she left very suddenly and unexpectedly.

Think if someone is unhappy, for whatever reason(s), its better for all concerned if they leave. Of course much better to discuss with YO what the issues are first to see if things can be resolved.
 
Please answer me this.......why do livery yard owners/managers seem to think that they can take your money, but provide poor quality services and that you would be happy to except this?? why do they also think that you are happy, just because you have your horse in livery, to devolve all responsibility for your horses wellbeing and saftey to them and that you will loose your ability to deploy common sense into your horses management?? Fundamentally they think they know best and you know nothing when you have owned and ridden for 30 odd years!! Please help......what is all this about??


I am a YO.

I am going to



and



before I say something I will probably regret about this condemnatory thread.

If you are a serious poster, then it sounds like you have had some bad experiences, unfortunate, but give us a break, don't tar us all with the same brush, it isn't fair.

What is sauce for the goose etc, I am pretty sure that YO's can moan just as much about their liveries, I know I jolly well could. ;)
 
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