Livery yard price increases

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Possum

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Just a general moan really, found out today that my livery yard is putting prices up.
Now I understand that costs rise, but the grass livery prices are rising by 10% to almost £40pw...they weren't cheap before and with 2 on grass livery I'm really going to feel it. DIY prices aren't rising as much, but an extra £2 a week for my one on DIY isn't going to help.

I really like my yard, but it was on the expensive side in the first place and this is completely unexpected, with 3 horses it's a bit of a problem...:(
 
Our yard is putting DIY livery up by £1 from £25 to £26 although I would happily pay more as I love our yard and yard owners are amazing! A few people have moaned which I think is ridiculous as there is little profit in DIY anyway and costs like electricity, water, diesel and insurance are rising annually!
 
Kikke - ouch! That's insane! Whereabouts in the country are you?!

My old yard was £25 a week and I absolutely loved it, but then we moved 60 miles away :(.
 
Possum said:
Kikke - ouch! That's insane! Whereabouts in the country are you?!

My old yard was £25 a week and I absolutely loved it, but then we moved 60 miles away :(.
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We're in oxfordshire and it does seems 'normal' for this area, hving said that grasslivery is getting more difficult to come by!
 
£40 a week for grass livery! Is the grass gold plated? I pay £45 a week for part livery, so hay, bedding, stable, morning turnout, evening bring in, indoor school and a jumping paddock.
In summer when they are out 24/7 I pay £25!
 
Possum said:
Just a general moan really, found out today that my livery yard is putting prices up.
Now I understand that costs rise, but the grass livery prices are rising by 10% to almost £40pw...they weren't cheap before and with 2 on grass livery I'm really going to feel it. DIY prices aren't rising as much, but an extra £2 a week for my one on DIY isn't going to help.

I really like my yard, but it was on the expensive side in the first place and this is completely unexpected, with 3 horses it's a bit of a problem...:(
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My diy goes up once a year in Jan, it goes up £ 1 and the part goes up £ 2

diy is 45 per week
 
conniegirl said:
£40 a week for grass livery! Is the grass gold plated? I pay £45 a week for part livery, so hay, bedding, stable, morning turnout, evening bring in, indoor school and a jumping paddock.
In summer when they are out 24/7 I pay £25!
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The yard must be making no money to charge that little, don't see how they can keep their heads above water.

hay at least £ 7 per week
1 bale shavings £ 9 approx
stable per night
turned out for you £ 1 minimum per day
evening bring in £ 1 minimum per day
schools plus lighting £ 10 per hour per time winter
schools £ 6 per day summer
wear and tear to jumps god knows
lighting in stable and tack room £ 3 per night approx
then there is water - leveling arenas - repair to fencing
staff wages
any tea or coffee
council taxes
insurance

Sorry they are running the yard at a loss
 
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forgot to add


at least £ 2 for feed per day
insurance
wear and tear on forks brooms/ wheel barrows
diesel for any vehicles used for the running of the yard
maintenance for tools/ vehicles
 
Possum said:
Ha - we're in oxfordshire too, seems to be the place to be for expensive grass livery!
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Oh dear, but I can't complain really. The yard has all facilities we want, two indoor schools, three outdoor schools, plently of hard standing, horse walker, two xc courses, proper dryroom and tackrooms. So even though I know it may be much for some areas weare pretty lucky with what we've got.
 
It amazes me when clients grumble at price increases when everything else goes up why should livery stay the same?? Baffling!! A yard offering DIY, doing everything above board would need to charge £45-50 per week just to break even.
 
I'm in Bucks so not a million miles away and I pay £21 a week plus a share of hay which works out at about £8 a week. We have a small indoor, an outdoor, a tack room but limited storage, good hacking and designated tie up places to bring them in. They are also checked twice a day so dont need to go up every day. And its sandy soil, so no mud really. I can go up in trainers and be fine.

I have previously paid £40 but it was at somewhere that is notorious for over charging and they were doing me a favour letting my young cob live out on lovely non muddy grazing last winter where everywhere was knee deep in mud and the DIY stabled liveries were in nearly all winter!
 
At our previous yard part was 22 a week not including bedding, full was 35 not including bedding. Grass around here can range from £5 to £20 depending on the part and full £85
 
chocolategirl said:
It amazes me when clients grumble at price increases when everything else goes up why should livery stay the same?? Baffling!! A yard offering DIY, doing everything above board would need to charge £45-50 per week just to break even.
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As I said, I understand the need for price increases, but 10%?! If we assume that their costs have gone up with inflation (and in fact, I imagine that with the movement in diesel prices, their costs may well have stayed about static), then the additional price increase is profit and I think I'm entitled to a bit of a grumble! It would be one thing if the current prices were below market rent, but they're really not.
 
Possum said:
As I said, I understand the need for price increases, but 10%?! If we assume that their costs have gone up with inflation (and in fact, I imagine that with the movement in diesel prices, their costs may well have stayed about static), then the additional price increase is profit and I think I'm entitled to a bit of a grumble! It would be one thing if the current prices were below market rent, but they're really not.
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10% of £40 is only £4, if that is the "profit" then the YO is hardly going to be able to retire in the near future, his best way of making a true profit would be to sell the land and give up livery, for many yards livery is not going to show a real profit and most owners are getting a very good deal having use of land, stables, arenas etc that will never give a proper return on the investment until we cash in and sell.
If you begrudge a small increase then look at buying or renting your own yard.
 
be positive said:
10% of £40 is only £4, if that is the "profit" then the YO is hardly going to be able to retire in the near future, his best way of making a true profit would be to sell the land and give up livery, for many yards livery is not going to show a real profit and most owners are getting a very good deal having use of land, stables, arenas etc that will never give a proper return on the investment until we cash in and sell.
If you begrudge a small increase then look at buying or renting your own yard.
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Sorry, I phrased that badly. Of course I don't have any knowledge of my YO's finances, (although the general impression they give suggests that they do rather well, I accept that this is neither here nor there). I also realise that is is a free market, and I am completely free to take my horses and go elsewhere.

What I don't understand is why having a minor moan about having to suddenly find an extra £40 a month (not a small amount of money really, although its easy to talk about 'only a few pounds a week), when already I was paying the 'going rate' for the services I use, is so terrible.
 
Tbh I think a lot of people seem to be stuck in a timewarp re livery prices as around £25 has been seen as a good p/w price for DIY or grass livery for about the past 10 years (ie just about as long as I've owned horses). In that time there will have been a lot of upkeep going into the place and a lot of rising bills. The price of absolutely everything else has gone up considerably in that time so seems a bit odd that rent has remained static in some cases. I currently pay £35 p/w for DIY. I have previously paid £25 about 5 or so years ago and about 2 years ago I was somewhere that only charged £19 (very cheap for this area)
 
I pay £25 a week for grass livery - I do have access to some really good facilities though. Locked tack room & feed room, yards, stables, 1km surfaced all weather track, arena, show jumps, cross country jumps and a round pen. I also know that someone will come and find me when my horse is found eating the roses in the garden.

Lovely people. few hard & fast rules. Sweep up, ask before you being friends up with you and our paddocks are harrowed.
 
I feel for you.

While I agree that yards need to put their prices up from time to time, 10% in one go does seem excessive especially as inflation is falling.

If I were you I would definitely be "reviewing the options"

Don't forget to take in the whole view though. I moved yards over the summer and while my basic costs went up £3 a week it now includes t/o & b/I plus hay and "extras" are considerably cheaper and I don't get charged for silly things at my new yard. Overall my winter bills are a good £50 - £100 a month cheaper now.
 
I think 10 per cent is a bit steep - 5 per cent should be adequate but what people pay is linked to where they are in the uk - the south is renowned for being expensive - its much cheaper in the midlands and up north
 
I just don't get it; I have a small private yard and for this reason I stopped doing liveries; Everyone moaning about paying a mere £25 or whatever a week to keep your horse. I'm sorry. but put your dog in kennels and see how much that is!

DIY = not worth the hassle!
 
I'm amazed at some of the low prices people pay. I often see threads here or on Facebook & people are saying "ooh, that's expensive, I pay 2 groats" & I think - some one is subsidising your hobby for you.
 
My livery went up £5 a week this year. But only because YOs rent increased as lots of work been done on the yard.

Was very cheap, still a decent price for the service and peace of mind i get :)
 
WindyStacks said:
Ok then, I'll be the one to say it.

£2/week is not the problem, the problem is THREE horses.
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Why shouldn't I have 3 horses? They are happy, well fed, wormed, fed and cared for.

Honestly, as a long time lurker I decided last night to make more of an effort to post more, but I really don't think it's worth the aggro.

My point was an inflation-busting 10% rise that I'd never dreamed of budgeting for. Because although I can afford my horses, I can't afford not to think about how much I spend on them. But never mind.
 
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