Livery Yard that make money!

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T-Bag

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How do you do it?

In the real world, the cost of livery would be much higher, but livery is still one of those things people just don't like to pay for.

So for those of you that have a heathy balance sheet at the end of the month, how do you do it?

:)
 
I don't - especially at this time of year when lights are left blaring and demands for hot water have to be met!!

I never understand why the average DIY livery space costs less a week than a night in an inferior B & B. A basic equestrian property costs in excess of £300,000, with clients expecting acres of lush grazing, well built stables and other facilties, but with the maintenance of these often out weighing any profit made...

New Years Resolution - give up being a YO/Manager and look for an easier way of making money!
 
A ton of grit for the yard has just cost me the same as a full months DIY rent!!

Keep an eye on this thread syd, it may help.

I suspect money is made by different threads of income, but for every new thread is a new cost.
 
What a start to the winter,and my liveries had more haylage than bedding in their stables this morning!!!Think the only yards that will make money are large ones who over restrict
bedding and hay/haylage .
Sorry I cannot give you any advice but you are not alone,time for a change ,all I do is subsidise other peoples horses.
 
Why don't you provide a DIY stable and field without hay and bedding. One pallet for bedding and one for hay for each stable. People will be a lot more efficient in what they use if they are paying by the bale!!
 
As a person very happy with their horse's livery I feel bad reading this thread, I wouldn't want my YO to operate at a loss. We try very hard to obey rules and not use haylage or straw stupidly, mostly because my other pony lives on a place where I have to hustle for hay/straw myself and ensure there is water and everything else and so I really, really appreciate those services
 
I make enough to pay the feed/hay/bedding, the water/leccy, my rent and pay the guy who works for me.Then I have to pay for general repairs, field maint and various other things. At the end of it all, I have a monthly wage of around £350 and a shock of new grey hairs. I go home once a year (for a week) to my parents who help me out with the cost of the air ticket-thats my annual holiday.
 
well my YO says she does and I pay easily half of what others do for full livery BUT

the stables although safe and adequate sized (actually bigger than most normal stables!) are not smart and are made with hash mash of materials which echos the general yard in that its all safe but it will win no prizes for beauty! (well views will ;) ). Hayledge/straw where possible is grown on site. Horses share fields with sheep and or cows as primarily yard is beef/sheep farm! Fencing is sheep proof therefore there is wire mesh fencing. Outdoor school freezes in current weather, and infact can't get there full stop at moment due to snow/ice.

I think it makes money as its run as an add on to the farm so lots of the normal overheads are already covered, and there are less than 10 liveries so it really is just an add on.
 
cm2581 said:
Why don't you provide a DIY stable and field without hay and bedding. One pallet for bedding and one for hay for each stable. People will be a lot more efficient in what they use if they are paying by the bale!!
Click to expand...

Stroage!!

Stroage is always hard to find, but giving everyone mpre stroage for bedding and haylage makes matters even worst!
 
T-Bag said:
Stroage!!

Stroage is always hard to find, but giving everyone mpre stroage for bedding and haylage makes matters even worst!
Click to expand...

Tack room for saddles and bridles (1 peg per stable), feed room (max 2 bins per stable) and 2 pallets per stable. People store their rugs over pallets. That's it. That ain't a lot of storage! A lot of places would only offer outside storage for bedding aswell.
 
My yard doesn't make money but it breaks even day to day. Anything to improve it comes out my own pocket.

I only bought it though for two reasons,

firstly I worked out how much livery i'd have paid someone else if my horses lived a full life :eek::eek::eek:

and secondly in the hope that planning laws will change. All around me has been bought by speculative developers.
 
I'm not a YO but I am imagining the only way my YO makes her money is offsetting the winter and summer months. I dont imagine she makes a penny in winter and probably makes a loss.
We are all on part or full livery - she doesnt do DIY. Parts pay £35/week inclusive of hay or haylage or straw. I have ad lib haylage and buy my own shavings in.
Currently all horses are in until it defrosts so she is using double the usual amounts of hay/haylage/straw, working harder - keeping all our horses topped up with nets and water etc when they would normally be out, but still only taking the same amount of money.
Lights are on more, kettle is boiling much more etc.
However in summer, we will mostly all have them out 24/7 and her costs will MASSIVELY reduce. I for one will not use any haylage over the summer, but we'll all still keep paying the same.
So I guess she has to wait til summer to reap any kind of rewards for her business and hard work.
 
T-Bag said:
How do you do it?

In the real world, the cost of livery would be much higher, but livery is still one of those things people just don't like to pay for.

So for those of you that have a heathy balance sheet at the end of the month, how do you do it?

:)
Click to expand...
How do you define profit?
Do I get more money that it costs me to keep the horses? Yes
Decent wage? not really
Returns on capital investment? Forget it!

But, I just treat it as an extra income and enjoy it.
 
Wow I am obviously in the wrong area, every yard I have been to has ended up costing lots so I would find it hard to see how they didn't make a healthy profit
 
coen said:
Wow I am obviously in the wrong area, every yard I have been to has ended up costing lots so I would find it hard to see how they didn't make a healthy profit
Click to expand...

Well I'm sure some do, which is why I'm asking, but it could more likely like many livery clients you don't understand the true cost of keeping a yard!
 
i am sure our YO makes money - the yard is full with DIY liveries and grass liveries. She sells hay, hayledge and bedding to liveries and also charges for services too. She loves doing it though and says she does not consider it proper work as she enjoys it so much.

She is always making improvements to the yard as well so is reinvesting the money back into the business.

I think you can make money if you have a largish yard and are full, though it may be harder on part/full livery though or livery that includes all hay and bedding in the cost.
 
I think my YO can just about break even. The yard is mainly DIY's, some assisted DIY, and maybe a full livery sometimes. Doesn't help that 2 of the boxes are used for the landowners horses so they don't pay anything.

YO has 1 horse and a fat pony, so horse is on the market. She gets free wood shavings from her husband who runs a log business.

I would think the only way she will make a profit is if she turned into full/part livery only. No DIY's. However not everyone can afford that!
 
Our YO does but then we have to pay for what we use which I think is very fair.
We pay a monthly charge for the stable, if you want a separate field you have to also pay for that. She has a spreadsheet pinned up in the main stable and this is divided (per horse) into columns for bedding, food. (40 horses spread over 1 large yard and another smaller yard nearby.)
We have to take the bedding and hay from her but food we are allowed to buy ourselves or use what she supplies. Hay / Haylage has a set charge per month per horse. Every bale of bedding we use is marked under the horses name. She knows exactly how many bales have been delivered and keeps check on the tally so no-one can abuse the system and I'm proud to say no-one does! Obviously we use more in the winter than the summer. If you buy food from her then the food boxes are automatically filled when they are empty and marked on the sheet as well.
Farriers, dentist and vaccinations are organised by her so we benefit from a group discount. She pays these and then adds them to our bill at the end of every month. Great when you can't be there for the farrier etc. Downside - no 2 bills are the same.
The solarium works on tokens which we have to buy from her.
She also washes and reproofs rugs which can also be added to your bill.
Riding lessons from her daughter can also be added.
There is also a charge for turning out and bringing in but most of us have arranged this between us.
We also have to pay a small charge every month (about €2) as she has to pay someone to come and empty the muck heaps every couple of months.
The last one to leave the yard on a night turns the lights out and must admit everyone is pretty good about this and we have 24/7 365 access.
We have a coffee/bar area with heaters (paid for by YO) with a coin operated coffee machine (have to pay per cup) and a coin operated automaat.
This is not the same at every yard over here but she seems to have it right and is still investing in new facilities every year. Currently waiting for council permission to build an indoor arena and about another 50 stables and lunging arena.
I love my yard!!
Forgot to say that she feeds the horses but we have to muck out / turn out.
 
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Last night I left the yard all fully fed & huge haynets with two liveries riding in the indoor school - I can see this from my bedroom window....... after an hour I so I think to myself 'lights have been on a long time' So I trundle across in PJ's & wellies to fnd the yard abandoned, school lights - consisting of 23 strip lights blazing, radio on, all stable lights on & two bales of hay less than when I left - Pop me head over the doors of the two I left riding to find the hay in there.......

I try to run a 'no helping yourself' policy & left their horses with more than adequate hay - Rant over!!

I have to do lots of freelance work, be it teaching or po picking to be able to make ends meet..... And I wonder why i don;t go back to office work...!
 
cant believe its not money making - our yard chardges 17 quid for grazing and 25 for a stable, but you get your own shavings etc, you can buy hay off the yard for 28 quid a round but its your hay if you waste it! there is about 30 liveries..I am not brill at maths, but I wish I could turn that much over in a week!
 
tangoharvey said:
cant believe its not money making - our yard chardges 17 quid for grazing and 25 for a stable, but you get your own shavings etc, you can buy hay off the yard for 28 quid a round but its your hay if you waste it! there is about 30 liveries..I am not brill at maths, but I wish I could turn that much over in a week!
Click to expand...

£28 for a bale of haylage, costs about £25 to buy a massive £3 a bale margin, and of course to rent/mortage of a equestrian holding is so small that £3k a month shows a huge profit!!!

if rent was a livery yard only outgoings!!
 
I think it can be money making if you also own the land!! My YO has to rent each stable for £17 per week, livery is then £25 per week for customers. If she increases it to make more of a profit then liveries complain and look to move elsewhere. She has to increase her profit by taking on some part/full liveries, offer lessons etc.
 
TinselFaerie said:
I think it can be money making if you also own the land!! My YO has to rent each stable for £17 per week, livery is then £25 per week for customers. If she increases it to make more of a profit then liveries complain and look to move elsewhere. She has to increase her profit by taking on some part/full liveries, offer lessons etc.
Click to expand...

on top of that £17, she will have no doubt Business rates, water rates, electric bills, insurance, wages (either herself or staff) and just a steady stream of things to pay for.
 
So you think me trying to persuade my husband to buy the field down the road, put stables on it and run a livery yard, is not a good money-making idea??:confused::(
I suppose if you already had the land/stables, at home for example, then it's just a bit of extra cash for stables you're not using but buying/renting to try and make a business isn't a good idea!:(
 
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