Livery yards - what do you want & compromises

luckyhorseshoe

luckyhorseshoe

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Hi all

I've been thinking - what does your livery yard need to have and what do you compromise on?

For me I want good turnout, stable, arena with a decent surface and lights. Preferably small group turnout or individual. I also would like good local hacking. Good Fencing.

But what do you guys look for?
What if any would you compromise on?

This comes after a discussion I had with other horsey friends and their opinions and experiences!

Thanks.
 
I had all of the above and left there due to poor relations with yard owners, and others who keep their horses there. It was unbearably bitchy, to the point they locked my horse in a field with a padlock i did not know the combination to! :mad:

So i left that yard, and now keep my colts at my friends livery of which we have no arena, No lights most of the time, which is a pain at the best of times, even so its made me consider leaving a few times, a couple of dangerous/scary features to the muck trailer (slippy and very thin...alot like walking the plank!) fell of numberous times. But even so, the free hay, dirt cheap straw, and the friendship keep me there, and not only that, there arnt any local liveries that allow colts/stallions
 
For me, the most important thing is proper management of the yard.

I have had some bad experiences with badly managed yards and therefore I almost interview the yard owner before I even consider a new yard (I don't want to move from where I am as its brilliant!). Then it is definitely facilities and how well they are maintained.

Saying this I will compromise on lack of facilities providing the YO/YM runs the place properly!
 
This is coming from one who's been both poacher AND gamekeeper!!! LOL (have got my own yard but also have put mine on loan/livery in the recent past).

Personally I think there has to be a good "feel" to the place; the YM needs to be someone you can trust with your horse basically, and if you're going onto anything other than DIY livery this has to be a high priority. I would want to know exactly WHO would be dealing with my horse on a daily basis and where the buck stops, i.e. who do you go to if there is a problem which needs sorting PDQ? I wouldn't be happy with say a riding school set up/working livery, where every numpty rider was using my boy's mouth as a balance strap and generally feeding titbits and spoiling him.

I would also look for safe fencing & clean drinking water; and good security to the yard i.e. do they have gates onto roads and if so are these locked?? I would want to know which other horses he was turned out with and how the herd functioned together.

Good hacking would be high priority for me; not too fussed about arena's and other facilities TBH.

Also (high priority) I wouldn't ever go anywhere where you weren't asked to sign up to a proper livery contract, which should include a clause about what would happen if your horse was injured and it had to be euthanased. This is ESSENTIAL; you need to have something in a livery contract to the effect that if the worst happens then you the owner will authorise someone at the yard to call the vet and they in turn will euthanise the animal if it is deemed necessary to prevent suffering etc etc. Awful, but has to be thought about.

I would want to know exactly what was included in the various livery options i.e. working/full/part/DIY etc etc., and exactly what extra's were chargeable and how that system operated, so no nasty surprises. Also the different prices between "summer" and "winter" livery, and whether turnout was available all year or not. I personally wouldn't go anywhere where my horse had to be in for the winter and/or with very limited turnout; it might be OK for TB's but not for cobs!
 
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