Welly Boot
Well-Known Member
I spat my tea out laughing at this one.... no hay on the muck heap..... straw is ok though as are shavings, paper, pellets etc ... what else have you seen and raised an eyebrow about....
Most ridiculous things you've seen on livery contracts....
- Thread starter Welly Boot
- Start date
Dino7
Active Member
Have you thought about why that rule may be there?
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
It bungs up the muck spreader!!!
I get told off for hay on the muck heap!
I get told off for hay on the muck heap!
Polos Mum
Well-Known Member
Most of the 'mad' rules have logic somewhere. If a farmer is taking away the muck heap to spread on his fields he may well stipulate no hay - so there is no grass seed spread all over his crops.
Or it might be to discourage wasteful chucking away of hay that I've seen on some yards.
Hay takes forever to rot down - so could be that too
You might have to think laterally - but often there is logic somewhere or a rule is in place because someone didn't do the mad thing that now written down.
Please muck out before lunchtime if your horse is in or please give water daily look totally mental rules to me - sadly someone must not have bothered or the YO wouldn't have had to write it down.
Or it might be to discourage wasteful chucking away of hay that I've seen on some yards.
Hay takes forever to rot down - so could be that too
You might have to think laterally - but often there is logic somewhere or a rule is in place because someone didn't do the mad thing that now written down.
Please muck out before lunchtime if your horse is in or please give water daily look totally mental rules to me - sadly someone must not have bothered or the YO wouldn't have had to write it down.
Bobthecob15
Well-Known Member
No arrival before 10am....it was a full livery yard but still ridiculous!
Didn't stay long!
Didn't stay long!
FieldOrnaments
Well-Known Member
isn't that so they aren't putting grass seed on crop fields though?
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ILuvCowparsely
Well-Known Member
We don't allow loads hay on muckheap as
a) It is harder to shape the muckheap as fork gets caught like knotty hair.
b) We have to pay the muck removal more often. Wehave a bag and sneak it up to the garden waste container at the dump
TheHairyOne
Well-Known Member
Closed at 5pm and on mondays...
Didnt go to see if it was actially enforced.
Didnt go to see if it was actially enforced.
MuddyMonster
Well-Known Member
I'm sure most of these had semi-logical beginnings but ...
- Couldn't leave in the first 3 months
- No twice daily visits (was part livery but even so ...)
- Horse's couldn't be rugged
- A DIY yard that was only open 7am to 6.30pm
- No haynets to be used unless supervised
- Couldn't leave in the first 3 months
- No twice daily visits (was part livery but even so ...)
- Horse's couldn't be rugged
- A DIY yard that was only open 7am to 6.30pm
- No haynets to be used unless supervised
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
I once looked at a yard that truly took the biscuit in terms of bizarre rules.
My favourite was along the lines of, "We are an alternative yard, and if treating your horse for any medical problem, you must try herbs, essential oils, and aromatherapy, and you are only allowed standard vet medicine if those things haven't worked, with permission of the YO."
It also decreed that all horses must be barefoot and bitless. The barefoot I can kind of understand for herd turnout safety reasons.
And no whips allowed. What else am I gonna use to chase off annoying dogs and wave angrily at fast cars?
I looked at another one that was closed to all owners on Mondays.
And back in the days when I had a phase of riding my old horse in a treed saddle, I had the saddle fitter out adjusting it. She had a mad story about a yard that had rules against treed saddles being fitted to horses -- treeless only, apparently -- so a client of hers who kept horse at said yard had to lead it off-site to get its saddle sorted.
At the yard I kept my horse at whilst at uni in the States, a new manager came in my final year there and declared that all horses' manes must be pulled and trimmed according to discipline. She also ordained, "You are representing the uni when you are riding, so you must look neat and professional. Proper leather boots, a belt, and button up t-shirt when riding." Even trail riding. I refused to touch my horse's mane and made a point of buying many, many saddle pads with wild patterns on them. And slumming around in a t-shirt and tatty hoodie, like always. She didn't have the gallus to kick me out for being a rebel, but they probably would not have let me back in had it not been my final year.
My favourite was along the lines of, "We are an alternative yard, and if treating your horse for any medical problem, you must try herbs, essential oils, and aromatherapy, and you are only allowed standard vet medicine if those things haven't worked, with permission of the YO."
It also decreed that all horses must be barefoot and bitless. The barefoot I can kind of understand for herd turnout safety reasons.
And no whips allowed. What else am I gonna use to chase off annoying dogs and wave angrily at fast cars?
I looked at another one that was closed to all owners on Mondays.
And back in the days when I had a phase of riding my old horse in a treed saddle, I had the saddle fitter out adjusting it. She had a mad story about a yard that had rules against treed saddles being fitted to horses -- treeless only, apparently -- so a client of hers who kept horse at said yard had to lead it off-site to get its saddle sorted.
At the yard I kept my horse at whilst at uni in the States, a new manager came in my final year there and declared that all horses' manes must be pulled and trimmed according to discipline. She also ordained, "You are representing the uni when you are riding, so you must look neat and professional. Proper leather boots, a belt, and button up t-shirt when riding." Even trail riding. I refused to touch my horse's mane and made a point of buying many, many saddle pads with wild patterns on them. And slumming around in a t-shirt and tatty hoodie, like always. She didn't have the gallus to kick me out for being a rebel, but they probably would not have let me back in had it not been my final year.
holeymoley
Well-Known Member
I can’t think of anything too nuts other than no lunging, unless you use 2 lunge lines 
lynz88
Well-Known Member
Some of these are defo weird....a newer YM has tried implementing making supplements into weekly "packets" or "baggies" for them (and to bring down weekly). I had already bought tubs/containers and said I won't comply. It's messier and a waste of money to constantly be buying baggies for them ... especially after having bought several containers to mix my supplements in 1 or 2 months at a time!!
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
We'd get new rules written on the board and were always "I wonder who that is aimed at"
Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
Hah. Same US yard mentioned above ordained that all supplements must be given via Smartpak. You don't have this in the UK, but it's basically a US company that packages horse supplements into wee blister pack thingmies, like human medication, and all the owner/yard staff need to do is rip off the top of the packaging and voila, horse gets whatever supplements you want, all nice and measured out. No thinking required. I understand why the yard management was into it -- it is easier and more efficient for the staff -- but it is hugely wasteful, since you are throwing out vast amounts of plastic and cardboard every single day, and supplements are much more expensive if bought through Smartpak than bought in bulk from the companies who produce them.
Fransurrey
Well-Known Member
I went to see a yard once where the hours were 8 am to 7 pm. Appreciate it was her home, but it simply wasn't workable for anybody with a job.
I also went to see a lovely place where the lady needed one livery, but on the phone I said I had two small ponies. All good. Loved it. Tranquil, on the way to work, natural shelter plus stables if needed...then she dropped the bombshell that she didn't want me there until 8.30 and gone by 7 pm. I told her I simply couldn't do those hours as I worked full time and would never be able to ride, even in summer. Such a shame. She even messaged me later and said she'd love to have me there (we got on really well), but again repeated the hours. I re-iterated that I move under those terms (but that I really liked the place). Got blanked.
Barton Bounty
Just simply loving life with Orbi 🥰
Hay doesn’t degrade very quickly, thats probably why. I thought that was a given in most yards
The Bouncing Bog Trotter
Well-Known Member
‘We no longer provide a livery service on Bank Holidays ‘. So, you are DIY those days but we won’t adjust the monthly charge.
lynz88
Well-Known Member
yep I know Smartpak. Their prices were ssoooo much better than anything in Canada!! But yes that's not too dissimilar to the request here and what you've written is exactly why I protested!!HayleyUK
Well-Known Member
You couldn’t come to the yard in the morning until the YO daughter had got up and fed as she didn’t want hers disturbing/being fed and liked to feed all together.
I didn’t ask how I’d know she was out of bed and everything was fed, or if it would be done by 7:30 so I could get to work on time.
Girl who was there briefly told me it varied between 7am some days and 8:45 others….
I didn’t ask how I’d know she was out of bed and everything was fed, or if it would be done by 7:30 so I could get to work on time.
Girl who was there briefly told me it varied between 7am some days and 8:45 others….
Pinkvboots
Well-Known Member
Was on a DIY yard and you had to pay for tea coffee milk and sugar every month regardless if you wanted it or not it was just added to your bill.
Everytime your horse pooped in the school you had to get off immediately and pick it up, if you didn't you normally got caught on camera and yo would ring you and give you a lecture about it.
Rota for evening yard sweeping for a whole week every month and if you couldn't do it you had to arrange someone else to do it for you.
Everytime your horse pooped in the school you had to get off immediately and pick it up, if you didn't you normally got caught on camera and yo would ring you and give you a lecture about it.
Rota for evening yard sweeping for a whole week every month and if you couldn't do it you had to arrange someone else to do it for you.
lar
Well-Known Member
I don't think that's unreasonable. It was introduced at one of my old yards due to the number of liveries who'd just ride through the muck which didn't do the surface any good.
My old pony would muck as soon as we started properly schooling every SINGLE time. I'm sure he did it deliberately to get a break because he never did it when we moved to a yard that didn't have this rule.
AShetlandBitMeOnce
Well-Known Member
Surely you just avoid the poo until you have finished... that's what we do at our yard
lynz88
Well-Known Member
I should add that I always provide an appropriate scoop and write on the tub how much is to be fed and when so it requires zero thinking
Bellaboo18
Well-Known Member
I had similar to this, the YO wanted to be the first on the (DIY) yard otherwise her horses might kick her new stable doors, they never did. She kept moving the time we could get to the yard and I kept moving my working hours until her time was mid-morning so I left.
In hindsight she really didn't want liveries but needed the money.
Timings do seem a problem. We viewed a diy livery and the closing was 7, I thought we'd have to miss out on a lot of summer hacking so didn't move there.
AShetlandBitMeOnce
Well-Known Member
My yard hours are 6am-8pm and it's the only downside to the yard to be honest, it does sometimes feel a bit of a shame in the summer when you'd like nothing more than to go out for a couple hours when it's cooler.. that being said we have AYTO on sandy soil, great maintenance on all stables/fencing/facilities, great horse care, friendly liveries, heated tack room & brilliant hacking so it's a compromise I'm willing to make.
Oneday
Member
Got told off for riding on the track 
Fieldlife
Well-Known Member
My experience on being on large local livery yard and watching many different members of staff mixing feeds, was the only way to guarantee supplements all got into the feed daily was to provide single premixed Tupperware pots for each day. Even better if write day of week on pot. Else it’s a bit pot luck if all supplements added to feed. Especially if asking them to add multiple things.
If they’ve asked you to combine supplements I’d think be sensible, as indicates are finding lots of tubs to open and measure hassle. Which probably means less conscientious might not add all supplements.
ArklePig
Well-Known Member
my friend was on a yard that stipulated winter rugs be laundered at least monthly and no horse was to be turned out with dirt on their rugs. I honestly don't know how or if this was enforced friend didn't stay very long.
visa_bot
Well-Known Member
I looked at a yard once and was told that if the horse wasn’t in the stable at tea time it went without. This was around the time I would be arriving and wanting to ride so my horse would never get their tea. My horses were used to being fed later than others and never kicked up a fuss. I didn’t move to that yard.
Pinkvboots
Well-Known Member
It can be annoying when your getting really good work and you have to stop, alot of the time if other liveries were around we picked it up for each other but were occasionally times no one was around.