Moving to new area... where do I start???

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Mooey

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After a long time thinking about it, me and the OH have decided to give up our livery yard. Its hard work with very little reward and we don't get enough time with our own horses as we both have full time jobs. I work in the city and do the evening shifts and my partner works nights so he does the day time chores.

We are also not happy in the area we live in. We are looking to move a bit further out (we are currently in London and anything horsey costs a bomb!) so we need to find a nice small livery yard with a school and that will allow us to have our own field to manage, a house to rent that is very close to the new stables and then eventually I will need to look at working closer to home as the extra commute will kill me!!

Where do I start though? Its going to be very scary becomming a livery after having our own place for several years so whats the best way to go about finding a yard? That is my main priority as we are moving to have quality time with the horses - im sure it will be easier to find a house!

Another down side is that we will have to sell 2 of our horses that we bought on a whim as we felt sorry for them as we will not be able to afford 5 on livery.

Any advice / tips welcome!

Thanks
 
North Northampton is fab !!
Lots of country side and very horsie.
I comute to London regular and our vllage has a station on the main line :-)
 
First of all good luck, I did quite a similar thing a couple of years ago so know what an upheaval (sp?) It is! I found it very hard to 1) find a yard, I only have two btw, along with vets, farriers, instructors etc etc and 2) adjust to being in a livery yard as opposed to own place.

We finally found a diy yard (I couldn't afford part or full as I'm only early 20's) which was nr the cottage. Tbh I found it really hard particuarly with the long commute - hour and a half from kent to city door to door each way and in the end got a better paid job in croydon (after 10 months)! I have since found a more suitable yard and its all worked out really well but it was definately a struggle to begin! There are quite a few horsey places south of the m25 and if you are near a station its not a bad commute - 45 mins to london bridge thereabouts. Pm if you have any questions!
 
I seem to relocate more often than I like, from the North Yorkshire moors to Potters Bar (I know, i must have been bloody bonkers!) to Watford, to Beds to Herts and now to Suffolk - where i'm staying
grin.gif
I start with the yellow pages, the local competition mag - you'll probably be looking at the Chiltern rider, then call the horsey vets for ideas. I've even banged on doors where horses are kept, one thing I have learnt is that small friendly livery yards never seem to advertise, you seem to stumble across them by accident! Do the rounds and check them out, i can usually tell in 2 minutes whether I like a yard because the YO is interested in who you are! The blacksmiths, vets etc - I usually start by using the one that the rest of the liveries use, if at a later date I decide they're not for me, I change. My old vets in Herts were Berry House - Hitchin and they were great, but i'm sure others can be recommended. Don't come across too many yards with individual grazing, but you could be lucky.
The person that mentioned Kimpton - don't know it, but Kimpton is lovely and train line near by!

Good luck
 
I've moved all over the place as well (Berks, Stafs, Yorkshire, Shropshire). I always look with an ordinance survey map as I quite like hacking and some areas have no bridleways or lead directly onto busy roads. Once you have an idea of where you want to be just go down there and drive round. Stop where you see horses and chat to the owners. Horsey people are usually very friendly and will let you know all about the local livery yards. When you find the yard, other people will have contacts for vets, dentists, physios, farriers, etc.
 
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