Moving yards - WWYD?

T

Tayto

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 January 2013
Messages
521
Location
Bonny Scotland
Visit site
Sorry - this might be a bit long!

So, I have been on the same yard for 15 months. I had a loan horse there for a while and now have my own horse there. The yard has amazing hacking but a rubbish school - it is so deep that my horse trips all the time and in the winter it is nearly impossible to ride in as the cold makes it go totally solid.

My horse is 8yrs old but very green (schooling wise) as she was only broken as a 6 yr old and hasnt done much in the school - she is great to hack though and we have been doing mainly hacking over the last 4 months. Now that I know her a bit better I really want to start focusing on our schooling and with winter approaching, I am worried that the school will be out of action for long periods of time meaning our schooling will suffer. We also wont be able to hack during the week as it is dark by the time I get there.

I have made some good friends however there has been a big increase in bitching and gossiping lately and it is doing my head in. I find myself spending more time hearing about the latest drama than I do with my horse. Also, you may have seen from a previous post that the horses were put from a bare paddock onto really long grass that was not introduced slowly and we have been told we are not allowed to strip graze. Things like this and a few other niggly things have made me question the YM.

I dont know whether to move or not - I have found a lovely little quiet yard with a lovely school and I am very tempted to move however I am worried I make a mistake moving as I am a first time horse owner and I have a very good support network at my current yard and if I am having a less confident day or want to go on a new hack I have a really trustworthy friend that will hack with me with her very sensible horse.

On the other hand - I wonder that if I move it will give me a kick up the butt to be more confident and stop relying on other people to give me confidence. Also, if there are better facilities, I will be able to focus more on producing my horse more and more on her than on the yard drama. I would have weekly lessons with my riding instructor so would have weekly contact with someone that could give me advice if needed.

Sorry, I am rambling a bit - I just dont know what to do. I really want me and my horse to grow together and would love to compete at local shows next year but feel that I am being held back at my current yard as the facilities are not great and I keep getting roped into yard drama.

ARGH - WWYD?!
 
Straight to the point shysmum - I like it!

To be honest - I have found that the horsey world is full of opinions and at the yard I am on I find myself not really taking any of the "advice" I get anyways and prefer to refer to my riding instructor or doing my own research online. I think I am just a bit scared cos it will be totally new and scary for me and my horse - where as when I bought my horse, I already knew all the hacking routes etc so I was confident to take her hacking but in the new place I will be a bit more nervous and I am worried she picks up on that and I end up with a horse that doesnt trust me.

Yes - I am prob being a bit of a drama queen!
 
Unwanted advice is a subtle form of bullying imho. You need to find a quiet yard, maybe a private home with a few stables, and just enjoy your time with your horse. I hope you manage to find something soon. x
 
Move.

The school is terrible. The grazing situation is causing problems. There is constant bitching and drama. Think logically, what is there to keep you there?

I hope you can find a small friendly yard :) and I'm sure there will be someone to show you the hacking routes :)
 
Move!

I see little point in forking out money for facilities that you can't use.
If you are able to go up in the day in winter and ride out, then it's all good. If you are tied to after work hours, like many of us, then it means no riding for the whole of winter.
 
I would agree that you need to move, however take your time and look around all the yards in your area big and small. Weigh up the pros and cons of each. Small yards can be great but if there is a yard b*tch it can be harder to distance yourself on a small yard. Also there might not be anyone that rides regularly there that you can hack out with, whereas on a big yard you can distance yourself from certain people and there's always someone to ride with.
I've been at my happiest on a tiny yard but also at my unhappiest at a small yard with a b*itch and am currently at a huge yard which has taken me a long while to feel at home at, after 18 months I'm finally realising I quite like it there. There's only so much investigating you can do but I would take my time over the decision, you don't want to have to keep moving before you find the yard that is right for you and your horse. Good luck x
 
Move! You're sensible and take your instructor's advice so you really don't need the unsolicited advice of people on your yard. Personality I find I'm most confident when I'm not too involved with a yard and am relying on myself and my instructors.

Combine that with the better facilities and you would be crazy not to :)
 
Thanks guys! I am going to see the yard again tonight and speak in more detail with the YM. I am going to try and view a couple more so that I have something to compare it to. I am quite nervous about moving my girl as we havent known each other that long and I am going to have to be strong and confident so that she trusts me when out hacking in our new place. But on the other hand maybe it is better to move her now than in a years time when she is even more settled and attached to her herd mates. She is a pretty chilled out girl so I am sure it wont take long for her to settle - it will be thats a nervous wreck about her settling in!
 
So I went to see the yard and spoke to the YO. The yard is lovely, stables are a nice size (bigger than what we have just now) and the school is very nice. HOWEVER, the YO does not manage the yard, he just leaves the liveries to it - the fields are managed by liveries and they are left to do what they want. Although this could be great - I am slightly concerned that this could be a cause for bickering between liveries? The YO turns out horses during the week in winter and supplies bedding and haylage as part of the livery cost which is VERY reasonable.

Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of a yard that is essentially run by the liveries? I am a bit of a pessimist and can see lots of bickering cos people want different things for their horses etc and no one can agree but everything else about this place is fab..... Argh........
 
When you say managed by the liveries, does that mean that any horse can be turned out in any field whenever a livery wants, no summer or winter fields etc? It sounds as though you could do with going down there and chatting to the other liveries to see how things work and get a feel of whether you think you would fit in with how they do things.
 
Have been on yards where liveries decided who/what field etc and its great as long as small and everyone wants the same for their horses. It gets a bit messy when someone wants abc for horse and you want xyz and no-one want to compromise. Or people randomly moving fields as they didn't have time to put horse back in usual field they just pop it in yours,then 2 weeks later back in its own field.
Current yard is total diy but you cannot move a horse to another field without asking YO first.Do prefer YO making that desicion as saves any arguments (usually). Is the yard in Milltimber??
 
Oh defiantly move! New yard sounds fab! It's great going exploring new rides so look at that as a positive and try not to over think things :-)
We essentially run our little yard and it works really well. YO gives us our own grazing then its up to you to manage it how you see fit - by saving some, strip grazing etc. Whatever works for you and your horses.
I've got about 6 acres to play with for my two big horses, but the lady with the laminitic pony has about half an acre which is still too much for her!
It all works out to suit everyones needs and there hasn't been an argument yet!
 
I used to be on a not so great yard where I had great support and it broke my heart to go, but now, I realise that the horse is happier and the yard is better for him and for me. There is zero drama and no bitching, it's fab. So, my opinion is to move. Don't burn your bridges, explain why you're going and thank the YM etc in case you ever want to go back, but ultimately, get the right yard for your horse and you.
 
No YO input can work well but again if you have a yard busy body / a few selfish people it can be a nightmare. I still think the positives outweigh the negatives as long as you can distance yourself from the difficult people .
 
Tayto said:
So I went to see the yard and spoke to the YO. The yard is lovely, stables are a nice size (bigger than what we have just now) and the school is very nice. HOWEVER, the YO does not manage the yard, he just leaves the liveries to it - the fields are managed by liveries and they are left to do what they want. Although this could be great - I am slightly concerned that this could be a cause for bickering between liveries? The YO turns out horses during the week in winter and supplies bedding and haylage as part of the livery cost which is VERY reasonable.

Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of a yard that is essentially run by the liveries? I am a bit of a pessimist and can see lots of bickering cos people want different things for their horses etc and no one can agree but everything else about this place is fab..... Argh........
Click to expand...

I'm on a yard a bit like this (owned by the landed gentry) and although luckily the current liveries actually for the most part get on and individually look after their paddocks (individual turn-out so no arguing over who hasn't poo-picked) there was a massive falling out earlier this year when an old livery came back with a new horse and basically decided to put their horse in my summer paddock amongst other things - her and this other woman who have a sickly mother/ daughter type relationship like to dictate - but it has all settled down now. It could be hell and we have a pseudo yard manager (the cattle man) who hates us all and is a vindictive man. He is supposed to do the maintenance but he resents doing it and he is a passive / aggressive he doesn't tell people what they should do and sort out issues as they arise but then does something really crappy to stop us "complaining" or rather asking for stuff that should be done to be done - like cleaning blocked drains.

I stay there because the hacking is second to none, it is convenient and my horse is happy - however if I could find something else I would and keep looking however every yard has its pros and cons so don't jump out of the fire into the frying pan! Don't underestimate your support network and how a move might affect your horses behaviour.
 
Definitely move. Have lessons in lovely school all winter. Sorted :)

Find out more re the management thing. My friend is on a yard with a committee of liveries that run it, its a brilliant yard and they do loads of shows to raise money for very nice jumps etc.
 
Last edited:
Being on a yard where liveries do their own thing with individual turnout is not liveries doing their own thing, IMO, the YO has already split the land up and its already decided. Having a load of fields and a herd of horses when the liveries have free rein is a very different thing.
 
Honey08 said:
Being on a yard where liveries do their own thing with individual turnout is not liveries doing their own thing, IMO, the YO has already split the land up and its already decided. Having a load of fields and a herd of horses when the liveries have free rein is a very different thing.
Click to expand...

Is this aimed at me? Well there is the rest of the yard that we communally share - the main yard, tack room, rug-room which gets filthy with hair, people who don't sweep up, people who leave droppings in the school, people who may or may not worm - problem if you have to rest paddocks, people who don't pull ragwort, people who don't attend their horses properly and leave them in with no hay until lunch-time - all these issues are left up to us to deal with and like I said we have had to work between us to move horses around as the YO has not got involved hence a massive fall out when half the yard didn't speak to the other half for several months.

So yes an unmanaged yard can turn to hell.
 
Definitely move! I was in a similar situation a while ago... Flooded school all the time - along with only one school which wouldn't be a problem if you didn't have to always wait ages to use it (lessons to finish, all the kids that pitched up at the same time). The staff didn't seem to say anything when you went in the school to ride, when another person came in on their horse, then another, and another - yes half the time they would let 4 people go in the 20x40 school!! When you are trying to improve on things or practice for comps it was completely impossible!! I did have the same as you hacking was excellent!!! There was also way to much bitching and gossiping - half of it being about liveries being to "fussy" and the rest about irrelevant things. Even YO would constantly moan! I got sick of it and left. Best thing i ever did!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looking at what everyone has said also proves there are so many lovely yards out there. You will never know if you don't try :) Wishing you all the best!!
 
Move :) I moved last week fom a big yard I'd been at for 14 months and did really like but over the last few months lots of changes in personalities,the yo seemed to lose interest, lots more horses turning up and being chucked in our field willy billy,to name but a few things..now at a yard with 7 horses, a bit rough round the edges but has it all plus is 2 miles from home..kick myself for not moving sooner.. Take the plunge,if it doesn't work out something else will come up.
 
*** UPDATE ***

I was offered a space at another yard last night. It has an indoor and outdoor school - both with lovely surfaces. It is also in the same area as I am currently so we wont have to change our hacking route.

I also spoke to someone I know that moved from my current yard to this yard and she said it is so much better - hardly any bitching or drama and everyone keeps themselves to themselves. Sounds like BLISS!!

So excited :D

Thanks everyone for your support and advice :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top