Moving yards

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GiddyUp92

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First post so im so sorry if its in the wrong place

At the beginning of the year i moved my horses to a newly opened stables.It was more expensive than where i was originally but we were promised better facilities.Anyway i moved my horses on and was quite happy, yard owner had never ran a yard before so i put some things down to a learning curve.However we are now 9months on and the school is still not able to be used we have to buy everything of her and cant even have friends turn horses out as it has to be her ( she then complains that she has so many horses to turn out/muck out/ bring in).the fields arnt big enough for the amount of horses and although it looks like there is lots of grass the horses arnt eating it and i assume its sour the fences are also all barb wire and stock fencing and i feel we arnt far off having a horse come in with a serious injury.yard owner seems more bothered about telling people she has a livery yard and ensuring it looks good than sorting the actual problems out.I pulled her up the other day about when the fencing was being done when the school would be fixed as well as the other jobs that we were promised would be done... she said they dont have the money to fix it right now.. thats fine i appreciate yards cost alot and tbh i stuck up for her to other livery's who complained... then yesterday she rocked up in a £7,000 horsebox (she told everyone how much she paid) i feel so angry! she said it was important as her daughter really wants to go to some shows. I assume my upset was seen by other livery's as i was blanked this morning and given dirty looks by her followers. i feel very isolated anyway as my friend i moved on with moved off a few weeks ago as she was struggling to keep her eventer there in full work due to lack of facilities even though we were promised more.the yard owner also will also not take criticism i recently found clumps of dead ragwort in the hay i told her about this and her response was well what do you want me to do about it go through every hay bale. but then other days she cant be anymore helpful.

iv had a quick look around some yard and have found one that is a 20min journey away from work its cheaper and i will save about £120 a month it has a farm ride,indoor,outdoor and you pay a set amount a week for unlimited haylage
i dont know what to do the new yard is cheaper but a 20min drive away.also it means a quick trip on the motorway which can get very busy.
or do i stay where i am and hope that we get what we are promised meaning the £500 im paying a month will be justified.
current yard is about £5-10 min drive
 
If you are not happy, which it sounds like you are not then move. You will save money and have somewhere to ride when it's dark or rainy after work. Where you are isn't going to improve anytime soon, have a think about how you will feel after a week of constant rain.
 
It's a no-brainier for me. Move!
The new yard is cheaper and has all the facilities you need (an indoor for winter would be heavenly 😊).
Who knows how long it will take for your current yard to provide everything they promised, and it's more expensive!
I'd move in a heartbeat 👍
 
I'd be off in a heartbeat. Teething troubles are inevitable to a certain degree, but the problems at your current yard appear more deepseated than that.

The other yard sounds just what you're after. Good luck!
 
Why would you pay £500 a month for a yard with barbed wire fencing and no useable school ?
Move quickly before someone else on your yard takes the vacancy on the better yard !
 
Move, 20mins will soon seem normal and you may find quicker routes etc once you're settled.

Aside from the other issues, the final straw for me would be not being able to help out friends? That's bonkers, I would hate to be on a yard like that!

As for the 'follower' liveries, I was one of those once, couldn't see the wood for the trees AT ALL. Don't hold it against them, it's surprisingly easy to think certain things are ok if you're sucked into a bubble that you never see out of. I've since apologised to a few folk.......
 
I woud move. You've given her 9 months to get the yard sorted, the school made useable and decent fencing erected. She has failed on everything. It sounds like her priority is herself and her daughter - you and the other liveries are just there to fund her needs. I doubt you'll see much progress anytime soon.

A 20 minute drive can be a pain but, I would happily do it for a better yard. I assume you're on some kind of part or full livery? If so, do you only have to go once a day? That would be fine IMO. Good Luck OP.
 
I would move too, I've been in a very similar situation where the YO moved the entire yard to new premises. Everything started off not so great and got worse as time went on. Things haven't improved in the years since we left. There's nothing to stop you from moving again if this new yard doesn't work out.
 
I've also been on a yard before where promises were made about facilities that never materialised.

In your situation I would move but I would also check if services were offered in case I wasn't able to get to the yard or at least that there was the potential to buddy up with another livery.
 
Reading it in black and white it sounds like a no-brainer: your current yard doesn't have fields that are safe, the facilities won't enable you to ride outside daylight hours with winter approaching, the YO sounds like a numpty who's out of her depth and it's expensive. Why would you stay?
 
20 mins drive via Costa/Starbucks after work sounds the perfect de-stress time before having all evening to play with beloved pony. even bigger bonus indoor arena and its cheaper, get the horsebox started :o)
 
Micropony said:
Reading it in black and white it sounds like a no-brainer: your current yard doesn't have fields that are safe, the facilities won't enable you to ride outside daylight hours with winter approaching, the YO sounds like a numpty who's out of her depth and it's expensive. Why would you stay?
Click to expand...

Agree with this!
 
I'd move, imagine what the place would be like in winter. There is nothing worse than a yard that has too many horses on it and a school that is unrideable. Its a lot of money to pay when you can't even use the facilities.

Fencing with barbed wire is a big no-no too, I'd be worried sick!
 
Wow I'd move! My yard is £145 a month and I get the same - minus barbed wire fencing and has huuuuuuuge fields

There is a beautiful full livery near me for £575 per month that has everything down to a horse walker so if I was paying £500 for what you are getting I'd move
 
I pay less than £500 per month for 2 schools (1 floodlit) horse walker, post and rail fencing individual turn out and awesome YO and that is part livery and I am in the SE so not a cheap area. Move!
 
I would. The liverlies on my current yard get access to two schools (one indoor) + jumps. Fields, amazing hacking and regular lessons. The only downside is that everyone shares the wheelbarrow and yard equipment and of course the fact that they have to pay per bale for hay/haleage. All this for £200 a month.
 
Move. Ragwort in hay alone would be a deal breaker for me on any yard. I travel 25-30 minutes to the yard and although some days it does get to you, the peace of mind knowing they're safe and happy is always worth it.
 
Definitely move! I just moved from a lovely yard because the owner sacked the last 2 yard managers, hasn't a clue and is now runs Bing it himself. Grazing has been given away, other fields fenced off badly causing injury to 2 horses and too many horses taken on for amount of grazing. Stuck it out for 8 weeks but left in a rush as my friends found other yards. I've moved to another which is not quite as bad but I'm not happy so looking to move again. But reading this thread I'll be happy to travel to find a good yard as I've had my fill of unsuitable ones!! :-(
 
Move, you're not happy, it sounds far from ideal. Wasn't a lot of this noticed before you moved i.e. the poor state of fencing / barb wire? I'd just put it down to experience and remember in future never to move somewhere unless it is right from the start....words are cheap.
 
Once I saw barbed wire I was like no way on this earth... I think I'd have heart failure if I saw ragwort in the hay...!! Don't just walk run out of the yard. Also if she can't maintain the yard politics then you can't be there people need to be at least polite to you
 
It's thwart with danger to move onto a brand new yard, run by someone who has never run a yard before with the promise of facilities that are not yet in place. From experience I found that the promised facilities rarely materialise. You've been there 9 months & the promises given to you have certainly not materialised. In the period you've been there these promises should have been fulfilled but they haven't & you've been paying your livery hoping that the school etc will be done. On that alone I would move. You are paying for facilities you haven't got & are unlikely to ever get.

I can understand the YO not allowing friends of liveries to muck out, turn out etc as it's her livelihood. It's the same as going into a restaurant, sitting down, not ordering anything & opening up & eating your packed lunch. However you have a YO who wants the money for turning out, mucking out etc but moans about the work. If she's got too much work then she should get staff in.

Mentioning Ragwort in the hay, she should take note of & speak to her supplier & warn them that if more is found she will change supplier. Ragwort in hay is not negotiable when the fodder is being fed to horses.

Your friend has moved off, that tells you something. The YO's followers must know less than the YO about horse management if they are prepared to tolerate paying for an unusable arena, hay with ragwort in it, barbed wire around the fields & generally not getting what they're paying for.

This really is a no brainer isn't it.........MOVE!
 
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