Part livery or own yard ???

B

Bedford Joy

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 February 2012
Messages
296
Visit site
Hello everyone. As many of you know im considering moving my horse to somewhere that is more suitable for my needs. I have sorted out a couple if options but need advice on the pros and cons of each.

Option 1 - part livery on new yard with school. Laid back freindly, farm next door that has ponies so somewhere to take the children to ride. Only 2 other horses with stables there, one of which is the owners horse. Use of school anytime. Close proximity to large forest and other great hacking .
Monthly amount around £325 for part livery (everything except riding)

Option 2 - full use of private stables etc at a private house.
2 stables, 2 paddocks and a school all to myself.
Hacking ok but requires riding along a busy A road for half a mile to get anywhere. Will have to get a companion for my mare as don't want her to live alone .. Cheap enough to source but doubles care costs
Will have to buy all my own hay, bedding etc but horses can live out all summer so cheaper in that respect.
Poo picking and mucking out to do etc but I am prepared to pay for local help. (know a local groom) ...

As some of you know I have a difficult home life and a husband who limits time spent, but the second option is very close to home and opposite my daughters school very easy to get to whilst girls are at school and easy for me to put baby in pushchair next to school or leave in car asleep as its a private home ...

Can anyone point out pros and cons of each option as I want to make a decision this week if I can as I have to give long notice from yard.

Basically is it realistic to be able to look after my own horses (with local help) in my situation. And will it be considerably more expense? The rental of the yard will be 150-200 PCM ( is that expensive for what it is?)

Am still replying to all those who helped me the other day but I can only access h&h on
My phone and typing messages is quite time consuming :)

Thanks again everyone !!! :)
 
I think I would go with option one. Sounds lovely and the time you spend with your horse will be to ride, groom etc. not having to muck out, source hay etc.
 
In your position i would go with option 1.
I think this would take the pressure off you as everything done for you even if your short of time.
Option two sounds great but i would wait until kids start school and then you will get more time, hopefully :rolleyes:
It does get easier, promise!
 
Hi again!

Brilliant to read that you are starting to move forwards with everything. :)

I would say the costs for option 2 are about right. Rent here for two stables in private American style barn, field and private menage - all next to private owners house - is £200 pcm. Sorting out feed, hay etc can be a bit of a pain at first, but once sorted it's ok. Would you have someone to help you move the bales into storage? Does the private owner have a tractor to help with such stuff? Is there mains water or are you going to have to carry buckets to the field to fill up a trough? Is it secure? Is your horse a native or does it *need* stabling and extra feed?

The advantages of option 2 is that there are always people about - folks to make friends with and all your feed needs will be sorted. The disadvantage may well be that they may not want a baby/toddler hanging around the yard.

Remembering what you said about your hubby the other day, I can see advantage in having field close to school, because you can get to it easily whilst kiddies in school and you can do with your babe as you choose. On the other hand, with option 1, if you find you have times when you can't get to see your horse there will probably be someone in the yard that you can 'buddy' up with ... You said that you don't get to see your horse as much as you would like to at the moment. If that situation continues, would you be able to manage a horse on a private yard?

In reality, only yourself can answer your questions. But if you do get a field gremlin (shettie) to be a companion then you won't need to spend money on teaching your children to ride coz they can do it with you!

xxx
 
Last edited:
If option 1is closeto home too, I would probably look at that. But option 2 is appealing, couldyou find someone to share the yard with, who possibly would keep there horse there in return for doing yours?
Good luck with moving on.
 
P.S. if u get a shettie for a companion horse, they cost practically nothing to run in comparison to big horses ... no shoeing, very little feed ... hard little things so very rarely get ill if you do preventative horse care ... and cheap to buy too!
 
Nice to see you on here again, you sound a lot more positive today :). I think that option 2 would be nice in the future, but at the minute I'd go with option 1 as if anything unexpected/short notice should happen in your life meaning you aren't able to get to the yard for a while, you won't need to worry about the horse being taken care of and knowing that your horse is in good hands will reduce your worries generally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top