Price of full grass livery?

ImmyS

ImmyS

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What would you be prepared to pay for this and what, if any other things, may you expect for full grass livery?

Full grass livery-
- pairs turnout in approx three acres
- large field shelter
- ad lib hay
- poo picking
- rug changes
- one basic feed a day
- use of school with full set of jumps
- cross country field
- off road hacking

South east area
Thank you
 
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Full care as in you poo pick, would deal with vet / farrier / physio appointments, rug changes, fly spray, mud fever, treat wounds etc.

If good well draining ground, good hacking and decent lit school and secure tack and rug storage. I think you could charge £500-600PCM if in right area.
 
wingedhorse said:
Full care as in you poo pick, would deal with vet / farrier / physio appointments, rug changes, fly spray, mud fever, treat wounds etc.

If good well draining ground, good hacking and decent lit school and secure tack and rug storage. I think you could charge £500-600PCM if in right area.
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I'd concur with this. There would be a limited market willing to pay this, but if your set up is right and the location is sought after then 24/7 turnout might actually be a market differentiator. I'd possibly not have it as high as 600pcm, probably more 400 - but on London outskirts you might achieve higher.

I'd want access to emergency stabling though. And decent surface and hacking.

Be warned that many clients will expect it to be dirt cheap.
 
My friend I think is paying about £300 for retirement livery alone but it includes all services just not use of riding facilities. So you could possibly add another £100 - £150 a month maybe on top. It's quite niche though as most people wanting grass livery are probably more likely to want DIY.

Is there storage for tack, rugs etc. and an area to bring into for grooming, farriery and tacking up? What happens when you catch your horse up to ride and it's field companion has a hissy fit? Is there a stable available for emergencies?
 
I pay £220 pcm for grass livery in Berkshire. Turnout is in a group of 4 or 5 and the price includes feed and hay but the school is not great and doesn't have jumps, no XC, lots of natural shelter but no field shelter. There are stables for emergencies and also a small paddock if limited turnout is needed - for example after my old cob had stifle arthroscopy. The YO will bring in for the vet etc but in reality I end up catching-in his horses more often that he does for me! I think you could charge more than the rate I'm paying for a good reliable service and facilities.

I think there is a market for this service - I like my horses to be out all the time but I don't have the time for DIY so it is great to know they are being looked after on the days when I cannot get to them.
 
This is what I do, and reading through this, I think I should put my prices up!

I charge £270 a month, for all the above, but 2 basic feeds a day. No cross country field though
 
Auslander said:
This is what I do, and reading through this, I think I should put my prices up!

I charge £270 a month, for all the above, but 2 basic feeds a day. No cross country field though
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Its a different price structure if you offer herd turnout, but no dealing with owner daily and horses being ridden. Though I do think what you offer sounds wonderful.

Edited I think I've mixed you up with someone else that does resting herd turnout and is further away?
 
ImmyS said:
What would you be prepared to pay for this and what, if any other things, may you expect for full grass livery?

Full grass livery-
- pairs turnout in approx three acres
- large field shelter
- ad lib hay
- poo picking
- rug changes
- one basic feed a day
- use of school with full set of jumps
- cross country field
- off road hacking

South east area
Thank you
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We pay £45 per week (in Kent, close to London borders) for full grass livery. Ours includes turn out in small groups with field shelters, ad lib hay, poo picking and field maintenance, 2 basic feeds and checks per day, (no rug changes!), use of 20 x 40 floodlit school, off road hacking (although it's a bit limited). We have covered stalls to bring in to groom, tack up etc. Our YO keeps spare stables for emergencies, and will bring in for vet and farrier (we have a yard farrier who attends weekly and YO slots us into the schedule). We have storage areas but nowhere secure so we dont leave tack or anything valuable onsite.
 
There is a concrete yard area for bringing in etc, emergency stables, tack rooms, feed rooms and storage. Smaller separate paddocks available if horse needs limited turnout. Fields are very well draining, next to no mud - even around hay rounds, gate ways.
 
My one thought with that would be if you are having paired turnout and one owner rides is the other horse expected to stay out then? That could be tricky for some idiots ;).

Have you mixed Aus up with _GG_?
 
ester said:
My one thought with that would be if you are having paired turnout and one owner rides is the other horse expected to stay out then? That could be tricky for some idiots ;).
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There would be horses either side as also offer individual turnout, obviously some horses may still have separation anxiety despite having horses next door. This is all just plans at the moment, as looking at putting more fields in so it's good to get ideas of what may or may not work. Fields may be bigger to allow for more horses per field l.
 
wingedhorse said:
Its a different price structure if you offer herd turnout, but no dealing with owner daily and horses being ridden. Though I do think what you offer sounds wonderful.

Edited I think I've mixed you up with someone else that does resting herd turnout and is further away?
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Technically, I do herd turnout, with no owners around, or horses being ridden! In reality, most of them are fixed and in work now, and their owners/riders are here pretty much every day!

And I have two herds - girls and boys, because the two combined resulted in very unladylike behaviour from the girls, and much tomfoolery from the boys!

I think you may be thinking of GG though - she does a similar thing, on a larger scale.
 
I pay £350 which includes basic feed, hay/haylage, rug changes, poo picking etc. And holding for farrier/vet. Will also administer any medications as needed.

Also includes a great floodlit 60 x 20, lots of storage and fantastic hacking.
 
A place near me does this at £270-£320 pcm depending on size of horse, groups are a bit bigger (3 - 5) and natural shelter in many of the fields, no field shelters. There are stables available and a tack room, not sure on the school facilities but it's in an area of amazing hacking. I'm in East Dorset.
 
Auslander said:
This is what I do, and reading through this, I think I should put my prices up!

I charge £270 a month, for all the above, but 2 basic feeds a day. No cross country field though
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Which is about the going rate here, maybe a bit more actually. I was paying £40 a week for grass livery inc ad lib hay but not feed, 2 checks a day, but no holding for the farrier etc. It was £42.50 for the same in Bucks. First was individual or herd depending which you wanted, second was herd. Both had Olympic sized schools, second had 4 schools inc 2 indoors
 
wingedhorse said:
Full care as in you poo pick, would deal with vet / farrier / physio appointments, rug changes, fly spray, mud fever, treat wounds etc.

If good well draining ground, good hacking and decent lit school and secure tack and rug storage. I think you could charge £500-600PCM if in right area.
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ihatework said:
I'd concur with this. There would be a limited market willing to pay this, but if your set up is right and the location is sought after then 24/7 turnout might actually be a market differentiator. I'd possibly not have it as high as 600pcm, probably more 400 - but on London outskirts you might achieve higher.

I'd want access to emergency stabling though. And decent surface and hacking.

Be warned that many clients will expect it to be dirt cheap.
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Not sure I agree with this. I'm in prime SE territory and don't pay much more for standard full livery. When I was on full grass livery it was around the £220 mark, although that was quite a few years ago now.
 
FestiveFuzz said:
Not sure I agree with this. I'm in prime SE territory and don't pay much more for standard full livery. When I was on full grass livery it was around the £220 mark, although that was quite a few years ago now.
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I think that is the point, where land cost is very high, full livery with horse stabled at night is often CHEAPER to offer than grass livery, with enough space and land maintenance for it to be done well. As stabled full livery requires less land. Especially with our wetter winters.

My current SE yard, reckons the two livery horses that have no turnout (other than spells in arena, long story as to health reasons why, owner is adamant cannot go in field) cost less to look after than the horses with normal turnout, because of land, fencing, and land care costs.
 
wingedhorse said:
I think that is the point, where land cost is very high, full livery with horse stabled at night is often CHEAPER to offer than grass livery, with enough space and land maintenance for it to be done well. As stabled full livery requires less land. Especially with our wetter winters.

My current SE yard, reckons the two livery horses that have no turnout (other than spells in arena, long story as to health reasons why, owner is adamant cannot go in field) cost less to look after than the horses with normal turnout, because of land, fencing, and land care costs.
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Tis true. My field kept horses take a lot more looking after than the stabled ones. They'd all leave if I charged them what the service is really worth though!
 
Agree you need more land to do grass livery properly however the grass livery market doesn't always want to pay much. People who want their horses to live out and want high standards of care are quite niche.

I was somewhere where I paid £70 per month for grass livery and then paid to the same again for checking once a day, feeding once a day, changing rugs. Just monday to friday as I did weekends.

It wasn't quite as inclusive as yours as I bought my own feed, poo picked at the weekend and bought in hay in the winter. Also yard didn't have a school so not such good facilities.

You'd be surprised as the amount of people who thought the idea of paying extra for checks etc was outrageous and that it should be included in the £70 grass livery.

This would be my perfect set up however, if they were living out I would want the field to be big enough for them to move around and have a proper gallop, not just a small paddock, with natural shelter as well as a field shelter and hedges where they can browse and find variety of food. Not saying yours isn't, just what my musts haves are. I wouldn't want pairs or individual as I have one retired, one working so wouldn't want the retired to be on his own for long periods of time but would prefer small stable groups.

I would pay about £300 to £350 per month.
 
wingedhorse said:
I think that is the point, where land cost is very high, full livery with horse stabled at night is often CHEAPER to offer than grass livery, with enough space and land maintenance for it to be done well. As stabled full livery requires less land. Especially with our wetter winters.

My current SE yard, reckons the two livery horses that have no turnout (other than spells in arena, long story as to health reasons why, owner is adamant cannot go in field) cost less to look after than the horses with normal turnout, because of land, fencing, and land care costs.
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I get what you're saying, but there's a vast difference between what it costs and what someone is willing to pay. My current yard and the previous grass livery yard are probably less than 10mins drive apart with similar facilities so are fairly comparable. The yard that offered grass livery is now private, I suspect it not being worth their while played a part in that decision.

My YO very kindly allowed me to turn Pops away at our yard after her injury. I was paying £340 which included everything you'd expect plus bandage changes, laser therapy and in-hand exercise every day. All my friends thought I was crazy to be paying that much just to have her in a field. Sadly, the majority of people deem grass livery as the cheap option.
 
To me I'd expect full grass livery to be about 2/3rds of the price of full stable livery. Because even if horses are stabled, I'd expect turnout and therefore paddock maintenance would need to be done regardless. Yes if horses are out 24/7 there is maybe a higher frequency of fencing damage etc, but I'm sure there would be maintenance involved with having stables too (keeping roof free of moss, guttering clear and damage by naughty horses etc). No bedding costs for horses living out. However you do need more land for having horses out 24/7 than if they're part stabled. Full grass livery here in Surrey seems to be anything from £250-400.
 
I don't think you would make any money, as everyone wants their horse to live in perfection but they certainly don't want to pay for it. Good luck though.
 
I'd happily pay £400pcm for full grass livery, if only it were available - I have an arthritic TB who would be much better out as much as possible. I'd always prefer a herd rather than pairs turnout. I'm in Yorkshire. I suspect even at that price a decent service wouldn't be making a huge amount of money.

What complicates it is that it's almost more difficult keeping a horse at grass over winter - horses that are in at night can get away (have to, often) with turnout in a quagmire, because they cone in and dry off at night. For 24/7 you need well drained land, and a lot of care to prevent mudfever etc. The land neat me would effectively make 24/7 turnout a physical impossibility unless you had several acres per horse.
 
£300-£350 possibly even more, but I would not want pairs turnout for the same reasons others have not wanting a horse to be left on their own should their field companion need to be removed the field for whatever reason. You might want to have two tier prices as the costs for the feed and adlib hay may vary depending on if you have a good doer pony or a poor doer competition horse living out. You would also need to have horses with similar dietary requirements in the same field because you won't be able to bring one in to increase or decrease the amount of food they get.

I think there definitely would be a market for this as long as you have a covered tie up area or some stalls for horses that are awaiting vet or farrier etc.

As a price comparison I was paying about £140 a month for grass livery about three years ago this was meant to include use of a stable and a field check and our own storage area but towards the end of my time there the YO decided she did not wish to provide any of these any more even though most of us offered to pay more to have them.
 
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Theocat said:
I'd happily pay £400pcm for full grass livery, if only it were available - I have an arthritic TB who would be much better out as much as possible. I'd always prefer a herd rather than pairs turnout. I'm in Yorkshire. I suspect even at that price a decent service wouldn't be making a huge amount of money.

What complicates it is that it's almost more difficult keeping a horse at grass over winter - horses that are in at night can get away (have to, often) with turnout in a quagmire, because they cone in and dry off at night. For 24/7 you need well drained land, and a lot of care to prevent mudfever etc. The land neat me would effectively make 24/7 turnout a physical impossibility unless you had several acres per horse.
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The fields are very well drained, no mud last winter and will see how they hold this winter.
 
I pay £230 (under 14.2hh price bracket shes 14.1hh result!!!)

Includes rug changes
Poo picking
Field maintence
Bringing in for farrier/ vet

Extra on top
-Cost of feed and supplement £13 a month for mine
-Hay- currently not hayed but about £10-20 a month

In Surrey
 
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