Producing your horse on a livery yard... advice

[anuvb]

A bit long but i could do with thoughts, advice and shared experiences.

Ok so I am a competent amateur; worked with horses when I was younger and been with horses a long time, produced youngsters and bought horses to bring on and sell etc. I don't plan on setting the world alight but do like producing my own sports/competiton horses.

My dilemma is that I am on a local yard which is pretty basic but with good turnout and a very decent school. I get on well with the owners and am more or less left to my own devices. Barring a year out at another yard whcoh offered a walker, i have been on my current yard a long time. Over that time the liveries have come and gone but we have been a reasonably decent bunch. But currently we have a fairly 'vocal' bunch on there who are creating issues which the yard owner (older person) has clearly lost the will to deal with.

90 percent of the time I can steer clear but just recently their attitudes are spilling over to the other, few decent liveries and the atmosphere is beginning to get me a bit down. The yard owner won't address it (I have asked), as they are only keeping liveries as a bit of a hobby & don't want the aggravation.

Long and short of it is that I have been considering moving despite the yard working well for me in every other way. I have a couple of other options locally available but they are on much bigger, busier yards. My experience of similar yards in the past has been that everyone wants to use the facilities at the same time and that bringing on sparky youngsters is much more difficult as liveries hate sharing the school with horses that might have the odd explosion (I can't promise that a 4 year old warmblood will be foot perfect all the time). And I need to use the facilities around working hours and to prep the horses for competing.

It seems really difficult to get a livery yard which really knows and understands how young sports horses can be. And i know in my heart of hearts I probably need to sit it out at my current yard, but I was wondering how many of you competition riders who produce young horses around a non-horsey job manage it? Do you deliberately pick smaller, quieter yards or can it work on a busy one? Do I need to just grow a pair and move and tell the other liveries to put up with my spooky youngster?

Thanks for getting this far...

 

[superpony]

I am one of the few people on my yard who compete and I find a lot of people are not happy to share the school with me on my older horse.. even though hes an absolute saint and isn't phased by much incase it causes their horse to be naughty!!! (When 99% of them never put a hoof out of place).

So don't even start me on wanting to share the school with my nappy, slightly quirky tb!

I would say its a medium sized yard but gets busy during peak times (weekends and late nights) so I have to book the school to ride to ensure I can get in (always happy to share with everyone and anybody) incase someone is riding who will not share.

 

[ihatework]

It's probably worth sounding out any potential new yards school policy before you move. Just be sure you can get access at times you are likely to want to ride and that it doesn't get booked out sole use to the nervous nellies.

At a big yard there will always be a mixed bunch to contend with, as long as the school is open access/shared then generally those that don't want to share will need to either get over themselves or use the school at quiet times.

I suppose it's all within reason though - if you have a seriously wild one it would be considerate to try and minimise your horse killing everyone else!!

 

[Flame_]

I think if you might have regular trouble controlling a horse and would be difficult to ride with, either you would have to be prepared to go down very early or late to get the school to yourself (I've had to do this!), go on a yard with a booking system or stick to small yards.

 

[EQUIDAE]

Could you look for a competition yard? My cousin used to have issues like yours but now she is on a SJ yard she finds that people are busy with their own horses (that they actually ride) and are more likely to be supportive than bitchy

 

[CrazyMare]

I've had this in the past and sat it out. It did improve.

I'm just about to bring my 4 year old back into work so I feel that there will be plenty of 8pm riding to get the school to myself or shared only with others that are like-minded.

 

[Micropony]

At the yard where I keep my 4yo WB there are lots of youngsters (YOs also produce and sell) so nobody bats an eye or makes a fuss, as long as we're all considerate to one another it works well. People are used to how young horses behave so they will give you a bit of room etc. when necessary without making something out of nothing, if you know what I mean. Is there anywhere like that near you?

 

[anuvb]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately there isn't anywhere within a 40 minute commute which is good with youngsters. Lots proclaiming to be, but in practice are often full livery and not that great as they promise one thing and do another, inexperienced staff etc (usual livery issues) as I have tried them over the years. And the competition yards tend to be the opposite end of the spectrum where no one is around after 6pm and when I am on horse that might like to ditch me I like to know someone might notice if I am lying in a heap! I would travel further but as I work long hours, and have family commitments, I really need to be somewhere close to home.

Lol i am obviously too fussy! The daft part is I am not that fussed about facilities if I can use a floodlit school, but with youngsters regular, consistent work is essential. Stop start does them no favours in my experience.

I think I will sit it out for another month or two and see how it goes. The weather is so awful that the need to be able to access the school is even more important right now...

 

[Pigeon]

It might be out of the frying pan and into the fire a little, going from a small yard to a really big one! I would stick it out til the spring

 

[kassieg]

I've done big yard - major no !

Little yard where people didn't really have a clue - fine but people constantly petrified! & generally useless if I needed a hand.

Best I found was a little point yard who had a few liveries. They were used to nutty horses & were there for a hand if needed & if not left alone. Plus they always worked during rhe day so I had the school all to myself on an evening. Would have stayed here had I not found my own place
I sacrificed a school for my own space & do not regret it even after the wet winter we have had!

I always found it wasn't so bad once I was on but it was doing the long lining etc that was hard with others in the school cause if they have a paddy fit & take you skiing then god knows who you will take out!

 

[anuvb]

I've done big yard - major no !

Little yard where people didn't really have a clue - fine but people constantly petrified! & generally useless if I needed a hand.

Best I found was a little point yard who had a few liveries. They were used to nutty horses & were there for a hand if needed & if not left alone. Plus they always worked during rhe day so I had the school all to myself on an evening. Would have stayed here had I not found my own place
I sacrificed a school for my own space & do not regret it even after the wet winter we have had!

I always found it wasn't so bad once I was on but it was doing the long lining etc that was hard with others in the school cause if they have a paddy fit & take you skiing then god knows who you will take out!

Ha ha this my worry 😁 the problem with most livery yards is that people expect horses to be foot perfect and get a bit daunted by big moving warmblood even when they are going well. Your previous set up sounds similar to my current one... just a shame for me about the other liveries.... sigh! Better win the lottery and get my own place!

 

[smja]

I would just carry on with what you're doing and ignore them. Horses are horses.

I'm on a big yard. Some horses have specific issues - their rider makes everyone aware of those so no-one inadvertently causes an explosion, and then everyone carries on schooling around each other. If someone wants to canter a baby or something, they can ask for people to stand in the middle for 5 mins and most of us are happy to comply.
Generally, the feeling is that we have all been, or might someday be, in the shoes of the person riding the youngster/idiot horse

 

[sarahann1]

I would just carry on with what you're doing and ignore them. Horses are horses.

I'm on a big yard. Some horses have specific issues - their rider makes everyone aware of those so no-one inadvertently causes an explosion, and then everyone carries on schooling around each other. If someone wants to canter a baby or something, they can ask for people to stand in the middle for 5 mins and most of us are happy to comply.
Generally, the feeling is that we have all been, or might someday be, in the shoes of the person riding the youngster/idiot horse

This, I'm in a bigger yard and we've had a few quirky horses over the years, we're fortunate the arena is pretty big. Mostly we all just get on with it and keep out of others way. I see riding with quirky horses as good practice for being out and about, I expect my horses to behave regardless of what's going on around them.