Question for Livery Yard Owners

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nijinsky

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South Lincs
www.xaraymax.co.uk
Are there “business rules and regulations” to having liveries or is it just an agreement between you & the livery. Eg. if you had loads of land at home (too much for your own horses), had extra stabling that you didn’t use and the demand was there – could you just decide to have liveries or isn’t it as easy as that.

I’m not questioning the hassle/non hassle side of having liveries – more the legal side of things. If you are earning from it, should you declare it and can you actually make a living from it (as remembering back to when I was in livery YO was adamant she didn’t get anything out of having liveries, what with business rates, water rates, insurances etc) so can it/does it work financially? Can you give up your day job so to speak. Thanks.
 

Hellooo!

You would need to arrange business insurance and change of use on your land from Private to Business - costly, we looked at 1 livery and it wasn't worth it with the amounts SHDC quoted us.

I know someone who used ti d it without - until they got reported then the bill was huge
crazy.gif
 
Hi ya,

It's not something I'm planning to do where I am now as not enough room but if we moved and had more land was pondering the idea. I didn't think it was as easy as that though. Thanks.
 
A handful of liveries will not make you money as your costs with insurance, business rates, repairs, building work etc. will swallow up any "profits" made. I honestly wouldn't bother having 1 or 2 liveries as if you sit down and do the maths, then you will find often they actually cost you money to have there, rather than you making any money from them.

Realistically, you would need about 10 liveries to actually make anything on them, and the amount you would make would be enough to cover the costs of perhaps 3 of your own horses over the year.

To make any proper money out of liveries, you really need to have at least double the figure above and you would have to research where your profit margins lie ie. what type of livery gives the best return for the least amount of output. Back in England my best returns were on full liveries, however over here it is the opposite; grass liveries bring in the best profit margins here.

What you need to do to make any sort of living from livery stables is to find another business which compliments having them. For example, here the main part of my own business is producing high grade hay and selling good quality horses; the livery part is really a side-line which, although not insignificant, brings in consistent money each month to keep us ticking over during the quiet months. Even with 20-odd liveries, there is no way that they alone could bring in enough money to pay for our lifestyle.

The other problem with having a livery yard is, if you only have a handful of horses there, then you don't need to have so many facilities, if any; however once you get more liveries, you need to offer more to tempt/keep them, which in itself will start to cost you more money putting in place the infrastructure.

Of course if you choose your location well and have direct bridleway access and/or are close to large riding venues, then you will be able to run off the back of these facilities, hence you won't have such a great financial output but you will get the customers.

Running a livery yard, for me anyway, is something I've done now for about 15 years and it really is something that is in my veins and I enjoy it a lot. It is really more of a vocation rather than a money-making business.
 
Thanks for that. Very informative and some very interesting points you've made. It's a topic hubby & I have been discussing. I know a few people who have liveries in "on the quiet", though I'm not sure "how quiet" it would stay if things went wrong to the other end of the scale where it's a proper livery yard/riding school with all the facilities, though I'd more than likely be at the smaller end of the scale.
 
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I know a few people who have liveries in "on the quiet", though I'm not sure "how quiet" it would stay if things went wrong

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that is a big problem , technically effectively planning permission is needed from the council , business rates are payble & you need to declare the income

all it takes is a neighbour who takes exception or a disgruntled livery & you are in the poo big time

when i first bought my place i kept getting letters from the court services for the previous owners who had run the place on the quiet & i myself have had the council turn up after receiving a report that i ran the place as a livery yard , i don't & luckily they didn't think otherwise so nothing came of it
 
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