Retirement Livery what would you want?

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LOU83

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Looking at doing a small retirement livery Shropshire/Staffordshire area. What would you look for and what would you pay?
 
LOU83 said:
Looking at doing a small retirement livery Shropshire/Staffordshire area. What would you look for and what would you pay?
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Personally the only thing I would care about is safe turnout (and plenty of it) and a safe, dry & clean stable!

Hacking would also be wanted, as I don't think I would ever fully retire mine (unless of health issues etc) so I would still want to plod around on them!
 
live out 24/7 - daily (twice)! checks....no broken fences/bailiing twine knocking about and around £40 per week :)

stable available too just in case!
 
live out 24/7 - 365 days (so plenty of grazing)
Access to barn/ large enough or multiple field shelters
Emergancy stable for injuries to be treated
help in the first year to rough off - get shoes off and wean them off rugs (so rug changes/ checks for a while)
Regular farrier
Regular worming / counts
Hay in field in winter
Salt/ mineral lick available
Same sex groups - Personal perference for me
Regular / every couple of weeks - 2 line update e-mail and photo (unless you were happy for me to come every week or so to check myself)

Price wise it would depend on whether it was all inclusive (worming etc.) or whether extras were on top of basic price. Basic £30/40 a week then up from there if hay etc included
 
the few things id want which is so hard to actually find now are:

someone kind and responsible on site incase anything goes wrong
a safe warm stable
safe fields no horrible nasty fencing or anything( my old ones never admitted they were old in the field :rolleyes:
somewhere to still have a play around with your horse
and a yard with smiley faces happy horses x
 
Good summer grazing (as in suitable rather than rich) with good natural shelter and well drained. For the winter, again grazing with a bit of length to it and then ad lib hay when needed.

Small stable group of similar horses so they could hang out as a herd.

A kind person who really cares about the horses to look after them.

I would like to pay £40 pw all year round (horse is good doer). Plus worming, teeth, jabs, feet etc. This is whilst the horse is retired with no special needs. Once the teeth start to go and additional soaked feed etc needed then I would expect the price to be part livery prices.
 
Thanks guys that gives me a great guide for price, I think for basic stable and grazing our fields will be fine. We have field shelters in paddocks already and are finishing off the indoor stable block which I'm going to look at putting in cameras as that maybe a good option to have. And the 24/7 all round care is no problem. So by all your thoughts im not too far off. Polos mum good idea about salt lick being available that's a nice extra touch.
 
This depends if you are full livery? Full livery to look after someone elses horse even if its out all the time for £30/40 per week. I would want at least £60 if people just leave them for you to look after. I find that very sad, and surely they would want to see and bring the horse in every day not just leave it in a field, brush and fuss over it. Isnt a horse still a friend and loved one.
 
Grim thought I know but I would like to see a calm, easily accessed and cleaned area where when the end comes the remains can be removed without fuss and trauma. Obviously this assumes that it's elective.
 
Yes it would have to start at £60 basic as it would be 24/7 looking after the oldies, i want to offer a first class retirement for a select few horses with a really good level of care. Looking at having 3-4 max as already have some livery's on yard. I would not be looking at the person who wants to leave the horse out in a paddock with a general check really.
 
Wherabouts Lou83? I often get asked and I am limiting my numbers these days as I don't want to over stock and trash my land - I could pass your details on if you PM me. I charge a minimum of £140 per calendar month for grass keep and home grown haylage, daily checks etc, and TBH that is cheap if you think of the amount of time it takes, changing rugs etc, fetching in for trims, more for bigger horses. Even then you hear a sharp intake of breath when people are enquiring - I know 2 other people who do it and they charge at least half as much again, because there may well be occasions for the horse's welfare when they need stabling.
 
LOU83 said:
Yes it would have to start at £60 basic as it would be 24/7 looking after the oldies, i want to offer a first class retirement for a select few horses with a really good level of care. Looking at having 3-4 max as already have some livery's on yard. I would not be looking at the person who wants to leave the horse out in a paddock with a general check really.
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Sorry but I wouldn't pay £60 per week for retirement livery. When I was looking a couple of years ago for my oldie I found quite a few GOOD places for around £35/£40 per week. They offered what I wanted, which was twice daily checks, extensive grazing and field shelters, plus haylage/hard feed when required. I also wouldn't want my horse on retirement livery on a working yard - ie a livery yard as personally I think retirement livery should be just that - not all comings and goings, but a calm, quiet atmosphere.
 
LOU83 said:
Yes it would have to start at £60 basic as it would be 24/7 looking after the oldies,
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24/7? Not really - I would pay £40 (£50 at a push) maximum.

I would not be looking at the person who wants to leave the horse out in a paddock with a general check really.
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Which is pretty much what people expect for retirement livery. 24/7 access to good quality grazing all year round (with a stable available for emergencies).
 
LOU83 said:
I would not be looking at the person who wants to leave the horse out in a paddock with a general check really.
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I must have missed the point but I thought that not having to go every day/ week was the whole point of retirement livery? Somewhere pieceful and stable where a well loved oldie can spend his time relaxing in a herd.

If you have to go every day to check them why not just basic DIY round the corner - which is c.£25 a week.
 
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