So fed up of livery options 😩

[Bobthecob15]

This is a bit of a rant but I’m hoping people might have some suggestions on what we can do??

We live in rural Herefordshire (north, if we were south we’d be laughing!) and there are NO livery yards with an arena with lights near us… and I mean within a 40 minute drive. It drives me bonkers because we pay for part livery (which they call full) and basically can’t ride in the weekdays in winter as I work till after 4ish. My daughter is desperate to ride after school and we can manage a quick ride till about late November but that’s it now till Feb? We have to rely on getting other people on the yard to ride her in the week (more expense) and only if they have time…and hope the weather isn’t too awful at the weekend. She rides in all weathers but pony is a bit of a spooker and gusty winds and her to not mix.

I’ve spent the last 3yrs on every FB group, talking to vets, farriers and spend hours scrolling years old Fb posts trying to find yard with lights! We are on a nice yard now but no lights… we pay a lot for livery (£125 a week) and cannot ride when we want to. We also cannot go up onto the yard until after 10am so riding before school is also out. We go most days so 40 plus mins every day is a lot of time and fuel. It’s just not practical with homework and general life! I’d do 5/2 or assisted DIY but still no lights…only place I’ve found is close but is £160 a week not including riding and I simply can’t afford that.

Is this normal?! Why does living in such a rural area mean no lights?! How do other people manage work and horses if they can’t ride in the evening?

Sorry rant over!!

 

[Dave's Mam]

Is the school in a place where you could park car & use headlights? Some battery lights, solar lights?

 

[Barton Bounty]

How about either solar lights or rechargeable lights to hang on fence?

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Could you supply your own lights? Not ideal, I know, but at least you could ride. I take it the yard has electricity?

 

[Barton Bounty]

Is the school in a place where you could park car & use headlights? Some battery lights, solar lights?

Great minds

 

[Bobthecob15]

Is the school in a place where you could park car & use headlights? Some battery lights, solar lights?

Not really! There is a car park down one end but it’s 60x30 so wouldn’t be massively effective. They also have terrible neighbours who block everything they want to do and have already said they want the council to ban any future plans for lighting… so YO wouldn’t allow it unfortunately. Technically they are already breaking planning permission rules by having more than the specified number of liveries and hiring out the arena… the neighbours are on them like hawks!

I should also say we are the only liveries who actually need to go up in the afternoon/evening.. the others are able to ride in daylight x

 

[Dave's Mam]

If you're just hanging some lights for the time your daughter is riding, therefore not permanent & if early evening, is that affected by planning? It's a short term thing for what, an hour every few days in the week?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

This is a bit of a rant but I’m hoping people might have some suggestions on what we can do??

We live in rural Herefordshire (north, if we were south we’d be laughing!) and there are NO livery yards with an arena with lights near us… and I mean within a 40 minute drive. It drives me bonkers because we pay for full livery and basically can’t ride in the weekdays in winter as I work till after 4ish. My daughter is desperate to ride after school and we can manage a quick ride till about late November but that’s it now till Feb? We have to rely on getting other people on the yard to ride her in the week (more expense) and only if they have time…and hope the weather isn’t too awful at the weekend. She rides in all weathers but pony is a bit of a spooker and gusty winds and her to not mix.

I’ve spent the last 3yrs on every FB group, talking to vets, farriers and spend hours scrolling years old Fb posts trying to find yard with lights! We are on a nice yard now but no lights… we pay a lot for livery (£125 a week) and cannot ride when we want to. We also cannot go up onto the yard until after 10am so riding before school is also out. We go most days so 40 plus mins every day is a lot of time and fuel. It’s just not practical with homework and general life! I’d do part livery or assisted DIY but still no lights…only place I’ve found is close but is £160 a week not including riding and I simply can’t afford that.

Is this normal?! Why does living in such a rural area mean no lights?! How do other people manage work and horses if they can’t ride in the evening?

Sorry rant over!!

My part livery is £ 127 a week but we have two schools with lights. £ 125 for full livery is cheap here in Bucks - Though I am old school and I call Full livery everything - feed -bedding -exercise -hay -tack cleaning - grooming -the lot = full Livery

My Part is everything except riding tack cleaning and grooming.


Saying that - to me full should offer a decent school at the very least, otherwise your just paying part livery. As for not being allowed on yard till 10am that is bad, mine are allowed after 7.30am and early as long as we know.
Too enjoy your horses I would consider moving yards.

MY thoughts have always been.


I would rather drive further to my horse and have a good yard to enjoy the horses, than have them on my doorstep and have cr4p schooling and hacking. I used to live in London and keep my horses 35 mins away but at least I enjoyed them once I got there.


Worth thinking about.

 

[Bobthecob15]

My part livery is £ 127 a week but we have two schools with lights. £ 125 for full livery is cheap - Though I am old school and I call Full livery everything - feed bedding exercise hay tack cleaning - the lot + full Livery

My Part is everything except riding tack cleaning.


Saying that - to me full should over a decent school at the very least, otherwise your just paying part livery.

It’s part livery… no riding, feed or tack cleaning or grooming, they just call it full livery. I’m old too and to me it’s part!

 

[Bobthecob15]

My part livery is £ 127 a week but we have two schools with lights. £ 125 for full livery is cheap - Though I am old school and I call Full livery everything - feed bedding exercise hay tack cleaning - the lot + full Livery

My Part is everything except riding tack cleaning.


Saying that - to me full should over a decent school at the very least, otherwise your just paying part livery. As for not being allowed on yard till 10am that is bad, mine are allowed after 7.30am and early as long as we know.
Too enjoy your horses I would consider moving yards.

MY thoughts have always been.


I would rather driver further to my horse and have a good yard to enjoy the horses, than have them on my doorstep and have cr4p schooling and hacking. I used to liver in London and keep my horses 35 mins away but at least I enjoyed them once I got there.


Worth thinking about.

I’ve done that before, used to live in London too and drove 45 mins every day to my horse. It’s not affordable now with fuel costs and it would mean we’d not get home until 7pm and then she has to do homework, dinner, bath etc.. I’m just not doing it. If it was just me then fair enough I’d probably do it!

Husband also not keen on that option!

Ugh it’s frustrating

 

[Merry neddy man]

Maybe somewhere you don't know of on these, www.*******.co.uk and www.*******.com

 

[Jambarissa]

I personally would keep further away and go less often since the horse is cared for. Going Tues and Thurs then at weekends.

Obviously lights of your own of some description might work.

What type of riding does daughter want to do? You can see well enough on a clear night to school at walk and trot, maybe with a few headlamps or something. My horses gallop around at night without hitting anything so they can obviously see. Or do something different - you lead and she rides bareback/without stirrups /without reins or tries to walk an accurate course through poles or adapts some working equitation moves.

Proper lights need planning permission, since there is absolutely nowhere near you the local planning department might be very strict on them.

 

[Squeak]

I’ve ridden with a headtorch in the past. It’s not as good as floodlights but it is doable once or twice a week so that you then are riding three or four times a week once you’ve ridden at the weekend too.

Agree with Jamabrassa that in your scenario I’d go three or four times a week if time is tight during the week.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

I feel your pain but presumably you accepted the facilities, restrictions and charges before you moved in. Whether it’s full or part livery is irrelevant. Could your daughter enjoy spending time with her pony without actually riding. February will soon be here.

 

[marmalade76]

I'd say it's normal NOT to have lights. I'd also say it's normal not to be able to ride after school in the middle of winter.

 

[sassandbells]

I do almost everything by headtorch. I’m diy, have fields and stables/storage to myself but no electric. no school but we have a field to ride in, I’ll either set a headtorch up on one side of the arena just to give us a bit of light or ride with it on, depends on the weather and how the Welsh mare is feeling that day. You can get some really good head torches now that light up a lot.

Or if I’m lucky my dad will come down and watch me ride with the headtorch on and light up the areas in front of me but that’s not often

In the stables / storage I have the battery powered push lights. We also used to have some hanging battery powered lanterns that worked quite well but not for windy areas! It’s a slog in winter but doable.

I do think it’s normal to not be able to ride after school in winter. I typically give up and stick to just weekends but this year I’m trying to keep my mares weight down - rather unsuccessfully!

If these are important to you then I’d probably look at moving and perhaps going less often if it’s an option?

ETA: again not sure if it’s an option, but my parents used to drop me at school early so I could do my homework in the mornings & ride in the evenings.

 

[dougpeg]

I have one of these and they are fab. The charge lasts for ages and it kicks out a good amount of light. One each side of the school would do the job. https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-rechargeable-led-work-light-with-power-bank-4000lm/428PP?tc=GC2

 

[Mero]

If you look at how horses eyes work they do not need lights in order to be safely ridden in an arena, in fact because of how slowly their eyes adjust from bright to dark areas, they are better without them, unless you have an area lit up light broad daylight. So I personally ride in the dark and trust in my horse, as long as the arena surface is well maintained. I find it fascinating riding and doing groundwork in the dark as you can feel so much more happening through your seat and reins, it changes the conversation. The only thing I miss is when doing groundwork or bodywork I can’t see the subtle blinks and twitches I might be looking for when seeking release/relaxation, so although my horses are fine with it I am a bit more of a blunt tool in that regard.

 

[webble]

I used to ride in the dark at my old yard that didn't have lights, if I'm honest I preferred it to the lights on my new yard. On a cold crisp night it's lovely

 

[ycbm]

Why does living in such a rural area mean no lights

I know it doesn't help you but it's a standard planning condition in unlit rural areas, to reduce light pollution.

 

[TheHairyOne]

I also just ride in the dark or would be in the same position as you and my horse is the type to take an age to get fit so not riding all week for 3 months really isnt an option.

Its actually easier with no lights than trying to light up bits as then your eyes adjust as well as the horses. On the clear nights with a moon we have pure white poles and its fine to do pole work as well. The only thing i dont do is jump. But ive only been on one yard with a lit arena where the lights were good enough to do that at night anyway!

 

[TGM]

I agree with the suggestion to use your own portable lights for the school. We are in AONB and although we got planning for an arena, we aren't allowed to haver permanent lights. When daughter was commuting to London we used rechargeable LED work lights that we affixed to tall electric fence posts attached to the corners of the school, in a way that they could be taken down in between rides. As a temporary fixture they didn't need planning. This was enough for flatwork and lungeing, leaving jumping to be done at the weekend.

If your YO won't let you do that, is it worth looking for another yard where, although they might not have permanent lights, they would let you use portable lights and/or ride in the mornings before school?

 

[Tiddlypom]

I know it doesn't help you but it's a standard planning condition in unlit rural areas, to reduce light pollution.

This. Arena lights are an intrusive form of light pollution, and can be very distracting for neighbours.

When we put in for PP for my home arena in 2011, we deliberately didn’t add arena lights to the application as we knew we wouldn’t have them approved anyway. The PP sailed through without issue but the council still put a caveat on the PP to state ‘No arena lights’.

Your current yard has neighbours who have made it clear that they don’t want lights going up. If you circumvent this by putting temporary battery lights up while your daughter rides you will create more of an issue for the yard.

One set of near neighbours with an arena right by the road ignored the ‘No arena lights’ part of their PP and put them up anyway. They were very distracting and dazzling to passing road traffic. Someone (not me) dibbed them in to the planning dept and they were forced to take them down.

 

[honetpot]

This is a bit of a rant but I’m hoping people might have some suggestions on what we can do??

We live in rural Herefordshire (north, if we were south we’d be laughing!) and there are NO livery yards with an arena with lights near us… and I mean within a 40 minute drive. It drives me bonkers because we pay for part livery (which they call full) and basically can’t ride in the weekdays in winter as I work till after 4ish. My daughter is desperate to ride after school and we can manage a quick ride till about late November but that’s it now till Feb? We have to rely on getting other people on the yard to ride her in the week (more expense) and only if they have time…and hope the weather isn’t too awful at the weekend. She rides in all weathers but pony is a bit of a spooker and gusty winds and her to not mix.

I’ve spent the last 3yrs on every FB group, talking to vets, farriers and spend hours scrolling years old Fb posts trying to find yard with lights! We are on a nice yard now but no lights… we pay a lot for livery (£125 a week) and cannot ride when we want to. We also cannot go up onto the yard until after 10am so riding before school is also out. We go most days so 40 plus mins every day is a lot of time and fuel. It’s just not practical with homework and general life! I’d do 5/2 or assisted DIY but still no lights…only place I’ve found is close but is £160 a week not including riding and I simply can’t afford that.

Is this normal?! Why does living in such a rural area mean no lights?! How do other people manage work and horses if they can’t ride in the evening?

Sorry rant over!!

I used to mothball our ponies over winter, from about October to March. If we were lucky we could keep one going with hacking at the weekend to keep it fit enough to go to the Boxing Day meet, as they were out 24/7.
As soon as the nights started to pull out in March we would start again, we had no school and no lights, just road work and hacking, I had them from four so they knew the routine so there were no high jinks.
I would find somewhere where they can stay out as much as possible, and save some money. TBH I am very anti working always in a school, its work for them not fun and they soon get peed off.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I used to ride in a unlit arena for years without any issues your eyes adjust to it after 5 minutes and horses definitely don't need lights to see properly.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Is this normal?! Why does living in such a rural area mean no lights?!

I'm afraid this sounds like the typical "townie moves to country and wants to turn it into town" that we see a lot round here. We don't want light pollution in rural areas. I can only suggest that you relocate to somewhere that suits you better.

 

[ester]

If there's only one of you in the school riding in the dark works fine. If there's more than one it depends on the colour of the other horse/if there are other lights around ie our yard lights mean you can't see as well riding towards them. A head torch would probably solve that

 

[HorsesRule2009]

I just ride in the dark.
We do have 1 small light attached to the barn that sort of lights the arena that I use if having a lesson, but if I'm just riding I don't bother with the ligt and ride in the dark.
As someone above said your eyes soon adjust and horses see far better than us in the dark

 

[Cloball]

No lights round here either there's a couple of yards with indoors though. I'm not brave enough to ride in the dark so we're just hacking at the weekends until Feb

 

[maya2008]

I have ridden in the dark plenty - the horse can see fine. So long as you can see the rough shape of the fence it’s not an issue.