Sole use yard- questions

[Pony1256]

Hello, there are a couple of us who are currently on livery and are thinking of trying to find a sole use yard between us.

Can anyone tell us what costs we should factor in other than the usual hay, bedding, electricity, water etc?

Thank you.

 

[ihatework]

Fence and other general repairs/maintenance, insurance, harrow/roll/spray, muck heap removal,

 

[holeymoley]

What about muck heap removal, structural maintenance- who repairs and who pays. Field management- will they need topped/harrowed etc

 

[teapot]

Electricity
Water
Muck removal
Bedding
Hay
Feed
Fencing and maintenance
Grazing maintenance and management
Poo picking
General maintenance of boxes/tack room
Security costs
Insurance
Arena maintenance and harrowing equipment (if the yard has one)
Purchase of kit for said yard from barrows to poles, wings etc
Biscuits/tea provision

 

[Pony1256]

Brilliant thanks for all this.

For those that have gone down this route, how have you dealt with security since that is a huge factor for us? Have you installed cameras or other means?
Thank you.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Plus in addition to above (if required) hedge cutting, tree maintenance etc.
Def get things like any trees specified in a contract. Next door renter got in a pickle as a huge oak came down 2 yrs ago. It happens. In the contract it stated she was responsible for clearing. No quote was under £400.....

Best thing to have is a v good contract laying down what the yard renter is responsible for. Plus when taking a yard on, get film footage and photos of everything, agree it with YO.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Consider what would happen if your sharer decided to move back to the first yard. Would it leave you high and dry? I mention this as I have seen this play out a few times, and quite often one half of the partnership changes their mind either just before moving, or just after. And make absolutely sure that tasks/costs are shared.

 

[black and brown]

What is access like? Can the muck heap be easily removed all year round e.g by a tractor and trailer? Can hay deliveries be made? If you have a lorry or trailer is it easy to access the yard and turn round?

 

[Merry neddy man]

First aid kit for horses and humans. Dont forget to inform vets farrier etc of new address. Is council tax extra or inclusive, a very good contract inc payment dates and notification dates..

 

[Winters100]

I would be really careful about this arrangement. You will need to be sure that you are both willing and able to cover capital expenses, and you will need to decide in advance what to do in the event of a dispute. If you will be renting the yard I would assume that you will both sign the lease, and thus be jointly and severably liable for the rent. What happens if your friend cannot afford the rent - would it be affordable to you? These things often sound like nice ideas, but can quickly turn into a nightmare if things go wrong.

 

[ponynutz]

maintenace and repairs (good to aet aside some monthly for this even if only a tenner a month), muck heap removal, maintenance and repairs again

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Lots of great points above. Also be prepared that you’ll spend more time maintaining everything than actually doing anything with your horse (the only sunny days this week I was out on the tractor sorting the summer paddocks before we rest them for winter, and technically it was still damper than I’d like for that sort of thing).

In terms of security, we have wifi cameras in the stables and over the paddocks, but we live on-site so that was fairly easy for my tech savvy husband to setup.

 

[Pony1256]

Brilliant, this has all been so helpful since so many different points to consider.

 

[Corunna]

Just a note of caution,the small yard I rent stipulates no sub-letting as the owners had to employ Baliffs to resolve a previous “sharing” arrangement!

 

[clairebearfur1]

Hello, there are a couple of us who are currently on livery and are thinking of trying to find a sole use yard between us.

Can anyone tell us what costs we should factor in other than the usual hay, bedding, electricity, water etc?

Thank you.

Just make sure you have a good think about it, my friend done this and everyon fell out

 

[Sprogladite01]

Another cost to consider is pest control if required

 

[rextherobber]

Sole use is fantastic, but I'd never consider doing it on a shared basis again, there are always those who don't pull their weight with chores, and even little things like prioritising riding over poo picking in the winter can cause enormous issues. The time spent on maintenance will be at least double what you imagine it will be, and the cost of equipment needed for field maintenance - unless you've got a fairly large acreage, you'll always be way ,way down contractor's list of jobs, so it's often better to do it yourself. I found I was always the one organising the hay delivery etc, and then listening to every excuse under the sun for why they couldn't help unload/ pay on the day etc... I am so, so happy to finally genuinely be solo!

 

[dorsetladette]

AS @rextherobber has said - you need to be really straight with each other about what jobs you are prepared to let slip in winter during the week.

IE poo picking at mine (sole use and only person here currently) is done daily round the hay feeder, shelter and water troughs and the rest of the field is left for the weekends. would you be happy with that? Same goes for water troughs - topped up all week and then cleaned out at the weekend.

Pest control is often one that is missed.

Maintenance - A yard a used to share we had a kitty which we paid into every month. About £3.50 each of us. This was used for all our maintenance through out the year. This worked quite well as long as everyone agrees what the money is spent on in advance.
After the first water bill we worked out the monthly water cost and did the same with that. No nasty surprises!

Also the cost of a good freelancer if one of you falls ill/goes away/injures yourself. If one does morning and one does afternoons in the week this could make it hard work for the other person.

These 'shared' places only really work if your horses are all in the same routine with similar needs/requirements. Otherwise a person with an easy keeper can get quite disheartened doing there share of the care of a high maintenance horse. and also start questioning their share of the costs. Imagine you have a fat cob that needs restricted turnout/grazing in summer sharing with a lean TB which has the run of the place. Would it seem fair that your horse has a tiny paddock and the other horse has a huge field? if finances were tight you might start to question it.

Another thing to think about is it gets quite lonely in winter. I'm not a people person at all but I find it a little isolating in winter. No shows, no one popping over in the evenings or weekends as your all in the same boat trying to get jobs done while its still daylight. So, if your a social person this might be hard if you are sharing visits in the week - you just won't see each other.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Just a note of caution,the small yard I rent stipulates no sub-letting as the owners had to employ Baliffs to resolve a previous “sharing” arrangement!

Agreed. The 4 yards near me are all contractually let to one person each per plot, 2 allow for the renter to have a single livery, but in all 4 cases, the contract is with 1 person who is ultimately responsible for payment of rent and all repairs, upkeep etc.

 

[Nasicus]

I shared a private yard with a friend for 4 years, we tried turnout together which was fine, but we found it worked even better when we split the land between us and managed our halves as we saw fit. We had very similar requirements for our horses, basically 24/7 turn out on a track, but there was no worry about putting too much or too little hay out, giving too much or too little grass each day (both strip grazed our respective tracks), how we wanted to handle winter etc. Worked really well, as we were there to help each other out and would make sure noones horses had any legs hanging off. I miss those times, we only left as the land was sold by LO

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

Sole use is fantastic, but I'd never consider doing it on a shared basis again, there are always those who don't pull their weight with chores, and even little things like prioritising riding over poo picking in the winter can cause enormous issues. The time spent on maintenance will be at least double what you imagine it will be, and the cost of equipment needed for field maintenance - unless you've got a fairly large acreage, you'll always be way ,way down contractor's list of jobs, so it's often better to do it yourself. I found I was always the one organising the hay delivery etc, and then listening to every excuse under the sun for why they couldn't help unload/ pay on the day etc... I am so, so happy to finally genuinely be solo!

I'm in the process of moving from sole use with 2 others back to livery mainly due to the reasons you've mentioned.
I spend hours & upon hours fencing, fixing things such as roofs and gates, lugging hay & water etc which equates to an exhausted me & little time spent with horses, let alone riding! So I'm going back to livery so I can actually enjoy the time with my horses rather than all the chores.
Adding up the extra I'll be spending on livery vs what I spend on hay, fencers, fencing etc, there's barely anything in it!
Most annoyingly I've spent thousands doing the yard up with the view of it being my long term yard, & I'm now handing back a lovely place & having to chalk it up as a mistake.

AS @rextherobber
Another thing to think about is it gets quite lonely in winter. I'm not a people person at all but I find it a little isolating in winter. No shows, no one popping over in the evenings or weekends as your all in the same boat trying to get jobs done while its still daylight. So, if your a social person this might be hard if you are sharing visits in the week - you just won't see each other.

Another huge thing, not able to find reliable help & then the person or people sharing with you are injured/ill/pregnant, you could potentially end up looking after everything yourself & on your own. Speaking from experience. Feeding & haying 4 horses in the dark by headtorch after long shifts risking being kicked etc is something I won't do again.

In theory it sounds amazing and could well be. But add it all up, warts and all before you make the decision.
I'd rather be totally totally solo with a reliable freelancer (hard to find) than share.