Surely this makes sense... right?!?

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Epona78

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I've never owned my own horse before but plan on buying one next Autumn. This was how I assumed things work: I find a yard I like and wait for a vacancy to come up, or find a good field local to me, secure the field or the (DIY) livery vacancy and THEN look for my horse (obviously while paying rent on the empty field or stable). Isn't that how it is done? I only ask because a couple of people have made funny remarks along the lines of "why is she enquiring about livery, she hasn't even got a horse yet!". Surely it makes more sense this way round, rather than buying a horse then trying to find somewhere to keep it - what would you do with him in the meantime, put him in the spare room :rolleyes: ???
Is this how it's usually done?
Also, if you are a YO/M, how long would you allow someone to keep renting your field/stable if it was empty? Would it make a difference to you as long as I kept paying the rent? Obviously I wouldn't want to rush out and buy the first horse I saw just because the stable or field had been secured.
Any thoughts? Sorry if this is a stupid question. T.I.A
 
Given how much trouble some people have finding a suitable horse I'd think you were a bit barking to pay for an empty stable for, say, six months!

Just re-reading, if you're not planning to buy for 10 months then I wouldn't be pestering livery yards for detailed tours, costs etc because a heck of a lot can change with them in 10 months and tbh to me, you'd look like a dreamer.

Around the time you start looking for a horse start making detailed enquiries about livery. IMHO
 
In my case I've looked for the livery and the horse at the same time. This is probably helped by the fact there are quite a few yards near me. Find a few I liked with vacancies and find a horse! Then go back to the yards I liked that had vacancies and find out if its still there.

If not still free I'd pay for livery and upkeep of the horse where it is and move when a vacancy found.
 
I would be waiting until you are actively looking for a horse and look for a yard/ field at that point otherwise you are just wasting peoples time and wasting your money paying for something you dont need.

Buying a horse takes time and you would be incredibly lucky to find the right horse on the first horse you go to see!
 
Ah, I AM going about it the wrong way then! Perhaps I'm just too organised, but I thought it made more sense to find th horse somewhere to live, then find the horse.
 
I agree I'd also wait till your actively looking what would be a perfect yard for one horse might not be any good for another.
I looked at one yard the week before I went to ascot sales I love tbs :D . The yard was lovely the yo appeared nice he said there was a stable I could reserve, he then asked about horse I was buying when I told him it would be an ex racer he said that any other horse I could have the stable but not for a ex racer.
He stated that due to there strict routines and limited TO that in his experance when that changes they go mad in feild and churn it up :(
His yard and his rules and my ex racer was so chilled but hey ho :)
 
I waited till I had a list of horses to view before visiting yards, I found out if they had vaccancies before hand though.
 
It sounds like you are organsied but you could find the perfect yard for your potential horse, then when you find your perfect horse, he/she might not suit your perfect yard! x

Some horses hate to live in and some yards say that horses have to be in during winter for example, so its best to look at the same sort of time, for horse and stable. The horse may need a bigger stable than what you anticipated, some sellers will tell you if a horse hates being out, will stress if its stabled where it cant see other horses etc so the accommodation needs to take this into consideration x

Obviously you cant always rely on what sellers say but worth asking them if the horse has preferences!! x
 
If you are looking for a field to rent I would start looking next summer, it took us a couple of months to get our field up to scratch fencing and grazing wise before we got our animals

Livery - I would look at the same time as looking for a horse

In saying that if I was a YO I would happily let someone pay while being absent! I just wouldn't want to spend a lot of time with someone whose plans are nearly a year away
 
Well I did what you are planning to do - I looked for a yard with a space then looked for the horse. The yard owner was happy to let me pay a small retainer fee for the box until I found the horse I wanted. I paid about half the price until I found the right horse. This worked just fine. But I had already owned horses so I suppose the yard owner had some sense I was not just daydreaming. Also I didn't do it very far in advance - I found the yard and then started looked right away for the horse. I found her in about 6 weeks.
 
WelshD said:
If you are looking for a field to rent I would start looking next summer, it took us a couple of months to get our field up to scratch fencing and grazing wise before we got our animals
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This was what I was thinking about, you see a field has come up for rent just over the road, perfect location, so even though I don't intend on buying a horse tomorrow I was thinking about renting it now as it may well need a good 6 months work to bring it up to scratch.
 
Blythe Spirit said:
Well I did what you are planning to do - I looked for a yard with a space then looked for the horse. The yard owner was happy to let me pay a small retainer fee for the box until I found the horse I wanted. I paid about half the price until I found the right horse. This worked just fine. But I had already owned horses so I suppose the yard owner had some sense I was not just daydreaming. Also I didn't do it very far in advance - I found the yard and then started looked right away for the horse. I found her in about 6 weeks.
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Thanks for your reply. I was hoping to get an idea of how far in advance I should start looking for a stable/field before looking for the horse, I guess not too far in advance, a couple of months maybe?

It panics me that I might find my dream horse and not be able to buy him because I haven't got anywhere to keep him, which is why I'm being super-organised about this.

Just for the record, my looking so far consists of casually asking about livery at my riding school, I haven't been pestering people :D
 
Before I started looking for a horse I called around the yards in my area and found out about prices, facilities, routines, if there were spaces or if I would need to go on a waiting list, etc. I made a list of those that sounded suitable, then when I had found the horse I called the ones at the top of my list and asked to look around. I don't think anyone can object to a phone call, even if you are way off finding the horse. It is a business, after all, and you are a potential customer.

Oh, and good luck with your search! :D
 
Holding said:
Before I started looking for a horse I called around the yards in my area and found out about prices, facilities, routines, if there were spaces or if I would need to go on a waiting list, etc. I made a list of those that sounded suitable, then when I had found the horse I called the ones at the top of my list and asked to look around. I don't think anyone can object to a phone call, even if you are way off finding the horse. It is a business, after all, and you are a potential customer.

Oh, and good luck with your search! :D
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This is the best idea. You need to know what yards are available in your area. You may not be able to get in to the one you want straight away, but by doing this you should get a place somewhere.

I would also not recommend just renting a field for your first horse
 
I would start to look for a yard when I start to actively look for a horse, otherwise you could be paying for a field/stable for months until you find a horse. If I haven't bee able to find the perfect yard then I have kept my horses at other yards that have been ok but a bit too far away/not good facilities etc whilst I continue to look for a better yard.

Also don't forget that it entirely depends on the horse and what you want to do in the future, maybe your new horse won't like being stabled/dislike too much turnout, horse may prefer a quiet/busy yard environment etc. Would you like a school/jumps/good hacking etc.

If it will be your first horse then I would recommend going to a livery yard rather than renting a field so that you have people around you to ask for help if you might need it. If you have a field you will need other horses for companions, shelter etc, would you prefer a school for when the nights draw in/fields get too wet? If you were to go away for a weekend/holiday do you have someone that could look after them?

Make a list of yards with the sort of facilities/area you would like, and enquire over the phone about availability. When you are actively looking for a horse then go and take a look at the yards.

Well done for thinking well in advance though :)
 
I'm nowhere near the position to buy a horse however I have a spreadsheet for the local yards with details about distance, facilities, cost and turnout (mostly gained from their websites). That way when I am in a position to look I can enquire with the ones that look to suit the horse and me.
 
Yep this is how I did it, my friend was like why are you paying for an empty stable, because the yard is amazing and the only reason a stable became free was because a horse was pts. I didn't want to be anywhere else so I paid the holding fee on it, soooooo glad I did, I found my horse and have been on my said amazing yard very happily for nearly 6 months now :D if u find the right place it's worth doing
 
I was toying with the field idea as it is directly opposite my house over the main road, I could see him from my bedroom window and know that he was okay! It is 4 acres, so plenty of space for a companion, but I would like to replace the fencing and put up a field shelter, plus I need pp for change of use etc etc so all that would take time. By the time I sorted all that out it would probably be next summer -nearly time to go horse shopping! :D
I know it is more sensible to go on a yard for my first horse, I'm just nervous about being around other people. I have read so many horror stories on this forum about people having to put up with all sorts of weird and horrible behaviour/bullying at their yards, and I have to admit that has put me off livery somewhat. If I found a yard where the people were friendly and I thought my hypothetical horse would be happy I wouldn't mind paying to retain the livery place for a couple of months while I looked for my horse. I know that might sound madness to some, and I think I have come across as a bit of an idiot/dreamer to some people here, but I'd rather have the field/stable all sorted out first and then I wouldn't be running around panicking trying to find a place and end up on a yard I wasn't happy with just because they had a vacancy, and then having the stress of having to move again.... Hope this makes sense - it does to me anyway! :D
 
I think you are thinking on the right track but just to give you an idea what I did when buying my first horse, I had an idea on possible yards and found out the prices, how many spaces were available at the time etc and then looked for several horses to try out. Also as I knew the YO before I bought my first horse because I had loaned at her yard, she knew who I was and I just let her know that I was looking to buy my first horse so she would put me on the waiting list and let me know if a stable came up.

Good luck with finding a yard and your horse :)
 
Field sounds good. Time to get it in order, plus not used over the winter months.

Fields are usually easier to get hold of in winter and harder in Spring/Summer, whereas yards with facilities is the other way round.

With our first horse we chose the yard, then the pony; then the yard changed its mind (wanted a friend in!), so we had a weekend to drive round and find another yard :eek:. Not so easy in this horse centric area :rolleyes:. Luckily found one, where we made some very good friends during our time there. The YO wasn't very nice, but y'can't have everything :cool:
 
I rent the fields behind my house, the place became available and we snapped it up, that was over 3 years ago and I haven't seen another field in our village become avaiable in that time so our quick decision was well worth it

In saying that I don't ride so facilities and hacking buddies were not important
 
WelshD said:
I rent the fields behind my house, the place became available and we snapped it up, that was over 3 years ago and I haven't seen another field in our village become avaiable in that time so our quick decision was well worth it

In saying that I don't ride so facilities and hacking buddies were not important
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I've been living in my village for 18 months and this is the first field that I've seen come up for rent (I've always got my eye on the tack room/tack shop noticeboards!). It really is the perfect location, but the timing is all wrong. Part of me thinks if I don't act on it, it might not come up again for years. Trying not to be impulsive but God, I want that field!
 
It's worth asking if you can go have a look and discuss it with the owner. They may not want you to put up a shelter or may want you to re- fence the place - there may be a deal breaker in there somewhere

We mended and replaced fencing but asked for a years guaranteed tenancy

Also think about what sort I'd horse you want and whether you'd be happy with just a field for it

Also find out the rent - it could be really expensive!

I have to say that taking on our fields was the best decision ever however we have a smallholding on it (and a very very nice landlord!) so for us it was a change of lifestyle
 
If a field, then yes I'd secure as land comes and goes in ideal locations.
Livery, I'd find out basics about each yard -stables/grass livery. But not bother getting pricing and detailed run throughs and viewings etc. Always good to get a list of local yards if nothing else as most aren't online and best found through word of mouth or local tack shops etc.
 
I'm looking to get an uncomplicated cob for light hacking and general cuddling/fussing over. More of a pet than anything. I would like to keep him out 24/7 with a shelter.
This is what I know about the field - it is 4 acres, currently one big field. I know it's been empty for about a year but it has only come up to rent last week. It is £45 a week, okay to put up a mobile field shelter (says so in ad), needs change of use PP. Don't know if they would be on board with me re-fencing but I think it needs it on one side at least. I guess the only way to find out is to ask!
 
I think it would be good IF you have more than one horse/pony. Keeping just one isn't fair on them, they are herd animals after all. Plus you don't say how old you are or if you have any support? This is going to be your first horse and it's great you are being organised and looking into your options and preparing, however, if you haven't got much experience then you might find it much better to go onto a livery yard for the first year or two until you feel confident, plus having a field and doing it all by yourself you might find it lonely, dark, hard work- what will happen if you want to go on holiday, stay somewhere over night?

I'm not saying its not a good option , I know I would live to have my boy at home, but I also know that for the first year of having him it was nice to have a friendly yo and other liveries to ask advice, I've made some really good friends at livery yards and learnt a lot just from being around other horse owners and seeing them go through different problems/phases with their horses.

In essence I think if you have knowledgeable people around you, money to buy two not just one horse, and are not going to be bored/lonely on your own then go for it, otherwise I'd look for a nice yard and get yourself down on the waiting list!
 
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