Taking in a livery - pro's and cons - help please

[Pluckylittleking]

I am very lucky and have a lovely yard at home with 4 stables, washbox, menage, plenty of grass etc and at the moment I only have my cob and my little fossilised shetland at home. I could do with some extra cash and am toying with the idea of taking in a livery. Ideally one person with one sane horse on DIY or assisted DIY. Only thing that is stopping me is the fact that I like my freedom to do exactly as I please with my dobbins without having to worry about anyone else! (selfish I know

) Anyway said cob could really do with a playmate as shetland spends all her time on bare patch as laminitic, and would be nice to have someone to ride with occasionally.... Am just slightly worried about having my privacy invaded etc etc ...... and I have no idea what to charge either!... oh god - advice please!!!!

 

[Blizzard]

Price depends on your area, if it was me I would go for it, so many people are looking fr quiet places like yours, I pay £15 a week for DIY, £22 in winter which includes unlimited haylege.

 

[Pluckylittleking]

- heck - hadn't thought about hay and bedding - do I include that or make them get their own?

 

[JAK]

Pros:
Someone to ride out with maybe
A 'friend' for your cob
A bit of extra cash
Someone to share the poo-picking & yard sweeping etc. with

Cpns:
Cob nay become inseparably attached to his 'new friend'
...or 'new friend' may become inseparably attached to cob
Livery may turn out to be grubby/lazy/barmy/demanding etc.

Of course, you would have to interview any prospective liveries carefully, as I think it is even more important that all people & horses concerned are compatible when there's only two of you!
Make sure she is going to be able to get down for the farrier etc. & what any turnout, bringing in arrangements are going to be, as having a second horse on the premises belonging to someone else does make it a whole different ball game really & you may find that even a slight restriction on your 'freedom' is a bit of a bind!

Having said that, there are many instances where this sort of arrangement can work very well & if you choose the right person to start with, the advantages can vastly outweigh the disadvantages!

Hope you find someone 'nice'!

 

[belly]

OOh lucky you...wish i had my own land.
Round where I am ..Shropshire. DIY is around £20 -£25 and thats just stable and grazing...you could always set up a price list of xtras ie, turnout, feeding etc Large yards can sometimes insist on hay straw etc beeing purchased from them but it may be possible if you can find a friendly livery to buy it in together (cheaper).
Good luck

 

[dieseldog]

Don't do it.

You will become a business and you will have to pay Business Rates - c£2k/year. Insurance - c£1k per year - with a £1k excess. You will have to pay tax on what you earn. You won't get away with not paying it, all it takes is one person to report you to the council. And you cant afford not to have insurance - recent case were the livery yard owner was held liable for a girl getting kicked - 2.2m payout.

And then the inconvience - they will knock on your door at 11pm at night, nothing will be like you like it, their horse might be clingy and gallop round your field churning it up every time you remove yours.

For £15/week its not worth it.

 

[Maesfen]

Having been there and done this I know exactly how you feel!

There's a lot to be said for both sides but to a certain extent it does depend on your personal circumstances how you go about it. ie: do you work at all or are you at home all day?

If you work, even part time that limits the time you can put into dealing with their horse as well as yours, would you have time to fetch in/turn out/change rugs/muck out and so on.

If you don't work (it was forced on me as only one vehicle and hubby needed it for his work, as we're miles away from a bus route, that settled that question and I took liveries to pay for my horses) so much the better as you can decide what you're happy to provide as way of a service and what basics you can source and what you want them to deal with themselves.
We very much preferred it that we didn't have any DIYers as we like our peace and quiet (and that is the surefire way not to have any IMO!) so the horses I had were either full hunter livery where the owner just hunted or exercised occasionally I did everything else, mares either due to foal or with foal, youngsters from weaning upwards or show horses on their winter holidays so that I did everything myself and owners just visited for coffee! Was fine until it had grown to a dozen!

As you want something/body to ride out with, I presume you will want it on a DIY basis, so decide as I said before whether you will supply hay/bedding/haylage or want them to get their own. The plus of you supplying it means it can all be stacked in the usual place, not seperately unless you give them the spare stable as a store else it will be in every nook and cranny that you can find; there's also the security aspect that you don't have strangers delivering stuff when possibly you are not there (and able to case the joint which must be thought of nowadays)
If you go that road it might be an idea to have a month livery in advance to pay for the extra you will need so that you aren't out of pocket from the start. Someone I know pays for the first amount of shavings (6 bales) to start the bed seperately from her normal livery rate, worth a thought as they are expensive.
If it's DIY for stable and turnout then depending on area it would go from £15 - 22, esp as you have a school for them (do you have lights too as that might make a difference if they still can't ride in the winter?) DOn't forget that even if their horse damages the fences, you will be the one to pay and put things right unless you say from the start that any damage they cause is their responsibility to pay for (but you need to be in charge of how and who the repairs are done by as they might not have the same high standards as yourself - and it isn't their place which can make a difference! You also need to know that the horse is vaccinated properly, wormed before it is turned out on your paddocks and comprehensively insured, esp public liability. There's also the matter of your insurance in case anything happens to them while on your property which you might already have in place, we did through the NFU.
You need to draw up a contract detailing what you are supplying and your responsibilities towards them and their horse, also what theirs are as a livery towards you and your premises. If it's a parent, do you really want them to bring their children with them, or their dog, or their groups of friends, what times you would like them gone by at night so you can settle down: make it clear at the start what you will accept and what not so that you all know where you stand; you also need to work out your notice terms in case it doesn't work out for either of you. A month is fair on both sides but as long as they pay it I personally wouldn't hold them to staying the month!
Lastly but not least, you and the horses must be compatible, it would be murder otherwise so pick your person very carefully and if possible, if unknown to you, do speak to their referees and check up on them: if they are genuine they'll not take offence.
It's a big step you are taking inviting someone to use your property so you need to know you have done all you can for it to be right but at the end of the day, you might have found a friend for life as we have done so it will all be worthwhile.
Sorry this has been of epic proportions but you did ask!

 

[MillionDollar]

You don't become a livery yard until you have over 8 horses/stables so you wont be a livery yard or have to pay business rates.

 

[MillionDollar]

If you do take a livery in you should definitely charge at least £25 per week just for stable, grazing and use of facilities, hay/starw extra, especially as its a private yard, loads of people will want this.

 

[Pluckylittleking]

- thanks for that - lots to think about - the main reason it's crossed my mind apart from the financial one is that I've seen an ad in feed store for someone wanting livery over the winter only and their priority is use of school, - thought it might be ok as they would def. go after winter and I would know there was a limit on it if it wasn't working out!

My gut feeling is that the deal would be: one horse, one owner, no kids or dogs, I work, so could only do evenings, but quite happy to bring in etc and would supply hay and bedding. I always do a check on them between 9 and 10 at night and top up hay so hopefully no reason for them to be there too late, but I do have floodlit menage so they could ride in the evenings - perhaps if I put a limit of not after 8.30 -9pm? God it's such a minefield. Perhaps I'd be better off poor but on my own!!

 

[PeterNatt]

Firstly it will not give you any extra cash as by the time you include field maintenance, fence maintenance, removing extra manure, extra water and electricity plus all the aggro it is not a financial proposition - you will probably loose out. However if you find the right person with the right horse you will benefit by being able to hack out and look after each others horses when you go away etc.

Also provides the yard with extra security as more than one person going up.

One other thing if you have evil and twisted neighbours they may report you for running a business and next thing you know you willl be paying rates on the stables !

So if you after more money 'Forget It' it will probably cost you! but if you want some company and fun then go for it but choose wisely as they say.

 

[Maesfen]

That sounds quite a good idea if it's just for the winter only thing is they will be churning YOUR fields up even for that short time, so to a certain extent you are being used as a convenience and should charge accordingly; if you and they decide to stay full time that is a different matter. Then, you take it as it comes but if not, don't forget it will be you that will have to repair them for the summer again, possibly leaving your horses a little bit short while you rest the most damaged fields; I know that's one of OH's bugbears that people do not appreciate the effort and money that has to be put into the upkeep of your land particularly if you like to keep it productive and attractive.

 

[dieseldog]

[ QUOTE ]
You don't become a livery yard until you have over 8 horses/stables so you wont be a livery yard or have to pay business rates.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is totally wrong. 1 horse paying rent - you are a livery yard and liable for rates.

 

[not_with_it]

I am the only livery on my yard and it works out really well. We help each other out all the time. Its so convenient for if one of us is busy. I respect my YO's privacy by keeping myself to myself, not making loads of noise, taking people to the yard with me and turning up at unsociable hours. I keep the yard tidy and keep all of my stuff boxed up and out of the way.

In our case it works out well, just make sure you find the right person if you do decide to do it. My YO charges £100 per month. She doesnt charge any extra for turning out or bringing in etc as the favour will always be returned.

 

[MillionDollar]

Well i'm probably wrong, i am quite a lot, lol, but been told by several people that you're not a livery yard until you have 8 horses/stables including lecturers and stable companies. Prehaps its where i live its different!?