Tell me about your yards - what you loved and hated?

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Daniel_Jack

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No real purpose to this thread - I'm just nosy! I don't even have my own horse any more but in the 10 years i owned him I never quite found the perfect yard! I know what I wanted but I don't think it existed!

So, my potted history of yards,

Yard 1 - large, busy riding school. Hated it, lasted a month!

Yard 2 - small, friendly yard but facilities were poor - indoor was an old cow shed with surfaced dumped down on concrete so very slippy. The eventually built an outdoor but did it on the cheap so it was trashed pretty quickly and they took ages to put lights up so you couldn't use it in winter. Hacking wasn't great - you had direct access to forest tracks but they were usually too wet to ride on. Turn out was poor. Lasted 1 year.

Yard 3 - small, private yard. No facilities initially but added a huge arena which cost a fortune but they didn't bother maintaining it so it had deep tracks, weeds growing up, fences falling down. Turn out ok but wet. It was always ok during the times when the yard wasn't at fully capacity but as soon as it filled up things would go wrong as YO was just a bit too lazy to put in the effort. Hacking was very good - huge forestry with all weather tracks and quite roads but you couldn't venture too far due to the busy rounds nearby. I was there for 3 years.

Yard 4 - large yard but not a riding school. Had a decent enough arena, good hacking, amazing turn out. It was expensive and the quality of mucking out of full livery was awful but I tolerated it because I liked the yard in general - YM could blow hot and cold sometimes but otherwise ok - always someone to ride with, jumps in the field in the summer. I was there 2 years and only moved because I moved house. By the time I left though the cheap new arena surface was starting to break down and cause issues.

Yard 5 - lovely small yard, fab arena, amazing hacking albeit a bit repetitive with no circular routes. Cheap but poor grazing and YO was a bit hit and miss depending on her mood and she seemed to systematically work through the liveries picking out one to make their lives hell then moving on to someone else when they left . It also seemed to attract the oddest group of liveries I have ever met - lasted 1 year there.

Yard 6 - (wow I've had a lot of yards). Rough and ready working farm, crap arena unless it had been very dry but 24/7 turn out in fab fields plus it was cheap, cheerful and the YM and liveries were amazing - hacking was ok - you had access to a cycle route that allowed horses but very repetitive - lasted a year but wanted better facilities in winter as I was really struggling with working full time and exercising my horse and refused to risk injury working him in that arena.

Finally yard 7 - small yard, pretty small indoor which was dusty and tracked quite badly. Lovely stables, good enough hacking although you had to ride on busy roads if you wanted a circular route. Liveries were ok but people kept their horses in a lot so it didn't suit me - I ultimately sold my horse from there.

My dream yard has a decent outdoor - doesn't even need to be a 60 x 20 just a 20 x 40 is enough as long as it's floodlit and level! Not too quiet but not too busy either - having been on both, I actually preferred the busier yards as you always had a hacking buddy. Semi rural i.e. good hacking routes but not in the middle of nowhere. Flexible livery with good fields/turn out for the summer. Normal YM i.e. no bullying, consistent rules for everyone. I never found anything like this in any of the areas I loved and it actually puts me off getting another horse when the day comes that I can manage another one as I'll either have to compromise facilities for turn out or vice versa.

Would love to hear other peoples yards if only to make me jealous!
 
This is going to be a popular thread...

Yard 1 - full livery at a small riding school on an old farm with large outdoor with mainly mud surface and a small indoor with deep sand and a door which was hellish to open. Good hacking. You had to feed a meter for the lights on the outdoor school and a pound coin didn't go far I can tell you. They had a vicious dog which patrolled after lights out (3pm in winter). It was eventually put down after attacking various livery owners (who visited their horses after dark!). The fields in winter were ridiculous deep mud - awful. Plus they starved the horses (theirs and liveries) - worse for the riding school horses though as some of which were skin and bone. I didn't stay long!!

Yard 2 - private house owned by a showing judge with land/outdoor school and I kept the horses at DIY. Outdoor school had no lights and very bad drainage so was a swimming pool. Poor hacking. Summer fields were a good walk away and had no water so you had to take your own in the car which was a pain. My horses were then put in a 'far away' field with a track to it which had fallen away so you couldn't lead two horses safely. So it took ages getting them / putting them out. I was then given a field where my young horse developed grass sickness. Luckily he survived but I found out another young horse had developed grass sickness after being in that field and had died. I left.

Yard 3 - full livery at a large riding school very near my home with good fields, big indoor school and while I was there they built an outdoor. I liked this place until I had to sell my pony. Then my quirky arab was not allowed in the fields as he was antisocial and they refused to let me put in a strip for him. The poor animal had no grazing / turnout while I looked for a new place. The assistant yard manager also hated my horse for some reason and one day beat him for 'pulling a face'. I left.

Yard 4 - full livery at a very large riding school with an indoor and pretty useless muddy wet outdoor with no lights. Superb hacking as well as a gallop track. Stables and staff were all great too. However in winter you could only use the indoor between 5pm and 6pm and you had to feed the meter for the lights. So loads of liveries would pile in at 5pm after waiting for muggins here to put a pound in! It ended up too busy in the school to ride safely (and too expensive). I was happy there tho and they couldn't do enough for my quirky Arab but eventually had to sell my horse due to personal circumstances so left then.

Yard 5 - got a new horse several years later and kept him at full livery at a large riding school in a big country estate. Fabulous off road hacking with indoor and outdoor schools. I'd been a customer of theirs for years (lessons & had a few horses on loan there) and loved it but the staff changed and the new staff took a dislike to me and my new horse (stressy WB who was a pain to catch and would jump out of fields if left on his own) so I was eventually 'set up' and using fabricated evidence they told me to leave. Utterly horrible experience and not only did I leave with an injured horse I had totally lost my confidence as a result of the bullying.

Yard 6 - full livery at a couple's little farmhouse. Big outdoor school with lights, good surface and NO METER! Hacking was limited but OK. Fields were also well managed. The stressy WB recovered but sadly my confidence didn't return so I ended up selling him because I simply lost the will to ride.

Yard 7 - because I wouldn't sell the stressy WB I ended up part ex'ing him for my current horse, a 5yo IDx fresh off the boat from Ireland. I found him a full livery spot again at a couple's farmhouse - good fields, great outdoor with lights and the couple adored my horse. Some hacking routes but because I had no confidence I only rode in the school! Only issue with this place was them putting my horse onto concrete and straw in the summer (in the winter it was fine he had a stable with mats and cardboard bedding) - unfortunately he ate the straw developed a bad cough and he would be forced to lie down on virtually bare concrete covered in his pee. Having said that I only had one summer there and I only left because my husband got a new job and we moved. If I'd stayed I would have had a chat with the YO and sorted out the summer routine because I loved it there.

Yard 8 - perfect. It's my home and the horses are the number one priority here. Definitely no more livery yards for me!

What was common throughout the big yards (riding schools) was the stealing and bitching. Absolutely hated that. The last few small yards I used were ace though - really felt like my horses were getting cared for properly and having little or no restrictions on using the school was priceless.
 
I'll go from when I came back to riding as an adult ...

Yard one; run down yard with three women trying to do there bit for 'rescue' nags. Spent a summer there getting back into the horsey world even if it was very low end. We all fell out and yard got left to continue rotting into the ground (Did make a firm friend from one lady though)

Yard two; Got a mare on loan the week before Xmas, she was VILE and LETHAL! The yard was run down and run by some less than nice characters who didnt have a clue. Yard quickly went into lock down due to ice, snow and bad weather so lethal horse kept in. Said horse went back to owner in new year, left yard quickly. The owners where seriously not nice people!

Yard three; Went to view a TB who was for sale as owner had broke his back (not from the TB) so lady who lived and owned said yard was helping to sell his horse and pony collection. She offered me livery when i wanted to buy the TB and we had a great year. School went in, great hacking, got out to some stuff in her awesome lorry .. actually we met on here! So I guess i have to be nice about her ;) But alas winter was tough, her horses were done before i got to yard after work so it got bleak and lonely so moved to ......

Yard four; Moved to a large livery yard just down the road, great indoor, great hacking, really good bunch of liveries with the occasional odd ball thrown in. Great owners but a real lack of turnout in winter. Always felt the sheep got priority. Luckily had a sane and sensible horse by then who coped with it but lack of turnout in winter was a killer and even in summer there was no 24/7 turnout so always mucking out to do. But loved the yard and people. Horse went on loan for a year.

Yard five; Horse came back off loan. Yard five is a private yard, the owner is handsome, charming, funny, amazing, a really good guy and he's really hot as well ...... Yep, horses (I now have two) are now at home :D I'd like a school but neighbours hire theres out as and when i use it but I love being at home on my own, my yard is basic but functional and I LOVE IT :)
 
Yard one - small private yard with 1 acre of turnout which you could use for an hour or so. Little off road hacking but was 10 minutes from my house. This was in the 80's so turnout wasn't as common as it is now. It was considered 'posh' but I got reduced rent because my mum worked there. Lights were on while YO was there but they'd quite often get turned off while you were mucking out. Owner a farrier so you had to use him and hay was extortionate which I didn't realise until I left.

Yard 2 - grass livery which was awful. My pony hated it and was bullied so ended up being out in a little field by herself.

Yard 3 - A teeny field that I rented. I loved it there but when offered the rent on the two acres next door jumped at the chance.

I rented for around 10 years before it came up for sale and snapped it up quickly. I've been there for nearly 20 years and you couldn't pay me to share with anyone again. Hacking is a bit rubbish and I don't have a school but it's mine and I love it. It's amazing how much I appreciate water and electric having not had it for so many years.
 
Hmm, I'm seeing a common theme emerging here! Is there anyone who ended up with their horses at home and decided they didn't like it, for whatever reason? (I'm sure there've been previous threads about this so they must be out there!)
 
Yard 1 is one that I've moved back to! It's a gun shop with kennels and cattery. So the horses aren't the main part. We don't have facilities. Just stables field and a grass area we ride on. But our hacking is amazing! I moved because we have no arena and I wanted to ride in winter

Yard 2 was a huge vet practice and livery yard. Beautiful place. Huge indoor arena and competitions on. I loved it but had to be on grass livery as they didn't do diy. My horse didn't like living out. And she was turned out alone which I really didn't like.

Yard 3. Small yard with arena. I didn't like the clay soil as it just turned to mud! And the hacking was rubbish.

Yard 4. The worst yard. It was small with an arena. But so so bitchy. I got bullied til I left.

Yard 5 is yard 1. I came back 6 years ago. The horses are happy and so am I. I like the fact the YO doesn't get involved. We follow his rules but there aren't many of them and we all just get on with it :-)
Not much riding in winter sucks though
 
I'll go through the riding schools I've been to as well as I've only had a horse for two years, nearly three.

Yard 1: riding school run by the most insane woman ever. She would chase the ponies if they wouldn't trot for the kids, hit the pony with a stick with the rider on it, sometimes catching the rider. Would make 5 year olds go galloping in fields with more experienced riders when they had barely done canter. Indoor and outdoor schools, cross country course and lots of fields. Not a bad set up, just shame the management was crazy. I stayed there from about 4 - 9 years old I think.

Yard 2: outdoor school only, only Highland ponies to ride. Hacking nice, but lessons a bit boring and repetitive.

Yard 3: great place, big outdoor school and had a small indoor, but then they built a massive indoor with stables attached. Great hacking, good lessons although my position was never corrected here and it ended up very bad. Place sadly closed down for money reasons.

Yard 4: great indoor and outdoor, cross country course, loved the hacking. Great horses and great lessons, although run a bit military style. I liked that though and learnt a lot. Was sad to leave there to go to uni.

Yard 5 (now with my own horse): great indoor and outdoor, however fields were terrible. My horse during winter was kept in a about 15mx15m field that turned to mud very quickly, so he had no food during the day. I couldn't afford the livery and a flat so moved back to my parents and moved him too.

Yard 6: great outdoor school even though my daft horse is terrified of it. I like the indoor, most think it's too small but you can school in there, just have to be creative. Can ride in the fields too. Hacking isn't great but again the daft horse is scared of hacking, the world is evil so it doesn't matter for us. I will probably have to leave once I move in with my boyfriend in the future which will be a shame as I don't really want to, but compromises must be made.
 
Yard 1- an old run down farm that is about to be built on. Not much hacking left as most of the surrounding land has been built on. no facilities, troughs in fields no longer work, yard is in need of repair- but there's lots of space and my friend is the sole occupier. My mare lives there as a companion to her mare so I never really left I guess

Yard 2- my daughter needed a school to try and do more with mare referred to above. This was a private yard run by another friend, it had a school but the hacking was still as poor as its very near yard 1. My friend has a heart of gold but she is also a person who knows her own mind, so after about 7 -9 months my daughter moved her horse to our first proper livery yard (Yard 3)

Yard 3- is owned by a farmer and operated as a side business to farming. It's quite informal though we have recently been given contracts with written out rules to sign. Been there nearly 8 years now, daughter got another horse and sent mare down to yard 1 after 3 loan homes fell through, I got a horse of my own and keep it there. My daughter's horse was pts last autumn but she's recently got a youngster, she's moved quite far away though so keeps him on a different yard. I've been very happy there but just lately I feel less happy for a number of reasons. I don't quite know what to do, a lot of it is my own fault I guess, but some of it is just that things change and people change.
 
Yard 1 - small and quirky. It was a Riding school in the loosest sense, but I loved it. I was there for 10yrs as a pupil and a few months as a livery. Sadly YO left, and the new YM and I didn't get along. The hacking was fab, the school wasn't much but we had XC jumps and loads of show jumps.

Yard 2 - lovely yard, we only lasted 3 days because Ned was left alone so he jumped out and ran 7 miles in an attempt to go home...I'm sure some of you remember that...

Yard 3 - was back at Yard 1!

Yard 4 - my own little field with a Shetland for company. I loved it as I could do my own thing, but it was lonely, over priced and no water!! Hacking was lovely.

Yard 5 - a huge professional Yard where I worked. I hated working there and Ned didn't like it much either. It was too busy for him. I think if I was a livery and had Serenity at the time instead, I'd still be there! 3 brilliant schools, fantastic hacking, XC course, plenty of help. I only moved because I couldn't stand working there and Ned wasn't happy.

Yard 6 - our final Yard. I can honestly say I will only move from here if my dream of living in Scotland becomes a reality. Ned is so happy, we have good friends and now I'm working here I get free livery for 2 and Tam has a lovely kennel she can stay in. Boss is great and easy going and understanding! We've found a real gem here!
 
I've been at my yard 14 years. I love it - but that's not to say it's perfect. Above all, the YO is very good at choosing the right people so we all get on really well and there's a lovely atmosphere - you can overlook lots of little niggles if the people are lovely.

Things I love
- The boys get out every day - 24/7 in summer and roughly 12 hours in winter.
- The fields aren't overstocked. The horses have plenty of room so there's little fighting or shenanigans. They're all really settled and happy
- There are no 'rules' - we're all expected to act like responsible adults and we do.
- Arch has a huge 18x14 stable
- The layout is very sociable - the stables are all based round a square yard in horseshoe shape so you can chat with anyone from your stable.
- It's big enough that there's always someone to ride with but no so big that it's too busy and bitchy.
- It's a small working farm so the horses are exposed to all sorts of animals and machinery
- The gate to the winter field is 30m from the yard on a really decent hard core surface. There's very little mud. I can turn out in my work shoes and just give them a little wipe afterwards.
- It's only 1.8 miles from home.

The not so great things
- hacking is limited and you have to go along a too narrow for the volume of traffic lane to get anywhere.My boys are great in traffic so it doesn't bother me but it's not the most pleasant ride. This won't change unless I move a 1/2 hour drive away though. I'd rather have a short journey every day and box up to go for a hack at weekends.
- the horses spend about 4 months on the hay fields after the hay's been cut, so from about July/August to October/November. They're at the bottom of a very steep track that's slippery when wet. It's 5 minute walk down to 6 separate fields, 20 acres in total. You never know where to find them. Getting them in can take up to 1/2 an hour and really cuts into your riding time (and motivation) especially after work. Checking on them after work when the nights are drawing in is horrible, the track is difficult to negotiate in the daylight, let alone the dark and it's really eerie with tall trees both sides and lots of strange noises.
- the (single) flood light in the school is barely fit for purpose (I realise this is very much a first world problem). I top it up with a rechargeable work light.
- YO does the basics brilliantly - yard is safe, secure and pleasant...but we do get promised things like jumps or better lights that never materialise. I don't really mind not having them, but it's a bit annoying when you have your hopes raised for nothing.

All in all, the things I love are the big things and the things I dislike are tiny - which is why I've been here 14 years and never plan on leaving.
 
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My whole history is as follows:

Yard 1 - First there when it was a riding school, then I got my first pony. The yard was run by 4 different people in the 11 years I was there and I loved it.
- Facilities were utter crap outdoor school with no lights and it the winter it flooded terribly, but I was a kid so we rode in the dark. Also no toilet!!
- T/O in the summer was 24/7, but in the winter you were lucky if your horse went out twice a week. It was the 90's so no one cared
- Hacking was excellent, road work to get to the offroad bits, but nice quiet roads with plenty of visibility.
- Over the years I met and amazing bunch of people some of whom are still my best friends

Yard 2 - After Uni I got a horse and was in a new area hence yard 2
- BIIIG diy yard and had all year t/o, but was all in groups
- Outdoor school, ok size with lights
- Not a lot of jumps
- Crap hacking, but could ride around farm in summer
- Weird mix of people some of whom weren't very nice and were the reason I sold and moved to London

Yard 3 - Was only there a month of so as YO had mental health issues and no one was running it. I was looking after all 8 horses, but her mother still asked me for livery!
- Lovely big outdoor with lights and a few jumps
- Crap Hacking
- Daily individual t/o all year

Yard 4 - Beautiful yard with individual or pairs t/o
- Small indoor with a crappy surface, but ok
- Excellent hacking quiet roads, forestry and bridleways
- Quite small, but always someone to ride with and was a nice group of mostly older ladies and no one else competed
- Y/O lost interest and started cutting corners and favouring certain liveries, because my horse was good and I was there everyday she didn't get t/o during the winter, but others went out everyday. I was there for 3 years

Yard 4 - Just down the road so the same hacking
- Lovely outdoor with a few jumps
- Dealers yard so was very quite and a bit lonely after work
- Daily t/o
- They stopped offering livery so left after 6 months

Yard 5 - My current yard and you would have to prise me away with a crowbar!
- 20x40 outdoor with lights and 40x45 outdoor
- Loads of jumps with a course set up in big school most of the time.
- Y/O is amazing and looks after them all amazingly and is also now teaching me.
- Hot water wash box and a solarium!
- Individual t/o daily in summer, but not if weather is horrible in winter which is fine with me. If she doesn't go out then she goes on the walker. Very little mud
- Really nice group of people who compete and are really supportive
- Y/O jumps BS and will take us out in her lorry
- Choice of hay or haylage
- Only downside is the hacking isn't great. A couple of road routes which are fine as L is really good in traffic, but very little offroad
 
I will start too from returning to riding:

Yard 1, Amazing, brilliant atmosphere, liveries all very involved with group lessons and hacking, yard was maintained very well, large outdoor arena and lights, brilliant hacking. Yard was sold, new owners, new ideas, NEW BIG Prices. Yard still 80% empty such a shame. Was there 2yrs +

Yard 2, Small private yard, good arena, okay hacking, poor grazing, full livery, but I didn't like deep littering & as much as discussed feed with YO, she was determined she new best and my TB went bonkers on too much good food & haylage. Stayed 1yr.

Yard 3, Farm, DIY, could come and go as you liked, free straw, Hay on site, large herd turnout, great hacking, okay large arena with jumps, we had to harrow it ourselves, using 4x4, had to leave because my Mare couldn't cope with the ex Dairy pasture of the herd field, 10 acres and the farmer/other liveries who had their own individual grazing wouldn't help/share (kill your gran to get your own patch), colic and ulcers and constant lost shoes because of the thick mud in winter & hoolies with the herd meant I had to leave. Stayed 2.5yrs with 2 different horses.

Yard 4/ Friends took me in who have their own yard at home :-) Love it, miss the company of a bigger yard, but make a effort to keep in touch with old livery friends, But My friends have gone above and beyond to help me this year with various issues my Mare has got, the yard isn't perfect but the YO's are. We have ok hacking, a great arena with a light, individual paddocks, so can restrict grass, My mare is super chilled again & happy...the worst bit, no 24/7 TO and flies ! Been here 6months.
 
I've only owned 1 horse on 1 yard but I'll mention the yard when I part loaned first.

Yard 1: Part loaned a TB on here.
- Largish DIY livery yard (no staff) on a working farm.
- Large fields, some horses turned out in a large group but my loan was only in a field with two others so that was good. Did get muddy in winter though.
- One 20x40 outdoor arena which hadn't been done properly so if it rained too much it didn't drain and got a bit deep (sand) in summer.
- No floodlights (though this didn't bother be as I part loaned on my days off work and so it was daylight and quiet when I was up!)
- They did turn the field next to the school into a jumping paddock with permanent jumps up in summer though which was nice!
- Not great hacking as was surrounded by farm land so only really road hacking a small bridlepath you could get to. However the farmer did let you ride round his fields (about 5 in total I think) with cross country jumps in and had a small section of wood they'd put some small jumps in too.
- Cross country course within hackable distance too.

Yard 2: My own horse
- Large livery yard on working farm. J is on assisted DIY but can do part/full too.
- Everyone is really nice and helpful on the yard even though there's a lot of us. The yard is split into 4 stable blocks so sometimes you don't see people from the block furthest from your block but everyone in my block is lovely.
- 1 outdoor 60x20 school, 1 outdoor 40x20 (though is a bit shabby as the 60x20 is the most used) and 1 indoor 30x30 (i think) which is good for winter thought can book it and it does get booked up in winter! Big outdoor has floodlights so can ride there too. In heavy rain the outdoors can be slighty boggy but not too bad.
- Grazing is rubbish as fields aren't rested. In herds of 4 though so a nice size to deal with.
- 24/7 T/O in summer if you want and T/O in the day in winter (stabled at night)
- Hacking is good but do have to do some road work on faster country lanes to get to nice hacking.
- Can ride round a couple of the yards fields.
- Maintenance things can sometimes take a while so things don't get fixed all that quickly (i.e one half of flood lights still not fixed from last winter).
- Straw and haylege included. Mostly good but can be a bit iffy sometimes.

All in all I really like my yard, it's not perfect but everyone is nice and there is very little bitchiness for a large yard (if there is any i do try and keep out of it). When I first moved there everyone was so friendly and made me feel welcome and helped me out as a first time horse owner. J is settled and it's good to have the assisted side if I'm away or anything. It would be nice if the fields were better grazing and if they were topped every year, but I have a good doer so it's not so much of an issue.
 
Yard 1, awesome little farm 6 livery owners with three living onsite own grazing to do as you wished (owner topped and sprayed twice a year) huge stables, own room in portacabins for tack/feed, half bay in haybarn. School with lights. Loved the place and people. Would still be there if we hadn't moved down south.

Yard 2, little yard, mad liveries with very odd turnout/bring in times. Massive school but not cared for.

Yard 3, nice school with lights. Exellent hacking and very close to home. YM was a nutter however with rule changes and threats to throw off yard weekly.

Yard 5, own yard upside is stuff doesn't walk and fatty isn't pestered by other horses. Plenty of hacking. Do miss school and beige able to walk down to yard.
 
First horse.

Yard 1, full livery at a riding school. Good outdoor school, good facilities and turnout, hacking was good but had to get passed VERY busy roads including crossing a dual carriageway. Didn't bother me at the time as it was what I was used to and mare was very good in traffic. Great people and YM.

Then boarded with my aunt who had fields and outbuildings so had her with me. No-where to ride, fields were very steep and straight onto busy, narrow and winding road. As I was riding twice a day with college and then work she was basically retired.

Yard 2, my work at the time, huge trekking centre also breeding IDx's and showjumping. Turned out with trekking herd in 40 acres. Huge indoor school with lights, gallery etc, big American barn, brilliant hacking including beaches and private valley. Didn't usually offer livery though, staff only.

Yard 2, nightmare DIY yard, nutty liveries doing dangerous things, no sign of YM, one pony never left its stable whole time I was there and only mucked out at weekends. Left ASAP.

Yard 3, small DIY yard, no school but well-drained flat field to ride in, ok hacking. Plenty of turnout but barbed wire fencing and not always well-maintained. Nice YO and liveries.

Yard 4, my work at the time, small livery yard attached to boarding school. Good turnout though did get a bit wet, good outdoor school, amazing hacking with acres of private parkland to ride in and then straight onto the downs. Only took horses associated with school (staff and pupils).

Big gap without own horse then until current horse.

Yard 1. Smallish livery yard, ok outdoor school. Lots of hacking on quiet lanes but not many bridleways etc. Turnout an issue in winter as YM tended to get everything in whenever it rained and got very muddy in gateways. Some friction over rugging / feeding etc, but generally got on ok. Great fellow liveries. Only left as had small child and needed somewhere nearer and better for kids.

Yard 2. New livery yard opened at a local working farm (to pay for farmer to have an outdoor school for her horse). Brand new outdoor school. Ok stables, lovely grazing and plenty of turnout. Ok hacking, limited routes but they were good ones and surfaced a lot of the way around. Could ride on farm in summer. Wasn't the poshest place (rusty machinery / broken down cars etc). Brilliant fellow liveries, really helpful. Well set up for people with kids (e.g. sandpit next to school). Only left as moving.

Now have him at home with no school and no stables (open-fronted barn).
 
Yard 1 - As a child/teenager 6 months on one yard which was a Riding school. Nothing particularly wrong although t/o limited but moved somewhere cheaper with better t/o

Yard 2 - was at for about 8 years. Large yard, lots of kids and teenagers. Started out quite basic with about 20 stables but facilities developed over time and increased to about 80 stables. Only left when went away to University.

Lived in Kent for 7 years.

Yard 3 - Small livery yard of about 15 people run by SJ people who bred a few of their own. 2 yrs until horse pts because of wobblers. Hacking ok, nice school, friendly people. Would not have left as liked it there. YO emigrated to Australia a couple of years later though.

Moved back to Sussex got another horse.

Kept horse for 4 years at Yard 2 again. Very large, 4 schools, ok hacking, cafe, shows etc. Busy and open late with floodlit schools, good for full-time workers. By this time was a RS. Left mainly because they would not let you have other instructors on the yard.

Yard 4 - 1 year at instructors yard, about 12 horses, two large schools, hacking on private estate. Big mistake, too far away, horse hated it and instructor/ YO turned out to be a nutter.

Yard 5 - 7 years. Small yard of 12 horses. Not perfect but fantastic hacking, decent facilities, good t/o. Horse very happy. No plans to leave.
 
Not quite answering the question but s few years back I did some work for a lady who's groom was on holiday.
She had asked herself the same question and then what she could do to improve on the good bits and get rid of the bad. Using this she built from scratch the most amazing (I mean truly amazing) set up. Nothing is difficult and every tiny detail is thought of. She's absolutely loaded but imagine being able to do this! I literally had to pick my chin up off the floor (which you could have eaten off!) every new bit I saw.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Not quite answering the question but s few years back I did some work for a lady who's groom was on holiday.
She had asked herself the same question and then what she could do to improve on the good bits and get rid of the bad. Using this she built from scratch the most amazing (I mean truly amazing) set up. Nothing is difficult and every tiny detail is thought of. She's absolutely loaded but imagine being able to do this! I literally had to pick my chin up off the floor (which you could have eaten off!) every new bit I saw.
Click to expand...

When I get my lottery win......
 
(We literally live on the edge of the country so are very very limited for livery, south east too so land is being built on and expensive)
Yard 1 - spent my childhood to older teen years here. It was a few roads away from where I lived, kept my pony there. The yard owner was very controlling - you must join in with a 'lesson' to use the school - a small beach sand area where you had to stay on the 'track' - a ditch going around the outside. No circles, don't touch the inside of the school. Nose to tail, no jumping (unless you were in her favourite group and were allowed a tyre on the ditch to jump. No hacking allowed, no shows, can't see your horse on Mondays or if she decides she doesn't want to open one day. Pony on grass livery, 4 acres for 70 horses. used to call me too fat to ride so I wasn't allowed to (I honestly wasn't back then) and fed potatoes instead of hay 😒 As soon as I could drive I was out of there 😂 I feel terrible for not moving her sooner but I just didn't have the knowledge at that age.

Yard 2 - a livery yard that promised turnout every other day, horse didn't go out for 8 months over winter, couldn't find anywhere to move to within an hour. Extra charges popped up that weren't mentioned - muck truck was £10 a week, field £2 a day, hay limited to a small net a day, school boggy and unuseable. Yard owner an alcoholic who'd text rudely at night.

Yard 3- this came up 45 minutes away from home but jumped at the chance to move away from yard 2. Owner was a farmer, kept out of it. The other livery decided to anoint herself the 'yard manager' and tell me I was cruel for not rugging (hairy native) I just wasn't enjoying being told what to do by her - then decided to lock my pony in a field for 'security' but wouldn't give me the key. Bolt cutters and off I went to -

Yard 4 - was there 2 years, seemed nice - a pretty BHS yard, but recently the elderly yard owner seemed to have a complete personality change and would say hurtful things, then it became bigger things such as taking another girls saddle away because apparently she was cruel for schooling 6 days a week,then banned all Farriers and saddles except her own as she'd worked out that she could get herself commission. It was a shame as the liveries and basic facilities were nice. It was 50 minutes away from me though. I was unsure of where to go when -

Yard 5 - phoned me. I'd been on the waiting list for 2 years, it was a small diy yard, less than 10 minutes from home. I met the owner and he was a cheerful man who proceeded to tell us that his yard was mainly his hobby - as limited spaces where I am in the country but very horsey area - he took people on on recommendations and therefore has a yard of liveries who have fun and minimal yard politics. He stays out of it unless there's a reported problem with someone and he'll talk to them. He's there at 6am each morning - looks over the horses, waters them and moves our hay deliveries for us. Finds any broken fences and fixes it then. My pony was being destructive and I texted him asking if it was ok to get a grill to put on the door- I get there in the morning and there's one all installed there. It's the kind of yard you feel really happy going to, a wash area, 30x60 school harrowed every day, and very happy horses. I hope to stay here as long as I can :) these yards do exist - but they seem to be very rare!
 
First yard was on a farm, in 1973, I was a teenager and my horsey grandad bought me a Connemara bay mare from Irish sales...I just had a field with a shelter, but the grass in summer was very rich and after being warned about laminate problems we moved my pony to my grandads back garden every summer!! You could do that then. When I went to college I had outgrown her, and sold her to be a brood mare as she had a fab sire and dam bloodline , considering grandad only paid £60 for her!

Yard 2....also a farm, no facilities at all just empty lanes and lots of fields to ride in, I loaned this horse for 3 years while owner was away travelling ..loved the freedom, and farmer often put us in his lorry if he was taking his show cob to a show, and we did fun classes

Yard 3. After a break of several years loaned another horse on a yard right on the moors, small school, few poles to jump, but hacking was fab...open moors and woodland, yard owner loaned lots of her horses, she was a horse collector... I think I only paid about £5 a week to loan... left due to working away

Yard 4 .... now it's 2009.. my son was learning to ride on this riding school, and got interested in polocrosse, so we bought a polocrosse horse, and he loved this yard, nice school, few xc jumps, 3 instructors, pony days, beach rides, moor rides, then in 2011 I got my own horse again and a youngster to bring on with YO riding it for me...did BE and local county shows, bought myself a lorry, went all over the country doing polox and shows and Eventing...loved thoes years, made lots of friends, still am friends with most of them. Then son went to uni, sold all the horses and the lorry and there I was , horseless...then the yard sold 6 months later, most of my friends were given notice as new owners just wanted to produce and not do livery, few of my friends moved to a nearby yard, and I still visit and help them out..

May go back to owning next year when son finished uni, and he may wish to play polox again..
But I loved my horsey days and all my yards, none of them were posh, some very basic to say the least,
 
I've posted a fair few times about yard drama. For a little while I was a serial yard hopper! Since I moved to this part of the country there has been:

Yard 1:

Weird sort of part/assisted DIY set up which gave me a couple of nights off a week which was useful as I was so unwell at the time. Then a few months in the YM lost interest and stopped looking after the horses. Mine wasnt fed, or turned out. My stuff was taken and lost/broken by yard staff. I took my feed buckets away to check if the horse was being fedm he wasnt! The YO then told half the yard on christmas eve and the rest of us on boxing day that she was giving up. She promised that it would keep running so I was going to stay and see what happened. The final straw was when I went up and he'd been stood in since 3pm the day before with 5kgs of hay, still in his turnout rug and heacollar. So 24 hours with enough hay to last 5 or so hours. I moved him the next day to

Yard 2:

Hated it from the second I arrived. It was run by a mad woman. My physio was there treating my horses and the YO went mental saying the liveries were all lazy, just sitting about and then proceeded to make me sweep the whole 20 stable yard. She wouldnt give me a key to the tackroom so I had nowhere to put my stuff. The final straw for this one was poo picking in a storm in January and she cycled by and shouted something at me, I shouted "What?" back over the noise of the storm and she marched over to tell me its pardon not what and not to be so common?! I stayed 3 weeks and went to

Yard 3:

The worst decision of my life and ultimately ended up with the death of my pony. It was a full livery yard recommended to me. The woman who ran it treated my horse like it was hers. She stuffed him full of haylage and buckets of cheap pony nuts. She refused to feed my balancer and went mad when I wouldnt feed the crap supplement she fed. She used to wait till I was on my own and scream and shout at me. She once screamed and shouted at me for turning up at 3pm. It wasnt good enough even though the horse was on full livery.

Despite knowing I was disabled and had to be careful she took me out on a hack with her (I wasnt allowed to ride alone) and took me out for 2.5hours. I was so crippled when I got back I dont think I have ridden since. It took me weeks to recover. By this point the horse had piled weight on, and my trimmer came out and diagnosed low grade laminitis. This lead to another row as apparently he just needed shoes and more work so this was all my fault. His saddle didnt fit by this point and she wouldnt let me fitter on the yard to check but instead continued to ride him, hammering him into the ground then starving him. The final straw was when I went up after 5 days away and picked his feet out and half his foot fell away leaving a huge bleeding hole. She bedded them on deep litter straw beds and clearly hadnt been picking his feet out. I lasted 11 weeks but that 11 weeks was enough to damage him to the point he ended up PTS due to laminitis. From here I went to

Yard 4:

It was a temporary measure and a hell hole! No electric, no proper fencing and the YM was a nutter. She told me she owned the yard but turned out she just rented. I got half a shipping container as a stable and a paddock 10ms x 40ms and that was it. It was perfect for my now laminitic pony. We stayed there about 4 months. I left in the end as my pony was being let out his paddock into waist high lush grass, I know it was the YM but never managed to catch anyone doing it. However it was only a temporary measure as the yard is well known in the local area but it served my needs at the time. And off we went to

Yard 5:

A busy riding school and livery yard. Messy and dirty as you'd expect from a working farm but I liked it there. There was always lots going on and people actually rode their horses. Schools were nice, fields were just one big herd and my pony seemed really happy. Unfortunately even being very, very, very careful he got laminitis. This is the point where it all went wrong. Because it was such a busy yard and my pony was charming and a proper scrounger, I convinced myself that he was being fed treats and things as he wasnt recovering. I dont know if he was or if it made any difference either. I couldnt get him right and the stress was horrific so as a last ditch attempt to save him he went to

Yard 6:

A rehab yard. Small, and full livery so all the horses were in a settled routine and incredibly well looked after. Sadly I lost my pony to the laminitis which broke my heart. I had bought another pony a few days earlier and it was all a horrible mess. The yard were lovely and let me keep the new pony there and supported me through it all. I had to move though as it was so far away and the journey was just too much. Off we went to

Yard 7:

A huge big posh yard where no expense was spared. I went as a full grass livery while I was waiting for more stables to be built. It was awful! What I was told when I viewed was not what I got! He was kept in a paddock 20x20 fenced with one strand of tape that wasnt electrified, and it was up a huge hill behind the yard. It was so high and steep they couldnt even get the tractor up to get water there, but assured me that they would carry some up. As I was leaving the only groom had her loan horse taken away by its owners as it was being neglected!

I went the next day and my pony was going beserk as he had been left totally alone with no even a horse in sight. He had no water, and the paddock he was in had no grass. He had repeatedly escaped and at the bottom of the hill was a building site wit huge earth movers and all sorts and after that he had access to a fast busy road. I spoke to them and they promised to move him. They just moved him to another tiny, dirt paddock fenced with non electrified tape. We lasted 4 days I think and that was only because it took me a few days to find somewhere and organise transport. And so we went to

Yard 8:

I love it here! The YM has horses of his own and its not his main source of income which makes a big difference. We get ad lib haylage inc in the price and it really is ad lib. He sources bedding for us and we get it at cost. The place is maintained incredibly well. Hes very fussy who he takes, which means everyone gets on and the horses are all looked after. I have my own tackroom which is 10ft x 5ft. The YO is so helpful, he fitted my haybar and helped me refurb a carriage. Theres storage for my carriage and he lets me use the school to drive in. WE have a lunge pen, school, some off road hacking. The only downside is the rest of the hacking is on a busy country road, but I drive and the pony is bombproof so we managed. After a mile you are on a tiny country lanes so its fine.

Theres no niggles like there is anywhere but I'm happy and settled and so is the pony. People dont move from this yard. I only got a space as sadly a horse was PTS. The only thing missing is someone doing services, but I prefer DIY. It means my pony is kept to my standards and I cant see me moving again!
 
First yard was a riding school where I helped in return for a few lessons and a sort of share in one of the horses. Said horse retired and so I moved on to loan from a nearby farmer. Then had various shares at the same lovely friendly yard.

They were full when I got my mare so as a stop gap I went to a local field. The plus side was direct hacking into the woods, the rest was awful.
Mud up to my knees, one large bale a week of crap haylege for 9 horses. Water came from a stream, waters never topped up. Rude people with screaming kids, a herd that bullied my horse. Rude unhelpful people that I would never have trusted around my mare. Promises of a school that never came about, generally just rubbish.
Moved after 4 awful months back to the original yard as one of the horses had passed away. It all got too much and I was struggling with the lack of any facilities and a useless field owner who promised the earth and did nothing.

Current yard is lovely. It's on a very small farm and I am one of eight liveries. Farmers are an old couple who do their own hay and have 4 horses of their own. We don't have a school but can school in the fields in summer. Hacking is beautiful, no roads involved and just miles of forestry. Always somebody to ride with but also no pressure to ride. I'm the youngest on the yard with the youngest horse, the YO chooses her liveries well and they stay for life. My horse is so happy in a herd of 11 others on 25 acres. I have a lovely stable, far too big for my 14.3 cob, and a locked tack room. Feed room is a shipping container and farmers live on site and always keep an eye out. They will bring in in winter if you're away and if they can't then there's always somebody to help you out. Bar two liveries who are a bit nasty, the people at great, and the two nasties don't come up and don't cause trouble so we all get along fine.
My only complaint is too much grass, but that's minor thing which a lot of us all suffer with :)
My horse is so happy that I think she will be there as long as possible :)
 
Gosh I have lead a simple life!!
Yard 1 Not really a yard as at parents house, could see stables and field, which were at the bottom of the garden, from my bedroom window, Mum and Dad on hand if needed, I was probably too young to appreciate all this.
Yard 2 Moved when I had to grow up, but kept a couple at M and D's and a few at yard 2 for about 10 years, juggling kids PC ponies, Shetlands, and my horses plus young children but managed with masses of help from parents doing babysitting etc. Now fully at yard 2, have downsize on horse owning. Just me and a friend here. On my doorstep, basic, but no interference from anyone else, friend is easy going and due to our jobs/lifestyles we do our horses at different times, we see each other about twice a week, communicate by text mainly! The only downside is no arena, but I box up and go to 2 lessons a week plus use of friends arena a few miles away during the winter. Great hacking. I consider myself very lucky not to have to deal with livery yard problems others seem to have!
 
Current yard

pros: less than 5mins from home. Staff and liveries are absolutely lovely, I've made a lot of friends here. Horses are looked after to an incredibly high standard, which is important for me as H is on full livery, and they're often in sole charge of him while I'm 6hrs away at uni. 30x60 outdoor school with jumps and portable XC fences, second smaller school currently being built, full XC course open in mar-oct (ish), all free to use for liveries. Wash area with hot water and solarium, barn or traditional wooden stables, secure tack room, tea room and storage room. YO is also a fab instructor, so can have lessons without travelling, and regularly hold open clinics etc. on site.
cons: paddocks could be bigger, some horses get turned out alone (but can always touch over the fence). The only hacking is 90% on roads, but that's just the area I live in, there are no bridle paths for miles around here. They only do full livery, which is not an issue for me as it's what I was looking for, but does put some others off.
I absolutely love it here, and all the horses are so settled, happy and healthy. I trust everyone there implicitly, and I know that even if I can't be there, they'll deal with any issues with H quickly and appropriately (and they've proved this on multiple occasions!). The YO really does go above and beyond to make sure every horse is at it's best. None of the issues are a big deal for me, paddocks are big enough for all of them to have a good run around and aren't awfully muddy, and horses turned out alone don't seem bothered. It's easy enough to box to somewhere to hack off road, and in the winter we often go on yard trips to the forest or the beach, just for a bit of a leg stretch! Everyone is so supportive and lovely, I really couldn't be happier. Yes, it's expensive, but it's so worth it
 
Wow - I'm not the only one who's been on a fair few yards.

I don't know if that means our expectations are too high or if we're getting a poor deal and there is really a lack of good yards.

I sometimes think about one day owning my own horse again or maybe full loaning but I'd always have to compromise on something with the yards around here unless something changes dramatically!

I don't mind paying for my livery but for many of the yards here you don't get what you pay for - there is a huge competition centre literally a few minutes walk from my house - costs a small fortune to livery there, you get amazing facilities but your horse is lucky if it sees grass - the alternative seems to be good grazing/turn out but no facilities and the ones that seem to have the right balance are all run by loonies!!
 
1. Rough diy yard. YO's random with lovely husband and evil, foul mouthed wife. Slightly odd liveries. Russian roulette road crossing to turnout (notorious accident blackspot.) Fields ok. Flood prone arena. Hacking good after a fair bit of road work.

2. Lovely part/full livery yard. Excellent turnout, fabulous brand new massive stables. Great, but quite small arena. Lovely liveries. Great hacking. Shame the YO's divorced leaving the dysfunctional wife and her new toy boy on site. They decided they didn't want liveries any more so we were all given notice.

3. Working farm, huge well maintained diy livery yard, awesome turnout, good stables. Long narrow arena, but I never used it. Hacking too stony and hilly for my old arthritic boy.

4. Working farm, shabby stables (but ok), good turnout in summer, appalling turnout in winter. Hideous arena (often had a dead cow en route .....) Some nice liveries, some bonkers. Horrible farmer. A total bully to liveries, family and his animals.

5. Tiny private rented yard with friends. Good stables, good turnout, not great hacking (but horse was retired so didn't affect me.)

No longer have horses.
 
Daniel_Jack said:
I don't know if that means our expectations are too high or if we're getting a poor deal and there is really a lack of good yards.
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The latter. The good yards dont advertise, they have no need to. I know now if a yard is advertising then theres usually a reason! I think if I had to move from my current yard I would give serious thought to giving up. I dont want to keep horses if its a miserable, stressful experience.
 
I can't believe how much yard hopping people do- bloody exhausting!! I have moved yards once in 5 years and love both yards, there are always compromises but overall both became second homes.
 
Ok here we go:

Yard 1: Riding school, gangs of children running around, things went missing. YO was lovely and took me under her wing and I learnt alot from her. Left due to a combination of thinks being stolen and the yard was up for sale. People used the yard as a babysitting service unfortunately. Good indoor arena, 2 decent ourdoors, all year turnout, hacking wasn't too bad, could ride in the fields in summer.

Yard 2: The yard from hell. I was 17 at this point with a very quirky TB. Was told off for not hacking but everyone hacked when I worked on Saturday and Sunday mornings and my horse wouldn't hack alone. The YO was mental, an utter b*tch, she basically bullied me and sent me home in tears. I'd get phonecalls about how my horse was behaving in a field when I was 6 miles away at work or when I was in school and it was insinuated that I could control her behaviour in a field... The stables were open fronted and the mare next door kept putting her head infront of my horse's doorway and despite being bitten wouldn't move her head, I personally was blamed for this despite having asked for a board to be put up so they couldn't reach eachother. Ok indoor but small, ok hacking, no outdoor arena. Left because I was utterly miserable.

Yard 3: Where I worked. Loved it. Big yard, ex riding school although still provided lessons to liveries, the odd lesson on the stallion. Lots going on, XC course, summer SJ in a field, winter indoor SJ, an outdoor sand school, an all weather outdoor dressage arena, an indoor arena and a lunging pen. My mare settled straight in and I had no real issues with her at that yard. It helped that as staff I got a livery discount and I didn't pay for the use of the indoor arena. My only real gripes were that they hayledge they made was really hit and miss sometimes, and although there was winter turnout it was only 4 days, but then on the turnout front with so many arena's, there was always space to exercise. I only left because my family and I moved away.

Yard 4: Ex riding school, slowing down, MASSIVE indoor and outdoor arena good sized lean to, XC course, hacking along Hadrians wall, beautiful hayledge made on site. The massive downside was no winter turnout at all. However, as by the end there was only me and one other livery (3 horses between us), we used to turn the horses out into the lean to whilst we faffed and mucked out (for a good hour), then we would ride the two younger ones together so all in all the horses coped without issue. Left because they were up for sale and served us all notice.

Yard 5: Less said about this one the better. I stayed for 2 years because I had no alternative, I couldn't drive so was reliant on parents and because of where we lived it was literally my only option after my other yard closed. YO who was again, mental, treated liveries like dirt yet we paid an extortionate amount of money. The things I saw at that place were awful. Outdoor arena, all year turnout on poorly managed clay land (think hock deep mud, you couldn't walk into the field in winter as you would also get stuck). Left because I'd passed my driving test and I'd had enough of being treated like dirt and not like a customer. (I could rant about this yard for days so I won't!)

Yard 6: This was another bad choice, but at the time, it was the only yard with space and I had to get away from Yard 5, unfortunately it was a bit like out of the frying pan into the fire. Had gallops, and a horse walker. Horse walker was used as a dog pen. Summer turnout, first winter was NO winter turnout, nowhere to exercise your horse, no lights, nothing. Threatned to leave so the next year they gave me winter turnout on a concrete lane. I was promised winter turnout when I arrived but it never materialised so I left to...

Yard 7: Odd shaped little outdoor, all year turnout, lovely people, small, doesn't look posh but its functional. I have 2 small gripes. 1, the land is awful, it is clay and marshland so the mud is deep, but we split the cost of having round bales delivered to the field so its a moot point, the horses are happy. The YO is lovely but everything is a bit lastminute.com, but compared to other yards I've been on that is small fish and I can happily cope with that! :D
 
Yard 1 – Excellent facilities (jumping field, small XC course, onsite hacking, lovely 20x40 floodlit school and round pen), very secure. Turnout was very limited in winter though (even when fields were fine) and it made my pony very stressed in 24/7 for long periods. She was also turned out in a group of 3 which in hindsight made her very clingy. Stables were also indoor which suited her less too. We were there for 13 months. It is a good yard though and I still recommend it to people especially those who don’t mind limited turnout. I would go back if I was in that area again if I could get into the larger barn (I was in a small one) and in a bigger turnout group. I moved so she could have unrestricted herd turnout.

Yard 2 – When I moved it was very basic DIY, tiny sloping sand school (had lights though) and jumping paddock. Really good hacking. Large fields, big herd 24/7 365 turnout but large stables too. Very cheap. Completely DIY. It changed over time, becoming bigger with more facilities, new 20x60 school put in and winter turnout was changed to daytime only. Yard owner retired and his daughter took over and it became more money and nowhere near as friendly. I had lots of friends there though, but moved in the end because I moved house and area. I was there for just over 4 years.

Yard 3 – DIY with services. Big yard, very reasonable prices but very bitchy liveries and a lovely yard owner. They were full when I moved but YO converted a storage area to a small stable for me so I could come, which was very kind. Turnout limited in winter as it got very wet but it was done fairly and pony was happy, herd turnout but fields quite small. Hacking very good. School surface was dire though. I was there for 18 months before I moved house and area again. If I was in the area again I would go back, despite the bitchiness and school surface as there were also some very nice people too.

Yard 4 – Current yard. 5 day part-livery only and lacks flexibility and I really miss DIY at times. But YO is very helpful and it is very good value. Large fields, herd turnout, nice basic school with lights. YO helps for free with routine vet visits, farrier etc. Very secure. Fabulous hacking, very happy horses. So if it was DIY too it would be perfect. I am really happy here so will only move if I have to. We have been here for 2.5 years so far.

My priorities are:
1/Herd turnout, at least daily in winter
2/ Good off road hacking
3/ School with lights
4/Security
 
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