Those on full livery.

[Starzaan]

May I pick your brains a little? This is aimed at those keeping horses on full or part livery (full being all care and riding, part being all care)

If anyone would like to know why I am asking the below, please feel free to pm me. ?

Would you mind answering the following? I shall send you morag wafts as a thank you

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

2- what would you change about it?

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Just going to pass on what a mate says. She hates turning up and the bed is rubbish, not thick enough straw. Or arriving and the horse isn’t in but should be. She won’t have certain helpers touching him, because they’re too ‘handy’. Another livery complained that there wasn’t a hay net in the stable when the horse had just been brought in.

 

[Starzaan]

Just going to pass on what a mate says. She hates turning up and the bed is rubbish, not thick enough straw. Or arriving and the horse isn’t in but should be. She won’t have certain helpers touching him, because they’re too ‘handy’. Another livery complained that there wasn’t a hay net in the stable when the horse had just been brought in.

I have had a similar experience and cannot even begin to describe how hideous it is to know your horse isn’t being cared for as it should be, but you can’t get there to change that.

 

[Gloi]

1. The facilities and the lovely countryside it is in.
2. I'd like it to be nearer to home and the bridleways to be in better condition. Some staff are better than others at mucking out.
3. Knowing that I need it due to my health not being what it was. Plus the cost.
4. Much the same though they are stricter with him than I am which is probably a good thing.

 

[shamrock2021]

1. The level of care for the horse is brilliant and it’s only 5 minutes from home.

2. I wish there was better hacking and better arenas footing more facilities.

3. not having that strong relationship with my horse and I miss making up the feeds.

4. The same as me

 

[Pippity]

1) The standard of care. There are only two grooms, and I know both of them really care about the horses they look after and will happily go that extra mile.

2) Worse grazing! Space is reasonable (but wouldn't we all like more) but the grass is really rich.

3) Not knowing the precise details of how she is, day-to-day. I see her pretty much every day, but it's not the same as knowing that she's left a bit of her haynet which isn't like her, or she wolfed her hard feed down for a change, or she's been standing at the back of her box for a bit.

4) When I first got her, they could absolutely do a better job. I was a novice horse owner, and sharing is good preparation but it's not at all the same! Now, I think we're on a par with the day-to-day care (although they're a hell of a lot faster at mucking out) but they're a lot more experienced with the less-common stuff, whether that's poulticing an abscess or clipping.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

May I pick your brains a little? This is aimed at those keeping horses on full or part livery (full being all care and riding, part being all care)

If anyone would like to know why I am asking the below, please feel free to pm me. ?

Would you mind answering the following? I shall send you morag wafts as a thank you

I was previously on part livery and it wasn't a success and left as soon as I found somewhere else, but hopefully my answers will be helpful anyway.

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!
Close to where I lived.
Daily turnout in herds (mare field and gelding field) even in winter but could accommodate temporary individual or with a small pony companion if required (eg during recovery from a injury).
Toilet.

2- what would you change about it?
The trust in the YO and staff was missing. They didn't inform me when my mare was injured and never told me how she was injured.
The staff were too pushed for time and were always in a rush and/or frustrated.
They often couldn't catch my mare, she's easy to catch but needs time to trust people, the rushing/frustration meant they never had the time to calmly get to know her.
YO too quick to smack/kick horses for no good reason IMO. This did not suit my sensitive mare.

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?
Having no trust in the people looking after your horse.

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?
Not in my specific case. Horse has blood pouring out of her mouth plus other injuries and the YO is trying to put me off from calling the vet - it's a no bloody brainer as to who has the welfare of the horse at heart in this case.
I know that there are many yards out there that are far, far better than the one I was on though.

 

[redredruby]

1. The level of care - it is exceptional and they do notice the small things. They will always go out of their way if a horse needs something different/out of the routine doing.

2. I'd live closer!

3. As someone said above I do miss the day to day details that you get when you're looking after them yourself but, i think my relationship has got stronger with them since being on livery as I now have more time to spend with them.

4. Day to day - pretty much on a par but, everyone likes to do things a certain way.

In terms of lameness or other health problems it is always great to have a knowledgeable team to help, provide advice etc.

 

[DirectorFury]

I've been on the same full livery yard only for just over 4 years now. What I call 'full' livery is just care, though YO will ride mine if I ask and leave my tack for her.

1. The yard owner. She's absolutely fantastic, incredibly knowledgeable, and really cares about the horses.

2. Make it closer to my house! It's 20 miles/40mins-1hr30 each way from my house but we can't afford to buy a house close to the yard. Also maybe grass free turnout.

3. I can't justify the time to 'just' go and see my horse and give her a few carrots -- I always feel like we have to be doing something (riding, etc) to make the trip worth it. If I lived closer this wouldn't be an issue, and in lockdown when the roads were dead and I could get there in 30 mins I did this quite a lot.

4. They can offer her a much higher standard of turnout in well maintained fields than I could get on any full or DIY livery within about 30 miles. For picking up illness or not-quite-rightness the YO is definitely better than me.

 

[Caol Ila]

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

The staff are lovely, and the facilities and hacking are top-notch.

2- what would you change about it?

Not a lot. It is a riding school, and access to the indoor is non-existent when there are lessons. But that really is a first-world problem compared to some of the crazy stuff I endured at my last yard.

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

At the current yard, nothing is hard and I'm happy. But I've been on full livery elsewhere (at more than one place) where there are boundary issues between horse owner and yard owner over the horse's care -- everything from feed to rugging to how much I was riding it or whether or not the vet should be called for total non-emergencies/non-vet-related issues. The YO took more control and gave me more shit about those decisions than I was comfortable with. Maybe that's useful for novice owners, but I haven't been a novice owner for a long time. Just because you're cleaning the stable and turning it out doesn't mean it's *your* horse. The staff at my current yard are lovely and helpful, but they've got enough horses to take care of and don't need to take 'ownership' over any livery's horse. I find that really refreshing.

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

Yes. They do a good job. I would be frantically racing to the yard twice a day and feeling rushed if I was doing everything myself. And living in a city, it's not like there are yards five minutes away. You have to drive at least 20-30 minutes. If I was DIY, I would have less time to ride and just be with the horse.

 

[Starzaan]

Thank you all so much, these are such helpful answers. It’s interesting to see a few common themes!

 

[Celtic Fringe]

1. Favourite thing - family run yard - they care for my horse exactly as if he was their own. He looks fantastic and is now trained way beyond any level that I could aspire to.
2. What would I change - nothing much. It would be nicer if it was nearer home. An indoor school would be a real bonus!
3. The hardest part of being on full livery is the cost
4. The yard owner and family can do a better job of looking after and training him as a competition pony. I would be fine looking after him if he was mostly hacking - I just don't have the knowledge or experience to train a horse to a decent level of competition.

 

[sherry90]

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

The people (yard owner, staff and liveries) everyone is lovely and encouraging. I was previously on DIY where equally everyone was nice but people tended to not ride much which didn’t give much inspiration or motivation whereas where I am now, despite it not being a big competition yard, everyone has goals to work towards.
We also have fab facilities - indoor, onsite hacking.

2- what would you change about it?
The only thing is our hay is not ad lib but to be honest they have enough! I’m just used to having my own round bale on DIY.
Oh and I’d also love some XC jumps and a canter track if I was being fussy ?

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?
I’d say not seeing him everyday some weeks but to be honest that’s out of choice and as much as I love him when I’m super busy at work and then rushing to do something more social I don’t have to worry about it him at all and I’m grateful!

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?
They are much quicker at mucking out than I am ? and they do and will inform me of any issues or little nicks or cuts (knowing that I’m completely paranoid!) But I’d say we are on par with each other and my standards are high ? so it works!

The only thing about full livery that often puts people off is cost but in my experience it is 100% worth it at this point in time. It IS a more expensive way of keeping a horse but the cost benefit of time and how much more riding I get done now I feel I’m very lucky to be able to do it, if my circumstances changes eg job change or financial difficulty for whatever reason I’d have to consider DIY and this would be no faulty of the full livery I have experience of ?

 

[ihatework]

Generalised answer based on a number of yards, different types of full, some good others less so:



1- For part livery, no riding, the yard i was happiest on was very smart. Whenever I arrived I just smiled and relaxed. It helped that the people were nice and it was well run obviously but it was the smartness that’s set it above other good yards.

For ridden livery it was the rider. Their commitment to my horse and that they like the horse and want to do best by them. That isn’t always the case.

2- what would you change about it? Generally the over riding things I want to change across a number of yards I’ve been on is the turnout set up.

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?
Trust that the little things will be picked up, more so when on full ridden livery when I don’t see the horse every day. So changes in behaviour, eating, drinking. Also rugging, in general over recent years I have to request my horses aren’t rugged quite so heavily

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?
Basic looking after then the horse would only be there if I was sure the yard gave equivalent care as I would. Rarely is it noticeably better. But on full ridden livery then most definitely better than what I can offer, that’s what I pay for primarily - but I’m very fussy about who I would trust to ride my horses unmonitored

 

[Micropony]

Favourite thing is the YO and the standard of care and individual attention/consideration my horse gets. Also I love the lack of drama and yard politics (not that my last yard really had those either). Beds are immaculate. He always, always has hay. There is a washing machine and tumble dryer on site, and the YO even bungs his sheets and boots in for me sometimes if he's made a particular mess of them. Any slight issues are picked up, I am told straight away, and she will deal if I can't get there promptly. For example if he loses a shoe, she finds it in the field, calls the farrier and then tells me she's done it. That's more than one favourite thing, right? My horse and I are incredibly lucky!

In an ideal world it would be nice to have more people to hack with - it's a very small yard.

Nothing is hard, I am really very happy with things. There are only really minor things that I would do differently, and nothing that is in any way significant to his welfare.

Well I don't have the time to do it properly myself, which is why he's on livery. I am still involved with his care and see him on a daily basis. Although I do fall in with routine and YO's decisions about how she runs her yard, I don't feel I have given up any real control over how he is managed and cared for.

 

[Gingerwitch]

Hi starzan.

I think you need to ask this question with do you pay for your feed, hay bedding or is it included.

My full livery yard is amazing, only the one girl I dont rate but not nasty to the horses just lazy with the beds. Eg too thin, but she only does a Sunday and I go up and ask for her to top up. If it carried on during winter beds I will just send photo to yard owner and she will sort immediately. I am just giving benefit of saying "oh you're not finished the beds yet are you .... Which gives her an opt out".
Only thing I don t like is the distance but hacking, care, grazing, opening times, non bitchy yard and all my 4 are next to each other. The week girls go the extra mile but I always treat them at Christmas from the ponies. I support all the yard raffles even if I cannot attend the parties due to work commitments. I don't bitch or gossip and have respect for all the staff and yard owner's. I speak up if I don't like something, but do it as I would with a client, I dont demand of threaten and say thank you and please. I follow the yard rules and am always a month in front and pay a day or so early. I also drop a text to say box going for m o t, or taking x away for the weekend just out of courtesy, and I make sure there are clean dry rugs for staff to use and never question the rug, non rug they have used as we can all sometimes make the wrong choice.

Yes they do good care but not my care if you know what I mean.

What do I really hate and this is not my current yard.
1. Promised horse could dunk hay - bus hay put in a net and his waters hung on opposite corner of stable on the wall.
2. Being told to get the horse you are tacking up out the stable as the yard want to muck it out, despite your other stables being empty and next door.
3. Being sneared at for bring on full livery by staff and getting comments that you should only have 1 (I did not want to leave my previous life but had to)
4. Be ridiculed for getting a vet by yard staff.
5. Having staff call your horse a bitch
6. Seeing your horse being roughly handled.
7. Seeing a crap bed eg thin or dirty - unless due to an emergency ie staff struggling to yard in Ice and snow or illness or a horse being seriously injured and all hands to the pump.
8. Horses being left in same rug,fly mask when they are brought in.
9. Dirty rank water buckets or drinkers.
10. The yard routine is totally different to what you have been given - again on normal days not emergencies or really crappy weather.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Mine are rarely on full livery, and my brief experiences of being on it mean that I’m in no rush to do it again. Below are from different yards, none cheap.

Arriving to find horse on a thin shavings bed, barely covering the concrete, wet patches. I offered to get stuck in and muck out, to be told no need, it’s just been done. Then got a bollocking for redoing the bed and adding more shavings, even though I supplied the extra shavings.

Supplements not fed, though I was being assured that they were. Checked how much was left after a month to find that none had been used at all.

Horse turned out for half day in bare all electric fenced tiny winter paddock, no grass or shelter. Not allowed to give her hay. Horse brought in but not hayed straight away, horse gets told off for chewing door, I go to fetch hay, I get told off for collecting hay myself.

Ragwort! Eventually pulled when waist high, left lying in the fields with the horses in til they got round to removing it.

The horses in the far barn getting fed a lot less forage than the ones in the near barn, because they don’t go up to the far barn as often so don’t notice that they’ve run out. Mine was in the far barn.

Smoking on the yard . Fook up your lungs if you want to, but don’t set fire to my horse’s stable while you do it.

 

[Flicker]

I don’t have a horse at the moment, but will answer as though I still do and still livery at the same yard:
1. Favourite thing: horse was in a routine and dealt with by staff who knew her and her quirks and (usually) were able to pick up if something was off. Also, I could concentrate on spending time with her and riding (when she was sound) rather than slogging hay nets or shovelling s***
2. What I would change: probably the way the staff were managed. I’d like to see grooms recognised as providers of a professional service, paid, trained and performance managed accordingly. While they were lovely, our yard staff saw the job as an ‘inbetweener’ before something better came up, and ownership for errors or omissions was therefore patchy.
3. Hardest: knowing aspects of my horse’s care were for the convenience of the yard rather than her best interests.
4. No way. I kept her on part livery because my job demands long hours. If I could choose, I’d have land and keep horses at home.

The other quality that seems to be lacking in many YO’s and YM’s is the willingness to actually engage with liveries, discuss issues and work out an arrangement that works for everyone. Where my YO has done that, it has generated huge loyalty among liveries, who are more willing to compromise back to help out, which is a good outcome for everyone.

 

[blitznbobs]

If anyone would like to know why I am asking the below, please feel free to pm me. ?

Would you mind answering the following? I shall send you morag wafts as a thank you

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

The team looking after them - the facilities are amazing but the fact that they are genuinely upset when a horse leaves and treat each of them like their own is amazing.

2- what would you change about it?
I’d have both my horses in stables next to each other — my fault tho as I took one of them home for the summer and then went back at short notice .

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

The stables at home are empty

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

Yes at the moment - I have too much on my plate and knowing they are watched and cared for is reassuring[/QUOTE]

 

[Winters100]

Mine are on Part Livery

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!
I like that the YO and several of the other owners ride same discipline as me so we train / exercise together. Pro lives and works on site. Boxes are fairly large (4.5 x 4.5m) with good ventilation. Turn out can e 24/7 if I want, although they normally come in at night. Owner reasonable and easy to deal with. Broken fences / lights / taps etc are not my problem as they would be at home. The only thing that is not done is riding them, but if I want them moved there are plenty of volunteers, or I could pay the pro if I needed to.

2- what would you change about it?
I am not madly keen on the groom responsible for our part of the yard, can be lazy about beds etc. Drying facilities for rugs would be useful.

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?
Nothing really. I still go every day, but I know that if for some reason I cannot go I don't need to panic.

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?
No, but equally they can give adequate care and I do not believe that I am the only one who can care for my horses.

Hope this helps!

 

[Tarragon]

I don't keep my ponies on full livery but I wanted to play! In my mind, I am thinking of the livery barns at Somerford.
1. What is your favourite thing about the yard - all the fantastic facilities and the opportunities they give!
2. What would you change about it - not having to share facilities with people at camps
3. What is the hardest thing about being on full livery - not being properly responsible in the day to day care of my horse (but presumably, it is on full livery because I haven't got the time to be full carer!) and feeling that my riding and horse would be compared against the other liveries and feeling pressurised to "compete"
4. providing the staff were proper horse-people and really cared for the horses, so it wasn't just a job, then probably yes, because of their experience. I have worked in racing stables so i know there are people who work in the industry who really shouldn't!

 

[ycbm]

May I pick your brains a little? This is aimed at those keeping horses on full or part livery (full being all care and riding, part being all care)

If anyone would like to know why I am asking the below, please feel free to pm me. ?

Would you mind answering the following? I shall send you morag wafts as a thank you

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

2- what would you change about it?

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

I'm going to answer for the last time I was, but it was 1991 so you might want to allow for that.

1. The hacking, a local NT property with a large estate to roam anywhere on.

2. The lack of turnout in winter. The late mucking out at weekends. The one size fits all feeding.

3. Not being in control.

4. Yes. I would only leave a horse in full livery if I was unable to provide the care the horse needed. At the time it was work which got in the way. Do I believe any full livery can look after my horses as well as I do now? No, but the best of them would be very close and perfectly acceptable and I intend to go back to it one day when I am old.
.


I'll pass on the morags, thank you ?

 

[gunnergundog]

May I pick your brains a little? This is aimed at those keeping horses on full or part livery (full being all care and riding, part being all care)

If anyone would like to know why I am asking the below, please feel free to pm me. ?


Would you mind answering the following? I shall send you morag wafts as a thank you PLEEEZE....NO!!

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

I currently have four horses spread over three yards. Two are eventer/hunters on one yard....by that I mean they are NOT 4/5 star eventers, but 2 star, probably 3 star, horses that have a dual purpose in life....they event at low level for education in order to become the ultimate ladies hunter for me! Depending on the season and their competition commitment, I may ride them five days a week or one day a week.

One other horse is a youngster out at grass at a stud. The fourth is a rehab job that should have been shot yonks ago but for sentimental reasons continues life happy schooling on the flat and jumping up to 3ft on another yard but needs to be micro-managed.

Generally speaking it is the people that make the yard for me. By that I mean, the owner, the yard manager, the grooms. I am not interested in other liveries providing social intercourse. I have been happy on ex-dairy farms with no schools, but lots of amazing hacking, an on-site team chase course, large fields with hedging for turn out and superb KNOWLEDGEABLE down to earth management. What works for me is what works for the individual horse.

2- what would you change about it?

I would move all the yards to within a ten mile max radius of my house. In my dreams!

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

Making a mistake and picking the wrong one. I have had horses on the one yard for over twenty years. I have had horses on one of the other yards, on and off, for ten years or so.

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

Yes and no.

They are on-site, they are riding at a higher level than I do nowadays, they are being paid a good sum for it. It is hard but I try not to mix business with pleasure.

 

[Tiddlypom]

And following on from another thread currently running. I prefer small yards with one or two people running them, but they must have appropriate back up readily available if they become hors de combat for any reason.

 

[ElvisandTilly]

I will answer for the one week I could bear of full livery on a yard I was on a couple of years ago before I moved my horse back to the old yard!

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

Full livery due to a new job and thought it would improve my work life balance and my horse would get good care and I wouldn’t have to worry about rushing home from work to tend to him especially in winter.

2- what would you change about it?

The stable I was shown before moving wasn’t the one they moved me in to. On arriving with all my belongings before my horse arrived the stable was over a foot deep in deep litter bedding that was black and mouldy underneath and so mouldy it was dusty too! I refused to put him in there unless new bedding was put in. Spent the first hour helping them muck out the dirty stable!

The extra space tack box for storage promised was not given. They said they don’t give liveries the bigger boxes as it was for their items! Although it was promised to me when showing me around!

Horses were in paired turnout and would go out each day unless the weather was really bad. First few days I found my horse hadn’t been turned out despite really good weather as they didn’t have enough staff on so was easier to keep them in!

I bought a new light for his stable as the fluorescent didn’t have a plastic cover, they didn’t see the problem so I bought a replacement! I also bought white paint for the walls as it was so dark and dingy in comparison to the stable I should have been in!

Found my horse wasn’t getting fed enough haylage so the first few nights I checked on him i had to top up his haylage, told them to put more in and fill to top. After a few days I could see his hay bar hadn’t been cleaned from the lose dropped bits and seeds and the haylage just piled on top of this so he had even less haylage each night as it piled up underneath! To the unseeing eye it looked like he had an over filled hay bar as requested but thankfully I’d checked underneath. Checked other horses on yard who were fed on the floor to find theirs was just the same. The illusion of lots of haylage unless you checked and saw all the waste and scraps underneath.

One sunny quite warm day for a winter day I came to yard in evening, as I felt I had to check him despite finishing work late, to find him foaming in sweat and the wrong stable rug had been put on. He’d worn a red one since arriving but they swapped it without asking and it was a much heavier weight rug and he was overheating! This was the last straw and I called my old yard to move back!

I had bought him his feed as I didn’t use what they supplied but the feed room was always locked and I wasn’t allowed in to see what they had been feeding him.

I moved my horse, all equipment and rubber mats 7 days after moving in! They had an excuse for every failure of care or it was my fault! I’d paid a month up front but was so glad to get away I didn’t care about the money! I was gone as fast as my little legs could carry me! Lol!

I moved everything and told them after I had gone that I had left! Even the transport arriving to take my horse and equipment no one came to see what was going on! There was no security on the yard and I could have taken whatever I liked! No one was around for nearly all day once morning feeds done!


3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

The worry of what they were doing to my horse and his care and safety. It was supposed to have made life easier, it was harder and certainly more worrying!

Not being there to provide the full care for my horse made me feel like we were losing our bond and time together even when not riding. I could see he was closing in on himself and not his usual self.

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

Not from where I had him on full livery for the 7 days but I went back to my old yard and went on full livery for 5 days a week and did the weekends myself and he was looked after like he was their own! It cost more for the 5 days but I felt he was safe and cared for.

I’m back to doing DIY and have moved him half a mile from home so can do everything myself and work!

 

[NLPM]

Like others, I'm no longer on full livery but wanted to join in! These refer to a few different yards - have been on four full livery yards for about 20 years before being able to have them at home. Although I've only had negative experiences at one yard, fortunately.


1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

• Small yard with instruction from the yard owner. My favourite full livery yard had only one other livery!
• Knowing they would be looked after whatever the weather/my work schedule
• Being able to go on holiday!!
• The indoor arena... Up north everywhere seemed to have an indoor arena and I didn't realise until I moved south how unusual it was.
• Decorating the yard for Christmas together with mulled wine, tinsel and stockings for the ponies (from YO).

2- what would you change about it?

• Large yards where the arena is busy - being on a yard which doubled as a riding school was horrendous at times
• Young inexperienced staff, e.g. who put any old rug on.
• Staff who are too lazy to walk to 'the far fields' which were about ten mins away - I left one yard after leaving for holiday during a freak snow storm, so piling rugs on to my horse and returning just over a fortnight later to find him sunning himself wearing the same heavyweight rug with two liners. There was no WAY he had been brought in and groomed every day. I don't even believe they looked at him, so I gave my notice shortly after as I just didn't trust them.
• Yards who 'employ' pony mad children but give them no support/tuition/explanation so although the kids try their hardest it isn't a safe environment. My horse hated all the squealing and hosepipe fights (so did I, to be fair).

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

• Getting in a busy arena - at least on DIY there are always jobs to do whilst you wait!
• Lack of choice over bedding

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

• Some, definitely - because they have more knowledge/time/facilities than I do.
• The young girls who are paid £10 and a ride a day who know next to nothing - absolutely not. I get we all start somewhere (& I was one of those pony mad girls too once!), but a yard should not be run in practice by a 15 year old overseeing 11 and 12 year olds. I still get annoyed by thinking of that yard!

 

[Walrus]

I'm on part livery but sometimes pay extra for lunging or riding if I'm away with work....

Favourite thing....yard owner, she totally gets me and my horse and I have no worries leaving my horse in her care.

What would I change... better turnout in winter (we are in a very low, flat area that just turns to a bog as soon as there's a smidgen of rain). And better hacking as we have to cross a main road and I'm a wimp.

Hardest thing....sometimes feel guilty I don't do everything....and that my horse likes my YO more than me (she brings the food, I turn up and ride!).

Can the yard do a better job than me......probably, mainly because they can stick to a routine more than I can with work (I like to think I can muck out a stable just as well!). YO is also better than me in an illnes/ injury knowing what to do situation.

 

[Frumpoon]

What is a morag waft? Do I want one??

 

[SoSoSam]

Answered in respect of part livery - i.e. all routine care 24/7 except exercise.

1. The location. On site staff. The horse being in a routine without me needing to be in a routine 24/7. Spending time at the yard with my horse instead of doing chores.

2. It is not run as a 'home' for the horse, he is more of a number.

3. Lack of management choice - e.g. foodstuffs, bedding - even professional help to a large degree. The horse being treated by my YM allegedly "as if he were her own" when I want him treated "as my own" - particularly as he is not one which she would ever have entertained keeping for herself. The lack of value of me as an "owner" - during lockdown, owners were not allowed on site yet literally every other Tom, Dick & Harry was permitted access (i.e. farriers, vets, portrait photographers, transporters, staff family, staff friends, agricultural contractors, routine/adhoc maintenance operatives etc. etc.) - owners were good only for fees.

4. No. I did when I first owned a horse but having subsequently been DIY for several years, I feel that I can do a job that is just as good and better in that I can offer specifically tailored care. The only part where they have any degree of superiority is in that they are able to provide better physical supervision as they are on site considerably more than am I.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

May I pick your brains a little? This is aimed at those keeping horses on full or part livery (full being all care and riding, part being all care)

If anyone would like to know why I am asking the below, please feel free to pm me. ?

Would you mind answering the following? I shall send you morag wafts as a thank you

1- what is your favourite thing about your yard? This could be a facility, a groom, care, anything!

2- what would you change about it?

3- what is the hardest thing about being on full livery?

4- do you believe your yard owner and their staff can do a better job of looking after your horse than you can?

Can I answer for past livery and why I’m no longer on livery?

1. On my favourite yard, 24/7 turnout in summer, and group turn out. Surprisingly rare on livery yards these days! Oh, and one livery had a 10pm closing time - really great if you’re working late and just want to give them a cuddle.

2. I found with a lot of yards, things didn’t end up being as described. I would be far happier if someone said, for example, ‘we try to turnout every day but in winter sometimes it just isn’t feasible’ than guarantee turnout only for me to find out months later that they are in for days. If there is a reasonable explanation for doing things a certain way, there would be no problem compromising. But, chances are, I will have weighed up the compromises against the advantages and squared the negatives off. If I have been promised something and am counting it as a huge positive then it is really disappointing if it doesn’t materialise.

3. Trusting people to look after your horse as you would like them treated, not as they believe is right. I find this especially hard with youngsters. Sometimes it’s about the kind of horse you’d like to produce, and it’s not right or wrong to do things either way but it produces a very different animal. A groom at a previous yard tried to take a very ‘no nonsense’ attitude with Mim, and pushed her to get on with things if she started to get snorty and looky. It might be absolutely necessary to insist like that with the big hunters but Mim would naturally lean towards being quite a sharp, spooky type and it takes a huge amount of patience to produce a laid-back hack out of that. She is an on-the-buckle horse with me but I bet she’d be very reactive if we had stayed.

4. Yes, I’m sure lots of people could do a better or as good a job of caring for horses. But, as above, different ways of doing the same thing can have very different results. I’d want a livery to respect my preferences for my horses or be up front about not being able to accommodate that.