To move or not to move

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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Just what you wanted! Another yard moving thread. But I'm putting it here because I'm indecisive and kind of a process queen. The process of writing this stuff helps.

Pros of current yard:
- My horse likes it, and she is opinionated about yards. So when you find one she likes, you're not inclined to move.
- My best friend and my rider, who have been extremely helpful, are there. It would be a huge shame to leave them.
- Care is excellent and I can leave town and not worry about the horse (unless it's winter -- more on this later)
- Floodlit all weather arena.
- American barn, so everything is under one roof. Nice when the weather sucks.
- In the summer you can ride in a big field and play on the xc course.

Cons of current yard:
- 27 miles (one way) from where I live.
- I don't think the yard owner likes me very much, though he is usually professional so it's fine.
- The hacking sucks.
- In the winter my horse fencewalks like a mad fencewalking thing when she is fed up and wants in. YO has been in a long-running stand off with her over this: he has his schedule, she wants what she wants, and that's how it is. In order to prevent her from fencewalking herself into looking like a rescue case, I have to get there myself between 2 and 3pm or have a friend do it. We are on full livery, by the way. It sort of worked last year because of my friend's availability but no guarantees as to what things will be like next winter. I can't be there seven days a week. Wouldn't need to keep a horse on full livery if I could.
- YO can be a little strange and difficult: like being happy for people to take a horse off-site for a one day show or clinic, but losing his sh ** t when I wanted to stable the horse overnight at a two day clinic.

Pros of potential yard:
- 10 miles away (one way) from where I live.
- Owner seems knowledgeable and flexible. Seems willing to work with horsey (and owner?) neuroses.
- Cheaper.
- Hacking looks AMAZING.
- Floodlit all weather arena.
- Horse is 25, and while she remains capable and happy doing dressage now, there may come a time when she will have to do more hacking and less dressage. Would be nice if we were at a place where the hacking didn't suck.

Cons of potential yard
- Travel time is actually not much different than current yard as it's all on wiggley country roads and no motorways.
- The unknown. I can't say for sure that my horse will like it, or that the people aren't crazy. Better the devil you know and all that.
- It's tiny. Only four liveries at most. The last tiny yard my horse was at, she hated, but who knows if that was down to the size or the semi-chaotic way it was run or the general juju of the area. I really wish they spoke English.
- My rider and best friend would not go there, as it's ridiculously far from where they live. Very much the wrong side of the city. I feel a little bad taking the horse away from my rider (no formal lease or contract or anything), although obviously them's the breaks when you ride other people's horses, and she knows that.
- Outdoor stabling. Probably a bit grim in the winter.
- Horse is 25 and I worry how stressful she will find a yard move.
 
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For the fence walking situation and the hacking I would say move. If the new YO is accommodating then she has a good chance of settling if you go there in summer.
 
I’d move just based on the fence walking. I was at a nice yard but horse wouldn’t settle and spent all day fence walking. Moved to a different yard and he stopped - it’s like a total personality change. Hacking would swing it for me too, as would a better YO.
 
The fencewalking is a bit of a punt. At the two yards we were at before the current one, it was much worse and seemed unfixable (which is why I moved). At least at this one, it's semi-controllable in the winter and doesn't happen in the summer. But then at the yard we were at when we still lived in Edinburgh, she didn't do it at all, while at the one in Durham she did it until the YO found a field she liked.

Moving makes me anxious because I have no idea if she will like a yard or not until she steps off the trailer.

Would anyone have concerns about moving a 25 year old horse? She has moved a lot in her life, but not since 2011.
 
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I think it does depend on the horse, I moved Frank at 21 and he stressed for a fair while despite the yard actually being a decent fit for him, everyone pretty quiet etc (been in previous location 10 years, and did stress at the previous move).

I moved him 'home' at 24, and 4 weeks later his liver kicked off, which I suspect to be stress induced (old age issue overall but the flare up likely a stress problem) but even before that I had decided he would go home because it would be his last move, rather than hang on and make do and then take him with me - I knew I would be moving to a new job- knowing that risked another move later down the line.

However he also went from doing plenty of dressage to having to go to hacking only quite rapidly as we spotted a problem that wasn't then making him lame but would be aggravated by it so the lack of hacking at the current yard would bother me.

Re. the friend, my best friend on the yard moved (and field buddy) because she needed assisted livery, it was much more rubbish without her.
 
ester said:
I think it does depend on the horse, I moved Frank at 21 and he stressed for a fair while despite the yard actually being a decent fit for him, everyone pretty quiet etc (been in previous location 10 years, and did stress at the previous move).

I moved him 'home' at 24, and 4 weeks later his liver kicked off, which I suspect to be stress induced (old age issue overall but the flare up likely a stress problem) but even before that I had decided he would go home because it would be his last move, rather than hang on and make do and then take him with me - I knew I would be moving to a new job- knowing that risked another move later down the line.

However he also went from doing plenty of dressage to having to go to hacking only quite rapidly as we spotted a problem that wasn't then making him lame but would be aggravated by it so the lack of hacking at the current yard would bother me.

Re. the friend, my best friend on the yard moved (and field buddy) because she needed assisted livery, it was much more rubbish without her.
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When they hit their 20s, you have no idea how long they can stay in full work (though we all know any horse of any age can end up unridable or as a happy hacker only). My non-horsey OH has pointed out that there might be a time when she can't do as much dressage, and then do I really want to be on a yard with rubbish hacking for the foreseeable future?

I would hate for a move to cause her to be stressed, injured, or ill. I'd never forgive myself.

My best friend will be very sad if I go. I have spent the last two years keeping an eye open for yards convenient for both of us, which will suit both our horses' needs, but haven't found any.
 
Personally, I would keep her where she is until she was ready to retire then I'd find a nice retirement livery for her.
Or, if you just end up hacking her, then I'd see if there were any liveries that cater for the semi-retired.

Your horse sounds like she's pretty happy where she is, so I wouldn't necessarily change that based on what you've said in your posts.
 
I'd be inclined to move. Can you tell current yo that you are taking horse away for a bit still pay for the livery there incase it doesn't work out ? Then if horse doesn't settle you can go back.
 
Downton Dame said:
I'd be inclined to move. Can you tell current yo that you are taking horse away for a bit still pay for the livery there incase it doesn't work out ? Then if horse doesn't settle you can go back.
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That would be perfect if feasible, but YO is not known for his understanding and flexibility.
 
I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel pretty terrible at the time that having moved him for his own benefit to do the right thing by him (the vet wanted him on the flat, I had access to that just not in wiltshire with me!) he ended up with photosensitisation and a terribly burnt nose in late October. However as time has gone on it has been the right decision. He has genuinely surprised me with how quickly things have deteriorated with him over the last 18 months as he was so fit and healthy in his early 20s, he now has numerous age related issues.
 
Really tricky one. I'm trying to imagine what I'd do if i was faced with this with my oldie. She's retired now but I was in a similar position in a way, nice enough yard but pants hacking for an old dear, and the turnout didn't really suit her. I think I'd fall on the side of moving while the horse is still fit and well. It would be a lot more stressful (on you if not her) to do so if she had to wind down in a few years.

It's really hard to leave friends though, when I moved from a yard I'd spent 14 years on I cried buckets but we did adjust soon enough.
 
Yeah, I'm not ready for my horse to deteriorate and start showing age related issues (who is?). The rock is that any deterioration and extra management faff that might arise as she ages at her current yard might be difficult (depending on the issue), as YO and I don't communicate that well, and he sees me as a weirdo, crazy American with strange ideas. He thought I was off my nut when I pulled her back shoes this past winter, which has been the best thing for her and something I should have done years ago. He definitely spent weeks giving me the evil eye.

The hard place, of course, is that the stress of moving could cause issues.

I should add that the horse has to be on individual turnout, as she doesn't play nice with others. This makes our yard options extremely restricted as most yards don't offer this. It also makes retirement livery, as I understand it (and having written an HHO article about it), pretty unfeasible in the future as the point of that seems to be having horses out in a big happy group 24/7. If you knew Gypsum, you would laugh at this, her being a lady who must be kept in the lifestyle to which she is accustumed.
 
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Hi, I would move her, you'll both adjust and it sounds like a more laid back place with better hacking! I still really miss my boy's first home as I became good friends with the YO and at my current yard they aren't half as friendly. However, I would never take him back as present yard is run like clockwork, has better grazing/facilities and most of all my boy is happy 😊 Good luck with whatever you decide!
 
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