Trend of moving yards.

benson21

benson21

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Reading through lots of different posts on here, I cant help but notice that so many people have problems at their yards, and the general advice seems to be to move yards.
Wether or not its turnout, or lack of, late feeds, missed water buckets, or someone not talking to someone else, it just seems that everyone seems to think moving yards would be better.
Surely it would be better to talk to the YO/YM, before moving a horse that may well be perfectly happy and settled.


Sorry, not sure any of that makes sense, I know what I am trying to say but cant seem to write it clearly!
 
It sounds quite trivial when you put it like that but I've moved for both turnout and bitchiness on yards. I'm currently on my fourth yard in five years of horse ownership which sounds alot but there have been valid reasons every time.

First yard - only there 3 months - was absolutely grim but I was a novice and didn't know any better.

Second yard - 18 months - great, supportive YO but got a new job and was struggling with the 20min drive each way on top of the drive to work. Horses had to be in by a certain time and just oculdn't make it.

Third yard - 2 1/2 years. Perfect facilities but bitchiness got completely out of control. I'm not talking normal yard politics but full on slanging matches on a regular basis. Really horrible atmosphere where most of the yard weren;t speaking to eachother.

Fourth yard - not perfect but I am happy.


I actually don't think it distresses horses that much. I thought Daisy would be a cow the last time we moved but she settled really quickly because I was so much happier and I think she could tell.
 
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Conversly I have been on the same yard for over 10 years. Not always been perfect but YO never ever cut back on feed and forage (having been in a yard where they did...) - i.e the one area its really hard to keep an eye on! but then her background is showing..

Plus which, when I lost my staffy girl, she - on her own iniative - rang up the land owner and arranged for them to come in and dig a proper grave for my dog - 3 feet so my dog would not be dug up. Never occurred to me to ask so I was bowled over when she offered that to me.
 
See, I have been on the same yard for about 10 years as well. Yes there have been times where I have thought about leaving because of people being quite nasty, but in the end its better the devil you know than the one you dont.
It just seems to be so common now though that if someone has a problem, just move yards. Dont like the T?O atrrangement, move yards. Not enough hay, move yards.
Surely there are different problems at every yard?
 
I think its really hard espeacailly when your on full/part livery as i sometimes think things are never done exactly how you would do it yourself. I dont like moving much, i was at my last yard for many years to many to remember and in fact when i left school i worked there for 2 years, but when i had my daughter and sold my horse and eventually got a pony for her 2 years ago i didnt go back as it was a competition yard with limited turnout so wouldnt suit a childs pony so i took her to a farm type DIY yard ive been there ever since i got the pony 2 years ago. Im still friends with the people at the other yard though we still soccialise and i visit regualary.

Im a chicken though and dont like giving notice!! :D One of the reasons ive been at my current job 9 years!!!;)
 
Ive only moved the once and i had lots of reasons :D

- tiny field
- couldnt buy hay in and yards was very expensive
- expensive
- loads of thefts
- needed a stable - was on waiting list for 4 months!
- pony was on his own alot :(
 
Funny you should bring this thread up, as I feel the same. I've kept my horses where they are for best part of 20 years. The farm is FAR from suitable and after recent goings on, it is so tempting to move, but I haven't yet mainly because it is so cheap but also the fact that the horses seem to be very relaxed.
I have recently had a conversation with a former livery, and she claims the main reason for 'people' moving is so that they can show off (or not as some cases have proved) their horses and their skills. One lady has bragged, if you can possibly do so, that she has moved 6 times in 18 months. Personally, I don't think its fair on the horses to move to that extreme. Human bitchiness is one thing, but its sad to see a settled horse pack his bags AGAIN.
As far as I can tell, a space at a good yard is like looking for hens teeth, so unless you are lucky you are unlikely to find true happiness at a yard, therefore much better staying put to give the horse some stability.
It is also unusual, in my view, that you have to change yards due to the horse. But I can stand corrected on that one, as I've hardly had to change!
 
Dont get me wrong, if there are lots of reasons and owners feel thry would be happier at aniother place then fine. There is a post on here at the mo where the owner went to the full livery yard to find their horses water bucket empty, and lots of people seem to be saying move yards. Not talk to the Y?O to find out if there was a reason, but just move.
I just think just as, if not more important to have a horse where its happy, more than the owner.
 
No water in his bucket at a full livery yard reminds me of earlier today when one of the horses - Dani, had no water for the third time at early stables. I feel awful as after a better look the water bowl had a crack in it, and there was me blaming the horse for being a bit wet in his bed!! Problem solved now, but feeling very guilty about it!!
Sorry, I highjacked your thread!!!!
 
But thats what I mean. But it seems that others would leave the yard, before finding out if there was a reason for the problem.
 
Hello!

I've moved yards once because I couldn't stand all the back biting and bitching that went on behind everyones backs and once because I didn't think that the yard was run with the horses best interests at heart.

We pay so much for or hobby the least we can do is be happy when we are doing it.
 
But, would you move your horse if he was happy and settled if you were not comfortable , say with the bitching?



P.S, not saying its wrong if anyone does do that, just interested. xx
 
Very often on here, whenever someone posts about a problem on the yard, the suggestion "move yards" is offered before "speak to YO/YM" which seems silly to me.
Obviously, if the distance/stable size/field size is the problem, then yes, move yards, but people seem to move for very trivial things.
I've only been on livery once, and I enjoyed the experience, although glad I don't have to do it full time! I can understand things irritate people, but surely for most people, with every move comes hassle and a whole set of new problems!
 
RunToEarth said:
Very often on here, whenever someone posts about a problem on the yard, the suggestion "move yards" is offered before "speak to YO/YM" which seems silly to me.


So glad its not only me then!

I posted somewhere else a while ago about a problem I had at the yard, and overwhelmingly I was told to move. I hadnt even throught of doing that, everyone at the yard has been so so supportive to me over the last horrid year, I would would of hated to leave, but no other suggestions were made which really surprised me.
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benson21 said:
See, I have been on the same yard for about 10 years as well. Yes there have been times where I have thought about leaving because of people being quite nasty, but in the end its better the devil you know than the one you dont.
It just seems to be so common now though that if someone has a problem, just move yards. Dont like the T?O atrrangement, move yards. Not enough hay, move yards.
Surely there are different problems at every yard?
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I moved yard because my horse was left hot and sweaty with no water and with sweat drying on him. He was being trained and I just happened to turn up at an irregular time.

Now as far as I am concerned trust is the most important thing, they must be trustworthy and you must be able to rely on them when you can't be present. So no it is not "better the devil you know"

My horses are my world and they rely on me to provide the best care I can.

We moved to another yard and have been there 3 yrs next year. Won't move again, I completely trust my YO and we turn up at all different times, due to work commitments and my horses are always safe and sound. That was well worth the move.
FDC
 
Our pony has been on the same yard/farm for the whole time we've had him (about 8 years now). People come and go but now it's just pony and my friend's horse, we have the run of the place. The reason most people go is because the place is falling apart and the farmer does nothing about it, it's understandable. We're still friends with all our ex yard mates except one who was a total control freak nutter, oh and the one who owes our farmer loads of money and thinks we care one way or the other.

Our horse has been on 3 yards in the 3 years we have had her. First she was on same yard as pony. Horse was a 3yo ex racer when we got her and she needed some time off, the farm was the ideal place. However when she was ready to start work my daughter found it hard to manage her in such an informal environment with no one around to help and no school or good hacking. She was there 18 months in total.

So we moved her to a small private yard with a school which started off well but ended up being a massive pain in the butt for the following reasons:
*YO was really controlling, really.
*Rules were created and changed with no warning
*YO's daughter didn't like my daughter on sight and never did
*The grazing was poorly managed and insufficient for our horse-cost a fortune in feed all year round
*The atmosphere (for us) was terrible and nothing we did made any difference
*Horse was better behaved but often tense and irritable, kicking and biting
*We paid same rent as everyone but were the only ones not provided with tack storage
In total we stayed about 9 months, but for the last 3 of those it was really quite miserable.

Been at latest yard about 10 months and I think we'll stay, our horse is as relaxed as she was when she lived at our farm but with great hacking, a school, plenty going on to keep her interest.

For us, moving yards is never a decision taken lightly, but yeah I wouldn't pay good money to be treated like rubbish or especially have my horse treated like it.
 
benson21 said:
But, would you move your horse if he was happy and settled if you were not comfortable , say with the bitching?



P.S, not saying its wrong if anyone does do that, just interested. xx
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That's a tough one. I stuck the bitchy yard out for quite a while as I thought my horse was settled, trouble was I started to realise that I wasn't spending so much time with my horse and being snappy which in turn made him unhappy.

My horses intrests would always come first tho so I guess if he was happy then I would try everything to be able to deal with the situation.

Edited to say that the bitching was caused by the y/m so speaking about the bitching would of resulted in being asked to leave as this was what happened to two other liveries :(
 
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most of my liveries have been here a long time between 5 to 13 years! if anyone is unhappy i hope they would discuss this with me first! but i do try to see every owner for a chat several times a week, turnout is all year round (yes we do get mud) unrestricted!! hay is put out am and pm. facilities are good (though an indoor would be nice) but outdoor still working. each horse is fed as req individually and i get in extra feeds for the needy/lami/cushions. sadly the ones that have gone have either gone upwards or owners have relocated to a diff part of country. my yard isnt bitchy just a very nice bunch of horse owners!! all doing there own thing! moving isnt always the best option. you have to weigh the pros with the cons! i work on the principle if the horses are happy, comfortable and well fed, the owners generally follow suit!
 
Because sometimes there is no point talking to the YO...

I left my last yard partially because the YO was a nightmare to deal with (when you could get hold of her) and you had to be watching all the time to make sure your horse was being looked after properly. I saw one incident where a (full) livery came and mucked out her own horse one Saturday, and randomly popped in later to find that half the bed had been removed. Fair enough if there is a limit on how much bedding you can have, but this was never discussed. Horses were fed rubbish haylage or, on one notable occasion, I found that my horse was being fed straw as they were running low on haylage. I wasn't too pleased about this as I hadn't been consulted and last time I looked, I was being billed for haylage. I queried this and a row ensued...

It was always like that - there were all these unwritten rules that you were just expected to 'know' and if you wanted something she didn't usually offer, like winter turnout for example, loads of people asked and were just told to like it or lump it. Funnily enough, this yard always has vacancies.

Fast forward to new yard... YO is approachable, friendly and does her best to keep her liveries happy. And her liveries seem to stay a long time and she rarely has vacancies and if she does, they aren't vacant for very long. Sometimes moving yards, or at least shopping around to see if the grass really is greener IS the solution.
 
In general I really agree with you Benson and I have been on my yard since 1992 and am not the oldest livery by a long way, so maybe it is a more pleasant yard than some. However no one should stay in an unsafe situationor in a place where their horses basic needs wil not be met.
 
I hate the upheavel of moving yards. Worst thing is the rubber matting! Sooo heavy. I think some reasons for moving yards cant be fixed by talking to YO/YM. I'm moving soon because a space has come up at a yard with much better facilities. Current yard has a good size outdoor but the drainage has sunk in it and its like riding through waves of sand and if there is any wet weather the arena is a lake. Thats not going to be fixed in the near future. I think turnout is important and cant be fixed by talking to YO/YM. I know a couple people who move yards a lot but they have firey personalities and often dont get along with YO or other liveries - in these cases the YOs are usually happy to see the back of them!
 
well i have individual and group turnout all year round!. all very well fenced! a very good 5 horse walker, a good still workable floodlight school. excellent hacking, hot wash, infrared heat lamps. full(full) beds with full matts and auto waters! well fed. hay put out in fields am and pm. fully staffed and fully insured! i only do part livery (7 days a week) or full! but not for 25 per week, or so. sorry but you do pay for what you get!!!!!!
 
I've noticed their tends to be two types of liveries. The stay-putters and serial movers!! You get the people who stay at one yard for a long period of time, the loyal types who are happy to discuss any concerns then are content. The ones who understand that most YOs are sadly not made of money (although I'm sure some are), that their has to be pros/cons to everywhere and understand that staff are only human and occasionally small errors may be made.
Then their are the serial movers who never seem to stay at any yard for more than 6 months/a year before moving on. They are the nit-picky types who can always pick fault, are never happy and once one thing is fixed they find another problem. Everything must be done the way they like it or it is considered unsatisfactory. These are the types you find out shortly after them moving that they have done every other yard in the area in the past few years!!! These types would be far better keeping horses at home, but then what could they moan about to amuse themselves!!!

I have been at my yard for quite a few years, just sold my mare and won't be buying again for a couple of years but providing I am in the area will probably come back! I am a serial visiter and definately miss it!
 
iv thought a few times about moveing yards mainly threw bitching going on in the yard and people trying to load the gun and get someone else to fire it . years gone buy id probably of been daft enough to get involved but i am at a livery yard and i do make it very clear to people im nobodys fool and im there for my horse . the bitching i stay out of and i speak in such as only small talk and say hia to eveyone then that way you cant be drawn into arguements . the trouble makers and moaners i avoid . the yard is very nice and the farmer is lovely . but i think youl always get a problem were ever you go unless its your own yard
 
you are very lucky to have been on yard so long .My first move was after nearly a year i had no other riders to ride with or talk to and was lonely and had a young three yo and moved him closer .Second yard the owner of said yard was a business woman with property who ran the yard from her mobile phone were ever she was , not usually at the yard more than once a month and no one else was in charge .Current yard lovely only thing is in winter off road/road /school unaccesible due to weather
 
Talking to YO/YM doesn't seem to work, as so many of them have their head so far their own backsides they cant hear much.

I am at a decent yard now, it costs though, in money and certain "small" compromises, but at last I seem to be at a place where intelligence is used and we have never been happier, my daughter feels the same, she has her beast there as well.
 
Ive moved my horse 4 times in a year

First yard was very cliquey, bitchy and my horse wasnt happy and was being abused (which i wasnt prepared to put up with), absolutly the best facilities you could wish for

Second yard was full of dominant people all jockeying for the top spot with YM , which made me uncomfortable and my horse again didnt settle ( nice facilities)

Third yard had its issues but i was happy there and most importantly my horse was very happy but he was invited to leave after an incident which he was involved in but by no means was the sole perpertrator :(

Fourth yard is very quiet, friendly,small with everything but hacking (which i will worry about in the warmer weather, maybe time to save for a lorry)
but my horse has settled and im hoping this is the LAST move as everytime ive had to move it sets my horse back by weeks in terms of behaviour :(

if my horse was happy and settled but the yard had issues (other than bullying) i honestly think that i would stick it out as my horse has to live there and if it is not nice for him then whats the point in being there .
 
tinal said:
Ive moved my horse 4 times in a year
Third yard had its issues but i was happy there and most importantly my horse was very happy but he was invited to leave after an incident which he was involved in but by no means was the sole perpertrator :(

.
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I know this really isn't funny but I just had a vision of your horse being involved in an escape party and them all breaking out of the field together! x Glad you are settled at your new yard, do you have a local riding club, you may be able to tout lifts to hacking with someone from there, or try advertising in your local tack shop, someone may be glad of the company.
 
I worried about this with mine as I had her on loan for a year and had to make a decision as to whether to buy or not as I'd accepted a job one and a half hours away. If she stayed where she was (part livery) I'd have seen her once a week. I bought her and moved her with me.

A year later, the job wasn't working (injury related)and I'd ended up 40 minutes away. Horse is worked 6 days a week and distance was not feasible for me so moved again.

For a year I was happy with yard but there isn't a YM, everyone left to themselves and my horse was ending up with either horse being moved so there were none near her or strange horses thrown in with her. Pony was stressed and behaviour was getting worse to the point she jumped out field. YO was no help at all so I moved 2 minutes up the road. Been there over a year and horse is happy, 2nd horse is also happy and I'm happy. I miss having facilities but would much rather be content/ponies happy than have facilities. I'm left to my own devices but there's company for me if required.

It depends on the situation and how approachable the YM is.
 
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