Trouble maker on DIY Yard - advice needed!

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omally13

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Hello, I've reached the end of my tether with a woman who keeps her horse at our yard so decided to ask her to leave.

There has been one problem after another since she arrived. Rather than go with the flow and fit in with the running of things she firstly wanted to stop the horses from having access to field shelter. Then it was complaints about the amount of hay we were getting through, as this was fed ad lib it was pointed out that it would be dangerous to have periods where the horses went without. Disregarding this she left them without a new bale for almost 24 hours when they had finished the previous and one of the horses ended up getting colic.

There is too much to rhyme off, bottom line is she is a troublemaker and creating a terrible atmosphere, being aggressive and spreading rumours. I don't enjoy spending time with my horse as I'm forever dreading her arrival!

I am about to give her a months notice to find alternative facilities for her horse and would appreciate any advice from people who have been in a similar situation! The land is not mine but I am responsible for collecting the money from everyone and transferring to landlord, so have been the one in charge of finding suitable people/horses to share with me.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate...I hate confrontation or upsetting people but have reached my limit
 
You accepted her, so yes, you can get rid.

I'd just politely tell her as soon as possible that as from 1st August, that you are giving her 1 months notice to leave, therefore her last day is on xyz. No need for explanation, (its hard not to, but stick to your guns)

Good luck, it may be a bumpy passage, but make sure the information has sunk in and that she has to go by the set date.
 
OMG if only more people in charge of yards had this attitude! So many on here have to put up with appalling liveries where the YO/YM does not seem to care (not me I hasten to add I am very very lucky with my yard but know how lucky I am!!). I havent been in your situation, but think the best thing is to just be very straightforward and give her notice. You don't need to give an explanation. If she does ask, you can say you need the space. Good luck! Let us know how you get on :-)
 
Thanks for the support! We are just a small set up with only 6 of us and a happy environment is paramount for all concerned. Life can be stressful enough!

The last straw was being accused of making a profit and ripping people off. We cover cost of land rental, sharing maintenance costs for grazing and shelter (which I built and paid for, but happy to let others make use of providing we all chip in for its upkeep)

I am meeting with the Landowners to discuss the problem, they are aware of her unsuitability for the place but I'm worried she has been bad mouthing me. I have nothing to hide but rumours are her hobby and she is used to getting her own way by shouting the loudest.

I feel bad as I don't think anyone else in the area will take her, already moved around a lot over the years and has quite a reputation. But after persevering for a long time I need to get rid of her for the sake of my health and most importantly the well being of the horses.
 
Dont feel bad! That is how these people manipulate the rest of us into putting up with their unacceptable behaviour. You need to do this for the sake of everyone else. Be strong. x x
 
Hugs, I know how horrible it is when one person is badmouthing and causing trouble. Be strong and hand her notice, you will be much better off.
 
She sounds like every yards worst nightmare. Well done for getting rid! I'd probably give her a written notice to leave so then she can't turn anything around as its in black and white. Good luck.
 
Are you writing under an alter? I recollect another member telling us about a similar set-up and complaining about the person back then. If you're in charge of the yard then you are fundamentally the YM and as such presumably you have the authority to hire and fire so to speak.
 
Been there done that! make sure you put it in writing and keep a copy yourself, people will do all sorts to not leave, including denying all knowledge of ever being asked!
I have found that people like this can be 'yard hoppers' never happy, always something to moan about and want things there way. There is always a bit of compromise on a livery yard, although we try to do all we can for people and horses.
Stick to it, it may be rough for a bit or might not, but good on you for going through with it, you need to wheedle out the bad cookies!
 
Can only echo the above advise on serving her one month's notice by letter, give it to her in her hand and make sure you have witnesses to see you doing this...and also copy in the Landlords and make sure you put a 'cc: Landlords on the footnote of the letter. She'll be aware then that the owners are in the know.

It's quite refreshing to hear of a YO/YM that's got the guts to give a livery his/her marching orders when they are quite obviously rocking the boat and upsetting the atmosphere and indeed the day to day running of the yard.

There are 6 of you you say,....and 1 is not fitting in, so in my honest opinion, that 1 has to be asked to vacate the premises so that your ship can sail smoothly once again!

Stay Strong and don't worry about the 'rumours',..if she's well known for this kind of thing, folk wont pay her much heed anyway.

Well Done you once again for acting on a situation that needs sorting out!!

Roll on September the 1st eh??!!!

I was in a similar situation in the past, although the other way around and it was the YO that was the bad apple and became such a nightmare, both mentally and physically not being able to run the business as it should have been,...but quite happy to take the rent and hike up the prices in the process.....and take certain things away from you too i.e. bedding allowance, hay/haylage supplied etc,..use of your stable, ...oh i could go on and on!!

Suffice to say i served the YO with a letter and a month's notice, and voted with my feet and hooves alike!

Fantastic decision,..albeit hard, but had to be done for the health and well being of my horse and my sanity too!!! The only thing i miss is the lovely friends i made. I actually stuck it out for longer than i should because of them, but in the end, we had to go! We still keep in touch which is great and meet up and talk and go out for meals....so i made the right decision......and i think YOU are making the right decision too!!

Take care of you (and your other liveries)!
 
I'm a YO with a DIY set up, albeit we've only got one livery, but feel your pain OP as in the past we regrettably have had to ask someone to leave and it was awful as we're the sort of set-up that we live on the property so any upset is particularly awful.

Is there a loan contract in place (please tell me there IS????). If so, then that should detail any period of notice on both sides and in your letter you just need to say words to the effect that ....... "as stipulated in your loan contract the period of notice is such-and-such, and therefore you are being given notice that you, your horse, and all your personal effects are required to be out of the yard by such-and-such date". Simples.

BUT know that these situations are not easy to deal with.

But IME if there's a rotten egg in the barrell you need to get rid ASAP and not mess around trying to be too "nice" about it. She'll probably take her @ss in her hand and swan off and then badmouth you everywhere else she goes, you'll just have to accept that. She's probably a known troublemaker in other places anyway, people like this do get a "reputation", problem is the unsuspecting YO takes someone on in good faith and doesn't realise what the person is like till they're on the yard.

My advice is to give written/formal notice. Keep a copy. Keep your verbal communications with her brief and businesslike. You do NOT need to give explanations or get into an argument about it, merely say that she's been given notice and would she please remember to take all her possessions (plus horse!) with her by the date specified. If she gets mouthy then you can just say you're sorry she feels that way, and walk away. People like this IME thrive on attention and if you don't give them any, you're refusing to give them what they want.

Good luck. Situations like this are awful, hope everything works out and you get someone decent. In twenty years of doing livery, we've only had two people who we had to ask to leave. So there are some nice people out there!!:)
 
I would try to be quite diplomatic and tell her that her way of wanting/doing things is just not fitting in with the yard ethos and therefore you are giving her notice. I was well aware that my way of doing things didn't fit in with my last yard and so I left quickly of my own accord and although there was an awkward few days (I paid up, but left before, as she had new liveries coming in, so it seemed less turmoil for all if I went sooner), as I think she did take it personally, we're good. I think! So I did what I'm proposing, but in reverse. Just pointed out that my needs were different to what the YM could offer and the herd set up was wrong for me and the ponies. Before you hand her the notice, be ready with examples. Don't mention the bad mouthing (unless she gets nasty, of course), just the practicalities are enough for you to be quite justified in asking her to leave. I do wonder, though, why nobody else put in hay during that 24 hours? Was everybody else on holiday? Or is it a rota thing?
 
Get rid get rid get rid. We had a total loony, and we only found out quite how off the chart she was until we got rid (think stealing/ lying/ staring up an online smear campaign against the yard). These things spread and our situation had got so bad we emptied the yard and started again with new people (couldn't find out who was involved with her or who was just tarred by association). I wish I'd nipped it in the bud about 12 months previous. Would have saved me a lot of money and time.
 
You are doing the right thing. If she gets ar**y then inform her in no uncertain terms that come the end of the notice period the locks will be changed, her stuff will be at the end of the drive with her horse tied next to it ... And DO IT. These people have a habit of trying to call your bluff so stay professional and calm. Good luck and well done :)
 
I see the OP is in the NW. Obviously I don't know where but having been a DIY in the North Cheshire area I can tell you there are plenty of them around there. They go from yard to yard causing trouble and unsettling people. We had one do the "you're making a profit" line to one of the other liveries who kindly ordered all the wormers and charged it to her own credit card so that we could benefit from a slight discount and we paid her back when the order came, but she was taking the risk of not getting all the money back from everyone (as has happened to me). Definitely get rid!
 
I'm not quite sure of ins and outs of the situation, but lets assume that her contract is with you as a YM. You simply hand her a letter saying:
Please accept this letter as a months notice to leave, bla bla bla.
No reason needed, don't get into too much of a discussion, if she wants to ask, you just say that it is pretty obvious that the yard can't cater for her needs, so it would be better all round if she found a more suitable set up for her horse.
I never get drawn into lengthy discussions with the trouble makers, just give them notice and remain vaguely civil until they go. Life is too short to get yourself in a lot of stress over pitiful amount of money.
BTW - there is nothing wrong with making a profit, that's how all businesses try to operate, lol. We are not put here to finance other people's hobby ;)
 
I do not understand yard hopping. The only time I ever moved was to be closer to home, and I felt so awful about doing it! It does sound like you will be well rid though.
 
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