Turn out problems with full livery

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Hindsland

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I wondered if anyone experiences the same difficulty. For various reasons my horse is kept at full livery, I ride everyday but the rest is covered by my livery package. During the winter there is no turn-out, which I reluctantly accept, particularly with the very wet winters we've had. However with the better weather there is turn-out again now, but it seems I have to constantly keep on about him being turned out, and if I don't he is kept in. Obviously I will be addressing this with the yard owner, and of course I know I can move him, but I really wanted to know if this is a common problem?
 
Sounds outrageous to me! I am a yard owner and all are on full or part livery. I have a sand turnout for the worst of the winter so I can guarantee that all horses will get out for a minimum of 3 hours every single day in winter no matter what the weather. In Spring and Autumn they go out all day in the field and come in at night, and in the summer they are all out 24/7. This year it has been exceptionally mild and so apart from the odd night, they have been out 24/7 for over a month.
 
Personally I would move yards if it were my horse. They are grazing animals, they need to be outside as much as possible. It would be unacceptable to me to have to keep asking for my horse to be turned out.
 
No this is not usual. Most full livery yards actually like the horses to be outside daily and only brought in at night. I would be insisting that my horse goes out for however long the allocated time is.
 
I had this problem when I was on part-livery. We had field restrictions (which I knew about) but when the better weather came along I was told turnout would be "as and when" which again I accepted; except it was never "when" for my horses. They did a rota system where the horses went out on certain days, but we were never told which days. I would text the YO everyday to find out if it was one of my "days" but it never was, or was told it was my "day" but would get down in the evening to find my horses angry and upset.

Came down on the spur of the moment on one of my "days" during turnout time (I work long hours so they knew I wouldn't normally get to the yard until 8pm) to find both of my horses in. YO came running out to explain that the days had been changed (despite confirming that morning that it was one of my "days"). I moved soon after.
 
What do you mean that you need to keep on about turn out? Have you spoken to your YO/YM and expressed that you want your horse turned out daily?
It does seem rather weird, as a YO, I'd rather they were outside, costing me less in bedding, forage and labour, so my default would be to chuck out unless asked to keep in; maybe your YO works the other way round?
 
I have same problem, not sure what I can do about it though as there is a serious shortage of good yards that offer reliable full livery in my area
 
martlin said:
What do you mean that you need to keep on about turn out? Have you spoken to your YO/YM and expressed that you want your horse turned out daily?
It does seem rather weird, as a YO, I'd rather they were outside, costing me less in bedding, forage and labour, so my default would be to chuck out unless asked to keep in; maybe your YO works the other way round?
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Ahh, you see I was getting charged for extra bedding and I ended up buying in my own hay as the horses wouldn't eat the mouldy yard hay.

Also, if they just muck out once a day (I suspect just before I turned up) then it always looks as though the horse is on a clean bed ... however their rugs were always clean/dry so I knew they weren't always being turned out on their "days" I just had to catch them!
 
I used to have this problem. It was an issue on all the yards in the area. I tried several but turnout was always an issue and not what I was promised. In the end we moved house so my horse could be at a yard with proper turnout. We are both so much happier! He was out for a minimum of seven hours a day throughout the winter.

I appreciate it's a somewhat extreme solution but I'm so glad we did it (bless my non-horsey OH for agreeing)
 
No that is quite a common theme around here ! - some full livery and part livery yards do exactly what you pay for - many others though just tell you what they want you to hear, so you move there and then you are into a different world !
 
Gingerwitch said:
No that is quite a common theme around here ! - some full livery and part livery yards do exactly what you pay for - many others though just tell you what they want you to hear, so you move there and then you are into a different world !
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Totally agree; I think this is true of a lot of situations in life (jobs etc) however with part livery you are at the mercy of the YO and they know it.
 
It happens, but it is still not acceptable. I would complain, and if it didn't get resolved then I would move asap.
 
CBAnglo said:
Totally agree; I think this is true of a lot of situations in life (jobs etc) however with part livery you are at the mercy of the YO and they know it.
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I just feel so sorry for the horses that have no way of telling you what is going on - ok the can be a bit stressy, but then the YO or YM usually comes up with some kind of excuse.... its only when you stand back and watch - which is very difficult as you are on full or part livery for a very good reason - usually a thing called work - that 2 and 2 starts to add up
 
Arizahn said:
It happens, but it is still not acceptable. I would complain, and if it didn't get resolved then I would move asap.
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But its so so easy to say move - but a good yard will have a waiting list - usually a very long one - so if you suddenly phone up somewhere and the have half a dozen stables available - it should set off warnings. You also have the limitations of travel, and if you are on full livery or part livery its usually because you are short of time - so then you move further a field from work or home or both - and then you end up spending even less time with the horses - so you have to trust even more, but notice even less what is really going on.
 
ghostie said:
I used to have this problem. It was an issue on all the yards in the area. I tried several but turnout was always an issue and not what I was promised. In the end we moved house so my horse could be at a yard with proper turnout. We are both so much happier! He was out for a minimum of seven hours a day throughout the winter.

I appreciate it's a somewhat extreme solution but I'm so glad we did it (bless my non-horsey OH for agreeing)
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I did this too. I moved to another county and found that the turnout was so much better, despite increased rain and clay soil.
I don't like this new area, and could move back to my former village as I have a house there, but I stay only for the horses and better livery conditions.
We are now looking for a house closer to the current yard.
 
Gingerwitch said:
I just feel so sorry for the horses that have no way of telling you what is going on - ok the can be a bit stressy, but then the YO or YM usually comes up with some kind of excuse.... its only when you stand back and watch - which is very difficult as you are on full or part livery for a very good reason - usually a thing called work - that 2 and 2 starts to add up
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Exactly; especially when turnout is limited; they are going to be generally grumpy (its winter) so you have to do things like check their rugs etc.

Gingerwitch said:
But its so so easy to say move - but a good yard will have a waiting list - usually a very long one - so if you suddenly phone up somewhere and the have half a dozen stables available - it should set off warnings. You also have the limitations of travel, and if you are on full livery or part livery its usually because you are short of time - so then you move further a field from work or home or both - and then you end up spending even less time with the horses - so you have to trust even more, but notice even less what is really going on.
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totally agree; also the horse world is tiny and all the YOs know each other; you annoy one, and they will blacklist you. Other YOs will not want to touch you even if they think original YO is an *ssh*le. Part livery/full livery clients make YOs money; so they don't want you to go anywhere else however they are not prepared to keep up their side of the bargain. That's why more and more people want to be on DIY and more and more yards only want to offer part/full livery.

I had one yard "change" my feed to a cheaper brand knowing full well that one of my horses was prone to ulcers and had to be on a specific diet. Came down, noticed immediately that the nuts were different (been feeding them 8 years so I know exactly what they look/smell like) so I texted YO. She said oh her supplier had run out so she had bought 3 (yes 3) bags of these nuts to tide us over. Horse was only getting a handful a day so that would have last us months. I rang local feed store, who had huge supply in stock (was a very common brand) so I texted YO and said stop feeding them, I will pick up bags tomorrow from feedstore and deduct it from livery bill - no need for her to go to the trouble.

Funnily enough she said no trouble at all and went to local feed store (less than 10 mins drive away) and picked up and replaced the nuts.
 
dogatemysalad said:
I did this too. I moved to another county and found that the turnout was so much better, despite increased rain and clay soil.
I don't like this new area, and could move back to my former village as I have a house there, but I stay only for the horses and better livery conditions.
We are now looking for a house closer to the current yard.
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The things we do for our horses!

We took a massive leap of faith and bought a house in an area we had no connection to or real knowledge of. All we knew is better turnout and yard options and a good commute to Lomdon. Fortunately we love it here.
 
Nanny cams for horses that's the way forward .
Seriously it's just very sad it seems so hard to find a good place even on full livery .
If you can't trust the yard to turnout what else you can't you trust them to be doing .
 
Goldenstar said:
Nanny cams for horses that's the way forward .
Seriously it's just very sad it seems so hard to find a good place even on full livery .
If you can't trust the yard to turnout what else you can't you trust them to be doing .
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Sometimes its not what they dont do its what they do ! -

It really is a sad sad world out there, and it affects large, small and medium yards - and it does not matter what you pay - unfortunatly the more you spend the worse it seams to get !
 
No not on, our yard they all go out every day, rain or shine or snow! They sometimes come in early when its tipping down as our fields have no shelter and are on a hill, but they always go out.
 
Hindsland said:
I wondered if anyone experiences the same difficulty. For various reasons my horse is kept at full livery, I ride everyday but the rest is covered by my livery package. During the winter there is no turn-out, which I reluctantly accept, particularly with the very wet winters we've had. However with the better weather there is turn-out again now, but it seems I have to constantly keep on about him being turned out, and if I don't he is kept in. Obviously I will be addressing this with the yard owner, and of course I know I can move him, but I really wanted to know if this is a common problem?
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I have had this problem on every yard I've been on full livery on except one. In the end I had enough. Turn out is very important to me. So I moved to a yard which I share with my friend. More work for me, but my horse is happy.
 
Yes same here. I was at a expensive yard for a brief time on full livery and had exactly the same problem re turnout. I would come down at 1pm unexpectedly and horse would be in when I thought she'd be out. Also found her in several times without hay. When I viewed yard I specifically asked if ad lib hay and all day turnout would be provided as that was what I was looking for and they assured me horse would be managed as I wanted. There was no excuse either re turnout as this was during a ver y mild and dry autumn. Back to diy it was then!
 
CBAnglo said:
I had this problem when I was on part-livery. We had field restrictions (which I knew about) but when the better weather came along I was told turnout would be "as and when" which again I accepted; except it was never "when" for my horses. They did a rota system where the horses went out on certain days, but we were never told which days. I would text the YO everyday to find out if it was one of my "days" but it never was, or was told it was my "day" but would get down in the evening to find my horses angry and upset.

Came down on the spur of the moment on one of my "days" during turnout time (I work long hours so they knew I wouldn't normally get to the yard until 8pm) to find both of my horses in. YO came running out to explain that the days had been changed (despite confirming that morning that it was one of my "days"). I moved soon after.
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Shocking behaviour, but good on you for moving!
 
Gingerwitch said:
Sometimes its not what they dont do its what they do ! -

It really is a sad sad world out there, and it affects large, small and medium yards - and it does not matter what you pay - unfortunatly the more you spend the worse it seams to get !
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This 100%
 
I have only been on full livery once when my pony was recovering from an injury and he and all the other horses went out every day unless there was heavy snow.

The YO used to send me photos so I could see what my pony was up to whilst I was at work especially if he was doing something nice like having a sleep or relaxing. The service I received was excellent and all the owners were treated in a way which made them feel like a valued client and the horses were treated well and cared for in the same way as the owner would care for her own horses.

I have friends on full livery yards and they have never had a problem either. However these are yards which specifically say the horses get to go out everyday and customer will come at random times for example if they have some time off work so would notice if some of the horses that should be going out were not.
 
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