Unsellable horses and cost of living

[Smogul]

A couple of recent posts made me wonder how other yards are faring. Three horses have gone from our yard as owners could no longer afford to keep them but could not sell them. One has been PTS, one has gone to blood bank and one has gone to a dealer although owner had always said she would only sell privately. Sad decision for all three.

 

[millitiger]

PTS isn't the worst thing to happen, if they are treated with kindness and respect, horses have no concept of time.

Sad for the human left behind but not for the horse itself.

 

[meleeka]

I haven’t noticed much difference, although I have noticed my vets aren’t as busy lately.

I’m of the generation that remembers 15% interest rates, so Ive always lived well within my means. If push came to shove, I’d be able to pts two of my three with a fairly clear conscience I think, but everyone has different circumstances.

 

[reynold]

It's not just the COL for the horse owners, it's the COL in regard to all the costs associated with running a yard.

The YO and staff are suffering the same COL crisis as the rest of us and feed/bedding/leccy/etc have all gone up for stable yards as well as households. Yards are having to put up their livery charges which is reasonable in these circumstances. Running a livery is not a charity, the YO is entitled to be able to feed their family.

A lot of the fall-out from livery is down to increasing livery fees on top of the COL crisis.

When my last livery closed with less than 3 weeks notice I had my 26 yr old pts rather than move him. He had breathing problems and was a bit high maintenance in his care. I felt it was unreasonable to expect him to move after 6 years at the same place when he was that old and not in the best of health. As above, there are many worse things than pts - including sending a horse to a dealer.

Horses are such a part of our lives and I feel very sorry for those having to make a COL decision in regard to keeping their horse. I couldn't last without a horse and got a WHW non-ridden pony to love and give me a social life at the yard. I'm lucky that if I needed to, she could go back to the charity.

Financially I shouldn't have her but I'm old and in poor health and she'll be my last horse. I can't afford her and am eating into my savings to pay her livery but it's an easy decision to make for me as without her I'd just be sitting watching daytime TV until I popped my clogs. For other younger people with family it's not such an easy choice.

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

My yard is a fairly basic DIY yard, when people have left there has been no one replacing them, think it’s a sign of the times less people can afford to keep horses

 

[humblepie]

My yard is a fairly basic DIY yard, when people have left there has been no one replacing them, think it’s a sign of the times less people can afford to keep horses

Fairly similar where I keep mine. There has been the occasional new person but it is not full.

 

[Maesfen]

My yard is a fairly basic DIY yard, when people have left there has been no one replacing them, think it’s a sign of the times less people can afford to keep horses

I think in some ways, that is a good thing. We all know people that have bought a horse without the first clue to how to look after it because they had the money. Horse owning became the thing to do not because you had had a dream and a passion to own one for a long time and as a consequence, many horse owners were people you normally wouldn't sell a spider to. If it cuts back on that type being horse owners, I'm all for it but I do feel genuinely sorry for those that are having to cut back on their passion because it's become too dear.

 

[Ruftys mum]

It's not just the COL for the horse owners, it's the COL in regard to all the costs associated with running a yard.

The YO and staff are suffering the same COL crisis as the rest of us and feed/bedding/leccy/etc have all gone up for stable yards as well as households. Yards are having to put up their livery charges which is reasonable in these circumstances. Running a livery is not a charity, the YO is entitled to be able to feed their family.

A lot of the fall-out from livery is down to increasing livery fees on top of the COL crisis.

When my last livery closed with less than 3 weeks notice I had my 26 yr old pts rather than move him. He had breathing problems and was a bit high maintenance in his care. I felt it was unreasonable to expect him to move after 6 years at the same place when he was that old and not in the best of health. As above, there are many worse things than pts - including sending a horse to a dealer.

Horses are such a part of our lives and I feel very sorry for those having to make a COL decision in regard to keeping their horse. I couldn't last without a horse and got a WHW non-ridden pony to love and give me a social life at the yard. I'm lucky that if I needed to, she could go back to the charity.

Financially I shouldn't have her but I'm old and in poor health and she'll be my last horse. I can't afford her and am eating into my savings to pay her livery but it's an easy decision to make for me as without her I'd just be sitting watching daytime TV until I popped my clogs. For other younger people with family it's not such an easy choice.

It's not just the COL for the horse owners, it's the COL in regard to all the costs associated with running a yard.

The YO and staff are suffering the same COL crisis as the rest of us and feed/bedding/leccy/etc have all gone up for stable yards as well as households. Yards are having to put up their livery charges which is reasonable in these circumstances. Running a livery is not a charity, the YO is entitled to be able to feed their family.

A lot of the fall-out from livery is down to increasing livery fees on top of the COL crisis.

When my last livery closed with less than 3 weeks notice I had my 26 yr old pts rather than move him. He had breathing problems and was a bit high maintenance in his care. I felt it was unreasonable to expect him to move after 6 years at the same place when he was that old and not in the best of health. As above, there are many worse things than pts - including sending a horse to a dealer.

Horses are such a part of our lives and I feel very sorry for those having to make a COL decision in regard to keeping their horse. I couldn't last without a horse and got a WHW non-ridden pony to love and give me a social life at the yard. I'm lucky that if I needed to, she could go back to the charity.

Financially I shouldn't have her but I'm old and in poor health and she'll be my last horse. I can't afford her and am eating into my savings to pay her livery but it's an easy decision to make for me as without her I'd just be sitting watching daytime TV until I popped my clogs. For other younger people with family it's not such an easy choice.

My horse is 30 with Cushing's and arthritis. He is on full livery and costing me a fortune. However he is in good health due to appropriate meds. I just do not know how long I can afford to keep him. I am retired so on a budget. Difficult decision

 

[smolmaus]

many horse owners were people you normally wouldn't sell a spider to.

What an excellent turn of phrase!

A local yard with 30+ liveries has given notice to close recently and people are really scrabbling to find alternative cheap grass livery options that just don't seem to exist. I was told by a friend who used to be there, that there are a good many of those will not be able to keep their horses, many of them older, if they can't find something. It is a very sad situation.

 

[maya2008]

I’ve seen lots of adverts for yard spaces on Facebook - in an area that is so oversubscribed that most yards are full/part livery and have no issues getting people to pay that, despite very average incomes/house prices in this area.

 

[BallyJ]

I'm on full livery and the YO is only replacing DIY's with more full liveries.

But the ones that had their retired horses there are slowly leaving for just a field/DIY so may be a sign of the times?

 

[Highmileagecob]

Our land owner (not a horsey person) simply says 'yes' to any one who asks to move on. We now have sixteen horses and ponies on ten acres of summer grazing, which reduces to two acres of winter turnout. It is getting dangerous. A few of us have started asking around with a view to moving, but the number of yards closing is very noticeable.

 

[Chianti]

My horse is 30 with Cushing's and arthritis. He is on full livery and costing me a fortune. However he is in good health due to appropriate meds. I just do not know how long I can afford to keep him. I am retired so on a budget. Difficult decision

I'm in a similar situation. I bought a pony when I was in my late 50s. I thought the costs would be manageable as he was a 'get him out of the field and put him back' type, with no medical problems. I kept him on cheap grass livery and had a sharer to help with keeping him fit and the livery bill. Fast forward six years and he's had ulcers, colic and laminitis. He's ended up on an expensive track livery yard and I have regular vet bills for him. Much as I love him I don't know how long I can make my pension and savings stretch to meet his costs. I'm petrified of moving him to a cheaper yard in case the stress causes ulcers again.

 

[Birker2020]

A couple of recent posts made me wonder how other yards are faring. Three horses have gone from our yard as owners could no longer afford to keep them but could not sell them. One has been PTS, one has gone to blood bank and one has gone to a dealer although owner had always said she would only sell privately. Sad decision for all three.

The blood bank isn't a sad decision, I know someone who has sent three of hers over the years and about four other people who have sent their horses there. It was very much an option for Lari at one point, the only thing that dissuaded me was that by handing him over to them I'd have never see him again and I wanted him in my life still to some point as I'd spent a lot of time and effort and love. But it was nothing against the blood bank per se.

Sadly a lot of preconceived and incorrect assumptions have led to it being given as bad reputation on this forum, but I know of people who have been there personally and they have said its a very good option for some horses.

Lari is retired now but if I couldn't have secured his future then I would have been forced to have him pts. I am lucky that I am able to afford to keep him in his current lifestyle but understand sometimes there has to be alternative choices made. Not everyone is as fortunate as me.

 

[Bobthecob15]

Our farrier told us last month one of his clients was about to have 3 of hers PTS...sad times

 

[Pearlsasinger]

It is also noticeable that adverts for horses for sale are staying up for longer on all sites now than they were a few months ago.

 

[cobgoblin]

In the last few years two equine vets have shut around here , as well as numerous livery yards and riding schools. There are noticeably less horses around both in the fields and being ridden.
I sometimes wonder where all the horses have gone.

 

[Orangehorse]

I’ve seen lots of adverts for yard spaces on Facebook - in an area that is so oversubscribed that most yards are full/part livery and have no issues getting people to pay that, despite very average incomes/house prices in this area.

Yes me too. Quite a few adverts from local livery yards "unexpected space becoming available" etc.

 

[ycbm]

Here too, several yards including a rare track livery that I've never seen advertise before which saying that they have vacancies. They've been full with a waiting list for years.
.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I'm in Shropshire and can't say I've really noticed much of a difference in livery spaces etc, but I rent land rather than be on livery so possibly just not in the loop.
Horses prices still seem relatively high compared to pre-covid but I'm guessing that's going to start changing with winter coming and so on. I think the COL situation will bite a bit more this winter than last, we had such a comparatively mild one.

 

[Melody Grey]

Still nigh-on impossible to find grass livery/ DIY in south leics, though plenty of full livery spaces available it seems.

 

[Shooting Star]

Interestingly around our way some of the lower level part & full livery yards are starting to convert back to offering assisted diy / diy - I guess the rising costs of bedding, feed, wages, electric etc. have taken their toll and when most part livery was already £650+ before the crisis there’s only so many that can realistically afford to pay more.

 

[Jambarissa]

I'm on one of the cheapest yards, chose it for the huge turnout but most other people are on there because it's cheap. We are having a lot of enquiries.

One woman just sold her horse, I can't believe it really, he was her life, I know she lives on dla so presumably made a sensible choice.

One who has a miriad of ancient outgrown ponies which she seems determined to keep going until the bitter end has had a couple pts and is murmuring about the rest (none have great quality of life imo).

All the fields around us are grass livery, usually only for summer grazing but they stayed occupied during winter last year and are now well overstocked.

I know the situations of lots of the people on my yard and I honestly don't know how they are affording it. I do know lots are in significant debt to the yo, he is a good man and won't chase anyone he thinks really can't pay. Tbh there have always been minor feed/supplement/hay/shaving thefts, last winter was the worst yet so I guess this might become more of an issue.

 

[Birker2020]

It is also noticeable that adverts for horses for sale are staying up for longer on all sites now than they were a few months ago.

Yes and every week or so their prices drops a little more....

 

[reynold]

It's being blamed on COL but - apart from the Covid impact - prices in the horse world were long overdue adjustment upwards. I know that costs of things reflect what people are prepared to pay for them to a certain extent, but until the recent price rises in horses and livery YOs and breeders were subsidising others hobbies.

I used to have my own stud and yard with a few liveries on top of my own horses. The only way I could survive was to only have liveries that themselves worked full time weekdays and couldn't come to see their horse during the week so that I was free to subsidise my yard and horses by having a high powered and stressful senior management IT job. I did 9 horses before and after work and worked 18 hour days. Yes, I was paying for my own hobby but I was also subsidising my liveries as people were/are not able/prepared to pay what it actually costs, and that was before current COL.

I spent every weekend and summer evening chasing my tail on land and arena management and actually getting to ride my horse but it was the only way to make the yard financially viable. I quit in 2009 as I had ruined my health.

To put it in another perspective, when I got my first horse in 1980 he was at what is now part livery at a yard with no TO (things were different then) and his livery was £160 per month and the YO made a decent living. According to this website £160 in 1980 would cost £878 today. How many of us now are financially able or prepared to pay £900 p.month for part livery?

£160 in 1980 → 2024 | UK Inflation Calculator

This inflation calculator uses the official UK consumer price index. An inflation rate of 3.90% per year means £160 in 1980 is worth £859.85 in 2024.

www.in2013dollars.com

 

[marmalade76]

Prior to that, though, you either had to be wealthy or own your own land to own a horse, the only reason my parents had ponies as kids was because their parents had paddocks attached to their homes. I'm not sure I want things to go back to that.

 

[Gloi]

It's being blamed on COL but - apart from the Covid impact - prices in the horse world were long overdue adjustment upwards. I know that costs of things reflect what people are prepared to pay for them to a certain extent, but until the recent price rises in horses and livery YOs and breeders were subsidising others hobbies.

I used to have my own stud and yard with a few liveries on top of my own horses. The only way I could survive was to only have liveries that themselves worked full time weekdays and couldn't come to see their horse during the week so that I was free to subsidise my yard and horses by having a high powered and stressful senior management IT job. I did 9 horses before and after work and worked 18 hour days. Yes, I was paying for my own hobby but I was also subsidising my liveries as people were/are not able/prepared to pay what it actually costs, and that was before current COL.

I spent every weekend and summer evening chasing my tail on land and arena management and actually getting to ride my horse but it was the only way to make the yard financially viable. I quit in 2009 as I had ruined my health.

To put it in another perspective, when I got my first horse in 1980 he was at what is now part livery at a yard with no TO (things were different then) and his livery was £160 per month and the YO made a decent living. According to this website £160 in 1980 would cost £878 today. How many of us now are financially able or prepared to pay £900 p.month for part livery?

£160 in 1980 → 2024 | UK Inflation Calculator

This inflation calculator uses the official UK consumer price index. An inflation rate of 3.90% per year means £160 in 1980 is worth £859.85 in 2024.

www.in2013dollars.com

I was paying £15 per week full livery in 1980 in winter and £5 per week for grazing in summer.

 

[Goldenstar]

Prior to that, though, you either had to be wealthy or own your own land to own a horse, the only reason my parents had ponies as kids was because their parents had paddocks attached to their homes. I'm not sure I want things to go back to that.

That is where it’s going, pressure on land use in more urban areas is driving the trends as well as the cost of living.

 

[reynold]

‘It’s damaging for business’: equestrian industry speaks out over low emission zone

The equestrian industry has raised concerns about the impact of the Government's ULEZ expansion zone across Greater London on riders and businesses

www.horseandhound.co.uk

It's also urban sprawl bringing rural areas into new ULEZ. The article above also states that the BHS figures show 250 riding schools have gone since 2018.

If that is right then with fewer opportunities for children to learn to ride, along with the increased cost of lesson, there will in the future be far fewer people participating in equestrian sports and owning horses.

 

[Jambarissa]

I had my own land ad a kid, £50 a year for 2 acres with 3 stables.

First livery in 1998 was £12pw DIY.

Currently £20pw DIY but way underpriced, the YO doesn't need the money and likes the easy life that comes with undercharging.