We are opening a DIY livery - any do's and don'ts?!

[nickicamps1]

We are farmers and have got the go ahead to open a livery yard.

We have room for 14 12 x 12 stables and LOADS of grazing on light sandy land with miles of off road riding. It will be DIY or assisted DIY.

I was wondering if any of you lovely people had any hints/tips/do's/don't to make it run smoothly! x

 

[AmyMay]

RULES.

 

[nickicamps1]

Lol! Yes I have been told to be very firm and fair and to get everything writtn in a contract!

 

[BFG]

Try and get the right mix of people, I tried to work it so that there all had different work patterns so they weren’t all down at the same time. This helps with facilities but also means that there is always someone around to keep an eye on the yard if you need to go out.

And like AmyMay said Rules, i have them printed off so that they are fully aware of them before they move on, saves confusion.

 

[Archangel]

just out of interest... whereabouts are you and do you have a school?

 

[4leggedfurries]

[ QUOTE ]
RULES.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree with amymay!! an absolute must!! otherwise people take the pee. Always wanted my own yard, and when i got a place rented the spare stables out, but ended up such a fiasco have decied never to do it again. All because i never set the rules out in the begining, my own fault as i'd been on yards with strict rules, wanted my place to be friendly and relaxed but backfired.

 

[nickicamps1]

[ QUOTE ]
just out of interest... whereabouts are you and do you have a school?

[/ QUOTE ]

We are near Southwold in Suffolk. And yes we are putting in a 20 x 40 arena! Very exciting!x

 

[nickicamps1]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
RULES.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree with amymay!! an absolute must!! otherwise people take the pee. Always wanted my own yard, and when i got a place rented the spare stables out, but ended up such a fiasco have decied never to do it again. All because i never set the rules out in the begining, my own fault as i'd been on yards with strict rules, wanted my place to be friendly and relaxed but backfired.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for your honesty! I agree with you that a want a nice relaxed yard, but I shall heed your advice and get some rules drawn up and signed before horsey comes to stay!

 

[Cuffey]

Insurance
Good safe fences, good water supply to paddocks, no going through one paddock to get to another
Who is responsible for poo picking and weed control?
Quarantine area
Separate hay barn
Well thought out manure storage or trailer to fill
Toilet/changing area/brew facilities
Padlocked tack room--one yard has lorry container inside American barn
As AmyMay says rules and contracts
Prices set out if people ring asking for favours--cant get there please feed/turn my horse out/get him in etc
Worming/worm egg counts--how often
Being able to rotate fields with cattle/sheep
Sounds excellent location good luck and hope you find nice clients who get on

 

[NikkiF]

Make sure you have a price list incorparated into the contract - be hard and don't do 'favours' for people for nothing, they start to expect it as the norm.

We have a big diary on a table at the entrance to the stable block, <u>everything</u> is written down in there (who wants T/O, farrier visits etc) and that's the first thing our YM looks at in the morning, if it's not in there it don't get done!!

Are you providing bedding/hay to your liveries, how will you keep track of what they have for charging them?

Good luck to you, like the sound of the off road riding! Whereabouts are you?

 

[nickicamps1]

[ QUOTE ]
Insurance
Good safe fences, good water supply to paddocks, no going through one paddock to get to another
Who is responsible for poo picking and weed control?
Quarantine area
Separate hay barn
Well thought out manure storage or trailer to fill
Toilet/changing area/brew facilities
Padlocked tack room--one yard has lorry container inside American barn
As AmyMay says rules and contracts
Prices set out if people ring asking for favours--cant get there please feed/turn my horse out/get him in etc
Worming/worm egg counts--how often
Being able to rotate fields with cattle/sheep
Sounds excellent location good luck and hope you find nice clients who get on

[/ QUOTE ]

That is a brilliant list of things to get me started! Thank you so much for your time!

 

[kick_On]

my mate has yard and she interview every person and the rule of thumb she uses, if she 'could be' a friends and B most importantly leave them in her house and trust them a not to damage or steal ............ they're IN. Plus normal yard rules and contract

Her gut feeling has not let her down, plus she always has waiting list

 

[DW Team]

Good luck with the new venture. The only thing I would add new horses arriving have to produce horse passport to show they are up to date with vaccinations and for your own piece of mind insurance (liabilty insurance). Might also be worth asking any new person why they left the old yard! On the yard I am on they have had one or two "strange" people who have not lasted long and moved on quite quickly. Do make sure you have your own insurance as well. The BHS are very helpful. Water that does not freeze in winter difficult but at least one tap that stays running is alway good. Wish you a happy and relaxed yard.

 

[nickicamps1]

[ QUOTE ]
Make sure you have a price list incorparated into the contract - be hard and don't do 'favours' for people for nothing, they start to expect it as the norm.

We have a big diary on a table at the entrance to the stable block, <u>everything</u> is written down in there (who wants T/O, farrier visits etc) and that's the first thing our YM looks at in the morning, if it's not in there it don't get done!!

Are you providing bedding/hay to your liveries, how will you keep track of what they have for charging them?

Good luck to you, like the sound of the off road riding! Whereabouts are you?

[/ QUOTE ]

We are not including any hay/straw/haylage in the cost - I will take orders and deliver once a week into their allocated slot and charge them accordingly weekly! If people choose not to use our hay/straw/haylage then they are welcome to get other stuff in - providing what they order fits in their slot! I like the idea of the diary - keeps things simple - and we have a written record if there are any arguements! We are in near Southwold in suffolk - right on the beach - perfect!

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

How big will each persons individual 'slots' be? I just ask as most people like to get all, or at least a high percentage of their winters hay in the autumn as it is a lot cheaper then - early autumn hay around here is £2.50 per bale, late winter is £5+.

 

[Archangel]

Oh rats, I am in Surrey! Best of luck with your new venture though!

You might like to consider getting everyone to pay by SO, this saves chasing people for money and people getting behind.

Also horses are quite good at destroying things. I have always found that fair wear and tear YO pays for, wanton destruction of property by horse... I pay for!

Sounds lovely right on the beach

 

[Halfstep]

Contracts, clear rules (same for all) and a "no nutters" policy LOL

Good luck!

 

[Beanyowner]

One thing I will say is that a lot of livery yard owners will not allow people to buy in their own hay/straw/shavings...as a YO you can get good discounts and therefore a good mark up on the prices when you sell on to your liveries.

Hayledge on the other hand is expensive and as you know tends to go off quickly once opened....also horse owner are notoriously fussy so you may end up with a lot of wastage. So buying this in would have to depend on how many liveries intend on using it.

 

[the watcher]

Consider asking new clients for references from previous yards.

Adequate storage for each client for feed/bedding and in the tackroom, ideally with a designated space allocated to each stable

 

[4leggedfurries]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
RULES.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree with amymay!! an absolute must!! otherwise people take the pee. Always wanted my own yard, and when i got a place rented the spare stables out, but ended up such a fiasco have decied never to do it again. All because i never set the rules out in the begining, my own fault as i'd been on yards with strict rules, wanted my place to be friendly and relaxed but backfired.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for your honesty! I agree with you that a want a nice relaxed yard, but I shall heed your advice and get some rules drawn up and signed before horsey comes to stay!

[/ QUOTE ]

No problem

, it wasnt to put you off, but running a yard isnt a bed of roses that a lot of people think (including me in the begining), it can be a lot of hard work, but can also very rewarding, but there are people who will take advantage, take the pee, and will set about to cause problems. As long as you have everything in place in the begining and people are fully aware of their rights and obligations on your yard, there is no reason why it cant be a successful yard, where everyone is happy to be there, that can all join in together and have the relaxed atmosphere that you want. Best of luck to you and wishing all goes well.

 

[ironhorse]

References...vital.
Also think about who you are aiming your yard at and emphasise this in your ads....eg major on the hacking if you want happy hackers etc.
In my experience, competition riders and happy hackers/first time owners don't always mix!
And bear in mind that even with assisted DIY you might have to do a LOT of handholding with the first time owners!

 

[legaldancer]

References for both horse &amp; owner is quite a god idea. My owner was great, it was just the horse I fell out with!

Also, fair wear &amp; tear versus destruction is a good thing to consider &amp; put in the contract. Horse above used to jump post &amp; rail, gates &amp; leccy fence &amp; not always clear them, so it wasn't just the odd incident. I had put it in the contract however so most damage was repaired by the owner at their cost, like for like.

 

[tiggerette]

A notice board or similar method of displaying peoples contact phone numbers in case of emergencies. Oh, and a lot of patience to put up with peoples rants! Make it clear to people if children/ dogs are allowed on yard and if they need to be supervised or on leads - especially children! Enjoy

 

[DW Team]

Oh just had a thought. Nice clean dry area for the farrier with good lighting. A must for the winter days when it is cold and wet.

 

[bailey14]

Have a contract, never criticise your liveries to fellow liveries behind their back, never criticise their horses behind their back, always be prepared to listen to your liveries, they are your clients, your livelihood and are not there to be laughed at, ridiculed, slag*ed off, or shouted at. If they have a reasonable problem try to understand. Don't become too friendly with them, as it is difficult to maintain a business head at times. Why not make a welcome pack for each livery with phone numbers for farrier/vets/riding instructors, etc, the rules of the yard, your contact number and basic information about the yard, ie how long you've had it for, what your background is, maybe a couple of local hacking routes written out, etc. I'm not a livery yard owner, merely a livery but this would be my wish list and so instead of asking other Y.O's why not ask liveries what they would like to see? PS I like my livery yard most of the time, but would suggest a contract would be a really good idea for when problems materialise.

 

[T-Bag]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not a livery yard owner, merely a livery but this would be my wish list and so instead of asking other Y.O's why not ask liveries what they would like to see?

[/ QUOTE ]

You know, I guessed you weren't before I got to this point!

 

[OWLIE185]

Make sure that you have a good equine insurance cover that covers you for the horses and people. The policy needs to cover damage caused by any escaping horses and as a recent court case highlighted no less that £10,000,000 per horse.

As far as a contract witht he liveries is concerned you need to get a specialist equine solicitor to check iout the proposed contract.

Get the local Fire and Rescue officer out to give you advice on fire prevention etc.

Get the local rural community police officer out to advise you on security.

 

[Flame_]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
just out of interest... whereabouts are you and do you have a school?

[/ QUOTE ]

We are near Southwold in Suffolk. And yes we are putting in a 20 x 40 arena! Very exciting!x

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are putting in a school, put in a bigger one! A 20 x 40 is only really big enough for two people at a time and if all your 14 liveries want to ride in the evenings there will be problems. Plus I've been on yards where more stables have gone up and they've had to build more arenas to accommodate the extra liveries. You may as well start off with a decent size school if its not built yet IMO.

The other thing is PADDOCK THE FIELDS! A free for all/mares and geldings split isn't good enough. Divide the horses into well matched groups of 2 - 4 horses and have some smaller paddocks for individual turnout. Avoiding injuries is the most important thing. I'm sure you already know you need post and rail or electric fencing and absolutely no barb wire.

Good luck with it.

 

[amycov]

Make sure your muck heap is not too close to any buildings as this can potentially burn down the whole farm!

 

[lexiedhb]

NO piebalds for a start!!!