What do you miss about DIY, what do you miss about Full?

[wiglet]

I'm on full livery at the moment, some would call it part (everything except riding) but around here it's called full.

I miss the following about DIY:
Feeding - being able to choose exactly what my horse eats, buying the brand I want and being able to change it if I wish.
Routine - being able to micro-manage her rugs, her turnout, her bring in... I'm a bit of a control freak!
Early mornings - yes, really!! I love early mornings and seeing the sunrise.
Friends - although there was bitching, I miss the social side of DIY. Everyone is friendly at Full livery yard but generally everyone just rides then goes home.

I'd miss the following about Full Livery:
The facilities are better - the arena is a proper surface, well maintained and floodlit.
The washroom has hot water and heat lamps, my horse has never been so clean in winter!
The canteen - free hot drinks and biscuits
Warm, dry tackroom and rug drying area
I can go on holiday and I know my horse is well cared for and kept in her usual routine

Still miss the early mornings though...
What about everyone else?

 

[Kat]

I'm on what you call full too. I don't miss much about DIY to be honest. I have full control over her feed, her routine is more predictable when staff feed and turnout/bring in, the staff are happy to follow whatever I want rug wise. I'm not a fan of early mornings so I don't miss that.

I guess I do miss the social a bit, our yard is mixed so it is the same people and we get on well but when you aren't there for the 8am muck out or the 4pm bring in you miss a lot of the chit chat. That has it's benefits at times too though! If I want to chat I can arrange to hack with someone or make sure I am around at a busy time, if I want to keep myself to myself it is dead easy! I can go weeks without seeing a soul if I want to.

It is great if you trust the staff and they are willing to work with you. There have been times when I haven't felt so content, and times when I have mixed feeds in advance and gone up daily to check/top up hay and water despite being on full.

What do I miss about full if on DIY? LOTS!!! Having someone muck out my stable for me, having the freedom to go out for the day of get home late without worrying that the horse will be waiting to come in, having a lie in, having time to ride without having to rush to muck out and do jobs before or after, coming home after a long day hunting/competing and your stable being all ready for you, having an extra pair of eyes on your horse everyday. Oh and did I mention lie ins?

 

[sherry90]

I’m now on what you would call full Mon-Fri. I do DIY on weekends so it’s a nice balance (and can use services if needed).

What I’d miss about full:
Not having to worry about bring in times or rushing to get jobs done before work if I needed to get an early train.
Not having to muck out everyday
Not having to do haynets every day
Poo picking!
Spending more time with him rather than doing the endless jobs that seemed to take up my whole weekend so I was prepared for the week.

Things I miss about DIY:
Seeing his face first thing every morning - this is the biggest set back for me. It sets me up for the day but I know he’s cared for and I did worry he’d forget me (stupidly) on the days I didn’t go up but he definitely doesn’t

I am lucky, I control what he’s fed still and the girls know whatever is put on my rug rail is the rug to go on in the morning/vice versus if I swap his stable rug in an evening.

I make sure I don’t always ride every day I go up so he doesn’t just associate me with work.

 

[Flicker]

The yard I was on had the horses in a set routine on full livery. It worked well because they were very settled. However, it meant that it wasn’t always completely convenient for the owners. So, for example, in summer they usually only spent a few hours in. If you wanted to ride in the evening, you had to fetch your horse in and then turn it out again. They were very reluctant to leave in because they said (rightly) that it messed with their routine. On DIY, you set your own routine around what works for you and your horse.
Other than that mild inconvenience, I loved having my horse on full livery. It meant that all my time was spent directly with her and not filling hay nets. If I had more time though, I’d probably go DIY again because I genuinely enjoy tatting on the yard.

 

[Batgirl]

I was on 5/2 ('full' no riding Mon-Fri).
What I miss about full - not having to poo pick.
What I don't miss - the cost, fitting in around the yard times, at that particular yard the atmosphere and poor grazing.

What I'd miss about DIY - everything but the poo picking!

I'm a real convert. I had pretty much always had my horses on 5/2 for 10-15 years.

Moved to DIY last June and I am really surprised to love it, however I am on a lovely yard of 10 horses (7 owners), we all help each other so I get sleep ins, help if needed but I really like doing my horse before work and as he is happy if he's last out I don't have to rush down for a specific time - on my 5/2 I had to be there in a minute period of time to fit in with the rest of the yard.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I’ve never been on full, what luxury! I do have any amazing sharer who does morning turn out and mucks out. What I’d occasionally like is lazy afternoons, watching a film, getting cosy, not having to go put in awful weather. If I’m away, my sharer does everything and would pretty much do any afternoon if I asked, but I very rarely ask, except in the snow when I was on crutches!

 

[Shysmum]

I have my own stables and land. I miss having other people around and to hack out with, and the option of part or full livery if I needed time away, eg for holidays. Having horses at home is a HUGE tie.

 

[skint1]

I've never been on full, but I think I would struggle with the lack of control but would enjoy the freedom to spend more time with family and friends without having to rush off to sort the horses and not having to balance horses and demands of work, I feel like I am always chasing my tail for time

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

I have my own stables and land. I miss having other people around and to hack out with, and the option of part or full livery if I needed time away, eg for holidays. Having horses at home is a HUGE tie.

Shysmum. Ditto every word you say. I'm flying solo too, it has it's good points but it's hard, especially through the winter.

 

[Jango]

To be honest I much prefer DIY, I'm on a huge yard and you can pay the yard or swap with other liveries for any services so i probably go 10 time a week instead of 14. I found full livery more tying trying to fit in with their routine. Haynets, mucking out, walking to the field and back etc keeps me fitter so I can eat more ? things like poo picking I can pay a teenager but actually during lockdown last year I was happy to be outside.

 

[eggs]

I have the horses at home but have a very good freelance groom who does 2 days a week and also full time if I am on holiday, away for work, etc (in the days when this was possible).

 

[Austen123]

i have done both DIY and full livery. i am back on a DIY but we have a groom who offers a menu service. so if i am away with work or meetings one end of the day, she will do her one end of the day and i will do the other.
Even if she was on "full livery" for the week, it would still be cheaper than paying full livery.

I like the control of having her on a DIY yard; what she eats, how much hay and bedding she has and what rug she has on. However, i was on one full livery yard where the horses always had ample hay, good thick beds and treated like their own (unfortunately , they moved out of the area). The other, they skimped on bedding and hay and i came up numerous times and my horse wasnt rugged appropriately . i lost faith in full livery after this yard

 

[milliepops]

I’ve never been on full, what luxury! I do have any amazing sharer who does morning turn out and mucks out. What I’d occasionally like is lazy afternoons, watching a film, getting cosy, not having to go put in awful weather.

Definitely this! I am pretty ok about early mornings, got a 5am start currently to do ulcer meds before work and I don't mind that too much.
But the agony of driving past houses where you can see inside in the early evenings... where it looks so cosy, and I'm off into the wind and rain to see to the horses again ?

 

[Widgeon]

I would love full livery. I think it would be wonderful. I could actually ride my horse, rather than spending 85% of my time moving water, hay, poo and anything else that will fit into a wheelbarrow.

 

[mariew]

I am horseless at the moment but I don't think I would do full again, but I would want an assisted DIY with decent facilities. My favourite yard was a DIY yard where someone brought in for me, me and another always used to feed everyone and turnout as we were first. Holiday cover was easy enough too and full livery days if I needed. When I was at a fairly expensive full livery (due to necessity) it started well but in the end it was a disaster. I swore never to do it again.

 

[fredflop]

Only advantage on DIY is that you have direct control over what your horse eats

 

[GSD Woman]

I've been a "working boarder." I got a break on the cost but I worked my tail off after work and did the mornings on the weekend. I did look into a DIY where the owners rotated feeding, turn out, etc. In the future, I'll either do full at a good place (preferred) or have my own land.

 

[scats]

Definitely this! I am pretty ok about early mornings, got a 5am start currently to do ulcer meds before work and I don't mind that too much.
But the agony of driving past houses where you can see inside in the early evenings... where it looks so cosy, and I'm off into the wind and rain to see to the horses again ?

Same. Winter mornings don’t really bother me, but winter evenings can be really tough.

I’ve never been on anything but DIY. The thought of the odd lie in and not having to rush back to bring in etc does sound like heaven. Also, it would be nice on days when I’ve got other things planned to be able to have total non-horsey days.

I am a major control freak with the horses though and I like being able to micro manage. I think I’d struggle with handing that control over. The idea of 5/2 sounds a nice split though!

 

[wiglet]

Thanks for everyone's replies! Some interesting comments.

Haynets, mucking out, walking to the field and back etc keeps me fitter so I can eat more ?

Ah yes, this is very true! However, full livery has given me the time to take up cycling again, so I now do that for fitness

I like the control of having her on a DIY yard; what she eats, how much hay and bedding she has and what rug she has on. However, i was on one full livery yard where the horses always had ample hay, good thick beds and treated like their own (unfortunately , they moved out of the area). The other, they skimped on bedding and hay and i came up numerous times and my horse wasnt rugged appropriately . i lost faith in full livery after this yard

My current yard is very good, beds are plentiful and kept clean (no deep litter). Hay is also adlib and of good quality and your horse will be rugged with whatever rug you've left on the rug rail. I have also left full livery yards because the care isn't good enough - nothing makes me more miserable than seeing my horse treated poorly.

I am a major control freak with the horses though and I like being able to micro manage. I think I’d struggle with handing that control over. The idea of 5/2 sounds a nice split though!

I can't lie, I did struggle with it a first but, if you can find the right yard, you do get used to it. I've also tried the 5/2 split. It didn't work for me. The stables were deep littered Mon-Fri (well, just not mucked out really). I thought I could sort it at weekend but, I was informed that I wasn't allowed to put extra bedding in at weekend because they put new shavings in on Mondays only.

I've always dreamed of having horses at home. After reading the comments, maybe this is not ideal either! Horse people are never happy, are we?

 

[milliepops]

i had assisted DIY for 18 months so the 2 that are stabled got fed and turned out for me in the mornings, that was a lovely compromise that meant I had a break from relentless early mornings. I could go for that again.

I like having them at home really, the travelling is the worst bit about DIY for me, i don't mind hopping out of bed early and sorting them out quickly. on a weekend you can always go back to bed! somehow it's not so appealing several hours later after doing the rounds to see to the ones off site.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I was on full livery for a short while and whilst the yard was very good, I really missed doing my horse. I actively enjoy faffing around, making feeds, haying, rugging and tidying etc.
The things I miss about it though was managed turnout - being in a herd field on DIY where people aren't easy to deal with and the slightest side eye from your horse panics them isn't easy, at all! I also miss the facilities, they are usually so much better at part/full livery yards, and rightly so - there is more money in it!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I had such an awful experience on FL that I didn't miss a single thing about it when I moved to basic DIY without a school.

 

[sportsmansB]

My horse is sort of on full, at a friends competition yard
But I currently go in the morning, muck out with the staff (so several stables really, usually 4-6), ride him and then come home and start work. This has been facilitated by the working from home with the Rona, where it doesn't matter if one has hat hair / wears breeches for the day. If I need to rejoin the 'real world' for any reason for a day or two, I don't need to do this and just pop along and ride later on. I definitely feel like I am getting the best of both worlds at the moment, as well as good daily exercise!
I get the benefit of being able to ride and turn him out (if the weather is acceptable to him, which is not every day at this time of year) and then go home knowing that his main needs are looked after and I don't have to go back. They do bring in, walker and afternoon skip outs and feeds etc.
I would prefer to make up his feeds myself but that doesn't really work with how they do things. I still get to see his stable first thing, check everything is normal, and so on. Thats what I miss most with 'proper' full livery. The staff don't necessarily know your horse like you do, how much they normally drink, what their poos look like (or care the same way).

 

[TheBigPony]

On part/full livery for 10 years have now been DIY for just over 10 years all with the same horse. What do I miss about being on livery..absolutely nothing!! And my horse would say the same! It seems to me that most yard staff have no pride in what they do and just want to do the absolute bear minimum they think they can get away with. IMO most seem to have forgotten they are actually meant to like horses...

 

[SO1]

What do I miss about DIY, being able to have more choice about feeds, having extra money!

Good things about full livery, if I feel ill I don't need to go to the yard, I can go on holiday or visit family who don't live near by without worrying, I can go out after work in the evening with friends and have a social life, well I could pre-covid, I don't need to use up 5 of my AL days to be there for the farrier. I have more flexibility with jobs as it means I can travel for work or work late at short notice without having to worry about my pony.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I’ve swapped back and forth over the years depending on my circumstances.

I’m not really a morning person so on DIY I really miss having the occasional lie in especially in winter. In summer they’re out overnight so no need to rush up. Otherwise I much prefer it.

On livery I’ve really struggled with not having total control especially of forage, but also feed and bedding at times. So many promises not delivered. Very inflexible to individual needs.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I have been on full livery many years ago I liked a weekend lie in, now they are at home I have no such thing in winter although I do run outside in pj's then go back to bed