What does DIY mean ?????

[pansy]

Sorry bit of a moan
DIY means do it yourself doesn't it ???
I had someone tell me the other day that I would have to do certain evenings for them as they couldn't get there because of 1 reason or the other (not even because of work) - yes we help each other out when needed but to say that they definitely can't do certain days seems a bit rude to me
I'm there every day twice a day & don't mind helping out but I'm getting a bit fed up with others attitudes
DIY also seems to mean put your horse in at 2pm & leave until 10am the next day - is it just me that thinks this is wrong
I love my horse but others at yard seem to be annoying me at the moment

 

[AngieandBen]

Welcome to the club; One of my "DIY" liveries hasn't been at all today, then wonder why at the end of the month they get a larger bill............#mugwrittenonmyface

 

[windand rain]

Yep do it yourself
Everywhere I have been it has meant just that roof leaks you fix it, want to fence smaller paddocks you buy the fencing, all horse care and keeping the muck heap tidy, you have guessed thats your job too, paying for extra for any assistance at all, Your job to bring in and put out your own horse and all field maintenance seeding, fertiliser, field harrowing school care and of course making sure all the security measures you want are available.
If you are willing it can mean doing it for everyone else too not a course of action to start as it will become your job.

 

[scatty_mare]

DIY to me means my horse is totally my responsibility, and I do not expect (=want!) any help unless I expressly ask and pay for it. However, have just moved temporarily to a DIY yard, where to my amazement you do as little or as much as you want... and no extra charges as far as I can tell. If you don't turn up horse is always turned out/brought in/hayed/even mucked out and rug change! Being a control freak I hate it (my horse is out because I want her out, not because I cba to bring her in!) But it makes me sad that the lovely YO is taken advantage of by other lazy liveries who only turn up on a sunny weekend.

 

[NativePonyLover]

Can you not just tell them you will do your horse for X amount?

I must admit, I am on DIY but don't always go up twice a day - but I either pay my YM for assistance or my very kind parents like doing him for me. But I'd never expect (or indeed want) another livery to do him for me.

 

[ebonyallen]

This I think is the case on quite a few places, people just do not understand the commitment and the hard work that is involved in DIY, as you say most of us will be up there twice a day every day doing everything for our horse, while others seem to think that it is fine to let others do the work for them. There are always cases where we will all help out if someone is sick or has a real problem, but some people do just seem to take the pee and there always seems to be some reason why they can not do their own horse. We also have people that get them in and then do not turn up till after 12 the next day to see to them, this I have to say is not on why should the poor horse be made to suffer because they have had a night out or just can not be bothered to get out of bed to sort the poor animal out. I have spent many months in hospital and have hated every moment of it having to ask my friends to look after Ebony for me, this in the past has broken my heart number one what does my poor girl think has suddenly happened and also having to rely on people to make sure that she is ok, I hate having to ask, and will always do what ever I can to repay my very kind friends for all the hard work that they have done for me. We had a case the other year when another friends husband was told he only had weeks to live and we all jumped in to do what we could so she did not have to worry, there are always good reasons as to why someone needs help but also there are many people who just can not be bothered. These should be on a working or a full livery or go some where that charges you for the little extras that some people might need. So you are not wrong I totally agree with you.

 

[Mrs B]

In the parlance of Mumsnet: DIYYLB. OPSET.

(for those wondering, there is a comma between the 2 'y's, the 'l' stands for 'lazy' and the last 5 letters stand for 'Or Pay Someone Else To'.)


PS Of course, the compromise is that folk work together and swap shifts/duties fairly especially at this time of year. Sadly, it rarely happens.

 

[pansy]

I don't mind helping anyone - but just because they want a day off or can't possibly go to the yard twice a day is beyond me - I went to YHL the weekend & did my own before & after -we are on a small yard & tbh at the moment I'm doing it because I would rather not see them but it can't carry on like this indefinitely as I know I'm being taken advantage of I am waiting for 1 of them to mention Christmas & New Year because I will be just doing my own over this period x

 

[AngieandBen]

Lol @Mrs B; Oh and my livery that hasn't turned up at all today has announced she is away for a week over new year..............joy; I have decided to put livery fees up to £130 a month, take it or leave it, double pay for a bank holiday?

 

[NativePonyLover]

That's fair A&B - my YM routinely charges double for bank holidays. She has a life & family after all!

 

[risky business]

I'd say that's fair A&B if I ever asked my old YO to do my horse for new year/ Xmas holiday she would be telling me to do one unless I was abroad for a few weeks over a holiday period and it would be more money.

People forget YOs actually do have better things to do and like to have a life away from the yard on holidays just like the rest of us!

 

[RoyalGreyGlory]

My goodness, I'm not the only one!! I'm fed up of having to reduce time spent with my youngster faffing around bringing in and changing the rugs of ALL the other liveries. It is starting to bother me. I don't mind helping out the YO as she helps me out.. but the others don't give anything in return ... makes my blood boil.

If you can't make it twice a day- don't do DIY. Can't afford part/full you shouldn't have a horse. Harsh maybe but my YO was going to charge a fiver a week for turnout and rug changes (just started running the yard), which I was happy to pay, but the only other livery at the time said she couldn't afford so refused to pay it... now "we all help each other" instead.. pfft more like the YO or myself do everything while everyone else goes on their jollies.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

QUOTE: "YO was going to charge a fiver a week for turnout and rug changes (just started running the yard), which I was happy to pay, but the only other livery at the time said she couldn't afford so refused to pay it."

YO needs to tell other livery to either pay or leave, simple as that. Normally the liveries that decide "We all help each other" rarely do. They will be the one that's always down last & someone else has brought their horse in so it won't be out alone. They'll always have a reason for being late but in truth they want something for nothing. Every yard has them & for some reason they always seem to get away with being lazy & taking the P.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

This is why my friend and I keep our horses out 24/7 on a rented field a few mins from either of our houses. My daughters conditions mean I often have to drop everything and run to hospital etc so Id never cope having a stabled horse. You have to do what suits and if you cant be bothered then either dont have them or pay someone!!!!!

 

[webble]

Whilst I agree it isnt fair to expect or assume others will help, to me diy is giving each other a hand to a certain extent too. There are only two of us on my yard and one does mornings the other does evenings and we swap depending on what fits us. The other lady lives there so she tends to fit around me more than me around her but then she has days away now and then when I do both end of the day

 

[Shysmum]

I put a thread on about this a few weeks ago. having been "DIY shafted" many times before because of my good nature (!), I now refuse to help anyone at all unless they pay me. This resulted in an outstanding stand up tantrum from one livery which was very scary - but I am SOOOOOO glad that I have finally stood up for myself.

So what if hubbie is often down there to help me ? So what if I can't work, so am there religiously twice a day. I have joint hypermobility, and doing other horses can be a risk for me - I specifically have a very well behaved pony as I can handle him. Are these other horses insured ?

The very worst DIY I've encountered was a lady who simply turned her horses out in a field, in severe snow, and then drove up to look at them from the road. One contracted a severe abscess on Christmas eve. Horse not moved for at least 24 hours in serious snow. Guess who helped get the poor thing in ?

If you can't look after your horse on DIY, do not expect others to have to do it for free. It will end in tears.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Just spoke to a friend of mine in the yard next door to me, some woman there has left her pony in for 3 days without even coming up, so if it was not for people giving the pony hay and water it would starve, shocking really but if yo lets this happen some people will do it, when I worked on a livery yard if a horse was just left we would do the basics and then give them a bill, I cant be on a yard all day looking at poor horses without food or turnout standing in a filthy stable for days on end.

 

[Merrymoles]

I must just be very lucky. I am on a small DIY yard where everyone helps each other. At the moment I am turning out and mucking out mine and one other in the week and the other horse's owner brings in and poo picks. This is great for me as my working hours vary a lot and tonight I will be working until about 11pm and on Thursday until gone midnight. At the weekend, my friend will turn out for me so I can have a lie in if I want and we both muck out our own and poo pick.
I know people do take the mick elsewhere and it is very important to be clear on who is responsible for what but I don't have any back up, our YO has her own horses and job and we work together to achieve the best results for everyone.

 

[Embo]

Yep, got plenty that don't understand DIY. I'm up twice a day 6 days per week. Mon-Fri it's a 5am start, then onto work from there. Swap jobs with another livery on a Sunday - she puts both our horses out, and I will bring in & finish in the eve. So I get one lay in at least! I get paid to do a few jobs for other people, but I don't do work in return for favours unless I know/trust the other person will follow up.

Some people pay for turn out/bring in, some the whole lot. This doesn't bother me as they are paying for the service. It's when you get 'oh, can you bring in for me tomorrow?' but don't offer anything in return, or just expect you to do odd jobs. Had one where a few times would purposely turn up late, knowing her horse goes mad in the field on it's own so of course, someone would just bring it in.

There is one girl who drives me absolutely insane. Pays for service (mother pays), so Mon-Sat the pony gets turned out and Mon-Fri mucked out. She turns up after school around 4.30-5 ish, pony still out. Will stand around chatting/getting in the way until about 7pm, then will bring in, throw some hay on the floor, then wait around scrounging for a lift.

What annoys me is in that time, she could easily do chores herself and save her poor mum some money. Problem is, mum is totally non-horsey, doesn't know the first thing. Believes her child knows all there is to know (yeah right), so child says 'I need this, pony needs that, it takes 2 hours to muck out so have to pay someone', and mother provides.

What's worse is that the child just doesn't muck out at the weekend. Ever. On Sunday she didn't even turn up so one of the other girls sorted the pony. I told her not to, to just tell YM but she felt bad for pony. Problem is, nothing will be done about it unless people stop helping and leave it to YM. It drives me crazy.

 

[Kikke]

I am so happy I'm on part livery. Don't. Think I could cope with anything like that. If you can't handle DIY go for part-livery, if you can't afford part-livery and can't do DIY, don't have a horse, simple enough I would say.

 

[Buddy'sMum]

Welcome to the club; One of my "DIY" liveries hasn't been at all today, then wonder why at the end of the month they get a larger bill............#mugwrittenonmyface

Ha! Yes, I had a few like that. When I eventually managed to shoe horn my last DIY livery out of my yard, her parting shot was "I really expected you to do more to help me"!

 

[skint1]

Sorry bit of a moan
DIY means do it yourself doesn't it ???
I had someone tell me the other day that I would have to do certain evenings for them as they couldn't get there because of 1 reason or the other (not even because of work) - yes we help each other out when needed but to say that they definitely can't do certain days seems a bit rude to me
I'm there every day twice a day & don't mind helping out but I'm getting a bit fed up with others attitudes
DIY also seems to mean put your horse in at 2pm & leave until 10am the next day - is it just me that thinks this is wrong
I love my horse but others at yard seem to be annoying me at the moment

Yeah, that doesn't sound very DIY to me, that sounds like "assisted" and that costs money. Also I wouldn't be happy about a horse left in that long (2pm to 10am next day) with no one seeing to it at all. I'm not a YO/YM though, only a livery, when you see horses treated like that it is a worry. There's a group of us on our yard who all pitch in and help each other, it works, but if we couldn't do it, I would expect to pay for it. That's life

To me, DIY is pretty much what it says on the tin, your horse, your responsiblity. In terms of building/fence/field maintenance,which has been mentioned by other posters, I would expect to do little repairs and keep the place tidy but structural stuff I would expect the yard to do.

For disposal of muck heap/supply of bedding and forage, I would expect to be told the yard policy for that and to stick to it, unless the supply was crap

Also, I am shocked at the number of people who don't see to their horse regularly, even if the time varies for work commitments or other things, I never knew so many people were like that.

 

[splashnutti1]

Oh lordy dont get me started lol!

I have someone with me at the moment who honestly is starting to drive me crazy and if she doesnt heed a warning will be outed! She has 2 lovely horses but does nothing with them and constantly moans about having to do them and how much they cost! Latest issue is i quote" i cant afford to get any straw can i use yours?", errr no! so her answer is... not to muck out for 2 days just chuck them in on dirty beds with hay thrown on floor cos again i quote "at least they have a bed" errr its absolute filth!!!

then pinched straw off other peoples beds including mine thinking we wouldnt notice!

Other things are
bring in at 2pm dont return until 10am next morning
no water in field then when it is supplied its black with dirt
uses everyone elses things and has broken and not replaced some
no hay... can i use yours...no ...okay can you go get me some ...err NO
has pinched my feed several times (thinks i dont know) and expects me to go to feed shop for her
always saying has no money cant afford this cant afford that etc etc well dont have them then!!!!

she has been told nicely as things happen and not listened so has had a warning this weekend, will see if things improve!! just dont understand some people!

 

[Hedwards]

For me, DIY means the yard provides a stable & grazing, they are responsible for the 'running of the yard' and general maintenance, maybe the yard provides hay/haylage - everything else is up to me, fetch in/turn out/feed/poo pick/ water in the field/ rugs/ being there for farrier etc. - anything more than this on a 'regular' basis is part livery. the occasional bring in/turn out/feed etc. is understandable, but to say 'every friday i need my horse brining in' moves it from DIY to part livery in my eyes...

 

[GrumpyHero]

I'm on DIY and go once a day in the week and tend to stay all day at weekends.
Have a lovely fellow livery who offers to feed in the morning throughout the week and at the weekend we're on a feeding rota. Another lovely friend of mine turns my lad out with her little pony so he has company to go out with.

Not everyone is on our feeding rota however - some liverys explicitely said they DIDN'T want to be on it yet still don't show up til mid day on weekends expecting me (who got to the farm before 8am to feed) to have fed their horses!!! Makes my blood boil. I feel awful but I just walk past their unfed horses now as no one says thank you when you do feed for them.

 

[PolarSkye]

DIY means Do It Yourself.

I have had experience on DIY yards of liveries (who don't work, so don't have other hard and fast commitments) who only wanted to come down to see to their horses once a day. Fair enough if the yard owner offers assistance (or employs someone who does), but if there is (say) a fellow DIY'er who will "do" some horses for a fee, surely there's a limit on how many horses he or she can do and he or she should be able to say "I can't do any more - sorry" without getting abuse. Grrrrrrrr.

Does my head in. If you move to a DIY yard, expect to Do It Yourself - even if there are one or two who will Do It For You for a fee - they have lives and there are limits.

I'm all for friends helping each other out . . . I'm not, however, all for people being taken advantage of - especially when those people are nice, kind and obliging and do actually hold down jobs elsewhere (and I am not talking about myself).

Current yard - fellow livery and I have an arrangement - I turn her horse out Mon-Wed, she puts my boy to bed Fri-Sun . . . and now that the nights are closing in, if her mare is still out when I leave and she's not up yet, I bring her girl in and give her some hay/haylage. It's a mutually-beneficial arrangement . . . and, being grown-ups, we both feel free and able to just say so if the set up isn't working for any reason.

Frosts my butt to see people manipulating other (far too nice) people.

P

 

[Birker2020]

Sorry bit of a moan
DIY means do it yourself doesn't it ???
I had someone tell me the other day that I would have to do certain evenings for them as they couldn't get there because of 1 reason or the other (not even because of work) - yes we help each other out when needed but to say that they definitely can't do certain days seems a bit rude to me
I'm there every day twice a day & don't mind helping out but I'm getting a bit fed up with others attitudes
DIY also seems to mean put your horse in at 2pm & leave until 10am the next day - is it just me that thinks this is wrong
I love my horse but others at yard seem to be annoying me at the moment

Well DIY is DIY. But assisted DIY is normally the service offered to liveries. Turn out/bring in, skip or muck out etc, charged as extra costs. If they are not doing what they should be doing then charge them for anything extra that you do. I think if they leave nets/tubs/feeds to be slung over the door then its not fair to charge for this nor for taking of medical boots, like magnetic boots or stable bandages if they are for medical grounds, but If think anything else should be chargeable.

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

Frosts my butt.....

P

Sorry, but snorted at that

I'm in the DIY means DIY camp. But then I am a control freak

I have moved to a DIY yard has has a couple of people that offer services which is great, and it does amaze me when people are basically on Full livery (without riding) as they are paying for the services, then are wingeing that things are being done right, or the horse is picking up habits (not necessarily on the new yard, but certainly on others) etc. Yet they don't work (lucky mares don't have too ) so in theory have the time at least once a day to see their 'baby'!

But then its what works for them I guess.

 

[star26]

I also think DIY should mean Do It Yourself. However, i have been on yards where people seem to think it means...'visit horse a few times a week and the rest of the time someone else will do it'. It really annoys me that people stick their horses on DIY, but don't bother to ever turn up and just assume other liveries or YO will do it for them, for free!

Last year i was on a yard where one lady barely made it up once a day in winter. Her 4 ponies were coming in each night (supposedly) and so, at times, they would either spend over 24 hours either stuck in a disgusting mucky stable with no food/water, or they'd be left out on land with no grass, in a blizzard, with no rugs/food/water/shelter for days, as owner thought they would be fine to fend for themselves!
It drove me absolutely mad, YO was the YM and couldn't manage a piss up in a brewery, let alone a yard, so nothing was done about it- horses were neglected and it came down to myself and another livery who sorted it all out in the end!

I did buddy up with a fellow livery and we would sometimes turn out/bring in for each other, but it was only because it was convenient for us at that time, i did not sign up for DIY expecting to rely on others for help!
I think if you can't make time to do your horse yourself and you can't afford to pay someone to do it for you then you shouldn't be a horse owner! Simples!

 

[Blurr]

Well DIY is DIY. But assisted DIY is normally the service offered to liveries. Turn out/bring in, skip or muck out etc, charged as extra costs. If they are not doing what they should be doing then charge them for anything extra that you do. I think if they leave nets/tubs/feeds to be slung over the door then its not fair to charge for this nor for taking of medical boots, like magnetic boots or stable bandages if they are for medical grounds, but If think anything else should be chargeable.

I think DIY and Assisted DIY are different. If you go to a DIY yard you have to expect to do it all yourself. If you go to a yard that offers assisted (and I've never been on one of these, it was always just DIY) fair enough, you can pay for the extra services you need. I would expect to pay for all the services, even if it was just putting a feed or net in. I'd never expect anyone to care for my horses without some sort of payment. And I don't see the difference in 'boots for medical reasons' they're still boots and if they need removing, DIY or pay. Why should my ill horse be an inconvenience to anyone else?

If DIY liveries chose to do shifts for each other, as long as both parties feel it's a fair exchange I don't see a problem. But really, if you're moving to a DIY yard on your own, you can't possibly go with the expectation that you'll only need to go once a day. If you can't make the journey twice, you can't do DIY, you need some other form of livery package that suits your lifestyle.

If you start to feel like you're being taken for granted by another livery I suggest you tell them firmly and quietly that you're no longer in a position to be able to help. You don't have to explain yourself, just tell them the day when your services will end. There is no reason their inability to get up in the morning or Corrie addiction should become your problem. Some of the stories I read of people having the Michael extracted really make my blood boil. Owning a horse is an enormous responsibility and those that expect free favours are shirking it.

Having said all that, a fair exchange is no robbery so if you and a friend have an agreement that works, that's great.