What made you move livery yard/stable?

Other liveries was one reason, They all had an opinion but all knew jack-poo and also yard was getting neglected. My horse loved it, was head of the herd but when I pulled into the yard I would see whose car was there and my heart would sink. Only 2 nice girls there but I never saw them, just the knobheads.
 
I think on yards money talks, if you have plently of it or if people think you do then you can get away with what you like and a lot more than others by YM and YO's.

It makes no sence as we all pay the same amount of livery each month but that just seems to be how I see it from what I have experianced
 
Sleepeeze_dad said:
Small?!? 25? erk. there's 6 on ours :D and no kids ;) Actually 5 cos one has 2 neds. - Make that 4. There's an empty stable at the mo. Anyone interested? full floodlit school, full elec/water/lighting, 2 haybarns, 2 tack rooms, plenty of hacking, 14 acres for 6 horsies... fantastic view over liverpool bay and the rochdale pennines - from North wales... Well you never know.

I do envy you the beach though. Sleeps would have a whale of a time on that.
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Which yard are you at? PM me if you prefer. Not got a horse currently but will be looking shortly.
 
stacey_lou said:
I think on yards money talks, if you have plently of it or if people think you do then you can get away with what you like and a lot more than others by YM and YO's.

It makes no sence as we all pay the same amount of livery each month but that just seems to be how I see it from what I have experianced
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Amen to that!

First yard I left due to what I felt at the time was an unreasonable price increase which was on top of nickel and diming for silly things. A yard closer to my home with better facilities happened to have a space open so I went there. It was a very good move as I made some great friends and I really got on well there with liveries (most of them anyway) and the YO's most of the time ;)

I've just moved again after some four years.... my RI was setting up a competition yard. I'm more focused on competing now and the facilities are a little more basic at the new place but really well maintained by the family who own it. I've only been there for about 8 weeks (they have only been there since May or so themselves) and in the time I've been there lots of improvements have been made to make it even better. There are no other liveries where I am, just the owner's horses and those that my RI brings in to back/break and school or compete. It's absolute bliss because most of the time I'm using the school on my own, and I have my RI on tap! :)

It's a bit further for me to drive but other conveniences have been made (like I don't have to supply my own hay or bedding as it's included in my livery), the hacking is superb, and the atmosphere is chilled as there are no politics!
 
I've moved three times in 11 years:

First - moved because of an awful woman who came onto the yard as a livery and basically took over! She started working on a Saturday, then took advantage of the YM's husband's illness and her subsequent absence (he had cancer) by sucking up to the yard owner and gradually getting more and more responsibilities until she was virtually running the place. She also accused the YM of stealing - which was untrue. We all went to the YO and said we would leave unless she did - he told us he wouldn't be bullied, so 6 of us left taking 10 horses between us!

Second - the yard closed due to financial difficulties, which was a shame because it was great. I am still great friends with the YM - in fact she shares my sister's horse and has been a great support over the years.

Third - the YM got heavily into drugs, the horses weren't fed or looked after, she loaned my horse out to one of the instructors on the yard to take a 13 year old out on a hack on one of the most dangerous roads in the area - i happened to come down to the yard early and found the girl putting him away. Needless to say, I lost the pot - how I didn't cause her serious bodily harm, I don't know. Anyway, I was gone within a week and the yard was taken over by some of the liveries.

I have been at my current yard for over 6 years and have to say, I am very happy there. Hopefully there will be no need to move as the facilities are good, the prices are reasonable for the area, and my horse is very happy there.
 
why are people so effing bitchy?! I've had my fair share of awfull livery yards most of which have been ok for the horses but the bloody awfull people made me unhappy!

I have been at my current yard and I love it, only 4 liveries, 2 ponies and 2 horses and I own the horses. The lady with one of the ponies is fab and we go out for hacks as her pony has a calming influence on my lively mare.

YO is very helpful and keeps the yard maintained ( but does have a few odd ideas) and on the whole leaves us alone. It is a pleasure to keep my horses there.
 
I feel guilty now. I've had 3 yards now in just over a year...
Yard one - Was a family friend's house. 3 retired ponies, friend's horse and mine. No hacking and no arena. Not good for a horse that doesn't hack out. :S
Yard two - Owned by my cuz. She has 8, most in work or youngsters. Decent hacking and outdoor school. Indy moved there so my cuz could look after her while I was away working (only for 3 months and I've been back for 4). Helped fix her spooky ways and bad back. However...
Yard three - My new job "down south". Riding school - indoor and outdoor schools, loads of horses in work, instructors and me on site, good hacking (once I can get her off yard!) and the beach.
I feel really bad because she is happy at my cuz's place and I'm worried about the long trip south.
 
Magnetic Sparrow said:
I'm really intrigued by the Kafkaesque reference. Was it a horse turning into a fly? ;)
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I was on my phone and being lazy :D . The yard we moved from had complex set of rules which only the YO seemed to know about, they not fairly applied to everyone, the rules were arbitrarily made up/changed, you could find yourself in the bad books without ever really knowing why, though equally(and just as unsettling), a week later you could be the next best thing to ever happen to horses, and there was a general sense of doom and danger hanging in the air! It used to remind me of The Trial (which I was forced to read as a schoolgirl)
Apart from that it was great :D
 
We seem to fall upon yards with really weird YO's for some reason and have moved a few times over the years because of this, the last yard was a farm that hadn't long being doing livery for horses, it started off really nicely with just a few other liveries there, then the farmer discovered that the more they crammed in the more money they would make.

So up went more stables, it was a really nice place on the whole, there wasn't anywhere to store your stuff only a dirt floor further up the converted cow shed, which wasn't ideal, as the livery numbers grew the space shrunk with no improvements to accomodate this, then the rats moved in! they ate the wiring on our horse box and the seats in the living part, they ate everything that was left on the dirt floor, and they peed and pooed all over the hay and straw.

The YO was ok with you if you were the flavour of the month, the liveries were not to bad really, a couple were bitches but were ignored in the main.

Couldn't stand it much longer and when the prices were hiked up that was it, we rent our own small yard now and it's heaven, would never go back to a livery yard if we could help it, lovely landlords don't interfere in anyway and lovely place to be.
 
Im on a 40 stable yard atm with amazing facilities with a BE Xc course and indoor barn and I have some great friends but have been offered a place on a 8stable yard with an indoor arena and they hold SJ and DR legues throughout the year also with great facilities but an extra 6miles round trip each day

It difficult to weigh up though may apprechiate a smalled yard more having been on 2 big yards since I was 13.

I just dont get people who think they have every right to critacise but when you say ok then how can i solve this situation or this problem they dont actually have a clue! so I say Shut up stay out of my business but should you say to me I can see you are having an issue can I offer some advise then I would reply with yes please that would be most helpfull but please dont be offended should I disagree

That way the world would be a lot nicer, personally I wouldnt be offended if I offered someone advise and they decided not to take it beacuse well at the end of the day we all know with horses that one way doesnt work for all.
 
I moved as my pony did not like the yard he just never settled and it was causing me a great deal of stress and making him behave very badly. I actually thought I would have to sell him!

However on moving yards it became obvious the problem was not him but that for some reason he did not like the other yard. From day one on the new yard he changed, YO said she had not seen a pony settle so quickly into a herd. What helped I think was that he is in a group of laid back ponies and small cobs similar to him in temperment rather than a large group which also had big horses in. He still lives out but even managed to spend a night in a stable and was relaxed about it - whereas at the previous yard he would just get very upset and jump out if I attempted to put him in a stable even if it was just for a few minutes.

Whilst no yard is going to be perfect I do joke with YO that I hope pony passes away before she does as I worry if I moved him somewhere else he would get stressy again. I do think people have to be realistic in that very few places if any are going to be perfect.
 
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I moved from my 1st yard (where i bought my two from) as the facilities were going downhill, my mare became injured due to the turnout conditions (she broke her foot) and also i felt we needed to move on to "grow" if that makes sense.

Moved to a fantastic yard with fantastic facilities etc, moved cos of the lack of winter turnout (30 mins per day in menage) and the fact that people became less friendly and MOST of them wouldnt ride with me etc because i had cobs not Warmbloods / thoroughbreds!!! ( I was there 6 months)

I then moved to a yard close to my home that was fantastic to start with, very high standard of care, natural horsemanship methods were used, well mainatined fields, all year turnout, fab facilities with the promise of more to come, fab hacking and lovely people, however it deteriorated rapidly both facility wise and care wise (i wont go into detail as the horse world is a very small one) and my horses were getting injured and becoming unhappy - my youngster became very difficult to ride / handle and my mare lost all her weight (shes a cob but looked more like a tb) through stress etc so after almost 2 years there I moved again.

been on my current yard 6 months and cannot fault a single aspect of it, the care is exceptional, the facilities are fantastic and well maintained and the hacking is to die for. Everyone is lovely and my horses settled immediatley, their weight is back to how they should be, they're relaxed and happy and my youngest horse hasnt put a foot wrong since the day he moved :) this has made me more willing to ride and more confident and we've achieved more in the last 6 months than we have since the day i bought them :)
 
We used to be on a yard which gradually turned into a riding school/training centre and got busier and busier. Also the hacking wasn't great and all competitions/fun rides etc were in the wrong direction, so every time we wanted to go anywhere in the lorry it took ages and then once we'd dropped the horses back we had to drive back home to the other side of the city. The other liveries were great though, there was no bitchiness and we made some wonderful friends who we miss.

Now we've moved house and yard, horses are 2 minutes from home, better hacking and easy access to comps/rides etc.
 
TicTac said:
why are people so effing bitchy?! I've had my fair share of awfull livery yards most of which have been ok for the horses but the bloody awfull people made me unhappy!
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God knows but the bitching is the main reason Ive moved yards. However, the last YO was a crazy loon. She said my horse had to be kept in 24/7 in the middle of summer, so I had a crazy horse as well as a crazy YO.
 
Awful pasture management. Not being able to get in the school die to riding school and after school club riding increasing. Never knowing where my horse was or who she was out with despite being grass DIY.
 
I`m moving this weekend as YO refused to let me move stables to a quieter stable, she had her reasons, but doesnt help me or my horse though!
she has never been 100% happy there though
finger crossed its a good move!!
 
Moved Captain because I did not like the care he was getting or the way he was being treated by a member of staff. He hit my lad, who had been abused in a previous home, not the person I bought him off, my lad clearly indicated the groom had hit him and when challenged the groom admitted it. He actually thought it was justified to hit a horse in the face because it would not stand still at a gate! It was deck him or leave!

Luckily we are now on a fantastic yard, happy and my lad loves it!
FDC
 
Moved twice due to:
- management of facilities/fields,
- turnout & care/welfare when full liveried

Might be moving soon due to lack of grazing and poor maintenance of field/fencing. It's a shame as I love the yard. The liveries are mostly friendly (a few odd characters but they keep out of my way/I keep out of theirs), the YO is lovely, the hacking is wonderful including lots of off road and gallops nearby and they try to run comps now and again on site. The facilities could do with some upgrading but they have an indoor and an outdoor.
If they just looked after the plac and didn't take on so many horse I would never move. my horses love it too but I just can't cope with all the hay nets during the whole of summer, having my horses fighting due to lack of grass and having the vet visit due to injuries. Can you tell I'm torn...my heart really doesn't want to move but my head says enough is enough.
 
OMG I could write a book on it....but I wont :D Over the last 12 years i've had the following (brief version):-

Evil liveries
MENTAL yard owners/managers
Thieves (hay/feed/general stuff you name it)
Grazing issues
Poor fencing
flooding stables (I mean everytime it rained too)
moved house so yard too far away (the one I LOVED I battled on for months paying £70 a week in fuel for one trip a day and didnt want to leave but it got too much)
needed diy/part/diy again
facilities
lack of good hacking
and the list goes on :D

Love my current yard! Couple of things that could be a little better but i've been enough bad places to know this one is good. I was gutted when I thought I would have to move due to no room for one of my horses but they have solved the issue yay!
 
1st Move - moved to the US and took my horse with me
2nd Move - YO wanted to change a livery yard into a training yard and charge twice the price and ride my horse 3 days a week. Didn't want to pay that much and didn't want her riding my horse.
3rd move - burned out YO who turned management over to his teenage kids. Found my horse more than once in the middle of a hot summer day with no water.
4th Move - YOs thought my half draft horse was too fat and proceeded to starve him
5th Move - Sold draft horse, bought a youngster. Arena was crappy, deep and dangerous. Looked for somewhere with better facilities
6th Move - Lunatic YO, lots of promises that were never kept and initially nice facilities went downhill very fast.
7th Move - I was thrown out for being big mouthed and complaining when my horse wasn't fed properly or there were dead mice in his automatic waterer, or when the YO kids kept playing catch with the kittens and killing them. I was SO glad to get out of that one, it had an evil atmosphere.
8th Move - wonderful barn and would still be there if I hadn't finally got my own place.

I no longer have to put up with *******s and it's pure heaven ;)
 
WeeBrown said:
Moved twice due to:
- management of facilities/fields,
- turnout & care/welfare when full liveried

Might be moving soon due to lack of grazing and poor maintenance of field/fencing. It's a shame as I love the yard. The liveries are mostly friendly (a few odd characters but they keep out of my way/I keep out of theirs), the YO is lovely, the hacking is wonderful including lots of off road and gallops nearby and they try to run comps now and again on site. The facilities could do with some upgrading but they have an indoor and an outdoor.
If they just looked after the plac and didn't take on so many horse I would never move. my horses love it too but I just can't cope with all the hay nets during the whole of summer, having my horses fighting due to lack of grass and having the vet visit due to injuries. Can you tell I'm torn...my heart really doesn't want to move but my head says enough is enough.
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I don't understand why there has to be injuries. I feed haylage in the field because lack of rain this year has meant having to supplement grazing all year. The horses are completely peaceful and not an injury in sight. So long as there is enough forage in the field there won't be problems. I suggest talking to YO to see if this can be rectified as it seems everything else is just perfect.
 
I moved to my current place as got sick of a couple of rather bitchy people. Sadly 6 months after I left they got asked to leave...ho hum! But I love my place, its just me and mine and I can do what I like, when I like etc etc. I keep in touch with some other peeps from old yard though and one of them now has my mare on loan, so I am back there rather often!
 
Interesting thread.

We've been at four yards in two years . . .

First yard - was part livery, nice enough set up, some nice liveries and Kal was reasonably well looked after - YO's OH was a bit weird (once locked me in the yard b/c I forgot to shut a gate) and I fought endlessly with YO about Kal's bedding - they wouldn't let us have rubber matting and only put a very thin layer of shavings down - Kal is a box-walker and would very quickly uncover the concrete floor - he ended up with scars on his hocks - so we left

Second yard - very small DIY yard - Kal hated it the moment he stepped off the trailer and I was never very comfortable there . . . Kal was so unsettled he was almost unmanageable and unrideable and when he and another gelding had an altercation in the middle of the night (in the field) and the other gelding's owners (who were related to the YO and lived on-site) made my life a living hell, we left (also there was no safe/off road hacking - which Kal and I both hated)

Third yard - quite a large assisted DIY yard - facilities were pretty good, grazing was amazing, usual mix of liveries (some lovely, some downright bitchy), decent hacking - we were there a year . . . YO put prices up, there was a general degradation in the care the horses were getting, the atmosphere went down hill and for the £££ I was spending I felt I could get better service elsewhere . . . also it was becoming impossible to get into the school at weekends b/c YO's daughter was either holding clinics or teaching the neighbours' children (who weren't liveries) - finally, my trainer and another friend set up their own yard - so we moved

Present yard - although it is set up as a RS, the yard is quiet and well set up (and Kal is on full livery) - grazing is lovely, facilities are good (and improving all the time as they get up and running), staff are knowledgeable and kind, my trainer is always on hand, YO lets us use her horse box (providing we pay for fuel), Kal gets tons of turnout and he is a very chilled/happy boy . . . I like most of the other liveries and those who aren't my favourites merely get on my nerves (there's NO bitchiness) . . . there are things that annoy me, but I think that's true of any yard - nowhere is perfect

The five-year plan is that when both girls are off to uni, OH and I will find a little place with enough space to keep Kal (and a couple of shetland companions) at home.

P
 
Fany Du Champ said:
Moved Captain because I did not like the care he was getting or the way he was being treated by a member of staff. He hit my lad, who had been abused in a previous home, not the person I bought him off, my lad clearly indicated the groom had hit him and when challenged the groom admitted it. He actually thought it was justified to hit a horse in the face because it would not stand still at a gate! It was deck him or leave!

Luckily we are now on a fantastic yard, happy and my lad loves it!
FDC
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Never hit a horse in the face!! Thats out of line, I moved my boy from a yard a worked at as someone was hitting him I caught wind of it when he one day after a weekend of refused to come near me in my work clothes which consited of a green polo and jumper he shot to the back of his stable when I walked in so I had to get near his face so he could see it was me

I soon found out who it was and got my revenge before leaving
 
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