What makes a good yard?

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Weeamigo

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I am thinking about moving yards.. I have had a horrid year this year lossing both of my loved old horses, and now I have just two young ones left..

I currently rent a yard to myself which is lovely but the riding is rubbish, so what makes a good yard that I should put on my wish list ?
 
Approachable yard owner

Good atmosphere and friendly people.

A school

Good grazing and fencing

Good quality fodder/bedding

Nice hacking

Think those are the basics for me anyway.
 
Good people!
There will be things you would like,but all the facilities in the world won't matter if the yard is not friendly or the YO is mental ;)
 
a trustworthy, nice and approachable YO who is friendly but doesn't mind sorting out issues if needed.

good turnout all year round with good fencing.

safe stables which are big enough.

other liveries with similar riding plans- no point being at the perfect yard if you want to hack and everyone else stays in the school 7 days a week!

good facilities as required for you and your horse- if you do dressage a good arena, sj a full set of jumps, happy hacking you want lots of off road riding etc.

it took me months and months to find a really suitable place for my 2, it costs me quite a bit more than i wanted to pay but it is worth every penny!
 
Friendly and APPROACHABLE YO and/or YM (ours are not which ruins the whole place :(

Good hacking, preferably without too many busy roads

Good turnout

School

Nice like-minded fellow liveries

Flexibility within reason (again, even though ours is picture perfect, it's totally rigid)

Close enough to home to be realistic
 
Where ever I move to I give up something it would seem.. But I have alot to gain too.

Three yards to look at.

Yard A, indoor school, horse walker, lovely yard but big and lot's of bitching. Limited winter turn out, but lovely Off road hacking and trailer park. Not cheap.

Yard B, Out door school, big stables, small yard only 2 others there, all year turn out even in winter. Nice horse owning YO. right next to my local woods for off road riding But is a bit tatty. Some where to park my trailer. Middle priced.

Yard C, Big out door school, all your turn out, lot's of liviers but not should how nice they are, good off road riding but is very tatty. Not sure about trailer storage. Cheapest...
 
I'd go for Yard B if I were you. You don't want to be somewhere where there is loads of bitching and to be honest, does it really matter what the stables look like as long as they are safe etc. The horses don't care if the yard looks a bit tatty. Plus the riding in the woods sounds great. Alternatively Yard C sounds nice as well but might be worthwhile finding out what the other liveries are like first as this can really make the difference between enjoying being at the yard and not. And also find out about the trailer storage.
 
nice clean stables
safe with good security
nice atmoshphere/people
a school
good hacking
and lots of grazing
maybe good trailer/lorry parking
 
Yard B is a working chicken farm too so there are just a few bits of kit about. Stables are lovely and big, turn out is safe although some of it is shared with some chickens :-)

The school is fine just bits of old tractors laying about outside etc, but nothing that could hurt the horses from what I have seen...

So I think its winning at the mo.....
 
On my list would be:

A school with a decent surface well maintained
Approachable and hands-on yard owner who keeps yard and fields well maintained and has a basic set of reasonable rules that liveries have to follow
Other liveries that are considerate to each other and think about the shared space in terms of cleaning/tidying up after themselves/their horse
All year turnout if required/where possible
Small turnout paddock for good do-ers or recovering/injured horses
Good off road hacking
Good quality forage available
 
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