Hal1k1
Well-Known Member
Any suggestions welcome and please include smmall details as well.
What would be your ideal livery yard ?
- Thread starter Hal1k1
- Start date
HollyWoozle
Well-Known Member
As someone who keeps their horses on private land, turned out 24/7 and who has never been on a livery yard I will try to give you my view! 
It will be completely unrealistic of course as we are talking in ideal terms and I have no livery yard experience, but perhaps it might be useful to you anyway.
I did think about what I would look for in the event that I had to move Belle to a livery yard. I would be looking for grass livery (which I guess doesn't really count?) or as much turnout as possible. I would want my horse to be out all day whatever the weather, no winter turnout is unacceptable in my personal view.
Facilities, obviously the more the better I suppose. An all weather menage would be priority after good local hacking (plenty of off road). XC course would be good in an ideal world, as would a gallops!
Good security, a friendly and trustworthy manager, decent sized stables, safety for the horse (such as fencing etc.). I would prefer to be on a smaller scale yard. Reasonable prices for livery services.
I think the most important thing for me would be to feel that my horse was safe and in good hands.
It will be completely unrealistic of course as we are talking in ideal terms and I have no livery yard experience, but perhaps it might be useful to you anyway.I did think about what I would look for in the event that I had to move Belle to a livery yard. I would be looking for grass livery (which I guess doesn't really count?) or as much turnout as possible. I would want my horse to be out all day whatever the weather, no winter turnout is unacceptable in my personal view.
Facilities, obviously the more the better I suppose. An all weather menage would be priority after good local hacking (plenty of off road). XC course would be good in an ideal world, as would a gallops!
Good security, a friendly and trustworthy manager, decent sized stables, safety for the horse (such as fencing etc.). I would prefer to be on a smaller scale yard. Reasonable prices for livery services.
I think the most important thing for me would be to feel that my horse was safe and in good hands.
Meowy Catkin
Meow!
I have been on different types of livery at different livery yards in the past and now have my horses on my parents' field. If I had to go back to a livery yard, my wish list would be:
Nice atmosphere
DIY option available
All year turnout (24/7 ideally)
Nice hacking
Extras, eg a school or showjumping paddock with jumps are icing on the cake for me.
My favourite yard was a farm with a couple of fields for a handful of DIY liveries. They had a few 'bodged' stables that were in a converted milking barn. There was no school but we were able to ride in the field that wasn't grazed and they had some jumps. The hacking was nice... once you had negotiated some majorly main roads to reach it . Luckily my mare is fantastic in traffic.
My worst yard was a 'proper' livery yard with better facilities (school, better hacking as you only had to cross one main road) but they only offered part, working and full livery. I hated it, the mare hated it, they could never catch her and there was always nasty gossip.
Nice atmosphere
DIY option available
All year turnout (24/7 ideally)
Nice hacking
Extras, eg a school or showjumping paddock with jumps are icing on the cake for me.
My favourite yard was a farm with a couple of fields for a handful of DIY liveries. They had a few 'bodged' stables that were in a converted milking barn. There was no school but we were able to ride in the field that wasn't grazed and they had some jumps. The hacking was nice... once you had negotiated some majorly main roads to reach it
. Luckily my mare is fantastic in traffic.My worst yard was a 'proper' livery yard with better facilities (school, better hacking as you only had to cross one main road) but they only offered part, working and full livery. I hated it, the mare hated it, they could never catch her and there was always nasty gossip.
Fellewell
Well-Known Member
Well if you don't want your horse to suffer with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, filled legs, arthritis, cribbing, windsucking, ulcers, box-walking etc; don't go anywhere they expect you to stable him for 17 hours a day. I always check the turnout first, Dr Green is number 1 on the list. (fencing comes a close 2nd)
Meowy Catkin
Meow!
Yes, I should have put good horse fencing on my list.
No barbed wire!
No barbed wire!
Hal1k1
Well-Known Member
My reason for asking is because I am thinking of trying to start a co-operated livery yard because I want:
a. decent grazing- all night in the summer and all day in the winter. If there was enough grazing some horses could be grass liveries.
b. Hay/Haylage- Large haynets when it is the horses bed time and smaller haynets trickle fed so that all the horses do not go for hours without anything in their stomachs.
c. A muck heap that is removed every month so that humans do not have to try and climb mount Everest or fork the muck up to 7/8 ft high to get it on the top.
d. An indoor school
horse walker
large washing machine
Outside jumping school would be great but would have to be pre-booked and charged a small fee so that you only pay when you use them.
e.Big airy boxes inside a barn with automatic water and rubber matting.
Have I missed anything?
a. decent grazing- all night in the summer and all day in the winter. If there was enough grazing some horses could be grass liveries.
b. Hay/Haylage- Large haynets when it is the horses bed time and smaller haynets trickle fed so that all the horses do not go for hours without anything in their stomachs.
c. A muck heap that is removed every month so that humans do not have to try and climb mount Everest or fork the muck up to 7/8 ft high to get it on the top.
d. An indoor school
horse walker
large washing machine
Outside jumping school would be great but would have to be pre-booked and charged a small fee so that you only pay when you use them.
e.Big airy boxes inside a barn with automatic water and rubber matting.
Have I missed anything?
Horses24-7
Well-Known Member
Somewhere that is run like it is a business, ie you are a customer (livery) I'm fed up if yard that cost the equivalent of a mortgage and to be treated like your an inconvenience and that u should be grateful they are letting you keep your horse there!
I think yards should have a regular get together to discuss any issues openly. If the yo is friendly and keen to please then therre wouldn't be such a turnaround in custom.
Also a yo that keeps a good billing system, I'm forever having to approach my yo because my bill is incorrect.
I think yards should have a regular get together to discuss any issues openly. If the yo is friendly and keen to please then therre wouldn't be such a turnaround in custom.
Also a yo that keeps a good billing system, I'm forever having to approach my yo because my bill is incorrect.
BBH
Well-Known Member
Yes, I should have put good horse fencing on my list.
No barbed wire!
I've never in all my years seen barbed wire wounds like that.
BBH
Well-Known Member
This ^^^
For me the YO and the people on the yard make or break my enjoyment. Facilities etc are either there or they're not and you chose a yard according to what you need but its the people that make a difference.
Apricot
Well-Known Member
Haha I'm so OCD about this!!
Post and rail fencing with electric tape along the top rail! 24 hour, year round turnout available, horses turned out in small, same sex groups of about 3 or 4. Nice, big roomy stables with rubber matting. Tack room! Really good lighting up the yard. An indoor school please! With heaters and mirrors! And a little outdoor with some nice jumps. Assisted livery available for days when I work late, for not too much money. Nice hacking... Not too massive, no more than 15 owners in total! The less the better
Post and rail fencing with electric tape along the top rail! 24 hour, year round turnout available, horses turned out in small, same sex groups of about 3 or 4. Nice, big roomy stables with rubber matting. Tack room! Really good lighting up the yard. An indoor school please! With heaters and mirrors! And a little outdoor with some nice jumps. Assisted livery available for days when I work late, for not too much money. Nice hacking... Not too massive, no more than 15 owners in total! The less the better
hudsonw
Well-Known Member
Big airy stables with allocated space to keep your stuff like hay bedding etc
All year turnout (24/7 in the summer, Daytime in the winter)
Tack room with a lock and individual tack locker
At least one all weather menage which is leveled regularly
Jumping paddock with a set of jumps, not just a couple of milk crates with a couple of poles!!
XC course or natural jumps
Yard meetings or newsletters informing people of changes
Long opening hours - i don't want to be told that I'm only allowed to see my horse between selected hours
On site YO or YM
Off road hacking if not on own land then available close by
Free trailer parking!!
Facilities for water in the winter...Taps freeze so be prepared and have water available for your liveries!!
Having the option to buy hay and bedding from my own source so I'm not held to ransom with the YO charges.
Regular worming routine - not have the YO decide one weekend out of the blue that the wormers have to be purchased from them with no warning and then put the price up if people don't buy them the day they put the notice up!!!
A regular maintenance routine which should include weekly fence checks, stable light checks etc
Yard rules that are given to a new livery on arrival and not bent for "long term liveries" or mates of the YO!!!
Poop picking rota or paddock maintenance
Regular events i.e Summer BBQ, Christmas Show - obviously depends on the size and type of yard it is but regular get together's.
All year turnout (24/7 in the summer, Daytime in the winter)
Tack room with a lock and individual tack locker
At least one all weather menage which is leveled regularly
Jumping paddock with a set of jumps, not just a couple of milk crates with a couple of poles!!
XC course or natural jumps
Yard meetings or newsletters informing people of changes
Long opening hours - i don't want to be told that I'm only allowed to see my horse between selected hours
On site YO or YM
Off road hacking if not on own land then available close by
Free trailer parking!!
Facilities for water in the winter...Taps freeze so be prepared and have water available for your liveries!!
Having the option to buy hay and bedding from my own source so I'm not held to ransom with the YO charges.
Regular worming routine - not have the YO decide one weekend out of the blue that the wormers have to be purchased from them with no warning and then put the price up if people don't buy them the day they put the notice up!!!
A regular maintenance routine which should include weekly fence checks, stable light checks etc
Yard rules that are given to a new livery on arrival and not bent for "long term liveries" or mates of the YO!!!
Poop picking rota or paddock maintenance
Regular events i.e Summer BBQ, Christmas Show - obviously depends on the size and type of yard it is but regular get together's.
rubysmum
Well-Known Member
facilities AND turnout - it seems i can have one or the other
Meowy Catkin
Meow!
TBH, I wish that I hadn't either.
She had to be stapled back together and had a huge heamotoma (sp?) for a while.
^ You can see the staples in this pic. Sorry, I don't have any photos taken after she first did it because I was far too worried to think about taking photos.
^ This was taken after she had been turned out again (had to be box-rested so that she didn't open the stapled areas. You can see the fly cream/yellow areas which show how the barbed wire wrapped around her and cut her up her sides as well as slicing open her chest.
No-one knows exactly what happened as she was found in the wrong field and had snapped the fenceposts because of course, the wire wouldn't snap.
There is NO barbed wire where I keep them now.
BBH
Well-Known Member
Oh my goodness, what a shock for you.
I wonder if something panicked her because i've seen loads of horses in fields with barbed wire and never a problem. I've always thought they were sensible enough to keep away from it. Lesson learnt for me I think. I do have post n rail though.
I wonder if something panicked her because i've seen loads of horses in fields with barbed wire and never a problem. I've always thought they were sensible enough to keep away from it. Lesson learnt for me I think. I do have post n rail though.
Meowy Catkin
Meow!
Yes, it was horrible. I was phoned late at night and I knew it was bad because the entire phonecall consisted of, 'Your filly is injured, call the vet and get here now, I can't catch her'. I did think, well she must be walking, that's something.
^ this pic shows just how many cuts she had.
So I would pass on the horse walker and indoor school if the fencing was bad at a livery yard. I know that horses can hurt themselves on nothing, but why make it more likely to happen?
^ this pic shows just how many cuts she had.
So I would pass on the horse walker and indoor school if the fencing was bad at a livery yard. I know that horses can hurt themselves on nothing, but why make it more likely to happen?
skint1
Well-Known Member
Our current yard ticks so many of our boxes but if I were dreaming I could add a few things.
Turn out
-All year round is a must
-There must be enough room/grass to support the number of horses in the real world, not in the YO's head where their grass has majikal kwalities
-Small groups 2-4 horses rather than individuals or large herds
-Natural shelter available (trees are nice)
-Auto fill troughs
-Safe fencing
-Safe route to turn out, not across a major dual carriage way or 2 miles down the rat run road, or is like an ice rink in winter and the YO doesn' do anything about it
-Realistic poo picking rota decided in advance and agreed by all.
(I was at a yard where the YO liked to do it in a group so it was fair to everyone, which is nice, but there were too many horses, not enough space and by time everyoe got together it was too big a job really)
Facilities/Hacking
-An outdoor school, floodlights with a decent surface is nice-if I were dreaming I'd say lets have a massive Olympic style one!
-large Indoor school if I were really dreaming
-A variety of jumps to set up in the above
-A fair system for booking school
-Miles of off road hacking with hills and places to gallop, long and short routes
-large, airy stables
-Yard servicably clean(ish) but not so clean that you spend all your time sweeping every blade of hay or straw off the floor
-Some xc jumps would be cool
-A grass jump paddock would be nice too!
-Under cover trailer/lorry parking-I wouldn't mind paying extra for that
Other
-I like to pay a bigger rent all through the year and have unlimited hay/haylage/straw in the winter
-I like that that hay/haylage/straw is of a decent quality
-I like a yard that has a uniform worming policy
-Having shows/clinics etc in house is a great bonus
-I like yards with a variety of different types of horses and disciplines so that no one person dictates everything
-I like a bigger yard so that you can avoid or join in as much as you want to
Turn out
-All year round is a must
-There must be enough room/grass to support the number of horses in the real world, not in the YO's head where their grass has majikal kwalities
-Small groups 2-4 horses rather than individuals or large herds
-Natural shelter available (trees are nice)
-Auto fill troughs
-Safe fencing
-Safe route to turn out, not across a major dual carriage way or 2 miles down the rat run road, or is like an ice rink in winter and the YO doesn' do anything about it
-Realistic poo picking rota decided in advance and agreed by all.
(I was at a yard where the YO liked to do it in a group so it was fair to everyone, which is nice, but there were too many horses, not enough space and by time everyoe got together it was too big a job really)
Facilities/Hacking
-An outdoor school, floodlights with a decent surface is nice-if I were dreaming I'd say lets have a massive Olympic style one!
-large Indoor school if I were really dreaming
-A variety of jumps to set up in the above
-A fair system for booking school
-Miles of off road hacking with hills and places to gallop, long and short routes
-large, airy stables
-Yard servicably clean(ish) but not so clean that you spend all your time sweeping every blade of hay or straw off the floor
-Some xc jumps would be cool
-A grass jump paddock would be nice too!
-Under cover trailer/lorry parking-I wouldn't mind paying extra for that
Other
-I like to pay a bigger rent all through the year and have unlimited hay/haylage/straw in the winter
-I like that that hay/haylage/straw is of a decent quality
-I like a yard that has a uniform worming policy
-Having shows/clinics etc in house is a great bonus
-I like yards with a variety of different types of horses and disciplines so that no one person dictates everything
-I like a bigger yard so that you can avoid or join in as much as you want to
SpottyTB
Well-Known Member
-All year turnout - with enough grass for the horses grazing it!
with auto fill troughs and natural shelters!
- harrowing of the fields? or a poo picking routa that suits everyone!
- safe well fitting gate ways (had a bad exspirience with an ill fitting gate way)
- Post and rail fencing
- well sized, airy stables
- no scrap on the yard, nice clean environment!
- safe, secure, padlocked, cctv tack room
- on site hay/haylidge and straw/shavings available
- possible weekly orders for feed, ie. manager takes in orders for feed, goes to feed store and takes it back to livery - we pay feed cost + a couple of pounds fuel - saves a trip to feed store for busy workers!
- indoor or outdoor school
- course of bsja jumps - pref in a separate area to the schooling area
- on site xc course
- on site hacking? and good hacking off site,
- Concrete area for bathing - or wash room!!
- D.I.Y/part/full livery
- holiday livery
- Choice of field company or without
- lorry park - pref undercover!!
- onsite lessons/clinics/events would be a deffinate bonus!
reasonable costs! A nice friendly environment thats safe and secure for my horse!
with auto fill troughs and natural shelters!
- harrowing of the fields? or a poo picking routa that suits everyone!
- safe well fitting gate ways (had a bad exspirience with an ill fitting gate way)
- Post and rail fencing
- well sized, airy stables
- no scrap on the yard, nice clean environment!
- safe, secure, padlocked, cctv tack room
- on site hay/haylidge and straw/shavings available
- possible weekly orders for feed, ie. manager takes in orders for feed, goes to feed store and takes it back to livery - we pay feed cost + a couple of pounds fuel - saves a trip to feed store for busy workers!
- indoor or outdoor school
- course of bsja jumps - pref in a separate area to the schooling area
- on site xc course
- on site hacking? and good hacking off site,
- Concrete area for bathing - or wash room!!
- D.I.Y/part/full livery
- holiday livery
- Choice of field company or without
- lorry park - pref undercover!!
- onsite lessons/clinics/events would be a deffinate bonus!
reasonable costs! A nice friendly environment thats safe and secure for my horse!
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arizonahoney
Well-Known Member
I love my yard... It's small, immaculately maintained, YO is a sympathetic and knowledgeable lady, our turnout's fairly nice and our hacking is fabulous.
The only bits that are missing for me are - lights for the school, some form of heating in the tack room and sometimes I would love a XC course onsite and an indoor school, but I don't stay awake at night for the lack of those.
The only bits that are missing for me are - lights for the school, some form of heating in the tack room and sometimes I would love a XC course onsite and an indoor school, but I don't stay awake at night for the lack of those.
X
xspiralx
Guest
Well if we're talking ideal...
Hay/straw included in the livery price - just makes life so much easier.
Decent sized indoor and outdoor school - with a good set of jumps in the outdoor, and floodlit is a must!
Good offroad hacking, preferably with plenty of canter tracks
Free lorry/trailer parking
Plenty of turnout, fields harrowed so no need to poo pick - 24 hour in the summer at least
Automatic waterers/troughs in stables and field
Good sized pens rather than stabling - best yard I was ever at was a converted pig farm with walled pens that were 3m by maybe 9m, you deeplittered the bed so it just needed skipping out and the horses were able to wander up and down and talk over the walls.
Shows and clinics at the yard, and yard social events.
Most importantly - nice people, no bitching or yard politics!
Hay/straw included in the livery price - just makes life so much easier.
Decent sized indoor and outdoor school - with a good set of jumps in the outdoor, and floodlit is a must!
Good offroad hacking, preferably with plenty of canter tracks
Free lorry/trailer parking
Plenty of turnout, fields harrowed so no need to poo pick - 24 hour in the summer at least
Automatic waterers/troughs in stables and field
Good sized pens rather than stabling - best yard I was ever at was a converted pig farm with walled pens that were 3m by maybe 9m, you deeplittered the bed so it just needed skipping out and the horses were able to wander up and down and talk over the walls.
Shows and clinics at the yard, and yard social events.
Most importantly - nice people, no bitching or yard politics!
thumpbug
Well-Known Member
I have been on a few yards and the one i'm on now is perfect,realistically i would say-
Arenas-Indoor or outdoor,all weather.
our horses are turned out on there own,but are very close to each other due to a horse getting PTS after a kick a few years ago
we have brilliant off road tracks and nice quiet roads
DIY or full livery,but our horses get turned out all togehter in a morning by YO's to avoid them going out in drabs
we only have turn out about 8months,but we have a arena for lunging/turnout so they still get a run.
our yard owners are the most nicest and helpful people i have ever come across,which makes the yard a lovely place to be!
Arenas-Indoor or outdoor,all weather.
our horses are turned out on there own,but are very close to each other due to a horse getting PTS after a kick a few years ago
we have brilliant off road tracks and nice quiet roads
DIY or full livery,but our horses get turned out all togehter in a morning by YO's to avoid them going out in drabs
we only have turn out about 8months,but we have a arena for lunging/turnout so they still get a run.
our yard owners are the most nicest and helpful people i have ever come across,which makes the yard a lovely place to be!
thumpbug
Well-Known Member
also it holds WH and SJ shows,so we have full use of the jumps whenever we like!
figgy
Well-Known Member
Already have mine, lovely fields always got grass all year round in post and rail ,my gelding in mare and foal box , camera in stable, fields and around yard only 3 horses there , heaters in stables, 24/7 turnout in summer all day turnout in winter , mirror in stable , lovely hacking and school, lovely owners just them and me.
juliette
Well-Known Member
I like most of the suggestions made by everyone else, but I'd like to add to the list, a concrete fenced area outside the stable so that horse can wander in and out as he pleases at night. My horse has COPD and I'd love to be able to let him have a bit more freedom to wander around when the fields are too wet/muddy to be out overnight.
kirstyl
Well-Known Member
Yes, I should have put good horse fencing on my list.
No barbed wire!
Ouch!!! Hope he/she is ok now
haras
Well-Known Member
post and rail with electric fencing, just for my horses. Enough acreage, and no oak trees or ragwort.
Decent stables, at least 12x12, with rubber matting and haybars (have those anyway) no automatic waterers as I like to know how much they are drinking. (mare has had colic surgery, so paranoid mum syndrome!)
school with decent surface
Nice hacking
Decent stables, at least 12x12, with rubber matting and haybars (have those anyway) no automatic waterers as I like to know how much they are drinking. (mare has had colic surgery, so paranoid mum syndrome!)
school with decent surface
Nice hacking
Lobelia_Overhill
Well-Known Member
Nice big stables with good drainage, and a choice of bedding types
Good lighting in the stables (essential in winter)
Hot and cold running water on site.
Secure tack room
Different types of livery available (full, part, DIY, grass)
A good sized indoor arena
A good sized outdoor arena
A "sandpit" that horses can be turned onto to roll (handy when mucking out!)
Good big fields with proper horse fencing, or hedges
Good lighting in the stables (essential in winter)
Hot and cold running water on site.
Secure tack room
Different types of livery available (full, part, DIY, grass)
A good sized indoor arena
A good sized outdoor arena
A "sandpit" that horses can be turned onto to roll (handy when mucking out!)
Good big fields with proper horse fencing, or hedges