What would you do?!?!? LONG sorry!!!

Suzie86

Suzie86

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Hi everyone
I'm in a little dilemma at the moment, nothing major, just wondered what you'd all do in the same circumstances!!

So a few months ago I moved to a new livery yard. My reason for going there was that the YO had a horse i was going to loan, a youngster to bring on, then i was going to keep my pony there on DIY and get a sharer for him. Well in the end I had to get a new car which is on finance so thats the money for the second horsey out the window! So now I just have my one pony there on DIY and have the sharer. It's working well with the sharer as she pays a generous contribution, loves my pony, and her mum has a horse on part loan at the same yard so they can hack out together. However the school is totally frozen and unrideable, and gets very boggy when rainy. The fields are literally just mud - there is no grass and im wondering what will happen come the spring. Where it is sooooo boggy and has frozen it is REALLY lumpy and hard. As i mentioned on another post I currently pay £150 a month for this DIY and pay extra for turnout etc. So while i think that's ok for my area, I'm now wondering if I could get better value for money. The Y/O who I find lovely and really helpful has sold up and the business is being taken on by someone else who I haven't met yet. A plus point of the yard though is that there is a lady who wants to do eventing and sj and has a trailer and will happily take me to comps (i dont have my own transport!)

So do I move, get a better school and fields, and probably less of a journey too (yard is quite far!!) but risk losing my sharer and also my friend who will transport me?! It is a nightmare trying to find a good sharer, plus I know she would be upset to lose him but I dont know if she'd keep him on if I moved him! And do I risk losing that transport to competitions?!

I'm just fed up of not riding, paying quite a lot for the privilege and cant even hack out as sharer has him on the weekends!!

Sorry about how horrendously long and boring this is but what would you do?!?!?
 
Hi,

Personally I think £150 a month is a lot for DIY livery and you say you pay extra for turnout as well... I don't know what area you are in though.

I would speak to your sharer and see if she is willing to move with you, I know a few people who have moved yards a few miles away and taken their sharers so its worth finding out.
 
i pay £25 a week for diy livery thats a horse rate , ponys are cheaper. That includes as much hayledge as my horse wants. We have an indoor and an outdoor school. The yard rests the main fields over the winter and we have seperate winter turnout. They sell straw at £2.50 a bale and shavings at £3.80 a bale.

I woudl have a word with your sharer and see if they would move with you.
 
KingCharles where are you?! What is the surface of the schools like and what is the hacking like?? I need a yard over summer.....
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[ QUOTE ]
i pay £25 a week for diy livery thats a horse rate , ponys are cheaper. That includes as much hayledge as my horse wants. We have an indoor and an outdoor school. The yard rests the main fields over the winter and we have seperate winter turnout. They sell straw at £2.50 a bale and shavings at £3.80 a bale.

I woudl have a word with your sharer and see if they would move with you.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes oh my god where are you?!?
i have sent sharer a long hypothetical email asking what she thinks!
 
So you pay £150 and then have to pay extra to use the fields?? Are all the winter fields also used in the summer, do they never get a rest?
Sounds like the only benefit is good sharer, a nice yo and transport. Do you need the sharer?
 
I am in lancashire!
We have loads of off road hacking, and the serface to the outdoor is good and well drained. The YO's compete so the yard is maintained becasue they need to be able to work there horses. Even during this snow the indoor is perfect and i have been able to ride every day. The YO lives on site 24/7 and checks the horses, puts in breckfasts and haynets free of charge. they will also sort yoru horse out for you in you cant make it free of charge as well.

We also have a jumping field with a full course of jumps, and the yard puts on mini shows for the liveries for free as well.

The YO's daughter also is a riding instructor and gives lessons on site.

The horses have split one sex grazing, we have a large gelding field, a large mares field compelaty seperated form each other, and a pony mare and pony gelding field. All post and railed. the Yo makes hsi own hayledge and its very good quality.

The vet and equine dentist comes up to the yard on a rota and you dont oay a call out fee when the vet comes that day.

Its a lovely yard!
 
You will probably find with the sort of weather most of the UK are having that the majority of people are having the same problems with regards to frozen or flooded school - snow followed by run off from melting snow or frozen due to cold weather.

Having been at yards before where there was little grass in the winter you would be surprised how quickly fields recover in spring. I am lucky in that we have excellent winter grazing at our yard but if you are offering grass livery you have to really.

If you want to save money by moving to another yard then you will need to take into account extra money you might have to find if you did not have a sharer and you needed to hire transport to go to shows.

Good YO do also make a difference to atmosphere on the yard too.

I presume the extra you pay for turnout is for a service of turning out your pony for you rather than for using the fields? As if not that is rather strange as surely everyone wants turnout unless they are on box rest so there should be a fixed price?

I would look at moving or at least look at other yards with a view to moving in case the new owners are not nice (there is also a chance new owners might improve school/field management)
 
Another option could be to wait and see what the new owner is like?

Many years ago a yard that I was on was bought, and the new owners spent a fortune improving the facilities. I moved in the end as they also got a new yard manager who was a nightmare, but you never know, it could end up much better.
 
yeah sorry i mean extra to change rug and t/o in the morning as i just cant get there.... the fields cant be rested really as to be honest there arent many of them! I just cant cope with not riding all winter
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