what would you do?

[IndieandElsie]

dilemma.
i've been at my current yard for nearly 2 years now, had to move from the last one due to horrid YO and price
i love this yard i'm at but i'm considering moving to somewhere closer with better facilities, i'll list the pros and cons.

pros
24/7 turnout in 22 acres
stable
new jumps and dressage arena
around 60 other liveries, always people to hack out with etc
pony LOVES the yard
my best friend and her pony are at this yard, we have a routine where we sort out each others horses.
cheap, it's 65 a month with a stable
i work at the pub down the road on weekends = very easy to go sort the pony out on breaks or after work

cons
3 schools but all too deep to ride in especially in the corners and filled with like a building sand = orange feet everytime you go in there, YO refuse to replace this with a proper surface even though the liveries offered to pay for it as it would increase the insurance
it's quite far away from my house, 20-25 minutes in the car, i'm not starting driving lessons until march and my mum is working alot so cannot take me as much as i like, have to pay other liveries or my friends to sort my pony out as she is in 20/7 due to being too skinny and prone to choke.
hay and straw goes for mysterious walkies in the night


I havent started looking for yards closer to my house yet, i'm not even aware there are any except a very expensive riding school/livery yard, there are some fields to rent with field shelters etc which i wouldn't mind as it's a 2 minute walk to them from my house however my pony is very herd-orientated and hates being by herself and takes a while to settle in to new environments so i would have to arrange something with my friend to move them together.

What would you do? sorry if it's a bit rambly xx

 

[niagaraduval]

Could you try and rend a field somewhere with a friend ?

 

[Chestnutmare]

As ISHmad said, once I re read it, it may seem more practical to move to a field with friend? do you use the facilities now?
could you live without them? would you be able to tend to pony everyday or your friend help you out?.

 

[ISHmad]

With 60 horses on 22 acres your hay bill must be costing you a fortune as it is, let alone with someone helping themselves to it as well! That is way too overstocked. When I first read your post my reaction was to say stay there, there are lots of good positives. Then I re-read it and have to say that moving to somewhere where you will have adequate grazing and much closer to home makes a lot more sense. Most especially if your friend comes with you.

 

[IndieandElsie]

Could you try and rend a field somewhere with a friend ?

i might look into it, i just want my horse to be happy and settle in well.
I have visions of renting a field with the 2 ponies and building 2 stables and our own jumps and being able to see Elsie every day and hack her to my house

 

[IndieandElsie]

personally would stay if you and pony are happy... that is priceless these days, how about asking YO to take some of the surface out?... perhaps make a seperate lunge arena with the 'extra' surface?...

I wouldn't say i am particularly happy with it tbh but Elsie is and i hate not being able to see her everyday, other people sort her out on the days i can't but i want that to be me, so stuck on what to do YO say they are going to increase the size of the schools so the surface is not as deep but they have been saying so for a year now and we pester them about it all the time and nothing has changed

 

[niagaraduval]

If you have been following my posts I recently brought my horse home to live with me as I was just sick of where he was. He wasn't looked after at all, YO (well I won't say anything on here but ... ) total lack of trust. Even though he is on his own and seems upset for the moment he will soon have a friend in about a month and I know in the long run I have made the right decision, for me and for him.

 

[IndieandElsie]

With 60 horses on 22 acres your hay bill must be costing you a fortune as it is, let alone with someone helping themselves to it as well! That is way too overstocked. When I first read your post my reaction was to say stay there, there are lots of good positives. Then I re-read it and have to say that moving to somewhere where you will have adequate grazing and much closer to home makes a lot more sense. Most especially if your friend comes with you.

ah sorry, there are 60 horses on the yard, the mares and geldings are seperate, there are around 30 mares, 20 in the 22 acre field, 3 are 24/7 stabled due to injuries and others are in the seperate paddocks, there are 30 geldings in a 34 acre field, sorry

 

[IndieandElsie]

If you have been following my posts I recently brought my horse home to live with me as I was just sick of where he was. He wasn't looked after at all, YO (well I won't say anything on here but ... ) total lack of trust. Even though he is on his own and seems upset for the moment he will soon have a friend in about a month and I know in the long run I have made the right decision, for me and for him.

i will have a look at your posts, i know deep down moving her closer to home would make her happier as she'll get food and fuss everyday by her mummy, she is such a mummys girl and she's been quite ill lately with getting choke and colic so i'm constantly worried about her and i can't just jump in the car and drive all the way there to check on her when i want to but if she was closer to me i'd be able to walk/cycle there, aslong as she has the company of one horse she would be fine, i'm just worried about gypsies aswell, do they tend to target horses in fields more than horses on yards

 

[niagaraduval]

PM me if you like I also found myself in your situation (although not exactly I can relate to what you are going though!)

 

[Pearlsasinger]

What if she has choke/colic in a rented field, who would sort her out?

I can understand that you are worried about her and want to see more of her. I think you need to separate the 2 issues of facilities and your access to her in your own mind. remember that when you are at work, you would find it more difficult to see her if she was nearer home.

Why not make a list of pros and cons? Maybe even give each one a points weighting and try to come to a decision based on that.