what would you do?

[shellandmav]

We have been having problems with the owners of the field and stables that we rent. When i moved my horses there few months ago we checked with the owners that this would be ok, as there would be 3 horses and 2 ponies with only 4 stables. The brother we spoke to agreed that this was ok and so we went ahead. Now a few months down the line the other brother has returned from canada and left a note at the stables, complaining about the 5 horse being there, that we were not keeping the perimetre fencing well maintained and that the field needed topping. First of all the perimetre fencing is not in our rental agreement. Only the inner fencing is and we have kept this well maintained and secondly we know that the field needs topping, but due to the weather we thought that it would do more damage to the field by taking a tractor through it and the field still has plentiful good grasses in it. The brother who has just came back to the uk is wanting to charge us extra for the 5 horse being on, which we had perviously spoken to his brother about and we had assumed that they would have spoken to each other about this. The field is already the most expensive field in the area without having the extra money added for the 5 horse. The field directly opposite us is only £200 a month for the field including 4 stables, tack room, hay/straw storage and electicity/water included. We already pay £300 a month for 4 stables and a tackroom, this doesn't include any water or electrics and doesn't include storage for hay/straw (which we have to keep outside on palets under tarpaline, which is a lot of hassle with all this mud and wet) and he is wanting to increase this.

So the lady in charge of the field agreement, ccame to me and asked me today if i would be happy to take the field on if she left or would i want to leave with her.
She is considering moving to a new yard which hads not yet been built, but will have 10 stables, 400acres of grazing land and an indoor school for £120 per horse per month including hay and straw.
the indoor school would be handy with my young horse who will soon be backed.
it sounds very expensive considering currently i only pay round about £115 for both including water/electrics (not including hay and straw) a month at the minute, but then if the brothers insist on only having 4 in the field then it would go up to £150 per month for both with water/electrics and then the hay and straw on top. Then there is also the possibilty of having unreliable livery horse owners, the cost of topping the field, removal of muck heap, poo picking, possible seeding the grass and fence fixing etc. I could possibly do part or full livery to make it worth my while with the money, but then is it worth all the hassle when i can move to a livery where all this is paid for me and mostly everything done for me apart from mucking out.

what would you do?

 

[meesha]

tbh i would leave as £90 extra including hay and straw doesnt seem too bad - if you work out how much it would cost to top field, have muck removed and do maintenance and pay for water and electric and then pay for your own hay/straw and use of arena when you need it there is probably not that much difference and with a set amount you will be able to budget easily.

Before handing in your notice I would explain why it hasnt been topped (weather - no brainer) check that the stables are definatley available at the new place(ask if you can have grazing until done if need be and get it in writing if possible) and just make sure if they are further away that you are not spending too much more on fuel.

It sounds like the owner who has just returned is not going to be easy to deal with so I would def. go but still leave on good terms if possible.

 

[PandorasJar]

Get a back up in place incase they decide to boot you out before these new stables are built.

Then sit down with all involved in the agreement and state what is in there and what isn't. Make the point the perimeter is not your problem (standard for renting) and ask that it is maintained better as they obviously don't think the current quality is good.

Personally I'd go with the lady who is leaving. Give notice before you go but be prepared to leave sooner if it gets nasty.

Pan

 

[shellandmav]

thats what i was thinking, allthough it is nice to run your own stables.

The lady has told us that the stables and arena will be built by september, allthough they have not even started building yet. I'm not sure if we were just going to wait until the stables etc were built before we moved and have her safe us a place, but i think what your saying is probably the safest option.

the stables are further away, but not that much further (only 10mins)and when you consider that they are closer to my vet and feed suppliers...

I always try to leave on good terms, as you never know if you will have to go back somewhere. I better get saving some money up!

I am waiting for the number of the new livery yard and am going to ring her.
The brothers where going to visit their lawyers on monday and then get back to us, but so far haven't.

thank you for your help