When would you expect livery yards to reopen

[DabDab]

Exactly what I thought BP.

Yup. It specifically stated that on the website today, only those symptomatic and members of their household. Pretty galling that a load of non symptomatic people may have been sent them last week when there are clearly precious little of them left today.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

as they only prove you are negative at that time, a day later you could be positive and be passing the virus on because you believe you are safer .

I will still continue to take the same precautions than i do now, nothing has changed just your assumption that i will be more gung ho which is a tad unfair and factually incorrect.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Yup. It specifically stated that on the website today, only those symptomatic and members of their household. Pretty galling that a load of non symptomatic people may have been sent them last week when there are clearly precious little of them left today.

Gosh you are soooo judgemental!! They asked my partner if we were symptomatic and he said that we didn't have temperatures or coughs but we had both had headaches and were more tired than usual. So i guess that's why they sent them out. Tbh i wasn't keen on finding out as if i had been positive i would have had a moral obligation to self isolate and that is the last thing i want at the moment although i would have.

I didnt even know he'd sent off.for the tests till they came in the post and i asked him what they were that had come through the letterbox.

Blimey you'd be moaning if we hadn't taken the tests if we had found out that we did have the virus because we'd ended up in hospital if my partner had ignored the symptoms we had. Can't do right for wrong! Always someone to criticise or moan or try to pull apart someone.

 

[still standing]

OP, it sounds like you are actually the only livery person actively riding and therefore wanting to be on your yard. If the owner essentially does the other two horses, there is little risk to anyone else or to yourself. If the owners are not vulnerable persons, you may be right that he actually just likes to have the place to himself.

I would contact him as soon as you can and say that in light of recent relaxation of restrictions, you would now like to resume riding your horse. And say when you would like to start going to the yard. He would need to have a good reason then to refuse you access.

 

[Ozbride]

OP, it sounds like you are actually the only livery person actively riding and therefore wanting to be on your yard. If the owner essentially does the other two horses, there is little risk to anyone else or to yourself. If the owners are not vulnerable persons, you may be right that he actually just likes to have the place to himself.

I would contact him as soon as you can and say that in light of recent relaxation of restrictions, you would now like to resume riding your horse. And say when you would like to start going to the yard. He would need to have a good reason then to refuse you access.

Thanks for the reply. I've text him tonight just asking what he thought the long term plan was, and when he thought I could come back. Depending on his answer then that will tell me whether or not to start looking for somewhere else, which to be honest wouldn't be the end of the world.

 

[claret09]

Not really, I've been sent 3 pictures, but that is it. To be honest communication isn't his strength and I think that is the issue. We were never actually told that the yard was closing. I had a cough so self isolated for a couple of weeks. Then I came up to leave off some shavings and gave the ponies a groom. I got a text that night from him asking me to stay away. The thing is that there are pictures of non essential work being done to the yard by outsiders on Facebook. I kind of feel like the yard owner is just enjoying the peace and so not letting us up. I just want to know that there is some thought behind when we come back. That is why I want to text when the UK plan is released so that I can see when we would be allowed back. To be honest if it was the same time as pubs opening I would struggle with that decision.

i would be really annoyed. lack of communication. it sounds extreme when only have three liveries. you need to speak to the owner - personally i think he is taking the peeee

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Ours never closed we were just asked not to ride for the initial three week lockdown. They then went out 24/7 and after a week or so (probs to let the horses get any whizz out of their system) this was relaxed for those of us who are regular riders.
We have to wash our hands and social distance but other than that it’s business as usual. We are all DIY and adults and the YO is a farmer so no interest in horses other than providing our livery hay and straw.

 

[DabDab]

Gosh you are soooo judgemental!! They asked my partner if we were symptomatic and he said that we didn't have temperatures or coughs but we had both had headaches and were more tired than usual. So i guess that's why they sent them out. Tbh i wasn't keen on finding out as if i had been positive i would have had a moral obligation to self isolate and that is the last thing i want at the moment although i would have.

I didnt even know he'd sent off.for the tests till they came in the post and i asked him what they were that had come through the letterbox.

Blimey you'd be moaning if we hadn't taken the tests if we had found out that we did have the virus because we'd ended up in hospital if my partner had ignored the symptoms we had. Can't do right for wrong! Always someone to criticise or moan or try to pull apart someone.

I meant the situation is galling, another comments in that post quite clearly didn't personalise you in any way, but hope you feel better for the rant.

 

[DabDab]

Thanks for the reply. I've text him tonight just asking what he thought the long term plan was, and when he thought I could come back. Depending on his answer then that will tell me whether or not to start looking for somewhere else, which to be honest wouldn't be the end of the world.

Hope you get to see your horse soon either way

 

[Ozbride]

Hope you get to see your horse soon either way

Thank you, I really miss them

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Ozbride I think you have been very reasonable and patient throughout.

What i can't understand is why the huge disparity in understanding from yard owner to yard owner about what constitutes safe management to prevent corona virus from spreading. At the same time i understand that y.o are very vulnerable right now as are their families.

I think our yard has probably got it right with time slots and 1.5 hrs per person but i was told at the time a max of half an hour riding per visit. This has appeared to be open to interpretation and some people view this as ' i can do whatever i want' which really irks me as then we are threatened with it going to an hour timeslot due to the people taking advantage which is virtually impossible with my horse with all the extra bits and bobs that i need to do to continue her rehab management. I already had to give up her ultrasound when she retweaked her leg as it was ten mins of me applying it that i just didnt have within the hour. And it was this and the continued icing that had made such asucess to it originally so it was a real shame and something i can never claw back. It's also the added stress of trying to accomplish something in such a short time frame, i was literally flying around the yard in an effort to get it all done and I found it incredibly stressful. Like trying to put a pint of water in a half pint glass lol.

Its a shame there isn't a cental info point for horses so we can all know the recommendations.

I hope you get to see your horse soon

 

[Chappie]

OP I feel sorry for you that you've not seen your ponies since 15th March, especially as it's a small yard you're on. I hope you can see them very soon.

I can understand as I've not seen my loan horse since 23rd March. I've had him for 5 years but I now feel like he's nothing to do with me. I used to go to the yard every day.

It was locked down as some of the owner's family have health issues, and the liveries are mostly children, who won't social distance, so I understand why they've done it.

There's been no communication, but I'm more concerned about how they are only getting 18 hours of turnout over three days then shut in the rest of the week. In the far distance I can see their fields so I know when they're out. Turnout was always restricted, but it's even more so now, maybe to stop them eating too much/laminitis etc/trashing the fields, but there is a dirt paddock that they could go in even in pairs for an hour on a rota?

I called the horse's owners as I do once a month to check in with them, but they are not knowledgeable (the horse was originally bought for their children who are adults now and don't ride) and they didn't see the problem and won't consider moving him if lockdown is indeterminate.

Reading in the media about the potential social distancing measures in workplaces which could be in place for a year, I don't see how they can open the yard back up as it's not possible there to keep two metres away and clean every thing and every surface.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Our yard has remained 'open' however specific times are given when owners can come down, turn out , bring in etc. These times are strictly adhered to. You go down it's like carers going to visit the vulnerable in the community. On arrival hands are washed, only your own tools are used & strict social distancing is stuck to. Hands are washed again before you leave. No money changes hands for livery it's all transferred digitally into YOs Bank Account. It's not perfect by any means but it's safe and you get to see your horses. It's a small yard, few owners & I kno that this would not work on a large yard, too many owners to fit in to the day.

 

[PSD]

I'm hoping that the Government announces on Thursday that cerain restrictions may be lifted. I'm hoping that the YO might let those who want to ride have an extra 30m. I was gutted tonight not to be able to sit on my horse for 20 mins as it was such a lovely evening but I'd been messing about waiting for the hay man delivering hay and clearing space and poo picking paddock as well as mucking out, etc so sadly didn't have time as we are 1.5 hrs timeslots. An extra 30 mins would give me time to cool off horse or dry if we get rained on b4 i have to go home also.

update will be Sunday now not thursday.

im not sure why OP has said hairdressers will open next week, they cannot conform to social distancing so I think they will be one of the last places to reopen. I can’t see much changing if I’m honest, apart from some people may be able to go back to work. We’re in this for the long haul.

 

[Caol Ila]

My yard has stayed open with social distancing measures in place, and about a week ago, gave us 1 hour slots on a rota. The 1 hour thing pissed me off, since it seemed ridiculously short, with no justification (1.5 hours would be fair), and they've banned hacking off the property, which also seems daft and pointless. But I keep telling myself I could do worse -- lots of yards have banned owners.

I honestly think that the disparities between yards and the arbitrary and at times draconian rules YOs brought in while panicking and feeling they needed to do something has put a lot of terrible stress on horse owners, and part of me hopes there is blowback to the industry. Like lots of people getting out of horses. It's a sickening realization, the knowledge that the YO can snap their fingers and prevent you from seeing *your* animal, and they can control how long you see it for and what you do with it, which may not be in the best interests of its welfare (or yours). Horse owners are basically second class citizens here, even though they are our animals and we're paying the bills. That's how the BHS sees us during this pandemic. Their advice to YOs and YMs was that they can do whatever the hell they want. It's absolutely fine to prevent owners from taking care of their animals (so long as the horses aren't actually neglected) if it makes them feel safer. Suddenly, your ability to take care of your own horse was completely dependant on the whims of whatever yard you happened to be at. Some of us got lucky. Some did not. My ex-yard owner was super classy because he was charging liveries (who were already on full livery) an extra £20 per week to give their horses meds and required extra care that the owners would have provided had he not banned them from the yard. I can't imagine he was the only YO doing crap like this.

Clear advice from the BHS and similar bodies on social distancing measures and infection control protocols on the yard, without giving yards carte blanche to do anything and everything, beyond the government's advice, would have been nice.

 

[honetpot]

I have kept a horse in a garage in of a semi-detached house, and my old neighbour had a shed/stable in her back garden, if I had a horse who was basically on box rest I would be looking where else I could put it.
Its makes me so cross because with a bit of thought there is no need to exclude owners. When my sheds are cleared, the cattle have gone out. I think I may rent them out.

 

[mariew]

It's hard for everyone, there are some harsh words on here about yo/ym, they are only humans like the rest of us and I don't think anyone knows what is the right thing to do and most people are just trying to do their best. The virus lives for a long time on metal, which there is plenty of on a yard, locks, handles, gates etc etc. The more people there are on a yard, the bigger the risk is. I doubt many disinfect every surface they have touched before anyone else touches it. I think in reality we will have to observe some kind of social distancing until a vaccine has been given to those who want it?

 

[Leandy]

If you were the only person going up regularly, your yard owner was not reasonable to close in the first place so long as you were willing to be sensible around precautions when you came up. So only he can tell you what is likely to happen I'm afraid. I would be seriously unhappy if I were you and likely looking to move but of course that depends on what else is available to you. Sorry you are in this position.

 

[Sir barnaby]

We have stayed open, there are 6 diy liveries, we all go up to do our own horses and have all got our own tools, we keep safe distances and are being sensible most of us go at different times and the horses are kept in separate paddocks. We have hand disinfectant by the communal tap. Our bales of hay are all separate, and feed is also in our own space so no one has any need to be close it works well with no problems, we have been very lucky.

 

[sarahann1]

I’ve just moved yards after the yard I had been on was closed with very little notice. Just last week they allowed liveries to see their horses from the sides of the fields/roadside but that’s it.

I’d been considering moving for a couple of years for better hacking and always talked myself out of it, but this was the final push for me.

I’m now on a yard where we get an hour a day split up how you want across the day on a rota basis to keep folk on the yard at the same time to a minimum.

I really feel for you OP, I just about cried when I finally saw mine again. There are some folk on my old yard who are perfectly happy not seeing their horses, not a viewpoint I understand at all.

 

[SO1]

Our yard is open. However people are being considerate and not taking advantage. I used to go the yard 5 times a week now down to once a week.

We have to spray the bolts of our stable doors & tackroom with disinfectant.

I ask permission from YO before I come so they know when I will be there. Most of the liveries have been there a long time & YO & staff know the horses really well and treat them as individuals.

If we all work together we can safely spend time with our horses by accepting we may not be able to have the same freedom we had before or amount of time we had before.

I am lucky to be able to have access & that yard can supply exercise services.

I know it is difficult for large yards even co-ordinating the comms & monitoring behaviour to ensure compliance is time consuming so easier for them to just shut. Long term they may loose customers as people cannot afford to pay extra or want access but obviously YO choice if they are worried about their health money may the last of their concerns.

However smaller yards should at least be able to put in place something that enables owners to check on their horses once a week.

 

[irishdraft]

It sounds completely over the top OP if you are the only person riding and visiting the yard and actually very mean imo to stop you seeing your horse . I can understand big yards doing this but certainly not small ones when some measures can be put in place to keep people safe but not deny them access to their horse this would be a nightmare for me . I have a livery I know she is a responsible person so I have not stopped her coming over as usual .

 

[Abi90]

All Yards are going to have to start putting in systems that allows small groups or individuals to visit their horses (depending on the size of their yard). This is clearly not going to end any time soon and I really don’t think yards can continue to bar people from seeing their horses... the BHS is going to need to reconsider its advice to instructors as well in my opinion

 

[Tiddlypom]

I have a livery I know she is a responsible person so I have not stopped her coming over as usual

Sorry to single your post out, but what would you have done if you felt that you couldn’t trust your livery?
This is, I feel, at the heart of why some yards have banned owners from coming up, and it’s easier to ban them all.

I don’t have liveries, I keep mine at home, and apart from the farrier we have had no one on our premises since lockdown began (apart from the 5 Scottish Power bods who dealt with the Canada goose vs power lines incident). I’ve not even been out in the car. I’m asthmatic, so am in the vulnerable category.

If I did have liveries, I’m not sure what I’d do. If I couldn’t trust them to be Covid19 savvy, I’d not be allowing them access. I wouldn’t want a load of unsupervised people to-ing and fro-ing across the place.

I just don’t think that it’s fair to make out that some yard owners are the baddies in all of this. I understand their fears.

 

[be positive]

Sorry to single your post out, but what would you have done if you felt that you couldn’t trust your livery?
This is, I feel, at the heart of why some yards have banned owners from coming up, and it’s easier to ban them all.

I don’t have liveries, I keep mine at home, and apart from the farrier we have had no one on our premises since lockdown began (apart from the 5 Scottish Power bods who dealt with the Canada goose vs power lines incident). I’ve not even been out in the car. I’m asthmatic, so am in the vulnerable category.

If I did have liveries, I’m not sure what I’d do. If I couldn’t trust them to be Covid19 savvy, I’d not be allowing them access. I wouldn’t want a load of unsupervised people to-ing and fro-ing across the place.

I just don’t think that it’s fair to make out that some yard owners are the baddies in all of this. I understand their fears.

My answer, as I am in a similar position, is that if there was one that did not comply they would have options, comply to my rules, not come if they cannot keep to a few simple requirements or find another yard, that is pretty much my attitude generally although the usual rules are more about the care of the horses not about social distancing.

I think having a big yard at the moment, especially if they are primarily DIY, must be really hard to manage as however hard people try it is not easy to keep everything separate and disinfected, I can see why some closed but they should be able to have some flexibility to allow regular visits even if they are not as frequent or long as normal.

 

[Kat]

I really don't think there is any excuse for a yard not allowing any access at all.

Even a very large yard should generally be able to allow one short visit a week at a pre-arranged time, to the field rather than the stable if necessary.

I understand that yard owners need to keep themselves safe but some of the rules don't even appear to impact the yard owner's safety - like the lady on another thread who is allowed to visit, allowed to ride in the school but not hack out.

I'm not yard owner bashing. Mine has been fab, and most on here seem to be doing their best in difficult circumstances but a few seem to be being unreasonable, maybe due to fear, maybe for profit, or maybe just because they consider liveries a bit of a nuisance.

 

[honetpot]

I have been on a few DIY yards and why would anyone else touch your stable, and if they did it would be quicker to use sanitiser gel on your hands than try and clean all the fittings. It works in about 30- 60 seconds.
https://www.medisave.co.uk/zidac-70-alcohol-hand-gel-5ltr-container.html
https://www.newscientist.com/term/hand-sanitiser/

Use only your own equipment, or just wipe over the barrow and fork handles. Use one water tap and disinfect it and your hands.
Leave gates open if possible to reduce contact points, allocate people to certain paddocks.
I used to have all my tack in the back of my car, I would take everything home, and just bring what I needed including a headcollar, feed etc.
If people can go to the supermarket, where in theory other people could have handled anything you come in contact with, with social distancing I can see no reason why you can not go and see and work your horse.

 

[irishdraft]

Sorry to single your post out, but what would you have done if you felt that you couldn’t trust your livery?
This is, I feel, at the heart of why some yards have banned owners from coming up, and it’s easier to ban them all.

I don’t have liveries, I keep mine at home, and apart from the farrier we have had no one on our premises since lockdown began (apart from the 5 Scottish Power bods who dealt with the Canada goose vs power lines incident). I’ve not even been out in the car. I’m asthmatic, so am in the vulnerable category.

If I did have liveries, I’m not sure what I’d do. If I couldn’t trust them to be Covid19 savvy, I’d not be allowing them access. I wouldn’t want a load of unsupervised people to-ing and fro-ing across the place.

I just don’t think that it’s fair to make out that some yard owners are the baddies in all of this. I understand their fears.

My answer would be I wouldn't have people as a livery that I couldn't trust or feel happy with in the first place as my yard is at my residence . I still feel it's incredibly mean to ban one person from seeing her horse as she is the only one visiting . Surely if you are taking money for providing somewhere for people to keep their horses then it does not seem unreasonable to at least make some provision for them in terms of rotas etc im sure most people would be happy to go along with this if it meant acess to their horse . This situation could go on go on for months and I would imagine it's incredibly distressing for people not to be able to see their horse at all .

 

[ROMANY 1959]

I had to drive to Haydock park racecourse to do my test Friday, as I had symptoms and I care for 3 elderly family, I went as I could not tell if it was bad hay fever and hot flushes or the virus.. results today. Negative. It’s hay fever gone mad and hot flushes..Thank the lord..

 

[windand rain]

Local competition yardis planning to open this weekend they seem to think they can manage the social distancing have fitted automatic gates and other measure so maybe they can it is a huge outdoor area