Which livery yard? Which horse where ?

[ApolloStorm]

I currently have 2 horses at a small quiet livery yard, one is old and retired, the other is a green 4yo. Both are settled at this yard, however an opportunity to go onto a medium sized yard with a load of amazing facilities has popped up. I have friends at Both yards.

Yard 1 current yard
Small
Left to your own devices
Cheap
Smallish arena, but nothing special.
Horrific mud in the winter.
Bit "rough and ready"
Round the corner from a large competition venue

Yard 2 potential yard
About 12 horses but many less liveries
Significantly more expensive
Enormous arena / wash bay / solarium etc
Plenty of grazing so mud shouldn't be so bad.
Manager is an BHSAI
Only word to describe it is "posh"

They're about 10 minutes from each other and 5 minutes each from work.
I can't afford to have both on the new one and can't really justify it for the oldie, who is now potentially having his last summer as the thoughts of awful mud fever and loads of time stuck in, along with arthritis and cushings.
I was thinking of leaving the old guy where he is and moving my 4yo but then I have 2 yards which could make it awfully tricky come winter.
Opinions ?

 

[wills_91]

I couldn't be bothered to have 2 at separate yards long term even if it was just minutes apart. If it's your old horses last summer could you not move them both anyway or move yards with the youngster later on in the year?

 

[GirlFriday]

I know it wasn't one of the options you were considering but if you can only afford to move one I'd want the oldie to have the extra grazing/less mud...

With that in mind... Retirement livery for the oldie somewhere further away and posh yard for the youngster?

Just at throwing some more options out there for you.

 

[Kezzabell2]

your situation is very similar to mine, a year and a half ago

So have a 31 yr old retired mare and a mini Shetland at a farm that i rent privately. My now 6 yr old is on a yard 2 miles down the road, he was with the oldie too but he was on box rest and needed a horse walker for rehab. I moved him with the intention of only being there a few months but its so much better for him! i have others to hack with, a school, the walker and loads of off road hacking! turns out he also likes being stabled during the winter!

oldie and mini live out 24/7 with a big field shelter, i do feel like i see less of them now but its probably not as bad, as i think, they still get groomed and attention, I'm just not there as long as I'm not riding or poo picking as much!!

everyone told me i was mad having them on 2 yards but a year and a half on, I'm still coping well with it

 

[LittleGinger]

I've had mine on separate yards - initially, I lasted about a month because it was a nightmare (yards were only 15 mins apart but the extra 30 minutes makes riding two after work difficult) and I didn't last long. When Ginger retired, though, I put him in a friend's field and B moved to a lovely livery yard which I'd always wanted to be on but could never afford two there. Managed quite happily for a couple of years and would still be doing it if I hadn't found my own place.

Things that helped make the second attempt so much more successful were not having two in work (which applies to you); magical YO who would have B in and ready to tack up if I messaged her when I left work; my evening journey was work > B's yard > G's field > home, where all those places were pretty much in a straight line. No detouring off and adding extra time and miles to my journey!

Good luck with whatever you decide . You could, as someone has suggested I think, wait and see how your oldie gets on and then move the youngster, although that would be a lot of change for you to be dealing with all at once and maybe it'd be better to be settled at second yard first? Not sure - just thinking 'out loud'. I think it's a really logical suggestion and I do like it, but personally if I lost G then moving yards and all that goes with it would be the last thing I'd want to be doing for a while.

 

[be positive]

I know it wasn't one of the options you were considering but if you can only afford to move one I'd want the oldie to have the extra grazing/less mud...

With that in mind... Retirement livery for the oldie somewhere further away and posh yard for the youngster?

Just at throwing some more options out there for you.

I would also look for grass or retirement livery for the oldie, even if it is further away what you save on keeping him in, bedding etc would free up some cash to pay for the yard to do daily checks and give meds, depending on your area you may find something cheaper than yard 1 when it averages out.

 

[ester]

I too would see if I could find somewhere more suitable for the oldie for as long as he keeps going as the current yard doesn't sound great for him either. Retirement livery/full grass livery. There are a couple that do that near me and would do meds etc for cushings for not a ridiculous price.

 

[JoannaC]

Ive had mine on different yards and whilst it is a pain it is definitely doable especially if only one is ridden. If your oldie is settled and happy and isn't going to be around much longer i'd just move the youngster and cope with it in the shortterm.