Which livery yard?

ChasingTheDream

ChasingTheDream

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Hi, I am currently on a lookout for my first horse, but before i do, i want to make sure i have a suitble place to keep him or her,

at the moment, i have 4 choices, and i was wondering if you could help me choose...
:)

livery yard 1) big yard, competitions held regularly, very busy, two indoor arenas, one outdoor arena, but liveries are only allowed to use the arenas on tuesdays and thursdays; unless they rent them (for £20 an hour) it's £40 per week


livery yard 2) two minutes away from yard 1, much quieter, people seem lovely, 7 stables, outdoor arena, nice hacking £30 per week, including pretty much everything (wormer/bedding/some feed)


livery yard 3) a bit closer to my home than the other two livery yard, 13 stables, people seem lovely, apparently hacking is good, outdoor arena which is currently being refurbished, £25 per week including hay/haylage (bedding sold on site for a cheap price)


livery yard 4) close to my school, outdoor arena, do d.i.y/part/full livery, hacking seems okay, but involves a few main roads which im not too sure about. £35 per week



I think because i will be new to horse ownership, yard 1 would mean i could get help if i need it, but the fact i could only ride in an arena two days a week, when presumably all the other liveries will too puts me off. i think its also expensive, but if i wanted to compete i wouldnt have to travel.

Yard 2 and 3 seem really good too me, yard 2 is a little further away than i would have like, and yard 3 currently doesnt have an arena, but other than that i think these yards are good

Yard 4 Im unsure about, i know someone who got bullied there, and im not sure if i'd enjoy it there.


anyway, what do you think? :)

sorry for babbling, and thanks :)
xx
 
No to yard 4 purely because of the riding, no to yard 1, sounds like a nightmare to me.....so either yard 2 or 3...id possibly got for yard 3 i think. Good luck with your horse hunting.
 
martlin said:
I can't really tell you which one to choose, but have to say, I have no idea how anybody can supply stable, turnout, forage, bedding and feed for £30 per week and stay in business...
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Bedding and feed is limited, does that make a difference?
Im worried now, i was leaning towards that yard :confused:
Thanks though :) x
 
navaho said:
No to yard 4 purely because of the riding, no to yard 1, sounds like a nightmare to me.....so either yard 2 or 3...id possibly got for yard 3 i think. Good luck with your horse hunting.
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i was leaning towards 2, only because with winter coming i'd love to use an arena, but now im worried about price :p
thanks :) x
 
let me put it this way:
just in rates and insurance, it costs me £18 per week to rent out a stable and that doesn't cover any contribution to the mortgage, depreciation costs etc.
You add to that 4 small bales of hay a week, bought cheaply at £2.50 = £10
and a bale of straw at £2
that's your £30 gone, where is any feed? alternative bedding? wormer? not to mention any profit?
 
If it was me.....yard 2 or 3!

yard 1 will be a pain in the sense that everyone will be fighting to use the arena on the 2 days a week you can use it....which can be a pain. Also....if its a big busy yard...people may not have the time to help you out.

yard 2 and three sound good.

yard 4....if there has een bullying i would steer well clear. As its your first horse people may try to interfear a bit too much. Although......it depends...the person that got bullied may not have been completely innocent.

Big yards, flashy facilities etc are all wella nd good but sometimes its really nice to be on a smaller yard where you know everyone and its friendly and a nice place to be.

My yard is one of those. There are about 20 odd horses....13 liveries. We have good facilities but they are not flashy or showy. Our fields dont have post and rail fencing etc...they have good electric fencing.
We have one 60 x 40 new sand and rubber arena. fully floodlit. We can use it anytime we like.
We have plenty of storage space for all of our feed/rugs/equipment. In the form of barns open at one end....so no heated rug drying rooms etc but it does its job.
We have a big american barn type stables....all tools supplied....haylidge and straw ad lib all close by so everything is convenient and easy.
But the best bit...its got the nicest people, exceptionally knowledgable friendly staff who will do anything any time of the day or night to help you. The horses get adequate turnout....and are checked on all the time. There is no fancy seating area with coffe machines etc...but the owner is always armed with tea and biscuits!

Those rates are quite reasonable.

I pay £45 a week on part livery (price includes....feed in morning rug up, turn out, bring in, change rug, all stabling, turn out, haylidge and straw)
 
martlin said:
let me put it this way:
just in rates and insurance, it costs me £18 per week to rent out a stable and that doesn't cover any contribution to the mortgage, depreciation costs etc.
You add to that 4 small bales of hay a week, bought cheaply at £2.50 = £10
and a bale of straw at £2
that's your £30 gone, where is any feed? alternative bedding? wormer? not to mention any profit?
Click to expand...

Hmmm, thats true, but the yard owner definatley said £30 per week, it seems a bit fishy to me, thanks :) x
 
I think I would choose yard 3, as long as work was in progress on the arena. It's a nice size and close by.

I wouldn't want to go to yard 1 and be restricted as to when I could use arenas.

Yard 2 sounds a bit too good to be true - I would worry that I would be restricted to just a little bit of food/bedding as it is cheap. I would rather have a comfortable, well fed horse than a cheap price. Would you be able to buy more food/bedding yourself if necessary? Would you be forced to buy it from the yard? Would they mark the prices up? I can't see how they could make any money otherwise.

Yard 4 doesn't sound nice, both because of the people and the lack of good hacking.
 
Hi, obviously only you can choose a yard but i think either yard 2 or 3 sound ok...leaning more towards yard 3 as they are having an arena built.
Try and visit the yards at different times to see what they are like at different times of the day. Try and speak to some of the liveries while your there and see what they think of the yard.
You also need to have a think about what you want to do with your horse, if you have a happy hacker does anyone else hack out otherwise you'll be going out on your own. If you want to compete do they have the facilities so you can train, is there anyone else doing the same thing as you that you could seek advise from? If you have your own transport is there anywhere to keep it.
If your going out to competitions do they mind you going on and off the yard early and late?
Good Luck
 
ChasingTheDream said:
Hmmm, thats true, but the yard owner definatley said £30 per week, it seems a bit fishy to me, thanks :) x
Click to expand...

Hi...there is a yard near me that charges £25 per week DIY and includes all hay and straw. Apparently they can do this as it is also a working farm and everything comes off their land. I wouldn't be too suspicious, just ask a few more questions. I would go for Yard 2, followed by yard 3 :)
 
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