Which Yard ?

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Eventer83

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Help please! I need to decide between these two yards for my 6 year old mare…

Yard 1:
- 25 mins from home
- Fairly busy environment, approx. 22 liveries in total
- Nice indoor stables
- Hot water wash down area
- Solarium
- 2 outdoor schools (both floodlit, amazing surface)
- Every type of show jump imaginable(!)
- Field to school in with dressage boards / markers
- Full cross country course
- Shows, events, clinics, hunter trials etc. on site
- Tack shop on site
- Transport to other shows available
- Amazing hacking (hills, fields, woods, streams, quiet lanes etc.)
- Help with exercising from a decent rider

Yard 2:
- 10 mins from home
- Very quiet environment, approx. 3 liveries and owner
- Nice indoor stables
- Cold water wash down area
- Solarium
- 2 outdoor schools (1 floodlit, ok surface)
- Some show jumps
- Indoor school (out of use two nights a week)
- Horsewalker (not covered)
- No hacking but a farm track to ride down to warm up / cool down
- Help with exercising from an amazing rider

Extra details:
Both are the same price (pretty much)
I don’t have my own transport (horse transport I mean!)
Distance is a factor but I am used to driving quite a bit (the current yard is further away than both of these!)

What would you go for!?
 
If you can put up with the extra drive the first one sounds great and with good hacking. I drive twenty minutes each way to my horses it does cost in petrol that is the downside but I like where they are and the hacking is good. At least you would have the option to ride out if that is important to you. If you are a school bunny go for the shorter drive.
 
Thanks for your reply.

I want to improve and get better but not spend all of the time in the school no.

OH prefers yard 2 but he's not that horsey. The indoor was great and it woould be nicer to be closer to home but the no hacking did put me off a bit.
 
If there was hacking at yard 2, that would be great too, but purely because of that, I would choose yard 1. However, you have to think of snowy and icy weather - would you be able to get there still, or would they do full livery if you couldn't..
 
Sukistokes2 said:
If you can put up with the extra drive the first one sounds great and with good hacking. I drive twenty minutes each way to my horses it does cost in petrol that is the downside but I like where they are and the hacking is good. At least you would have the option to ride out if that is important to you. If you are a school bunny go for the shorter drive.
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Sorry didnt mean to quote.. New hho style is v confusing !!!
What does your horse prefer OP? I was at a beautiful yard, v close to home and she wasn't that happy. Now at a busier yard, she is so much calmer than before. I like the sound of yard 1; but if your horse stresses in a busy environment perhaps yard 2 is the better option. I'm sure although the hacking isn't great, you could perhaps go halves on someone on fuel and box up to another area with them for a hack - there would be other liveries in a similar situation who would probably appreciate company! Best of luck choosing :)
 
AntxGeorgiax said:
I like the sound of yard 1; but if your horse stresses in a busy environment perhaps yard 2 is the better option.
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This!! Both sound wonderful, what a great decision to have to make! However, it does hugely depend on the kind of environment that your horse prefers - some like being on big yards with lots going on, others find it too stressy. I would personally probably go for Yard 1 purely due to the hacking aspect x
 
I am so lucky to keep my horses on a private yard, my sister has moved around several yards because of hacking or lack of it! I can say that I no longer really think about the drive to the horses and it does not bother me. I am lucky that in times of snow my Dad does them for me. You may be able to work with some of the other liveries so that you do not always have to go twice a day. I shared my yard for 4 years with two people and although we occasionally got on each others nerves for the most part we worked together, they let out in the morning, I would do my stables and some of theirs and they would put away later then I wanted to stay. Or if it was pouring of rain or snowing I would get everyone in. we just shared the work. I still miss them now they have their own place.
What ever you decide your OH with come around in the end, it is more important that you and your horse are hapy and have lots of country side to bomb around at silly speeds!!
Hope it all works out for you.
 
I think this is the thing, I'm not sure how she'll react either way.

I was on one yard with quite dark, wooden, outdoor stables and she hated it so I know what not to go for stables-wise but I'm not sure busyness-wise.

All of the yards she's been on (4 in total) have probably been somewhere in between.

She can be quite stressy. She has been at her current yard a while now and it's been her favorite but every so often she will get upset (I don't always know why!).

I think a busier yard will be good for her but not sure about competition days (when there's loads going on but she's not involved)

Meant to say that she'll be on full livery at either of the yards because of my job and quite a big commute.
 
She will be on full livery so I won't have to go every day if I can't make it.

These would be the weekday distances & journey times for each yard:

Yard 1:

Home to Work: 34.7 miles, 50 minutes
Work to Yard: 39.8 miles, 52 minutes
Yard to Home: 13.7 miles, 27 minutes

Yard 2:

Home to Work: 34.7 miles, 50 minutes
Work to Yard: 23.1 miles, 38 minutes
Yard to Home: 5.8 miles, 13 minutes

She will be ridden for me once or twice a week and that's a factor too.
 
I'd go for yard one personally. I love schooling and things but I also think a variety of hacking plays an important part in the horses education. No matter how nice a yard, no hacking would totally put me off
 
I think I'm leaning towards Yard 1 too.

Just hope the travelling is not too much trouble and that she settles in a busy environment.

Any advice on settling her in?
 
Personally id want mine closer to home....

ive done a few runs in my time - id prefer my horse within 10 mile round trip of my house - so over 15 miles is a no go one way fo rme....but does depend on time i guess,,,??
 
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