Who here resides (horsewise) on a LARGE livery yard?!

We tend to stick to smaller places, mainly so that there isn't so much coming or going for the horses as they settle better in quieter places (for this reason we would also not pick a livery yard on a riding school). If your horse doesn't mind this though and you like to have lots of company and the facilities are enough so you aren't always having to que for things then it might be perfect!
 
I've been at both large and small. Unfortunately for me I don't have much of a choice really because one of my horses really likes and only settles at a large yard, and small ones result in him getting really stressed out and unmanageable.

But given the choice I think I'd prefer a small yard. Granted there are more people to hack out with at the bigger yards and often more going on, I tend to find they can be a bit cliquey, and unwelcoming to newcomers. In addition, if they are not managed properly (and there are lots of those out there) they can be an absolute nightmare to be at with an almost gang culture evolving and filling the void that the lack of management often leaves.
 
I'm currently riding at a yard with about 40 riding school horses and about 120 liveries.. Big and busy doesn't cover it :eek: And it depends. I used to ride at a yard with like 5/6 liveries and 15 riding school horses. It was quiet, everyone knew eachother, but the teaching wasn't quite as good. Here, it's busy, there are cliques, but still quite friendly, the facilities are brilliant, plenty of shows, and great teaching. xx
 
I'm on a yard this big and absolutely love it. There are about 30 horses at the moment and the YO has just bought more land and stables so soon to be 40! The good thing is that it is split up into lots of little stable blocks with their own tack and feed room, so there are only 8 people on my actual yard and everyone tends to stick to their own area. I'm not sure if I could handle it if it was a competition yard as there would probably be lots of arguements over the school but people are mostly just happy hackers and just go to the yard to enjoy their horses and socialise.

Out of everyone I think there are about 4 of us that regularly compete and probably only half ever use the school. The YO has hardly anything to do with the yard so we don't have to put up with lots of rules. Have been at a lot of yards and this is by far the best place, I don't know how I would match it if I ever have to move.
 
I think my yard has about 80ish horses, but the way that the farm is arranged all the horses are in small blocks. For example my YM has 16 horses in her care, however these are split between 3 different blocks which have about 6 - 8 horses in them. I am in one self contained block of 6 which has a lovely small yard feel to it. While there are this amount of horses on the yard, owners times are actually staggared so that there is not the competition for the schools. My times are after 7 and by this time the pony brigade have been and gone, as have some of the adults with earlier finish times. I think the usual amount that I have to share the better school with is about 2, which TBH I don't mind as my horse has to get used to working with others.
 
Been to both (as well as here and in Germany) and I deffo prefer the smaller yards and I also think the horses settle better. The yard I have been before has got 30+, no idea if it was bad management or bad luck, but when the summer season began and horses were turned out 24/7 we had 7! horses being kicked, (vet required for each, so quite serious) in one week, two of the injured ones were my horses :(
There was a constant coming and going and I don't really like that, as you also never know what new horses can bring into the yard (illnesses and whatever, if the owners of the new horses are not completely honest), apart from bad behaviour of horses or vices which some owners prefer not to mention.
Have moved now to a smaller yard and it seems to be better there, horses relaxed and more happy and I can work with them in a more relaxed way as the menage is not constantly occupied.
 
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There are 60 horses/ponies on livery at the yard I'm on and approx 20 horses/ponies at the riding school which forms part of the yard.
It's well laid out with big barn stables. All of them are 12x12 and everyone has space for shavings, hay, feed etc and you get a locker for your tack.
We have great facilities which include a horse walker, indoor and 2 outdoor schools, a jumping paddock, 250 acres of off road hacking with x-country jumps. We have a yard show once a month. There is a 8 mile farm ride with jumps across the road and about a 10 min hack we have access to a 3 mile gallop track.

It's great being on a yard with so many people that do so many different things from hacking, dressage, 3 day events, pony club and even horse ball means that there is loads of experienced people to ask for help and advice.

Don't get me wrong there are a few cowbags and people who think they are better than everyone else because they have 3 horses or go hunting and know the master!!! but i think there are people like that on most yards.

I have been on small livery yards of about 10 horses and i found it to be allot more bitchy than a big yard because on a large yard you have space to avoid people if you want.

I must admit that some days i would like a bit of quiet or not to be dragged into a she said he said debate but on the whole i like the yard I'm on and the fact that there are so many others i find a bonus.
 
I used to be at a yard with over 140 horses, a mixture of DIY, part livery, full livery and YO's horses. There were things I loved about this yard - always having people around, to ride with, chat to etc. So many people that if you didn't like someone you could very easily avoid them, no one really takes much notice of what your doing etc. Bad points were that - over crowded, turn out was ****, too many kids (because people knew there was always someone around children were just dumped up there for the entire day without supervision...I could go on and on and on!
I move a month ago to a yard with only 10 horses and feel it's been the best decision I've made, I love it, I find people are more into your buisness but I have nothing to hide so dont mind. They are all a lovely bunch there but would be worried if they got a new horrible livery as you would not be able to get away from them, and it would really upset the applecart.
 
One of our horses resides on a large(ish) DIY livery yard, I am not sure of the exact number of horses- at least 35 I'd say, but they are spread out over various blocks of stables so it doesn't seem that big if that makes sense.

The horses are turned out in small groups and despite the large number of horses/people the yard offers a large degree of autonomy over how you manage your field, your horse, stabling arrangements, training and the like and no one person/training ideology dominates. Equally, there is always someone on hand to help/advise and plenty of opportunity for covering each other on hols etc.

Obviously in a large group of predominantly women there is going to be the odd bit of bitchiness, but unless it is serious the YM just stays out oif it. On occassions when he's had to get involved he has so far demonstrated the wisdom of Solomon in the way he handles things, which has impressed me no end.


Before coming to this yard, we were at a small private yard (also DIY) The YO was very controlling and changeable, one minute you were flavour of the month, next you were the poo on her shoe with no real reason for it. That yard could be a very uncomfortable place to be and based on that experience I would be reluctant to put my horse on a small private yard again.

When we moved the YO said we wouldn't last 5 minutes on a big livery yard, but to be honest my daughter, and her horse, have never been happier.
 
I am on a yard with 45 other liveries on a converted dairy farm, I came from a yard that had 14 boxes so big big culture shock. having said that I have been there nearly 6 years now.

I have had my young horse there since 8 months old and it has been hell at times with him getting bullied and injured seriously at times, resulting in surgery for bone chips and all sorts. Despite me monitoring his grazing and field companions to match suitability. He is now 4 and away at school.

Sometimes I cannot stand it and really wish was on a smaller yard but then I have a super amount of friends and we all rally round to help each other and support each other, Whether I will feel like that when the baby comes back from school and I am trying to ride him with lots of other liveries, who knows.
 
I am on a big yard, 21 liveries, 15 riding shool horses and 15 polo ponies. We are all in different sections of the yard. I work shifts so generally find that I can use the indoor or outdoor school when I please. My horse is pretty chilled so doesnt mind all the comings and goings.

I think yards big or small, it is the people for me. Generally horsey women are a bit odd (me included) but I keep myself to myself and there are 2 other people I really get on with, the rest I dont really speak or ride with.

The brilliantness of my yard is that we have a large indoor school, medium sized outdoor, plenty of off road hacking and a small beach. PLus I can come and go as I please and am not restricted to times.

I would love a small yard for me and my friend to rent, but then Id have to do all the maintenance, pay someone to remove muck heap, get a farmer to top, roll and fertilise fields e.t.c.
 
There are approximately 50 horses on the yard where I keep Ellie - roughly half of which are liveries. I can honestly say it is the nicest yard I could hope for - although there is a huge mix of personalities, everyone is polite and friendly and very, very supportive of one another. I was previously on a yard of about 10 horses and I wouldnt go back for the world.

I'm under no illusions that to have such a lovely big yard is probably unusual - I guess we're just lucky we've found it. It is my ambition to get my own place eventually, but it would have to be perfect for me to leave this yard - that's how happy we both are there!
 
I'm at a large yard and mostly socialize with people who are in my aisle of the american barn stabling - 9 horses with assorted sharers / owners.

Not much gets nicked or borrowed, other than treats, as we all have our own tack lockers for the expensive stuff.

On the whole the yard is very friendly indeed, which is helped by the fact that the owners have a system and it works :)
 
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There are about 40 horses on my yard, which is both the largest and the nicest yard I've ever been on. It is well run, there is little bitchiness and people tend to keep themselves to themselves, which is the way I like it. I also find that with so many horses on DIY livery, that my mare knows her routine and is much less unsettled by the comings and goings of the other horses.

In the past I've been on several smaller yards which have been very unpleasant; if you weren't with the 'in' clique you were left feeling very isolated and unpopular and the other liveries would do stupid things like arrange to all go hacking together, leaving my horse alone at the yard going mental.
 
I'm on a large yard (approx 25 RS horses, approx 15 liveries). It is the largest yard I've ever been on and the nicest by far. It is well run, the staff are lovely and the liveries all get on well. Of course some liveries get on better with/spend more time with some others, but that doesn't make it cliquey it is just human nature. I am not going to get offended because X normally rides with Y and I don't get invited, and I don't expect X to get offended because I usually ride with Z. There have been some liveries in the past who haven't really fitted in as well and have caused a bit of trouble, but they aren't there now LOL.
I've been there for over 2 years but I'm still a relative newbie compared to a lot of the liveries who have been there 10+ years.
 
I am currently on a yard with around 30 horses and it is just not big enough! i used to be on a yard with roughly 85 horses and i liked it so much more, much more business like, plenty of people to talk to or ask advice. I find it much bitchier on a smaller yard and also you tend to get better facilities with not such a big price tag on bigger yards
 
There's about 70 horses on my yard- all liveries.
Before this yard I kept my horse on my own, and then at a small yard with 1 other person, I prefer my current yard.
Most people get on, you can avoid someone if you don't like them!
There is a good mix of people- different people are down at different times so you can go for days without seeing certain people!
There is ample grazing for all the horses- we can turnout 24/7/365 if we want to.
We are very lucky in the fact that the yard used to be a Stud- so the grass is very good, the stables are a good size, with stone mangers etc.
The yard staff are brill aswell- there's only 2 of them but they do a brilliant job.
 
I've not been a livery in a big livery yard, although I've been to plenty for the odd lesson and competition. I would like to know how do people manage the use of the school/s in peak times. Especially after work in the winter?

It would be a real worry for me if there was a chance I wouldn't be able to get into the school when it was dark after work.
 
I have been on both and have found I much prefer the small yard (currently on small yard. When I bought my chap I kept him at the same yard he was bought from. It was a hunt/dealers yard. I would say there were between 40-50 horses. It was ok but because I didn't hunt I sort of felt left out. I remember having a lesson in the school on new nervous horse and all of a sudden heard 'coming in'! With no other warning than that, 6 horses then proceeded to jump the hunt jump into the school!! Brown pants time!! Moved shortly after to this yard and its so quiet with only 2 of us here. I have done so much more with my horse as I'm relaxed, so is he and we just potter about as and when we like!! Bliss!! We have 2 large livery yards within 10mins and have heard stories about both so I'll stay where I am!!
 
I used to be on a yard of 100+ horses, all DIY, & hated it.

The long walk to the fields, the constant coming & going, the fight for the schools, the yard politics...

Now on a yard of less than 10, happy there and would never move to a big yard again :)
 
we are currently on a yard of around 30 horses, but there is another block being built for the YO's brother, who is going to be training PTP's again :) so there will be another 10/15 hroses soon. We have been on big and small yards... and the size hasnt actually bothered me, weve been on lovely little yards, but also horrbile ones. Likewise with big yards. LOVE the yard were at now, not fantastic facillities, but my trainer has her horses there... and i love having her there so that if i ever need anything, she will always be there to answer my Q's :) Everyone else is lovely, some people are really chatty others just keep them selves to them selves, but everyone is friendly and its brill :)
 
Im on a yard with about 50+ horses and love it! Very well managed and Full Livery only. We have a small, but lovely school, but mostly ride in the fields in spring/summer and autumn. Weve got showjumps, working hunter rustic jumps and theres nearly always a big field to blast around! The location is great for hacking - we do 8/10 miles at a time. There is hardly ever a time when you cant ride somewhere!
 
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