Why did you leave your last yard/s?

[windand rain]

Moved house so found a rented field near my new house and have never looked back I am my own master

 

[montanna]

Because the owners were absolutely horrific. The yard was perfect, had all the facilities, lovely school, great hacking, beautiful stables, great turnout, all at a great price. But the management were seriously lacking! Their appalling management resulted in my mare being kicked in the stifle by another mare who I had specifically requested she NOT be turned out with (after just coming back into work after 18 months of box/field rest!) and PTS. My gelding then had an accident a few weeks later, due to them leaving machinery from their other business in a stupid place. He caught his fetlock and despite joint flush surgery, the wound was compromised and he was finally PTS because of his injuries a few months later (when I had moved to a new yard!).

Would NEVER go back there. Awful memories, awful people. Now on a lovely, lovely yard and hope to be for a long time to come

 

[Ibblebibble]

moved from farm livery to renting my own yard about 18 months ago, we knew that the farm livery was going to come to an end as the farm would be sold when the elderly lady died, heard that the little yard was vacant and grabbed it!! was also nice to have electric and running water!

 

[ihatework]

I left my last yard (a small very well run nice yard) because my new horse just didn't settle and didn't do well on haylage which was all that was on offer. I was sad to leave there, it was a lovely yard.

Prior to that I left a bigger yard because they lied to my face about an accident my horse had. That as the final straw on a few niggles.

 

[AandK]

I left my last yard due to moving to another county! Loved it there (working farm), but the commute would have been a bit of a killer :wink3:

 

[mairiwick]

Standards dropped. Scarily. I had to argue for my horse to have more hay, feed etc, she was turned out in a small paddock with another underweight mare whilst another grazed solo in a bigger field.. Livery prices went up but feed dropped down. When we decided to move, I cannot believe the amount of weight she had lost - and she was on full livery. Within 6 weeks at the current yard she was back up to weight and looking much healthier.

 

[HashRouge]

Bad turnout. Each time I've left a yard, that's been the main reason, although I've only been at three yards over 12 years (with the same horse). I have been at two of the yards twice though. Been at my current yard for getting on two years and the only way I'd leave is if the YO dragged me away kicking and screaming! I absolutely love it, and for the first time turnout is NEVER an issue, even in the wettest depths of winter.

 

[WindyStacks]

1st - Despite being promised daily turnout it transpired that actually if I wanted it I had to do it myself. Even pressing 50 euros in to the sweaty palm of the head-lad failed to deliver. Left when I witnessed someone punch a 2 year old colt in the face for not understanding to lift the foot for cleaning.

2nd - Own land at home. Got well and truly fed up - always "on duty".

3rd - moved country

4th - got a bit tired of the pikeur-wearing dressage-diva 15 year old chanel-handbag-totin' primadonnas flinging my kit on the ground. Plus limited turnout. Too busy after work.

5th - her parents sold the farm

6th - horse died

New yard is so perfect I've actually made the decision to move house (and county!) to be closer to the yard!

 

[ihatework]

...

 

[Alfiemoo]

First yard I left as my horse ran away from me leading in and barged straight into one of the people who work there, she turn and smacked him once on the chest and made him back up, which I was fine with. When I got to her, I apologised and went to take my horse back she started to punch him and kick him repeatedly even with me telling her to stop and moving my horse away. I was livid and left the next day!

Second yard they were selling up.

 

[Daytona]

Full livery but the standard of care was poor

Water buckets not emptied and cleaned.

Haylage not topped up

Bed dirty

I'd have to go up everyday to check horse was clean and had plenty to eat, no point paying full livery if you still gotta go sort stuff yourself so I left.

 

[Capriole]

Left the last place as I had my own to go to.
Place before that I left as I had moved counties. The yard I moved from was a big yard with lots of facilities which were the reason I chose that yard (turns out it was utter crap and liveries got the sticky end of the stick when it came to actually using the paid for facilities), and I'd gone there from a lovely little private yard. I left the private yard as I was there on my own with no facilities and only one clingy herdbound companion, owned by the YO, for my own horse, which limited me for going away with my horse as the other would fret.

 

[dieseldog]

I left because I went on holiday to South Africa for a month and the YO (my sister) was also going on holiday at the same time so she went to my friends, and I never went back. At the new yard they ride the same time as me so it is a lot more sociable, whereas before sister always seemed to ride at about 8pm when I wanted to be sat on the sofa. Both are nice yards.

 

[TelH]

I left the last livery yard I was on because I moved house to a place where I could have my ponies at home.

 

[Dumbo]

YM rode my horse without permission despite having been told not too.
Stables leaked,
School was awful,
Bad hacking,
Feed and hay got stolen,
Bitchy and bossy
Very limited turnout
Tack used without permission... I could keep going!!

Now at a lovely yard but just had to give notice as the yard I'm working at has offered me a full time job including livery.

 

[sandy3924]

YM was a dirty old man.

 

[NeverSurrender]

First yard was too expensive, too far from home, could never use the facilities and there were silly rules being introduced left, right and centre

Second yard i absolutely adored, but i had to leave when i went to university

Third yard horse was on full livery but the yard manager walked out on her non-horsey husband! so horse lost a lot of weight, etc. before i could move him as i was in a different country at the time, even though the husband was doing his best, he just didnt know what he was doing!

Still on yard number Four

 

[Frumpoon]

Last yard only left as one horse on rehab following surgery at specialist yard and other horse doing his fruit without his mate...add to the mix a heavily pregnant YO and I took other horse down to same yard as his brother, no tears or recriminations, left on brilliant terms and still friends.

Many horrific experiences before that though which I have expatriated on in other posts and will not bore you all xxx

 

[Cabaret]

As someone who will be moving to the London area from Canada, I find this thread absolutely horrifying...

I left my last yard because I changed jobs and moved about 2 hours away.

The one before that I loved so much, but wanted to get seriously into competitive SJ so I needed a facility with jumps and an adequately sized schooling area.

The first yard I was ever at they never seemed to be able to feed my horse enough and he never seemed to have any hay despite my multiple attempts to have him fed more and getting yelled at for taking a flake from a bale without permission. The RS took over the arena so you could only ride during the day during the week, and I work, or before 9am or after 7pm on weekends. I definitely don't miss that place.

 

[criso]

My last yard was just a private yard where someone kept their horses and did mine for me. When she gave it up I could take it on without someone to provide livery.

Yard before that they opened a riding school and it became really busy and noisy. Lots of kids and teenagers galloping their ponies round the school or lessons of 6 beginners riding round nose to tail. Always lots of shouting on the yard.
The original yard manager had left and the services and care went downhill.

Also the riding school brought a culture of sharing stuff and using whatever was around.
Although the tack room I shared was a livery one, one of the other horses whose stuff was in there was exercised by a couple of the people who worked on the school, they just helped themselves to stuff which never seemed to return and I lost more equipment in a couple of months than I had in 5 years with my horse.

 

[Potato!]

I left my last yard because my horse was unhappy there. I loved it there but after trying to give him time to settle it seemed to have the opposite effect. He became dangerous to handle so I decided to move back to the place I rented before. Within half an hour of arriving back he was back to his usual self.

 

[Hexx]

First yard was OK - bit run down, but happy, until a woman with arabs moved in - she basically took over the place, got the yard manager sacked. We left en masse over a weekend - 9 horses gone. I was there just over a year.

Second yard was the best yard I have ever been on. Nothing was too much trouble, if there was a problem you were told straight away. Horses were well cared for. An honest YO and staff - wonders will never cease. It closed down due to financial difficulties and the fact the YO had a really nasty fall and wasn't able to ride the full liveries, In fact, I am still best friends with her, and that's 10 years on.

We moved to the YO's other yard, which was run by a YM - was there for 3 years until the stupid b**** let and 11 year old child ride my horse - hacking on one of the most dangerous roads in the area - without my permission. I left within a week.

I have been at the current yard 10 years now - it has it's niggles, like not enough lights on the yard and a YO who could be a bit funny sometimes, but the horses are well cared for, the staff know what they are doing and there's no bitching or nastiness.

 

[Tiffany]

Loved the yard but the turnout after a bad summer and winter just wasn't suitable for my girl and had to do best for her.

 

[Fides]

I left my last yard because my horse was unhappy there. I loved it there but after giving trying to him time to settle it seemed to have the opposite effect. He became dangerous to handle so I decided to move back to the place I rented before. Within half an hour of arriving back he was back to his usual self.

Makes you wonder what on earth was going on whilst you weren't there...

 

[Magnetic Sparrow]

First yard because two of my horses trod on two of the yard cats (one cat per horse, but unfortunately within about a fortnight) and the atmosphere between myself and the proprietor became more than difficult. It was far easier to leave than teach my horses ballet to enable them to avoid the cats.

 

[9tails]

I shouldn't laugh as I love cats but the ballet comment made me hoot!

 

[PolarSkye]

Yard politics . . . and I'm ashamed to say that I contributed (although unwittingly). I will think long and hard before being on a big yard again . . . it's just not for me.

That said, I LOVE where we are now . . . lovely, kind people, great facilities . . . and my boy is happy.

As for leaving other yards, well it's mostly been about facilities/Kal's happiness.

P

 

[StormyMoments]

My horses were chased around their field with a tractor, a bunch of fireworks were set off in their field with them in it and then someone opened the gate to let my stallion go for a wander... before that it was perfect but I did shift rather fast! I have been on my current yard for about a year and a half now and the horses are happy and so am I so they will stay here unless circumstances change

 

[NaeNae87]

Despite me organising and installing double strand electric fencing (with permission and out of my own pocket), fixing the entrance to the paddock near the gate which flooded every time the sprinklers came on (again out of my own pocket and with permission), picking my own paddocks every 2-3 days, scrubbing water troughs, making up feeds and feeding my own horses as well as coming out twice a day (30 min drive each way before and after work) to rug and unrug my horses (because it was too dark to get up an extra 5 mins early take one rug of each of mine while they were doing their own) and basically doing any other crazy, weird thing they wanted me to do... "it just wasn't working out". They gave me a month to find elsewhere, I took my horses 2 days later and moved them to where they are currently living. They have been there about 12 months now and guess what... there are no problems or hassles.

 

[Burmilla]

Because the yard owner was a foul mouthed bully when his lying, ignorant, lazy daughter the so-called "yard manager", was criticised for not doing her job. Dangerous, too.