Why do some yards...

I lied to my boss yesterday... Told him I had a hospital appointment and then went to the yard for the farrier. Pony hated the farrier so we tried to calm him with a lick... Ended up covered in aniseed lick! Luckily boss was out in the afternoon so no weird excuse needed! Ha ha
 
amymay said:
Well if no-one told her not to turn up at 'yon' time, and didn't mention the clearing up and keeping the yard tidy - you can hardly moan about it........

Good grief. Some of these posts are simply ludicrous.
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She was told! she just 'did'

and there was a huge sign on yard saying 'please clean up any mess after your horse'

She just ignored it...

I was only a groom I couldn't chuck her off or shout at her. That was my bosses job and she didn try, but didn't throw her off.

And what happened to common courtesy in the world? If I didn't have a job and nothign else to do I wouldn't be coming up at 11pm to ride my horse, I'd do it during the day.

But she was one of those people that you just couldn't change.

I don't see what was 'ludicrous' about my post - I posted about a bad example, and one that ruined it for ant other DIY clients.
 
It does matter a great deal to me that boxes aren't left dirty all day on my yard. I'm charging top whack for a top service, and that to me means that no box on my yard is dirty after 7am. Horses never walk into a dirty box - so if they're taken out for the vet/farrier their box is skipped out and left tidy for their return. It's just how I do things and it's personal preference.

I was the same when I was on DIY livery myself. It meant getting up at 5 instead of 6, but I hate leaving boxes dirty all day.

I need the first impression on my yard to be as good as it can be, so that means that everything is tidy, boxes immaculate, dogs are friendly and don't try to eat/hump people, I am dressed smartly and not slopping about in tracksuit bottoms and trainers etc. and having boxes mucked out by 7am is part of that. It means I can get on with riding and teaching, and it leaves the day free. It also means that even if someone were to drop by unannounced to look round, there is no way they would appear before 7am, and so they would never see the yard dirty or messy. It's just how I do things.

I did have rules for my DIYs - very strict rules, and a contract which they all signed. I had to ask one person to leave because she was the pits and I couldn't cope with cleaning up her mess any more, and as I said, I did have one fabulous DIY who followed the rules and was never a problem. HOWEVER, when you've got eighteen to muck out, and ten to exercise a day, and you're busy with other things, it does get incredibly tedious having to remind people daily that if their horse poos on the yard, they need to clean it up, that headcollars don't live in a heap on the floor, and that rugs live in the rug room not in piles around the yard. I found myself constantly reminding them to turn the lights off when they went riding, put muck onto the trailer not just dump it on the floor so that I couldn't get my muck up there, to come and turn their horses out before midday etc etc, and I just couldn't be arsed with it any more for so little money quite frankly.

As I've said before, I have no problem with DIYs as a rule. I'm sure most DIYs are lovely, and I know the way I run a yard is much more regimented than most people who just have one horse for pleasure, and so it's not practical for me to have DIYs. My yard is my livelihood, I take a great deal of pride in the fact that it's always immaculate, and the majority of people who look round comment on this. My OHs mother keeps her horses at a beautifully run DIY yard, which looks like heaven, and I wouldn't hesitate to keep my horses there. On a DIY yard it's each to their own. Your horse, your rules, whereas with my yard I've got the majority of horses on a set routine, and have a certain way of doing things, and DIYs just don't fit into that.
 
It depends on the yyard owner.
Ours is a farm. They have no clue about horses.
So they make money with minimal input.
If a yard is owned / run byba horse person its usually far more organised and they pay more attention to detail so usually want more control over what goes on. They usually care about all the horse too so want things done in a particular way
 
I am on DIY because I love the full part of owning a horse (bit sad that DIY'ers get a bad rep because some of them turn out to be a bit laxy-dazyical esp when there are those like me who are tidier than the YO). I did do full livery once, was prepared to pay for the pleasure but got really peed off when YO wouldnt even allow me to give my horse its bucket of food at night when I was at the stables and I had just finished riding - it was his job to do. Then he questioned everything I did with my horse with regards cleaning it off after riding it, and you ended up feeling like the horse no longer belonged to you, so imo if I wanted to just ride I might as well go to a trekking center. I personally would pay more for DIY if it meant the YO making a profit then everyone would be happy.
 
I agree jenni about common courtesy. Nut if YO took no action, then you can hardly blame woman for carrying on as she did.
 
AJ & Kiz said:
i also think that some people who keep there horses on full livery may as well go to a riding school and point to a horse and say "thats mine" as they never seem to form a bond as they are never there!! x
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I have met someone who was very much along this lines, had, had the horse on full livery for a long while, showed up at the yard saying how lovely it was to see him looking so well grazing in the field all the while her horse was tucked up in his stable.....

Her only defence was it was dusk, the counter argument to that was she clearly didn't go over to the other horse thinking it was hers, or if she did she *really* didn't have a clue!

Each to their own when it comes to what works best for you and your horse work/life balance etc, if that means full livery and you can afford it, on ya go.

I just get a wee bit sad that sometimes it seems like us DIYers who try really hard to be good and courteous etc etc etc get lumped in with the horrors of the horse world :(
 
Reading all these posts I am so grateful for the yard I keep my horse at. We pay DIY rates but can have any services we need as and when we need them. So the days I work my horse is brought in fed and put out again. Her rug/ fly mask is on/off as needed. When I am not working I do her. The yard owner is fantastic and a great instructor - a set of 6 lessons is £75. The yard is always tidy and we all sweep up after ourselves and leave it as it should be. If we didn't we would be asked to. There is no bitchiness - the yard owner is very careful about who she has and has built a lovely supportive friendly yard. I feel very lucky!
 
hoggedmane said:
Reading all these posts I am so grateful for the yard I keep my horse at. We pay DIY rates but can have any services we need as and when we need them. So the days I work my horse is brought in fed and put out again. Her rug/ fly mask is on/off as needed. When I am not working I do her. The yard owner is fantastic and a great instructor - a set of 6 lessons is £75. The yard is always tidy and we all sweep up after ourselves and leave it as it should be. If we didn't we would be asked to. There is no bitchiness - the yard owner is very careful about who she has and has built a lovely supportive friendly yard. I feel very lucky!
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Thats lovely :O)

Mine is the same, only 3 liveries and the rest of the horses are the YO. Pay £65 a month and can have my ponies fed, watered, checked etc for no extra cosy. Very cheap but exceptionally cheerful :D
 
hear hear Sarahann1 it gets me down as well that DIY'ers are tarred with the same brush.

The private yard I was at not long ago the other livery there was absolutely filthy and didnt muck out her box and didnt tidy up after herself and I used to say something because I knew it was wrong and you should treat the place like it was your own and I ended up running around after her including mucking out her box to keep it clean, she then left.

It didnt get me anywhere though because the YO ended up asking me to leave so he could put some racehorses in the boxes and had the cheek to tell my new YO that I was very clean and tidy, paid on time but could be "funny" because I fell out with the other livery over the cleanliness of the yard, I shouldnt have bothered.
 
I pay £180 per week. 7 day full livery. Everything done for him. Including clipped, mane and tail pulled, organising farrier, tack cleaned and ridden 6 times a week. Also equissage on a few times a week. However some weeks I can ride him 4 times so I do it. Other weeks I can only ride once, others not at all. I'd rather just pay for peace of mind and then be able to do what I want with him on the days I can.
 
Wow! Such much defensive posting here! There are different types of livery to suit different lifestyles/pocket/needs - and thank goodness for the flexibilty of diversity!

In my life of keeping horses i have kept them in a field, on DIY, on part livery, on full livery and on loan to individuals and to riding colleges - so I think the full spectrum!

In a field - the horses looked scruffy - they were unclipped as living out 24/7 but were checked twice a day, rugged when needed and very very happy.
DIY - probably the most time spent in this arena. I have never encountered the bad practices as detailed in this thread. All owners looked after their horses/ponies beautifully - sometimes (often) the yard wasn't swept to the condition of being able to eat you dinner off it - but always a fab environment. I have never encountered neglect, bitchyness, gossip or other negative experiences.

Part/Full Livery - I have trouble reconciling the comments about "lazy owners - wanting a lie in" when i was on full and part livery this was because I was working about 10 hours a day plus travel and wanted to ensure that my horse was being looked after well. This was achieved - things were done differently to how I would have do them myself, but horse was happy.

College/Riding - This was as a stop gap which enabled me to keep my pony whilst at a time of great hardship personally. Horse was happy and well looked after- had plenty of turnout - it didn't kill him by having novice riders on him and eventually he came back to my care.

At different times in peoples lives, horses have to be looked after by many different people - it doesn't change YOUR relationship with them. My horse doesn't care who mucks him out - as long as it is done!
 
seems that times have changed since you were at DIY seeing that so many livery yards are no longer taking DIY'ers, werent you lucky to have been around when it was how it should have been and should be today
 
cinnamontoast said:
So if you're a YO or a livery of any type, what do you think is a reasonable rate for daily full livery (turn out, muck out, hang haynets, replace water, catch in, pick out feet, rugs as necessary)?
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I pay £5 a day for full livery at my yard on days that I need it -I paid £10 on a previous yard.
 
EllenJay said:
Wow! Such much defensive posting here! There are different types of livery to suit different lifestyles/pocket/needs - and thank goodness for the flexibilty of diversity!

In my life of keeping horses i have kept them in a field, on DIY, on part livery, on full livery and on loan to individuals and to riding colleges - so I think the full spectrum!

In a field - the horses looked scruffy - they were unclipped as living out 24/7 but were checked twice a day, rugged when needed and very very happy.
DIY - probably the most time spent in this arena. I have never encountered the bad practices as detailed in this thread. All owners looked after their horses/ponies beautifully - sometimes (often) the yard wasn't swept to the condition of being able to eat you dinner off it - but always a fab environment. I have never encountered neglect, bitchyness, gossip or other negative experiences.

Part/Full Livery - I have trouble reconciling the comments about "lazy owners - wanting a lie in" when i was on full and part livery this was because I was working about 10 hours a day plus travel and wanted to ensure that my horse was being looked after well. This was achieved - things were done differently to how I would have do them myself, but horse was happy.

At different times in peoples lives, horses have to be looked after by many different people - it doesn't change YOUR relationship with them. My horse doesn't care who mucks him out - as long as it is done!
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Again . . . this. I like taking care of my boy . . . for me . . . I have no illusions that it makes him feel any differently about me. You're right, he doesn't care who mucks him out . . . or who washes his feed bowls, sorts out his water and leaves hay in his stable. But . . . I like doing those things for him . . . for me. And, any time spent bringing him in/turning him out/grooming him/feeding him, etc. is time spent with him . . . which is especially important to me right now b/c I can't ride.

However, I don't think that those who have their horses on part or full livery are lazy or neglectful . . . or bad owners. It's just not something I would choose to do again.

P
 
I can understand why some YO don't offer DIY, they then know that the horses are all turned out at a reasonable time and get a decent time out in the field, that the fields are poo picked, the horses are on a worming program, that they are getting enough to eat etc. I am not saying that these things don't happen on DIY yards I am normally DIY and most people are really responsible but not everyone is like that and YO can get can to deal with difficult situations. You also don't tend to get people turning up at random times hanging about on the yard all day so much so if you prefer a more quiet environment that that can be a plus.

I am on full livery at the moment for the 1st time ever. I am normally on diy grass livery but my pony got kicked and broke his splint bone and needs box rest. He was not coping on a busy DIY yard with box rest so he has gone to a full livery rehab yard temporarily and it is ace there. I don't know if I have lucked out or if most full yards are like this. The standard of care he is getting there is way above anything that I could offer what with working full time an hour and half away from his normal yard I could not go to the yard at lunch time or during the day to give him an lunch net check on him and skip him out or groom him. I just could not cope with all the commuting and give him a really good standard of care whilst he is on box rest. At the rehab yard his stable is spotless he gets skipped almost as soon as he does a poo during the day, he is groomed beautifully and checked on regularly and they text me to keep up to date with what is going on during the day when I am at work. They are really observant as well in terms of his droppings and how much he is eating. I do enjoy looking after my pony and for nearly 5 years I have looked after him nearly every day but I was not so proud that I could not see that in this situation the best thing was that someone else looked after him whilst he was on box rest.

I think there are advantages of being on DIY and advantages of being on full. Everyone's cirumstances are different.
 
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Leaving aside the I-clearly-love-my-horse-better-than-you-love-your-horse-because-of-the-type-of-livery-I-have arguments ...

From a business perspective, you add value by offering services. YOs are in it to make money - it's their livelihood! - and it is absolutely fair that they maximise their income (although I don't mean by ripping people off!) Unless they can't fill the yard with full or part liveries, or really can't or don't want to offer services, they'd be foolish to do DIY, IMO. Speaking purely from a business viewpoint!
 
Yes everyone's circumstances are different and just because some opt for DIY it doesn't mean they do not work full time and can arrive at the yard when they feel like it, they choose to DIY cos they want something else out of there horse and they can fit it in somehow.

However a livery yard full or DIY is supposed to have liveries being there dealing with their horse not just to pay the bill and disappear after half an hour. If You choose to have a livery yard these things should have been considered.

Poo picking should be the order of the day and turn out ESP into certain fields should be to the benefit of the horse and livery, I hate seeing horses injured because of unsuitable turn out whilst others are clearly treated differently with the field they are in.

Everyone's money and welfare of the horse is the same. If u are happy to take my money then expect me to appreciate what I am paying for. And don't judge me as you would others I am my own person.

But again there are both sides to the coin and each to their own, I am not looking for an argy bargy here, just giving my opinion. Rules set down and liveries reminded of them as soon as they are broken is what makes a good working livery successful.
 
Another question!

On a DIY or even mixed yard (DIY plus full/part livery) where the horses are all in the same field, who is responsible for poo picking/ragwort pulling?

And Starzaan, no idea what your yard is like, didn't mean any offence, it sounds fabulous and I see your POV re cleanliness when visitors arrive. I just prefer DIY and like many others, I don't have time to do much in the morning.
 
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Horses all in a field together has to be all the time so they know each other not suddenly in summer they get thrown in together. Should be introduced correctly to avoid injuries. The livery full/part or DIY pays the vets bill.

The poo picking gets done on a rota system daily as if 1 livery was poo picking their individual field 10 horses makes no difference, it must be done and if it is "her" turn on tues and it is not done then the Yo knows whose shins to kick.

If all DIY livery yards disappear, we cannot all go full time due to cercumstances in life where the hell do the Diyers go? What happens to the future of owning horses? how do others less fortunate financially but more capable than the rich ever get to the Olympics, it's ours and our children's future we must remember this. Let's work on the problems to find solutions not just close our doors. Lastly a business is not a business withou customers.
 
On the DIY yard I am normally on liveries are responsible for poo picking and ragwort pulling and we have to organise it ourself. Unfortunately it seems that only two of us who share the field my pony is in are able to do any ragworting which is me and my friend both of us are also the only two owners in the field who have to work full time as well. Unfortunately we have been unable to persuade any of the other owners to do any ragworting either they don't see it as a problem or they think it is the responsibility of YO.

On full livery yard there is no ragwort and when my pony can start to have some turnout they do the poo picking.

I am also paying to retain my place at the DIY yard so when my pony is fully recovered I can go back but I am not going to do any ragworting whilst I am not there. I do feel sorry for my friend who is left doing it all on her own though I think she is going to talk to YO about making sure if new people come they know that they have to do some ragworting.

cinnamontoast said:
Another question!

On a DIY or even mixed yard (DIY plus full/part livery) where the horses are all in the same field, who is responsible for poo picking/ragwort pulling?

And Starzaan, no idea what your yard is like, didn't mean any offence, it sounds fabulous and I see your POV re cleanliness when visitors arrive. I just prefer DIY.
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U are responsible for the field yr pony is in, fields not used are the Yo responsibility, if the others don't want to poo pick or do ragwort then their horses don't go out, they will soon find the time and if they don't then they should leave.

DIY yards could have a gymkhana once a month, liveries pay an entry fee, it is fun and we all like competition, Yo keeps the entry fee and just gives a rosette for a prize with a box of chocs, word will soon get out how much fun it is and other horse owners will want to join, you can't sit back an expect to make money not getting involved.

The full time Yo who have 10+ horses to muck out then turn out then ride others then feed then clean up then bring in then feed then deal with farrier etc etc, no wonder they are tired out, I couldn't do that, which would mean you would have to employ a groom, pay wages, so where is your profit going to.

What happens when the full time Yo is ill or injured who does the mucking out etc then, as the livery contract would be with the Yo, not their helper?
 
We are all assigned a number of buckets of pooh to pick up each week (large trugs). The YO picks them up out of the field so we just fill. We record the numbers of the buckets we pick on a chart. It works really well and is completely fair. Ragwort is pulled by the YO - she even pulled all the rag from the railway line that runs past the fields.
 
Cinnamontoast, DIY or full/part livery, the YO is responsible for yard and land maintenance. Obviously if your horse is in small single or double horse paddock diy livery would Poo pick. But multiple horse fields I would expect to be harrowed and rolled.
 
cinnamontoast said:
Starzaan, no idea what your yard is like, didn't mean any offence, it sounds fabulous and I see your POV re cleanliness when visitors arrive. I just prefer DIY and like many others, I don't have time to do much in the morning.
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None taken at all silly. Part of the reason that I stopped doing DIY is that I realise that one of the main reasons it would never work while I'm running a mixed yard is that I'm too fussy. Even my groom had to go through months of practise before I "signed off" her mucking out! She's very experienced, and has worked as head girl at a top eventing yard, but I have a way of doing things and I like the yard to look exactly the same every day. I worked for a woman once who liked us to squidge the fork onto shavings beds to make lines all the way down them from back to front... I have no idea why, but that's how she liked her boxes.

This is us - http://www.facebook.com/#!/AbbeyBarnEquestrian

We're all a bit mental really aren't we?

And re; injury or illness - in the event that I am too sick or mangled to work then my OH would take over, and in the event that he is mangled too then our groom would take over. We've all signed contracts stating that we agree to this, and we have contingency plans.

For instance - every horse has a blackboard on their stable door stating their name, age, owner's number, field name and any special requirements (haylage only, must wear overreach boots when out etc.), all headcollars are named, fields are all named and we have a map in the tack room showing and naming each field, feeds are all written on the feed board, and each horse has a "file" in the tack room in a filing cabinet which contains their passport, a photgraph, a copy of the owner's livery contract, a list of all their belongings, a record of shoeing, dentist, saddler etc. so that if I was in a car crash tomorrow, I could ring a horsey friend or freelance groom and know that they could cope without me being there.
 
Starzaan - where the heck is your yard and have you any spaces? :o

Can you post a link to your other thread as I haven't seen the pics of said heavenly yard!
 
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