why do YO's never give you the service you pay for??

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DressageDiva1983

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i need a rant! i pay 65pw for part livery to include am feeding/ haynet, mucking out (morn), rugs changed and turn out (weather permitting) and bringing in. My big mare is really dirty and i have suspected she is not being mucked out for about a month. I had 2 weeks off work and mucked out myself, banking the bed up in the morning. As a result i used far less bedding (not cheap at £7.50 a bale!) I went back to work on mon having put a lovely bed down sun night and came up at 5pm to find it decimated, had to throw the lot out. i left a nice message to ask YO to bank it every morn to save bedding. She objected to this, teling me it was better to leave the bed down all day and anyway it takes longer to muck this horse out than all of the others put together. i told her in no uncertain terms that i expected her to be mucked out everyday, however long it takes as i do pay for this. she went off grumbling that she would be at it all day and it was fine left down. However she did bank it the following day and it was much easier to muck out, less than half a barrow. I was very pleased that we had sorted that and hoped now that i might recieve a service worth £65pw, until i went in the tackroom to find both my horses had not been given their breakfast! This was 11.40am!!!!! When i told her she said 'oh i must have fogotten' FORGOTTEN??? you only have 8 feeds to give! how hard is it to check that every horse has a net and a feed? it seems to me there are many YO's who want our money but are unwilling to provide a 1st class service to meet our own standards. We spend a lot on our horses and i for one expect somone to be earning my money, not just given it. I am sure there are many many brilliant yard owners, however not near me! Rant over!
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I know what you mean! You pay people to look after your horses and they get away with as little as possible. There is a yard near us (thankfully I am not there, but a friend of mine was) where the yard manager doesn't even appear on the yard until at least 10am - horses are then put out, and feed thrown in the field (they fight over one another's buckets of course). They are skipped out and brought in at 2.30pm, then left until 10 the next day. How she has any liveries at all astounds me!
 
to me if someone offers a service then tHey should do it . the bedding youv sorted but id be upset about them haveing not been given there breakfast . its her job NOT TO FORGET .
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It must be horrible to spend so much trying to do the best for you and your horse, only to be let down.
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I have been a handful of yards in my time, but they have all been completely different. It is so so important to find a good one, but that's easier said than done.
Will you look for a new place?

ETS: Maybe you should "forget" to pay her for these extra services that don't get done.
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I think you should change your title - this morning I have mucked out all my livery horses, done all their nets and feeds for tonight having turned every horse out first, I will then be bringing them all in as I live on site and it is safer for me to do it that them to try and get here.

It is totally iunacceptable for the YO not to muck your horse out properly, regardless of whether they leave the bed down or up. My part liveries pay £70 a week which includes all hay, bedding and feed and mucking out/turning out/ bringing in 5 days a week. I would expect to take a bed up if the horse is in during the day leaving just a small day bed, and to be honest it is far far cheaper for me to do that than leave the full bed down. Do you provide the bedding?
 
Bosworth if i ever move to Devon i will be giving you a call!! we have to buy bedding off our YO, there is no choice of shavings or straw, its Nedz Pro or nothing. She certainly is a funny woman, if there is a shortcut she will take it! but facilities are fab and its 5 mins from work, 10 from home so very convenient so i am reluctant to move. i need to say outline what i expect for my money but she is an intimidating figure and main prob is she has no routine. If she had a set routine then things wouldn't get 'forgotten' its not unusual for her to start mucking out and get side tracked,leaving horse she was mucking out tied up in the wash bay!
 
I would be fuming,how can you forget to feed a horse!!! She sounds v lazy to me,not the sort of person to be running a yard! I used to pay a fortune when my horse was at college with me,i paid the grooms their to do my mare,she wasn't cared for at all and i went to DIY when things got ridiculous ,sooo much better knowing your horse is ok and not wondering if they have been neglected or not. Understand you prob can't do DIY,it must be awfully hard finding a reliable part livery yard. My friend runs one and she is great,she is always there come rain or shine,there are def good YO's out there,you just have to find them!
 
My old YO used to forget to order the feed for horses on Part/Full livery, I would quite often get a text at about ten to five whilst still at work to say, "There is no hard feed on yard,what do you want to do about feeding them?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I also used to get there after work quite often to find them still in field, beds,nets not even started.
 
If you're only 5 mins from work and 10 from home, is it feasible to have your horse on DIY? You could muck out before work, get YO to turn out later if you don't want to turn out really early, have her BI again if needed, and then put your bed back down in the evening.
 
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My old YO used to forget to order the feed for horses on Part/Full livery, I would quite often get a text at about ten to five whilst still at work to say, "There is no hard feed on yard,what do you want to do about feeding them?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I also used to get there after work quite often to find them still in field, beds,nets not even started.

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OMG!!! How do these places survive?? That is unbelievable!
 
All of my liveries are mucked out fully every single day and skipped out 2 to 3 times a day depending on how messy they are. All are turned out/brought in, rugged up/rugs changed when nec. All are fed hay 6 times a day, hard feed is personalised. They have fly masks and spray applied in the summer and each box has an automatic fly spray-owners are charged for the spray and batteries. I hold all for the blacksmith/vet and do all medication/injections for free. My owners pay 350 euros a month for full livery and all are very well looked after.
As Bosworth said-' you should change your title'
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PS, all salt licks, cider vinegar and maize oil are on the house
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PPS, maybe your YO is trying to get you to leave??
 
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If you're only 5 mins from work and 10 from home, is it feasible to have your horse on DIY? You could muck out before work, get YO to turn out later if you don't want to turn out really early, have her BI again if needed, and then put your bed back down in the evening.

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Yes, this, can you go DIY seeing as you are very close from work and home? I would, you will now things are done then, and as the yard is great other than YO, this is what I would do
 
Why on earth would someone so lazy ever go into the business of liveries in the first place? Eight horses is not many at all - even if your stable does take twice as long as the others, she still wouldn't be spending half as long mucking out as big yards have to. And forgetting to feed is just shocking - if only for the fact that all the horses I've ever cared for would never let you forget! Surely your horses would have been making a fuss, especially if they'd seen the others being fed in front of them? If you don't want to move, it looks like you're going to need to have a serious talk with your YO about what you are actually paying her to do.
 
Sorry to disagree... but my YO is briliant!
She often goes over & above what we DIY liveries pay for, she will muck out, poo-pick, feed, hay etc... all without any extra charge. All she asks for in return is that we do her horses on the odd Sunday afternoon when her OH insists she goes out to lunch.
We all get on & there is no nastiness... its great, much nicer than my last yard.
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PS it nearly snowed here last night... but its gone again
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"I think you should change your title - this morning I have mucked out all my livery horses, done all their nets and feeds for tonight having turned every horse out first, I will then be bringing them all in as I live on site and it is safer for me to do it that them to try and get here. "

Out of interest do you charge for this?

If my DIY can't get to the yard for any reason then i very often chuck in freebies, ie will get horses in, put them on the walker etc, skip out. In my mind it evens out in the end as if I'm at a show I have come back to find my yard skipped out and hay waiting outside the boxes for the horses etc.
 
I know a yard that used to charge you extra if your horse was dirty or you required a deeper bed. They allocated 15 mins to mucking out (straw/shavings) and anything over that was charged!

To be honest, I dont think £65 is much for part livery if that includes your stable rent? if it is just for services i.e. £13 a day then I would expect her to bank up to leave floor to dry and then put bed down before horse is brought in.
 
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All of my liveries are mucked out fully every single day and skipped out 2 to 3 times a day depending on how messy they are. All are turned out/brought in, rugged up/rugs changed when nec. All are fed hay 6 times a day, hard feed is personalised. They have fly masks and spray applied in the summer and each box has an automatic fly spray-owners are charged for the spray and batteries. I hold all for the blacksmith/vet and do all medication/injections for free. My owners pay 350 euros a month for full livery and all are very well looked after.
As Bosworth said-' you should change your title'
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PS, all salt licks, cider vinegar and maize oil are on the house
wink.gif

PPS, maybe your YO is trying to get you to leave??

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Yes, and that's why you have a waiting list which is longer than the queue at the designer outlet on the first day of the sales
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Oh dear, I wouldn't be impressed either, I can see your point of view. You are obviously unhappy, it may be best to look elsewhere if you are dissatisfied. I wouldn't say that ALL YO's are tarred with the same brush, that may be a little sweeping.

If anyone complained about the service I provide then I'd tell them that they are perfectly welcome to look elsewhere, in fact, please, DO look elsewhere!

I have a waiting list, I don't have to advertise for clients and I am picky who I take on, I make it perfectly clear what service I provide and frequently turn away people because I don't feel that we would suit each other, or that I can't offer what they require.
 
£65 is cheap for what would be called full livery in Scotland - where are you? I can't get what you are getting for less than £90 a week up here!

That said, that is what you are charged and to be unreliable about feeding and mucking out just isn't acceptable. True, some horses do take longer to muck out than others, but thats just par for the course and something you have to expect if running a livery yard. She just sounds very lazy. I can even understand leaving the bed down if thats her system and its mucked out acceptably, but no!
 
I have mucked out all my liverys, been next door and got some extra hay for them all, made up extra feeds because its cold, and given them all a walk around the farm to stretch their legs. I think you need to move, I'm sure lots of YOs are very good, hopefully I'm one of them! x
 
If I were you, I would also go DIY! You know it's done properly then.
I'm on part livery too - Mon-Fri Full incl 2 bales shavings and all hay.
£60 pw with small indoor. I can't do it myself for less than that, YM/YO are fantastic - if I have problems they sort it. Mucking out is done daily and bed left how I want it, though IF I were mucking out I'd use less bedding but hey! They have 10 boxes to do, more if the DIYers can't get to the yard.
As I am OCD (!) I skip out and re-lay the bed at night after I've ridden, so Super-Cob is nice and clean (he's grey!) and top up his water/hay last thing.
Of course I would do it all myself in a heartbeat but I've done my sums and I'd be £2 better off - before I'd driven a 12 mile round trip in the morning!
OP, I'd move or go DIY - it's not worth the stress of not knowing whether your poor horse is fed or not!
 
Do you not have a written Contract for what "work" you should be receiving from the YO for your £65 per week?
If not - why did you not insist on one before you took your horse to this (sounds horrendous) yard??
£65 per week equates to approx: £9.20 per day - which, actually, is not nearly enough per hour, for what you expect in return. Go fully DIY if you live close enough - and just get out of bed earlier in the morning. At least then you will only have yourself to grumble about if things are not done as you wish them to be.
 
I dont know why people run livery yards. They surely cant make any money doing it. If you are paying £65 per week for part livery I assume its for just 5 days a week and you do your horse on weekends? So to do all the rug changing, mucking out, turning the horse out and whatever else they have to do they get £13 per day. Now this might take her an hour to do in the mornings and half an hour at night so she makes £13 for an hour and a halfs work, less than £10 per hour. If she has to buy hay and feed for the horse, plus pay the mortgage and insurances for the livery yard and the electricity and the water bills. You get all this for £13 a day. I think youre doing quite nicely. No other business would survive on that sort of monopoly money and I think they must do it for the love of it because they wont get rich on that sort of income. I think if you are not happy with the way she runs her livery business and you are so close to it that it would make you happier if you go on DIY and then you can keep your horse how you like it. Is there a reason why you dont want to do DIY?
 
I was on a yard once where I was paying extra for the YO to look after my horse and I found out that one of the other liveries was doing it cause the YO couldn't be bothered to get up!! She couldn't understand why I was cross. She wasn't paying the livery to do or giving her any deals to do it so basically I was paying YO to stay in bed!! Xx
 
Agree with others about reconsidering the title.

I am DIY, but get very good value in respect of helping out in more difficult circumstances eg snow!, family crises etc.
And we repay the favour. It's team-work in our case.
 
I seriously have to disagree Im am on DIY and am currently stranded at hme, could walk but its 10 mile round trip, my YO is currently lookin after my horse and will do so an no extra cost or anything! This is why I love ur small friendly yard if we're stuck I know I never need to worry as my girl will be exceptionally well looked after.
 
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