Why does no where do grass livery any more?

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CobsGalore

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The yard I was on stopped doing grass livery, so I moved my horse to a rented field.

I really miss having a manege, and finding it increasingly difficult to ride when it is dark, or wet and slippery.

I have been looking around, but no where seems to do grass livery anymore! I know there can't be too much money in it, but my horses prefer living out, and I think it is better for a horse to live out (if they can) - so why can't I find a livery yard that does grass livery??
 
Feel your pain, CG, but I think it's just a sign of the times. Round here a couple of places DO still offer grass livery...at £30 a week and £25 a week respectively. The latter doesn't allow grass liveries to use the tack room, feed storage or tea room, either.

Makes my eyes water!
 
I don't know. I've just bought my own horse for the first time in 20 years and the most difficult thing I'm finding to deal with is the stabling!

When I had my horses as a teenager, there were 5 or 6 owners with 5 or 6 horses at grass livery. When you wanted to ride your horse, you went and caught it, rode it, then bunged it back in the field afterwards. Simples!

Now, I'm at a very nice livery yard, but the other liveries bring their horses in during the day to get them off the grass and help weight control during the summer, but now they have just changed to the winter regime and are bringing in at night instead. It's very frustrating having to time bringing my horse in and out with the others so she doesn't get left on her own, particularly as she's a flipping cob and doesn't really need to be in anyway!

I'm having to time when I go and see her and ride her, in accordance with what the others do, so I get the timing right and she's not left turned out on her own, which is detracting a bit from the point of having my own horse and being able to ride when I want.

Mind you, I am also the only owner on the yard with a nude horse at the moment. The others, even the other hairy cobs, are in turnout rugs with neck covers. I can't wait to see what they get to wear in January when it is -10C! :D
 
I ran my own livery yard for a few years and grass liveries were more hassle than they were worth. I found people only wanted to pay minimal amounts of money but have full use of all our facilities ie menage, tackroom, feedroom etc. As the horses lived out 24/7 the grass was always limited so they ended up getting bored and trashing around the fields making it extremely muddy and then trashing the fencing. We were forever rotating paddocks, fixing fencing just to please the people we were getting the least amount of money from all at our own expense as no one wanted to pay for their horses damages. So we stopped doing grass livery. Sorry to sound so negative but that's our personal opinion.
 
bgray1981 said:
I ran my own livery yard for a few years and grass liveries were more hassle than they were worth. I found people only wanted to pay minimal amounts of money but have full use of all our facilities ie menage, tackroom, feedroom etc. As the horses lived out 24/7 the grass was always limited so they ended up getting bored and trashing around the fields making it extremely muddy and then trashing the fencing. We were forever rotating paddocks, fixing fencing just to please the people we were getting the least amount of money from all at our own expense as no one wanted to pay for their horses damages. So we stopped doing grass livery. Sorry to sound so negative but that's our personal opinion.
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Sums it up nicely.
I recently had someone approach me for winter turnout for a yearling. I normally reject any request out of hand as the fields poach badly enough as it is but this would have been a good playmate for my youngster and it could share the huge bales of haylage with my two & I would feed, water and check it along with mine. I have storage, loo & kettle available.
£25 a week was "far too dear" -£25 a week is minimal for DIY and no feed supplied around here.
 
bgray1981 said:
I ran my own livery yard for a few years and grass liveries were more hassle than they were worth. I found people only wanted to pay minimal amounts of money but have full use of all our facilities ie menage, tackroom, feedroom etc. As the horses lived out 24/7 the grass was always limited so they ended up getting bored and trashing around the fields making it extremely muddy and then trashing the fencing. We were forever rotating paddocks, fixing fencing just to please the people we were getting the least amount of money from all at our own expense as no one wanted to pay for their horses damages. So we stopped doing grass livery. Sorry to sound so negative but that's our personal opinion.
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That's fair enough, if you don't have the grazing for 24/7 turnout, then the horses probably are going to trash the field and fencing though.

It's just a shame that there isn't enough land to give the horses the most natural environment.

I know my horse is currently very happy in his 6 acre field with 2 other horses. The field is never trashed and there is always plenty for them to eat and lots of space to run around.

Maybe it's just me being selfish wanting all the facilities!

Sums it up nicely.
I recently had someone approach me for winter turnout for a yearling. I normally reject any request out of hand as the fields poach badly enough as it is but this would have been a good playmate for my youngster and it could share the huge bales of haylage with my two & I would feed, water and check it along with mine. I have storage, loo & kettle available.
£25 a week was "far too dear" -£25 a week is minimal for DIY and no feed supplied around here.
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It's not about the price. It's what I want for my horse! I would be very happy to pay £25 a week!
 
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Holbert said:
I don't know. I've just bought my own horse for the first time in 20 years and the most difficult thing I'm finding to deal with is the stabling!

When I had my horses as a teenager, there were 5 or 6 owners with 5 or 6 horses at grass livery. When you wanted to ride your horse, you went and caught it, rode it, then bunged it back in the field afterwards. Simples!

Now, I'm at a very nice livery yard, but the other liveries bring their horses in during the day to get them off the grass and help weight control during the summer, but now they have just changed to the winter regime and are bringing in at night instead. It's very frustrating having to time bringing my horse in and out with the others so she doesn't get left on her own, particularly as she's a flipping cob and doesn't really need to be in anyway!

I'm having to time when I go and see her and ride her, in accordance with what the others do, so I get the timing right and she's not left turned out on her own, which is detracting a bit from the point of having my own horse and being able to ride when I want.

Mind you, I am also the only owner on the yard with a nude horse at the moment. The others, even the other hairy cobs, are in turnout rugs with neck covers. I can't wait to see what they get to wear in January when it is -10C! :D
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Why can't you just leave yours out then?
 
Because she would be by herself.

The terms and conditions of the yard contain the proviso that no horse will be knowingly left out on it's own, plus I don't think it's particularly good for a herd animal like a horse to be left out on it's own anyway.
 
Im in the process of looking for grass livery for my 17 month old filly and do far no luck. All the liveries are a no go so the next step is contacting local farms. I currently pay £20 p/w and £15 p/w on top of that for hay to make up for lack of grass in her current paddock. Main reason and priority is so she has company. So on the off chance of anyone who reads this knowing of anywhere near Hullbridge, Hockley, Essex pm me please x
 
Why don't you find your own fields to rent? You could get a companion and field shelter and wouldn't have the hassle of depending on anyone else.
 
Think I must be very lucky to have found the yard I'm on now. Moved there in june on grass livery £15 a week in a 15acre ish field with 10 others, also includes use of the walker, big space in tack room, space to park lorry and space in barn to store feed etc. Arena is £2 a time or £5 a week for unlimited use. Now pay £17.50 a week and have a stable with storage outside it as well, though never really use it is for just in case.

Is so nice after being on a yard with no overnight turnout at all and if it even rained a bit they had to stay in or if it was forecast bad weather. Also only turned out in 2 or 3's and in very small strips of land as in 100m long and 15m wide at times.

Don't know of any other yards round here that do grass livery apart from where I am though.
 
cattysmith said:
Well our entire yard is grass livery! DIY is on offer, but everyone chooses to leave theirs out.
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This is what I need!!!

Think I must be very lucky to have found the yard I'm on now. Moved there in june on grass livery £15 a week in a 15acre ish field with 10 others, also includes use of the walker, big space in tack room, space to park lorry and space in barn to store feed etc. Arena is £2 a time or £5 a week for unlimited use. Now pay £17.50 a week and have a stable with storage outside it as well, though never really use it is for just in case.

Is so nice after being on a yard with no overnight turnout at all and if it even rained a bit they had to stay in or if it was forecast bad weather. Also only turned out in 2 or 3's and in very small strips of land as in 100m long and 15m wide at times.

Don't know of any other yards round here that do grass livery apart from where I am though.
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You are very very lucky!
 
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Holbert said:
Because she would be by herself.

The terms and conditions of the yard contain the proviso that no horse will be knowingly left out on it's own, plus I don't think it's particularly good for a herd animal like a horse to be left out on it's own anyway.
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I don't see the harm if she is happier out. You could argue being stabled isn't very good for a herd animal ;)

I make sure all of mine can stay out by themselves. I have them at home but none bother about being on their own. Having pandered to a neurotic tb x that I thought would die if left alone for many years I finally got fed up with the theatrics and left her on her own over night and she amazing didn't die and stopped being neurotic after about 10 minutes :)
 
CobsGalore - where are you based, my horse is on grass 'diy' livery, has a field to himself with other horses all around so not lonely, own field shelter and I "share" a stable on the yard with a friend for emergency use or drying off for farrier etc and the yard has a manege and brilliant hacking :)
 
orbie said:
CobsGalore - where are you based, my horse is on grass 'diy' livery, has a field to himself with other horses all around so not lonely, own field shelter and I "share" a stable on the yard with a friend for emergency use or drying off for farrier etc and the yard has a manege and brilliant hacking :)
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I'm in South Bucks - if anyone knows any where I would love to hear from you!! :)
 
Basically because you can make twice as much if horses are in half the time.... (i.e. land will take double the number of horses).

I used to offer it at my livery yard (New Forest) and it was popular, especially with youngsters and oldies who weren't in full work.

However, because of reasons others have mentioned, primarily the wear on the fields, I would only take babies, ponies and oldies - nothing big that was going to hoon around!

Incidentally, the lady who bought my yard when I moved away still offers DIY and full grass livery, so if you're in the forest and looking PM me!
 
FfionWinnie said:
I don't see the harm if she is happier out. You could argue being stabled isn't very good for a herd animal ;)

I make sure all of mine can stay out by themselves. I have them at home but none bother about being on their own. Having pandered to a neurotic tb x that I thought would die if left alone for many years I finally got fed up with the theatrics and left her on her own over night and she amazing didn't die and stopped being neurotic after about 10 minutes :)
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Most yard owners won't allow them to be left out alone in case they gallop about and churn the fields up....
 
Because people want houses and are building on the land! Stupid people!

Weve just moved to dartmoor where I can have either grass livery or a stable. The last place I came from was summer turnout 24/7 but stabled in the winter overnight. I feel for you with the whole 'timing thing'. The last yard was very much a dont put horse out in the rain and rug to high heaven yard. I had to make a choice as to whether I left my girl out by herself or bring her in like everyone else. In the end I choose to leave her out because although I know she prob didnt like being on her own when the others werent out, I know she hated being stabled. It was like a catch 22 situation. Now I dont have to worry as the horses shes with live out all the time.

Hope you find somewhere soon.
 
Polotash said:
Basically because you can make twice as much if horses are in half the time.... (i.e. land will take double the number of horses).
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This is the main reason for lack of grass livery!

I do understand that yard owners needs to make a living, just as we all do, but I just think that horses should be out as much as possible!
 
mine are out 24.7 for health reasons!....(theirs not mine)!

due to the shocking rain we had my field is trashed and they are on hay and have no grass....don tmind in the slighest as they are much happier out...!

if i brought them into a nice cosy stable they would completely freak out - dosent suit them at all

id rather them be sain,,, and stand in mud all winter than be stressing their socks off in a stable :)

and tbh i prefer 24/7 too!
 
We offer it but we are selective, we COULD fill fields full from the amount of calls and email we get but we need to know that the owner wants it for the right reasons... and that the horses/ponies will fit in.
sadly, in the past we have had a few who literally want to dump their horse out of the way for the winter yet wont pay for it to be checked on! one winter, all had hard feeds yet 1 owner refused point blank for hers to even have a bucket of carrots - so this meant catching 1 horse, and keeping her in for 15 minutes or so every day just so the others could eat their hard feeds......
we tend to only accept youngsters, golden oldies or those referred via a vet who have health issues and would benefit form 24/7.
our stabled liveries get 24/7 T/O if they want it from mid march to mid dec and then daily in winter (with no time restrictions) but at the moment - we have a few who just seem to prefer to keep them in..... grrrrrrr! (not overweight, not showing at the mo... just cant be arsed to turn them out!)
 
As others have already touched upon:

- More people wanting too keep horses.

- Less land available due to being developed.

- Not a great money spinner and can be more work in 'up-keep' than it's worth.

I have 2 grass liveries, a retired oldie and a small pony. They are very quiet in the field and cause me no trouble. If they were the type to field trash/break fencing I wouldn't entertain it though as not worth the hassle for £20 per week!

Good luck in your search.
 
I normally keep my pony in chorleywood so herts/south bucks border and there are quite a few yards offering grass livery. However if you do want to use facilities, have a well managed yard, etc then you cannot expect this on £10 a week.

My pony lives out and we pay the same price as those who live in for the basic rent for a place on the yard which is £140 a month this includes use of a stable which can be used for emergencies or storage or whatever you like and school and tack room, tea room, hay barn, field barn. In the winter we pay an extra £30 a month to cover hay in the field in case it snows.

It is things like schools, fencing etc that cost a lot to maintain as does water rates, and things like that not just stables.

People tend to expect grass livery to be cheap when in order to make it pay the YO needs to charge a reasonable amount which most people who want grass livery don't seem to want to pay a reasonable amount. On our yard the YO like the grass liveries to all be similar so ponies and small cobs that don't run about too much and are good doers. This makes it easier to manage also she does not want to get stuck with the problems others have mentioned with people not feeding their horses when they need it. They get hay out in the field if it snows and being similar types makes this easier to manage as well.

Also I don't think there is a massive demand for grass livery at the moment at the price for which it is financially viable for the YO's to provide, certainly at our yard there is always seems to be a waiting list for living in at night liveries but not so much interest in the grass livery. I think a lot of people think their horses won't like being out in all weathers.

I personally don't mind paying a decent amount to be able to keep my pony out and he lives out not because it is cheaper but because he prefers it and it suits both him and me.

CobsGalore said:
I'm in South Bucks - if anyone knows any where I would love to hear from you!! :)
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I never realised that it was so difficult to find grass livery!

My two are on grass livery at the moment, and unless anyone leaves the yard and vacates two stables, (unlikely this time of year) they will both be living out over the winter.

We have space in the tack room (albeit not as much as people on DIY, but still enough for our tack, a couple of rugs, feed bins & grooming stuff), have full use of the outdoor floodlit school, jumping paddock (although it's too wet & slippy to use now) and lunging pen. YO does the poo picking, maintains all the land & fencing etc and also does late night checks round the fields regardless of what the weather conditions are like. YM does the worming programme and orders all the wormers in bulk and ensures all the horses (30+) are all done at the same time. For all this, we pay £60 pcm. I suddenly feel incredibly lucky!!

OP why don't you put a few adverts up on sites such as preloved etc? Somebody may be willing to take in a horse as a field companion?
 
Is it that you are looking for grass livery with a school/lights etc? I know of some grass livery available in bucks but it's very basic!
 
The truth is that with less land available it is cheaper to provide stable plus half an acre say than one and a half acres with shelter. Given that people expect to pay less for grass livery it makes less business sense to provide it.
 
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