why have a horse if you have it on full livery?

[blood_magik]

mine are all on full livery because I know they'll be looked after and worked if I can't make it up for whatever reason. It's easier to keep them in a routine as well.
The horses dont care who mucks them out or feeds them. No mucking means more time for riding.

 

[Pippity]

My share's on livery one of my days; DIY the other. I'll often pay for a few of the chores to be done on my DIY day because:

a) If I'm not able to borrow a car, I can't get up there early enough to feed/t-o.
b) I have CFS, so there are days when mucking out would wipe me out too much to be able to ride.
c) I only have two days a week with her. I want to spend my time riding and interacting with her, not just shovelling **** while she loafs about in the field.

 

[crazymaisey]

Life's about choice...

I'm out the house 13 hrs a day working, soon to have a baby.

It's about prioritising for me and how best to use my energy, time and money to get maximum enjoyment out of life.

 

[Caramac71]

We are on full livery, mainly because the yard is perfect for us and doesn't offer anything else!

But having been DIY and full livery at different yards, I much prefer being on a full livery yard, where there is routine and everything kept neat and tidy. I think it's preferable to most horses to have a set routine, to all be fed and turned out / brought in at the same time. That was my main dislike with previous DIY yard, having to race around in winter to bring in before dark, as well as field sharing with someone who didn't pull their weight.

We still visit the horse daily, whether intending to ride or not, but as we are quite novicey I like the reassurance of having a knowledgeable YO also checking on her, and being onhand to help with any concerns. Just because someone else has met her basic needs doesn't mean there isn't anything else we can still do for our horse.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have no job and four horses at home .
I have help seven days a week I am in control of every aspect of my horses management but chose not to spend my entire time tied to the stables I have other responsibilities and physically it's hard work for me so why do it if you don't need to.
My grooms are very experienced, my horses have nice lives and are well cared for so I don't understand why the fact I don't get up at six to shovel muck myself should annoy anyone.

 

[apachediamond]

I have my boy on full livery for the following reasons, 2 young children (under the age of 7) and a OH who works all manner of shifts and often away. I know my horse has a routine and is cared for if the kids are sick, OH is away, working nights etc etc or i'm working late/away. For me i wanted him to have as much continuity as possible and while i did DIY for the first year i had him there was no set routine for him as i worked round everything else first and he fitted in.

I still go up most nights to ride/groom/spend time with him but now i don't have the added pressure if the day doesn't go to plan of having to try and fit in mucking out etc.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Who cares?! As long as the horse is well cared for does it matter whether it's on DIY or full livery? Live and let live I say

 

[Merrymoles]

I'm DIY, partly because that is what available locally, partly because that's what suits my budget and partly because I enjoy it most of the time.

However, a tiny part of me thinks that it would be nice if I had more time to do the parts of horse care which actually involve the horse. Most of the time, he gets a quick scrape off and then ridden as I fit it in around mucking out/poo picking, water, haynets, feed, home, full-time work, dogs etc. I noticed last night that his tail was filthy at the top (although remarkably clean further down) but I either had time to ride or time to wash it - guess which won.

I don't think my horse actually cares that he has a mucky tail. He greeted me with a nicker this morning when I turned up to do field service at 7am before work and came and raided my pockets before following me around the field like a big dog. Those are the times I treasure about being on DIY and more than make up for the fact that my horse is a scruffy beast who looks like nobody cares about him. He knows I do!

ETA to add that I don't have any strong feelings about people wanting to put theirs on full livery. I have a friend who keeps her horse next door to her house in the summer (on field livery) but come the autumn he's off to a full livery yard close to where she hunts. She has a full-time, high pressure job, and would have no way of keeping him fit enough to hunt if he were at home. As it is, he is cared for and exercised and she gets to play.

 

[Ceriann]

I had mine on full livery for almost 12 months when they (and i) were between homes and i simply dont have time every day (a job which often requires 14 to 16 hours a day) to travel to a yard and then care for them. They were brilliantly cared for and wanted for nothing (more pampered than they are now at home with me). They are now at home with me - literally in the back garden! I prioritise them every morning (fed, checked over, fly sprayed, rugs chnaged or wahetver and poo picking and if im not not home in time my OH checks them in the evening (I also usually check them last thing at night)). I love it but if i wasnt lucky enough to be able to afford to have a house with land they would be in full livery. I think new owners benefit massively form full livery so they can learn how to care for horses - better that than clueless on their own.

 

[browneyedbrunnette]

Mine is on full livery because I suffer from Depression and there are days when I can't get out of bed much less care for a horse.
One my good days when I go to see himself, I help around the yard as much as I can.

 

[fatpony]

Two reasons. My job involves long hours, weekends and on call. I can't physically be there to feed or turnout at set times. Things can change at short notice and I don't want to rely on favours. I'd rather pay for the peace of mind.
Secondly, I don't have a lot of free time so when I do get to the horse I want to ride him, groom him, wash him, cuddle him. I don't want to muck him out or poo pick instead of spending time with him.

 

[Tobiano]

Right now I have mine on full livery because I work full time. When I was a kid, I loved nothing more (apart from riding) than to spend hours mucking out, doing haynets and buckets, grooming and even cleaning tack. Now I just do not have the time to do that AND ride. And I think I have probably got out of the habit of loving it.. so that when I retire I may well not want to do all those jobs. I'll probably have a lot more spare time, but a lot less spare energy - being rather at the opposite end of life from when I was a kid! And I want my best time and energy to be for riding my horse.

 

[Sologirl]

My horse is on full livery because my other half went off to work in Aberdeen, so I am on my own with an 18 month old child and I'm a vet student to boot. I couldn't always guarantee I'd be able to come up every day and I couldn't stand it if I felt my boy wasn't getting somebody's attention daily. I would give anything to be able to get out to see him first thing in the morning or in the evening, I'd go onto DIY, not just because it's cheaper but because I love all aspects of horse care, mucking out etc, and I'd be able to ride more than 3-4 times a week. As it is, I often go a couple of days without seeing him and it's horrible - but I know he's got plenty of eyes on him and is being cared for really well. I love my yard

 

[thatsmygirl]

I choose DIY cause I love mucking out and all the general care involved and just looking after my horses in general and feel I couldn't get the same bond if I was on full livery and wouldn't get the same satisfaction from seeing my stables being spotless. But if people want full livery and willing to spend their money on it then so be it but its not for me.

 

[Henry02]

I want to ride my horse... Not be a slave to it.

I also think that in a good lot of cases, by the time you've added fuel on getting to a yard twice a day, it almost works out as much as full livery!

 

[Kikke]

I could keep my horses on DiY if I wanted because I do have the time as I only work part time, BUT I DON'T WANT TO.
My horses are there for pleasure and I do not want to make it in to a job where I 'have to go' every day at a certain time. So there are catered for by someone else
I go to them 6 day a week and work them myself and when I am up I am not bothered about turning out or clearing up myself but that is also because I do not have to. They are really well looked after and have their routine that works very well and I am a happy owner which is what they benefit from as well!

 

[Dumbo]

I had my horse on part livery when I had a full time job with ever changing hours so my horse really needed routine and I rode when I could.
Now absolutely loving DIY!

I work on a livery yard, mainly full and part liveries and I see most of the owners daily. There's one girl though that doesn't ride her horse, 3 days a week she just skips him out and brings him in every morning then leaves. Literally spends 5 minutes with him then goes. My mind does wonder why she pays £120 a week just to lead her horse for a total of 15 mins a week...!

 

[Burmilla]

My horses, including current one, have always been on full livery. I work in a difficult and often dangerous line of work, which has very variable time implications.
I know that horse is getting the best of care, exercise, T/O, and have no worries about her being left, because I'm in the middle of domestic drama, and have to make decisions, and actions that will prevent me ensuring her health needs are met.

 

[atlantis]

I always had my horse on DIY or assisted apart from when I moved to a new area and couldn't find a DIY yard I liked. I don't like part / full livery as I like to do things at my convenience. I've just finished sharing a horse who was on 5 day full livery and to a certain extent you have to fit in with the yard. I don't like that.

However my friend who owns the horse I used to ride gets on really well with 5 day full livery. She has 2 to fit in and works long hours during the week. She goes every day and finished the horses off and does them at weekends. It works for her.

I worked in a livery yard as a teenager and looked after horses who were status symbols for their owners. £20,000 competition horses who they hacked once a fortnight. I didn't mind though as I got to ride and compete said horses!!! They wanted for nothing and were loved by the owners and the staff.

Each to their own. I too would rather see horses well looked after on full livery than poorly cared for on DIY. And it does happen soooo much!!!

 

[Wagtail]

I'm a YO and only do full or part livery. My owners adore their horses. Usually the reason they are on full livery is due either to work commitments, family commitments or distance from yard. I think having a horse on full livery, even if you have the time to do them yourself can give you more quality time with your horse.

 

[Luci07]

Be mature says the OP and then goes onto say it annoys her that there are people who could muck out and "can't be bothered". It is absolutely nothing to do with you or anyone else as to my choices of how I keep my horses and, quite frankly I could not give a monkeys if you take a poor view if I don't muck out my horses and pay someone else to do so! I detest people who attempt to take the moral high ground about DIY versus part and full livery. Horses, however you keep them, even a native on grass, are an expensive luxury that few people can easily afford. Each individual makes the best choice based on their circumstances and budget and no one has the right to start judging. The ONLY exception is when you see a complete novice who looks at DIY and thinks its a cheap way to keep a horse and has no idea as to what they are doing!

 

[Arizahn]

I prefer to be on DIY. I like the little jobs that most people hate, and am obsessive re beds, lol. That being said, I've used Full in the past due to health reasons or when the car packed it in and I couldn't manage a three hour bus journey either way twice daily. I actually felt that I was missing out on much of the fun of owning. But not everyone enjoys mucking out; and it's an expensive hobby, so really you do need to be enjoying it.

At the end of the day, as long as the horse is properly looked after, then it really doesn't matter!

 

[FfionWinnie]

Your initial post isn't exactly respectful op. If folk can't be bothered mucking out and just want to ride and can afford to do so, that's their choice and life is too short to let it annoy you.

 

[coen]

Having been on DIY and full I can't see why you wouldn't have full livery if you could afford it. The horse doesn't care who cleans up its stable and you have way more time to groom ride ect. Majority of people that were at the yard all day spent it chatting rather than doing much with the horses anyway.
Guess you do get the odd time you feel like mooching about but then just do the chores yourself that day it's perfect, horse fits into life instead of everything revolving around it.

 

[Batgirl]

I am on 5/2 full livery. Why? Because I am not a morning person and I would resent having to get up early to do him. I work 9-5. I muck out at weekends and go down everyday to ride or just potter about with him. It is such an odd question to me.

 

[FellOutOfFavour]

People all lead different lives with different pressures & priorities.

If you own a horse then you have a duty of care to make sure it is looked after. Whether that is by DIY or full livery I couldn't give a flying fig.

The horsey world would be much nicer without the significant proportion of judgemental or (reverse)-snobby people around!

Agree with this 100%. Some horse people are way too judgemental about the decisions of others.

When I had my first horse I kept her on DIY, not even at a proper yard just rented stable and field. It was all I could afford at the time and I was younger and fitter.

20 years down the line my health is not great and I have a chronic back problem which means I can't muck out a stable, I work long hours and not very near home, so the only way I can have a horse is full livery. My horse doesn't care who mucks him out, to be honest I don't really think he cares who feeds him. I am there almost every day and usually do evening feeds/hay myself as I like to do this. I've been through a couple of different yards before finding one I am happy with and who I trust with his care.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

When I was out of action, I was ruddy glad to have two people pretty much cover my chores totally. I could get used to it! I've been a lazy cow and barely seen him this week and my sharer has been up and ridden which is so lovely. She loves him and it's really helped during my first week back at work.

Saying that, I understand why people have full livery, but I couldn't so it because I wouldn't ever go up and it would make me very lazy with his care, which I don't want to happen, plus it's really expensive compared to DIY!!

 

[DD265]

I needed a yard on very short notice and the only option at the time was a full livery yard - I figured that it would do us temporarily. That was in August 2008 and we're still there!

Initially it was very hard to not go up twice a day - and I did for about a week - but then because I was in my final year at university it was a god send, meaning if I had to pull an all nighter I didn't need to worry about going to the yard in the morning. I could have gone onto DIY but much happier where we are now, and then he was diagnosed with wobblers so having YO there 24/7 to keep an eye on things was great peace of mind.

More recently I've changed jobs and now commute 1hr15+ each way. I leave home between 6.30am and 7am (as I go to the gym before work) and arrive back to the stables in the evening at a similar time. I do go up every day unless there's an exceptional reason but at least if all I want to do is pop my head over the door and give him a carrot, then that's fine.

I don't think it costs me any more to have full livery (admittedly at the moment YO is working him for 20mins 4-5 times a week so that's costing me more!) when you consider the cost/availability of haylage for one horse (small bales) and shavings etc which YO can buy in bulk, nevermind diesel for going up twice a day. Also this is the only yard I've been on where there has been no bitchiness - it's bliss!

 

[Sukistokes2]

I like doing my own horses, I enjoy mucking out and making the stables nice, putting them to bed and making them comfortable. I feel satisfied when I leave listening to the sound of munching. I even like poo picking and all the other jobs. Good job as I am on my own on my own yard. I could afford to go too full livery but am happy with how it is now. Doing the jobs does not mean there is no time to ride, however I do not worry about what other people do with their horses, as long as they are cared for.....up to them.

 

[McFluff]

I work long hours. Full livery means I don't worry about my horse if I get stuck at work, and when I see her (usually 5 times a week, 2 hours each time), all my time is with her - grooming, riding, cuddling. Works for me - and I don't think I'm missing out at all. She knows who I am, and I think is happier being part of the yard routine.
I don't judge anyone's choices, as long as the horse is cared for properly. We all get different things out our hobby.