Henry02
Well-Known Member
I'd also like to know how I would be supposed to look after a horse on DIY when on tour in Afghanistan with the army...
why have a horse if you have it on full livery?
- Thread starter LuandLu24
- Start date
Copperpot
Well-Known Member
Apparently all you need to do is get up earlier 😝
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't ever have my mare on full or part livery, because I find caring for them daily one of the most important and fulfilling aspect of owning a horse.
Personally, I would rather see someone keep their horse on full livery than some of the idiots who are on diy and don't bother providing the right standard of care though.
Personally, I would rather see someone keep their horse on full livery than some of the idiots who are on diy and don't bother providing the right standard of care though.
saddlesore
Well-Known Member
Post of the day!
quirky
Well-Known Member
I'm really surprised how shovelling poop creates such a bond with a horse for a number of people on this thread.
Mine justs munches away on her hay paying me no heed. It certainly isn't a bonding moment.
Have I been shovelling poop wrong for all these years!?
Mine justs munches away on her hay paying me no heed. It certainly isn't a bonding moment.
Have I been shovelling poop wrong for all these years!?
Evie91
Well-Known Member
Personally I think part livery is the best way to keep a horse - yard owners with tonnes of experience and established routine for the horse.
Owner then gets to spend quality time, riding, grooming and faffing with the horse.
My horse was on part livery for five years - our 'bond' was no different than when I was on DIY. Horse now lives at home - her time table now has to fit in with mine. I wouldn't change her being at home, I love it but if I was to have another ridden horse, I wouldn't hesitate to put it on part livery.
Owner then gets to spend quality time, riding, grooming and faffing with the horse.
My horse was on part livery for five years - our 'bond' was no different than when I was on DIY. Horse now lives at home - her time table now has to fit in with mine. I wouldn't change her being at home, I love it but if I was to have another ridden horse, I wouldn't hesitate to put it on part livery.
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
It's about spending time around and near your horse, rather than the actual activity. I would absolutely hate turning up once a week, barely having any say over the care of my horse, and having her see me as someone who just rides her once per week and me treating her like a riding school horse. But I do see how some people may not be in a position to do otherwise, so I wouldn't berate them for that. Like I say, rather see that than some people who have their horses on diy but don't bother providing the right level of care.
TGM
Well-Known Member
Why do you assume that people on full livery turn up just once a week to see their horse? I've been on full livery in the past when commuting into London to work, but I usually saw my horse at least four or five times a week, and when I was at the yard I'd groom and feed etc. But it did mean that when I couldn't get there all the horse's needs were catered for. I now have my horse at home and do all the work myself, so am not adverse to caring for my horse myself.
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
Why so defensive? I don't 'assume' at all - I was using it as an example to the point I was making about developing a bond. Many people have their horses on full livery because they cannot get to see their horse until weekend or whatever.....
If you read my previous post, I have said quite clearly, twice now, that I take no issue with people having their horses on full livery, and would actually prefer to see people do that, than have them on diy and not provide the right care. It is just MY preference that I have mine on diy, and would not consider anything other.
mandwhy
Well-Known Member
Good god, I might have said the same thing once but these days the things I could do with my time if I was in full livery, I'd ride every day for a start, I'd have more than one horse, I'd have a youngster and spend loads of time working on it. I'd do things like plaiting and putting on bandages and oiling hooves and grooming and massaging just for fun, sigh! Having lessons, having a go at classical in hand work. Seriously, I wouldn't miss the manual labour, and I'm sure I could muck out my own stable occasionally if I sorely missed such things. My horses live out and I just spend all my time on heavy, muddy, soggy, smelly work, oh and injuring myself. Oh and winter is coming to remind me that summer is not half as hard and I should have made the time to ride every day when there was actual daylight. YAY.
teabiscuit
Well-Known Member
I've never had a horse on livery. It sounds divine, just to be able to use precious time on grooming, riding and scratches etc.
No pushing wheel barrows, lugging water buckets, filling haynets .....all time spent with the horse.. ...ooo sounds like bliss.. .
No pushing wheel barrows, lugging water buckets, filling haynets .....all time spent with the horse.. ...ooo sounds like bliss.. .
Mongoose11
Well-Known Member
When I have been in full livery I have still visited my mare daily, to groom, exercise, do any jobs that would be routinely done while I was there. Why all the presumptions? It was lovely the other day when somebody remarked how my horse watched my every move while I was at the yard but not necessarily at her side. Ahhh but I bet that'd be the bond we built up while I was on DIY?
Moomin1
Well-Known Member
Are you completely misunderstanding my posts?? I have said FOR MYSELF, it is a major part of bonding, and that I can understand why other people do have theirs on full livery.
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
That's also what I see with the horses on my farm. As said, almost every horse here is on full care livery and I'm the one who does all of the daily stuff with them. However, every horse *knows* its owner; they know their vehicles and they whinny to them when they arrive. Some of my liveries don't come for months on end, but their horses still know it's their special person. None have ever lived on DIY livery btw so, you're right, it's nothing to do with that.
Mongoose11
Well-Known Member
You seemed to present full livery as being an option that led to a once a week visit etc, you didn't present any other interpretation and so I believed you were saying that this is what happens on full livery. Apparently, because you are shouting, you didn't mean that at all.
I don't believe I did misinterpret your post, no.
Do calm down.
teabiscuit
Well-Known Member
SF that's really fascinating. Aren't they deeper than we think.
SO1
Well-Known Member
My pony is normally on DIY grass livery but went on to full livery when he needed to be on box rest and then have rehabilitation after a broken splint bone.
There was no way with a full time job I could give him the high level of care he needed when on box rest and when being rehabbed. I could not go to the yard three times a day to skip him out or give him the attention he needed for the 8 hours whilst I was at work nor could I bring him in at set times whilst I was at work whilst he was gradually having his turn out increased from 10 minutes up to half a day.
I would not have a problem at all with someone else poo picking, or doing the field management or mucking out, if means I can spend more time doing things with my horse and less time doing manual labour!
I don't see how mucking out, making up haynets and feeds creates a better bond with your horse as your horse will probably be in the field whilst you are doing these activities. Does cleaning your own house whilst your kids are out rather paying a cleaner give people a better bond with their kids?
Many people on full livery may spend as much time with their horse as people on DIY or even more as they do not need to spend time doing jobs so the time they save not doing mucking out, poo picking etc they can spend with their horse. It is not just the amount of time you spend with your horse that build up the bond but how you treat the horse when you are with it.
When my pony was on full rehab livery and I could only see him at weekends he still whickered when he saw me just the same as when I was seeing him every day when I was on DIY.
I am on DIY grass livery and I like that as I get to see my pony every day and can decide on his feeds etc but don't have to mucking out also don't need to poo pick, pulling up a bit of ragwort is hard as the labour normally gets. If I had a stabled horse and could afford it I would definitely have my horse on a good full livery yard as then all the spare time I had I could actually spend it doing things with my horse rather than doing stable duties especially if working full time. It would also mean that if I got sick or had a family emergency or my horse needed a lot of vet treatment or a combination of all three, that I would not have to worry about how I was going to divide my time.
I do think DIY can be great and I love seeing my pony every day but I do wonder how people manage to combine it was family and working life and how they can be fully committed to all three and not be completely exhausted, being exhausted all the time is actually not good for your health. I am lucky in that my workplace is normally quite flexible with regard to short notice leave for emergencies but all jobs can easily accommodate this.
I expect there are plenty of people on full livery who choose this not because they don't want to come every day but because they don't want to muck out and do the heavy lifting of water buckets, barrows etc and would rather spend more of their spare time with the horses rather than shoveling poo.
There was no way with a full time job I could give him the high level of care he needed when on box rest and when being rehabbed. I could not go to the yard three times a day to skip him out or give him the attention he needed for the 8 hours whilst I was at work nor could I bring him in at set times whilst I was at work whilst he was gradually having his turn out increased from 10 minutes up to half a day.
I would not have a problem at all with someone else poo picking, or doing the field management or mucking out, if means I can spend more time doing things with my horse and less time doing manual labour!
I don't see how mucking out, making up haynets and feeds creates a better bond with your horse as your horse will probably be in the field whilst you are doing these activities. Does cleaning your own house whilst your kids are out rather paying a cleaner give people a better bond with their kids?
Many people on full livery may spend as much time with their horse as people on DIY or even more as they do not need to spend time doing jobs so the time they save not doing mucking out, poo picking etc they can spend with their horse. It is not just the amount of time you spend with your horse that build up the bond but how you treat the horse when you are with it.
When my pony was on full rehab livery and I could only see him at weekends he still whickered when he saw me just the same as when I was seeing him every day when I was on DIY.
I am on DIY grass livery and I like that as I get to see my pony every day and can decide on his feeds etc but don't have to mucking out also don't need to poo pick, pulling up a bit of ragwort is hard as the labour normally gets. If I had a stabled horse and could afford it I would definitely have my horse on a good full livery yard as then all the spare time I had I could actually spend it doing things with my horse rather than doing stable duties especially if working full time. It would also mean that if I got sick or had a family emergency or my horse needed a lot of vet treatment or a combination of all three, that I would not have to worry about how I was going to divide my time.
I do think DIY can be great and I love seeing my pony every day but I do wonder how people manage to combine it was family and working life and how they can be fully committed to all three and not be completely exhausted, being exhausted all the time is actually not good for your health. I am lucky in that my workplace is normally quite flexible with regard to short notice leave for emergencies but all jobs can easily accommodate this.
I expect there are plenty of people on full livery who choose this not because they don't want to come every day but because they don't want to muck out and do the heavy lifting of water buckets, barrows etc and would rather spend more of their spare time with the horses rather than shoveling poo.
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mandwhy
Well-Known Member
Seriously I don't do a lot of bonding with my horses when I'm picking up their endless poo, or fixing the fence every god damn day, or dragging water buckets, or lifting hay, I barely see them during these critical tasks! Just in case anyone on full livery thinks they are missing out, after all that I'm too knackered to ride and go home!
DragonSlayer
Well-Known Member
If I had just one, it would be on full livery! I work hard full time and would find this a god send! I'm counting down the days with dread until we start feeding and giving out hay, OH has spent all day putting up a new feed shed right next to the hay that's next to the winter paddocks, in order to try to make this winter easier on ourselves!
Spring Feather
Well-Known Member
Yes. I don't think in general horses are particularly clever but where ESP is concerned, they have it in abundance.
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
I moved my horse from one yard as it was compulsory to muck out your paddock daily before you rode or brought your horse in. I found that wasn't so bad in summer when there was plenty of light and the ground dry, but come winter the ground was pugged and it took longer to get the wheelbarrow in and out of her paddock and as the days got shorter there was no time left to ride.
YO refused to allow me to muck out just at weekends so I upped and left for a yard where they HARROW - whoopee - every minute I'm at the paddock I can actually spend close up with my horse.
My back, knees, shoulder and elbows are also far happier with this arrangement. There were times when I was in so much pain after mucking out and battling the mud with the wheelbarrow that I'd feed and leave.
I did my training on a yard with a lot of full liveries, many owners came up every day, they often had busy working lives and their horse was their way of unwinding. They'd arrive at 6:30 - 7pm and in summer ride outside or in winter in the indoor. WE had great yard staff and the horses were all extremely well cared for. The grooms also had their favourites, which was generally all of the ones you cared for and these horses certainly weren't short of love and Polo's.
YO refused to allow me to muck out just at weekends so I upped and left for a yard where they HARROW - whoopee - every minute I'm at the paddock I can actually spend close up with my horse.
My back, knees, shoulder and elbows are also far happier with this arrangement. There were times when I was in so much pain after mucking out and battling the mud with the wheelbarrow that I'd feed and leave.
I did my training on a yard with a lot of full liveries, many owners came up every day, they often had busy working lives and their horse was their way of unwinding. They'd arrive at 6:30 - 7pm and in summer ride outside or in winter in the indoor. WE had great yard staff and the horses were all extremely well cared for. The grooms also had their favourites, which was generally all of the ones you cared for and these horses certainly weren't short of love and Polo's.
Embo
Well-Known Member
Having done almost two years** on DIY, with 5am get-ups, full time job and a used-to-be-needy OH (he is so much better now, but when I started off he was very jealous of all the time I spent at the yard), I would gladly put my horse of full livery. Dealing with all that is exhausting.
Truth is, I can't afford it, so have to stick to DIY. I wish I could pay someone else to do the dirty work, then I would have more time to enjoy my horse rather than just shoveling his poo and stuffing him full of hay!
Having said that, I do enjoy the daily care (mucking out included) but it is very time consuming. So I do have to sacrifice riding time to spend time with the OH. In a perfect world, there would be more hours in a day so I could spend lots of time with both!
Don't see how people can judge those on full livery and make sweeping statements that they are lazy or only have a horse as a status symbol - surely it must stem from jealousy, like most snipey comments!
**ETA, fully aware that some of you have done a lifetime of this - but I've only been an owner for this length of time!
Truth is, I can't afford it, so have to stick to DIY. I wish I could pay someone else to do the dirty work, then I would have more time to enjoy my horse rather than just shoveling his poo and stuffing him full of hay!
Having said that, I do enjoy the daily care (mucking out included) but it is very time consuming. So I do have to sacrifice riding time to spend time with the OH. In a perfect world, there would be more hours in a day so I could spend lots of time with both!
Don't see how people can judge those on full livery and make sweeping statements that they are lazy or only have a horse as a status symbol - surely it must stem from jealousy, like most snipey comments!
**ETA, fully aware that some of you have done a lifetime of this - but I've only been an owner for this length of time!
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Grumpy Herbert
Well-Known Member
My two are on full livery because I work ridiculously crazy hours now. When I worked more reasonable hours, I did them myself and also provided a groom service for others - I loved it.
Given a choice, I would always prefer to do them myself. I feel you form a stronger bond with them by doing the rugging up and leading out/in. Plus you get to know how your horse is normally and can spot if something's not quite right much more quickly.
An added bonus of dealing with 5+ horses and mucking out 5+ stables was I lost 2 and a half stone!!!
Given a choice, I would always prefer to do them myself. I feel you form a stronger bond with them by doing the rugging up and leading out/in. Plus you get to know how your horse is normally and can spot if something's not quite right much more quickly.
An added bonus of dealing with 5+ horses and mucking out 5+ stables was I lost 2 and a half stone!!!
FellOutOfFavour
Well-Known Member
People who are critical of others they've never met generally seem to either be jealous or insecure.
MS123
Well-Known Member
I completely agree with you! I am the same.
BlackVelvet
Well-Known Member
The most important thing to me was that my horse was in a proper routine and looked after. I was on DIY whilst doing my A levels etc as I spend most days at the yard pootling about but when I started work full time, it couldnt be done anymore. I couldnt drive so had to rely on lifts etc. I moved him to part livery to an amazing yard on a bus route so I could get there myself and would always muck out etc if i was there to help the staff out! I loved looking after him but it wasnt always possible and he was stressy if his routine was not stuck too so this way worked best for me. I knew he was looked after and trusted them 100%, they always let me know if he wasnt quite 'right'. Not everyone can do DIY, its each to their own.
charliecrisps
Well-Known Member
If I had the money I would love to be on full livery.... More time spending actual time doing things with your horses which I think they appreciate more than who did the mucking out, like grooming & spending quality time with them. It would also save the guilt that some days you can't do anything more than pick up poo and sling a bucket of feed their way!
fattylumpkin
Well-Known Member
My honest feeling is that DIY helps build a bond quicker with a new horse. Mine is on full livery and lives out 24/7. I was only her rider before I became her owner so I had no responsibilities other than turning up, tacking up and hacking. All the poo picking, mucking out of the barn and feeding and watering is done by YO. In the beginning it was a drawback since I'd turn up and the horse knew that my being there meant only one thing - time to work. And work she did, and even started to look forward to our rides together so she was never much trouble to bring in. But once the ride was over she expected to be put out at once and turned grumpy if I kept her tied up and tried to groom or spoil her. She never came when I called or showed any real interest in my presence if treats weren't involved. It was clear her horsey buddies were miles more important than me.
When I became her owner I finally had the feedom to invent ways to be around her, so that meant turning up to the yard for no other reason than heading out into the field to give her a good grooming and then leave without riding. I also spent an afternoon each week in various weather sitting in her field reading magazines. All obvious stuff and not rocket science, but it's what I had to do to replace time spent mucking out and haynet filling and so on, which are jobs I think horses understand and appreciate. Now the bond with my horse is pretty good and she comes when I call, follows me around if I'm in the field and likes being fussed over. But it's taken since april last year when I first met her to build that bond, which is rather slow.
That being said, I'd have shifted her to a new yard with DIY the second she was bought and paid for if I hadn't firmly believed that the horse is much much happier where she is, in a place which has a structured daily routine, is familiar and of fantastic high standard. Moving to a DIY yard would be for my benefit, not hers.
When I became her owner I finally had the feedom to invent ways to be around her, so that meant turning up to the yard for no other reason than heading out into the field to give her a good grooming and then leave without riding. I also spent an afternoon each week in various weather sitting in her field reading magazines. All obvious stuff and not rocket science, but it's what I had to do to replace time spent mucking out and haynet filling and so on, which are jobs I think horses understand and appreciate. Now the bond with my horse is pretty good and she comes when I call, follows me around if I'm in the field and likes being fussed over. But it's taken since april last year when I first met her to build that bond, which is rather slow.
That being said, I'd have shifted her to a new yard with DIY the second she was bought and paid for if I hadn't firmly believed that the horse is much much happier where she is, in a place which has a structured daily routine, is familiar and of fantastic high standard. Moving to a DIY yard would be for my benefit, not hers.
coffeeandabagel
Well-Known Member
I slogged through last winter with two on DIY and poo picking. I lost loads of weight, got fitter and enjoyed their company. I didnt get to see my hubby much and always felt time pressured. So pros and cons.
I had to move yards, and now only have one horse and she is on 5 day livery because thats all they do and beleive me I looked for another DIY yard but couldnt find one. I thought I would hate it since I am bit of a control freak over horse husbandry, but yes I have time for hubby, DIY, cooking dinner occasionally. I do everything at the weekends and enjoy the exercise butI have put on 8lbs in 6 months and am not so fit! Thats partly due to only riding one a day
What would I chose if I had to move - I dont know?
I had to move yards, and now only have one horse and she is on 5 day livery because thats all they do and beleive me I looked for another DIY yard but couldnt find one. I thought I would hate it since I am bit of a control freak over horse husbandry, but yes I have time for hubby, DIY, cooking dinner occasionally. I do everything at the weekends and enjoy the exercise butI have put on 8lbs in 6 months and am not so fit! Thats partly due to only riding one a day
What would I chose if I had to move - I dont know?
Dizzle
Well-Known Member
Because OH said I could
We're expecting our first child next month and I'm happier knowing I don't have to worry about my horse, I know that she is looked after, fed, watered and her health monitored, I don't have the time or the energy to muck every day at the moment and we're still trying to finish off renovations on the new house in the next few weeks.
Once baby arrives and I'm riding again I don't want to be spending my free time mucking out, I want to be back in the saddle.
I have a day off work today and I love the fact that I can spend the morning doing house work (errr, and a quick check of HHO) and then I know when I go to the yard later I can spend quality time with my girly rather than knackering myself out mucking out.
We're expecting our first child next month and I'm happier knowing I don't have to worry about my horse, I know that she is looked after, fed, watered and her health monitored, I don't have the time or the energy to muck every day at the moment and we're still trying to finish off renovations on the new house in the next few weeks.
Once baby arrives and I'm riding again I don't want to be spending my free time mucking out, I want to be back in the saddle.
I have a day off work today and I love the fact that I can spend the morning doing house work (errr, and a quick check of HHO) and then I know when I go to the yard later I can spend quality time with my girly rather than knackering myself out mucking out.