Working livery costs?

[Quantock-cob]

I'm currently doing BHS Horse Owners Certificate 3 and we have been discussing different forms of livery. Our challenge for next week is to find out how much people pay to keep their horse on working livery at a riding school and what it involves. If anyone can help I would be very grateful.
Many thanks. xx

 

[be positive]

A rs local to me charges £60-65 per week for full working livery, you would also have pay for shoeing and insurance.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Mine was on working livery at a riding school and I paid £45 per week for winter "livery" which included basic hay/haylage and bedding (straw).

All other food was extra; shoeing wasn't included either.

Summer working livery was £25 per week, inclusions/exclusions as above.

The riding school used my horse for up to two "sessions" per day, which was either a hack or a lesson, or practical.

I felt this fee was excessive - and would feel that the previous posters costs were downright exploitative IMO!! Bearing in mind the riding school are getting what is basically a free horse.

 

[muffinmunsh]

Mine was in working livery in London a few years ago. It wad £50 a week, incl one bale of bedding, hay and hardfeed plus mucking out 5 days a week. All else I had to do/ pay for, incl tack cleaning and repairs (although to be fair, there were always ponyclub kids on hand willing to help). They would use the horse for 10 hours a week.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out in the end. Horse got sour with too many beginners, arguments over hay and bedding (how much) got me sour, ...

 

[Quantock-cob]

Thanks everyone for helping with my homework - I'll be top of the class next week

 

[Vodkagirly]

OMG people pay £65 a week to let numpties ride your horse? I thought it would be in exchange for free livery.

 

[Mythical]

Probably no help with your assignment cause I don't pay it, but when I was thinking about buying a horse I came across one where it was £40pw, plus insurance, shoeing etc, AND, not only did you have to pay to ride (as in buy your horse out of its lessons for the day) but they also specified that if you hadn't booked YOUR horse that day, you could not be on the premises!! To me that looks like daylight robbery, I hope it's not normal!

This is in the northwest where things are usually relatively cheap!
I decided I was better off sticking to my lessons, and needless to say not at that place!

 

[Rostor]

One of mine is on working livery at an equine college, I pay £30 per week and she is used only in term times for about 8/10 hours a week, I can use her evening, weekends and holidays. I also pay for insurance but everything else they provide - hay, bedding, shoes, clipping, worming etc
They muck her out, clean tack, change rugs, put out/bring in, brush - basicaly full livery and I call to say when I want to ride & I get free use of the 3 schools/jumps/x country.

 

[littlemisslauren]

We offer working livery (Equine College) for £150 pcm (Due to increase to £180 soon)

This includes full care every day (all mucking out / turning out / rug bla bla bla)
Unlimited bedding ( We have huge straw beds)
Unlimited haylage / hay - we weigh it out as most of ours are fattys!
We arrange and hold for the vet / farrier / dentist
Basic hard feed
Clipping
Tack cleaning
Use of indoor and outdoor arenas as well as showjumps and xc jumps.
Direct access to off road hacking on private land.

In exchange horses are used about 6 hours a week under brilliant supervision by students for ridden lessons and about the same amount of time being led / groomed / manes pulled / plaited / long reined / lunged etc.

Owners are more than welcome to come up whenever the horse isn't used by us. If they want to come up and the horse is due to be ridden by us we swap horses around to accomodate the owner.
We really treat the horses like they are our own, I think its a really good deal.

 

[phoebe.and.bonnie]

My mare was on working livery when I first got her, I bought her from the riding school and wanted to stay there so that was my only option really.

I paid £75 a month for the actual livery, then was charged on top for bedding/feed/shoes/worming etc. In the summer it never really went much over £100 a month but in the winter it could get closer to £200.

It was an ok deal to begin with, as when I first got Bonnie she was a bit of a loon and not really suitable for working in the school so she didn't get used at all really. She was looked after for me during the day weekdays and whenever I couldn't get there, which was good as transport to the yard was always a bit of an issue during the week. However, once I actually got the beast doing some proper work and she chilled out I found that she was getting used farrrrrr too much for my liking. As in 2-3 hours a day, every day.

In the end I ended up paying an extra £15 a week to have her on DIY at weekends just so I got to ride my horse one day and give her a day off! I don't think I would be jumping at the chance to use working livery ever again... but I was young and didn't know better.

 

[be positive]

OMG people pay £65 a week to let numpties ride your horse? I thought it would be in exchange for free livery.

Yes it surprised me they will pay that much but the owners seem to think its a good deal

 

[madmav]

Trent Park, to the north of London, charges more than £90 a week for working livery (horses used two hours a day, five days a week)

 

[Javabb94]

Rs near me which is absolutely fantastic is £35 including everything with xc course, 2 indoor schools regular comps etc

 

[Theocat]

Trent Park, to the north of London, charges more than £90 a week for working livery (horses used two hours a day, five days a week)

My old yard did various options - I was on half working livery, which basically meant they could use him half the week (with some flexibility) and I paid half my livery costs, so summer grass livery cost £12.50. They also paid half shoes, feed and worming, and brought in / held for farrier, vet etc at no extra charge. In the winter he would have been on half stabled full livery, so it would have been about £33 per week including hay and bedding for full livery.

In reality, he was used about twice a week and only for experienced riders. It kept him fit and it helped with his schooling. If I could find another deal like that I'd take the yard owner's arm off

 

[Bikerchickone]

I once had my cob on working livery on a very exclusive professional dressage rider's yard. It was £95 a week for gold plated livery, absolutely everything done, everything inc to the point where if I told them I was coming to ride he'd be brushed off to show standard and tacked up ready to go in gleaming clean tack when I got there, fabulous facilities, a free lesson for me each week and he did a maximum of 3 45 min lessons a week, and never on days when I wanted him. In reality he rarely did two lessons a week. Full livery on this yard was £145 a week and the people who rode him were of a very high standard and so he was schooled more than I could ever have afforded to pay for.

If it hadn't been for the fact that we had to move house to somewhere 80 miles away I would never have left. We both loved it. I think working livery has to come down to a fair trade off between the yard and the owner. It was a lot of money and I don't even pay that much now for full livery without him being used by YO but I felt it was very good value for money and we both benefitted from it.

 

[PoniesRock]

Can't believe people actually pay to have their horses at riding schools!! I always presumed it would be free - ie in exchange for using your horse in their riding lessons.

Think I'll stick to DIY livery and paying £20 a week which is alot less that whats been quoted here and I have full charge of her....

 

[LiveryList]

I have a friend who keeps her daughters horse on working livery at a BHS riding school. She pays £240 per month and that includes EVERYTHING for the horse (even shoes/ clipping etc) and full time care, everything except insurance. The horse is used in the riding school max 4 days per week and the daughter gets 4 private lessons a week and as many group/ pony club lessons as she wants to join in on (even if they are not on her own horse).

 

[saddlesore]

Mine can't behave so working livery didn't work out for us , but when we were trying it I paid £20 p/w for stable and grazing, and in the winter £10 p/w for adlib haylage in the field/stable. They all lived out. I paid half of the shoeing costs at a discounted rate, so £20 every six weeks. I paid for hard feed, bedding, insurance etc. They used him up to a maximum of 4 hours a week. I was happy with this arrangement, but my horse clearly wasn't!

 

[bubbilygum]

My cob was on working livery at an Equine College and all I had to pay for was his insurance and shoes! Could visit whenever I wanted and could ride whenever I wanted providing I gave them sufficient notice (24hrs weekdays, not really necessary at weekends). £90 per week is extortionate! Part livery is cheaper than that at some places!

 

[Kat]

I am not on working livery but the yard I am on offer it and I know a couple of people who do it. They charge £25 a week, which is less than they charge for DIY livery but they get basically a full livery service except that the riding school clients are riding them. The owner can ride whenever the horse isn't being used for lessons, and if they clash they try to swap things around, the owner can also book the horse out if they want to go to a competition etc. The RS insure the horse for their use but the owner needs their own insurance for their use and for vets fees. The owner pays vets fees and shoes but the RS will hold for the farrier etc. They don't get a huge amount of work either.

 

[PolarSkye]

Former yard charged £308/month for working livery - which included all care (mucking out, bring in/turn out, rugging, grooming, mane/tail pulling), hard feed, hay/haylage, bedding (unlimited), attendance for farrier/vet/dentist/physio, numnahs/small rugs washed/cleaned, tack cleaned . . . extras were supplements, shoes, physio, dentist/vet bills and then owners were charged half price for lessons (no charge for hacks).

P