Working Livery Query

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rockinghorse

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Hi, my daughters riding instructor has asked us if we would consider sending daughters pony to her yard as a working livery? Initially I discounted because I didn't think my daughter would want anyone else riding her pony, however my daughter is now considering the opportunity due to the winter months arriving she won't be able to ride at our own yard in the evenings after school except when we trailer him for lessons etc, also she is looking at the facilities which include an indoor & out door floodlit arena's cross country course etc. It may also help to keep him fit during winter as she tries to hunt him most weekends. I'm now weighing up the idea and am thinking that it could be a short term thing and if it doesn't work we would have him back. Views please?
 
What are the full conditions of the livery? How many hours will the pony be used for? What standard of riders will be riding her?
What happens if he is injured - are you then charged for full livery?
 
from experience through friends horses you do tend to loose a bit of control over how your horse is looked after. See if you can draw up an agreement stating how much they can use them and when you can ride them etc. You don't want to find that he's being used for lessons when you want him eg hunting at the weekend or working way too much so is too tired for what your daughter wants to do.

but as a short term way of keeping him fit over the winter and if hes with people you really trust then it could work out really well.
 
Thank you, I was really only considering the pro's. And if she is hunting on a saturday she would normally rest him or simply hack him lightly on a sunday, maybe not such a good idea. thank you.
 
we have mainly working liveries at our riding school.
we do most of the care for the horses, and we have an agreement drawn up as to how many hours the horse can be used for and a maximum weight limit is also added by the owner.
we work it so that the owner gives a bit of notice as to when they want to ride (they can't just turn up and pull their horse out of a lesson whenever they feel like it) and also notice if they intend to take the horse away to a competition etc.
we're not a typical riding school as we cater only for the girl's who attend the private school where we're based.
most of the girl's are accomplished riders too, so the horses are being worked correctly when they're ridden.
plus my boss is a great rider and she gives the odd horse a bit of a tune up if necessary.
anyway it does work well as long as there is good communication between us and the owners.
most of the horses do 2 hours a day max
smile.gif
 
Had two ponies on working livery at one point ,it was fab for my cob who is the sort who needs load and loads of work but doesn't seem too fussed over who rides him. He didn't change his way of going and it was a relief to know he was getting enough exercise . Other pony was a different matter, She hated being used by different people and got extremely naughty and grumpy. We took her off in the end as it just wasn't
working. So i would say it really depends on your pony and also do you have any say over the standard of people who will be riding the pony. Also exactly how much access to the facilities will you get , working livery can be quite restricting because they seem to need the pony at the same times you do, especially at weekends. Make sure that it is very clear in any contracts that you want the pony for weekend hunting.
 
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Thank you, I was really only considering the pro's. And if she is hunting on a saturday she would normally rest him or simply hack him lightly on a sunday, maybe not such a good idea. thank you.

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that's another reason we certainly ask for notice about competitions, so we don't work the horse at all the day before or after unless the owner asks us to.
you should inquire more about how the working livery works where the pony might be going?
 
Thank you. It was my daughters instructor who asked us, we didn't enquire so she obviously thinks he would be useful. I would class him as a second Pony but in a school he could be ridden by a novice as he is very obliging. Many thanks but am now wobbling to the idea.
 
i put my sons pony on working livery when my horse was sick and it seemed like a good solution. we went up regularly and ended up skipping him out, re-filling water, giving him hay. he also got a bit nippy coz of kids giving him treats too much. it did keep him fit but to be honest it stressed me out too much and i just went up one night and took him home. i still feel guilty about putting him there and would never do it again. it is considered quite a good establishment but they were never going to look after him like i would.
 
Depends on the yard, but I wouldn't if she palnning on doing lots with him, as they will probably want him every weekend and make you feel guilty if they can't use him. I had my 14.2hh on working livery at my work for a bit (we have a riding school attached) as he wasn't getting any exercise from me! But I had a contract that stated competant adults and pentahletes only to ride him, as well as the odd helper. This worked well for me for a bit but he soon got bored and so I put him on loan.
 
Slightly different situation, but Murph is about to go on working livery to a local college for the second year. Although I had some concerns, and he originally went on a months contract, it has worked out absolutely brilliantly for us. Daughter is at uni so he is kept fit whilst she is away, but if she does want to compete at weekends she can as they are only used Monday to Friday. He also comes home for holidays, has been back here since late June and returns next week. It certainly wouldn't suit every horse but he has thrived on it. If you want to use your pony regularly I would talk to the riding school as to how that would work out, so that you know he will be available when you want him, and that he isn't being worked too hard in between times.
 
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