Run Like The Wind
Member
Have any of you had experience of putting your horse on working livery ?
Working Livery
- Thread starter Run Like The Wind
- Start date
Puffin
Well-Known Member
I did years ago when I went to Uni. I din't have anywhere to keep my horse at home and couldn't bear to sell her.
She was a reasonably schooled riding horse type and I kept her at a local (to the Uni) BHS riding school, she was looked after really well and used in about 4-6 lessons a week. I told them when I planned to ride and they made sure that she wasn't in a lesson at that time (or before, but I was riding during the day mostly).
She wasn't as happy as at home - she was a real 1 person horse, but was ok, and it kept her reasonably fit for competing in the holidays, and because she wasn't a novice's horse she was ridden by reasonably competent clients.
It was very cheap and worked out ok for me.
She was a reasonably schooled riding horse type and I kept her at a local (to the Uni) BHS riding school, she was looked after really well and used in about 4-6 lessons a week. I told them when I planned to ride and they made sure that she wasn't in a lesson at that time (or before, but I was riding during the day mostly).
She wasn't as happy as at home - she was a real 1 person horse, but was ok, and it kept her reasonably fit for competing in the holidays, and because she wasn't a novice's horse she was ridden by reasonably competent clients.
It was very cheap and worked out ok for me.
Run Like The Wind
Member
Thank you so much for your reply ... the yard seems very nice but I wanted to get opinions of someone who had done it for real .... Thank you x
misst
Well-Known Member
My daughters first pony was on WL for the first year as we were not terribly experienced and it helped with keep/excercise etc. It was fine but as she became more confident on the pony conflicts arose.
Working livery is great in some ways but you loose a lot of control and you need a very forgiving horse/pony. If you want to compete and have a close bond with your horse I do not believe it works. However financially and timewise it can be a lifesaver. Just be very very sure you get everything in writing - days/hours of work. Make sure the welfare of your horse is the RS main object - they are a business so will need to make a profit.... You tend to lose control of feeding regimes etc as they will not want a "fit/fed" animal. For us the cons outwieghed the pros very quickly.
Working livery is great in some ways but you loose a lot of control and you need a very forgiving horse/pony. If you want to compete and have a close bond with your horse I do not believe it works. However financially and timewise it can be a lifesaver. Just be very very sure you get everything in writing - days/hours of work. Make sure the welfare of your horse is the RS main object - they are a business so will need to make a profit.... You tend to lose control of feeding regimes etc as they will not want a "fit/fed" animal. For us the cons outwieghed the pros very quickly.
Meowy Catkin
Meow!
Yes, I've had my mare on WL and I would never, ever do it again with that particular horse. I moved her onto DIY and that suited us both much better.
If your horse is an easy going type who can put up with learner riders making mistakes and you trust the yard to keep to the agreement, then go for it.
My horse was fine with the better riders but she couldn't cope with the learners which TBH a lot of riding school clients are. I also got fed up with the RS owner starting to dictate what I could and couldn't do with my horse. I like taking her for long hacks through the counryside but I was told not to as it made her too fit for the RS. They then started to want to use her on my days and treated her as if she was theirs and that I was a problem to be worked around. The only good thing about it was that my mare then decided that she didn't like them and hardly ever let any of them catch her.
I do love that horse!
If your horse is an easy going type who can put up with learner riders making mistakes and you trust the yard to keep to the agreement, then go for it.
My horse was fine with the better riders but she couldn't cope with the learners which TBH a lot of riding school clients are. I also got fed up with the RS owner starting to dictate what I could and couldn't do with my horse. I like taking her for long hacks through the counryside but I was told not to as it made her too fit for the RS. They then started to want to use her on my days and treated her as if she was theirs and that I was a problem to be worked around. The only good thing about it was that my mare then decided that she didn't like them and hardly ever let any of them catch her.
I do love that horse!