Working livery?

[Echo24]

Can anyone clarify what is involved in terms of costs and jobs with working livery? I'm looking into this possibility but it sounds like I'm basically paying to have my horse on DIY and the riding school can use my horse for lessons. I knew a friend who paid £100 a month to have his horse on working livery and they did all chores and contributed to shoes.

Thanks.

 

[DabDab]

Proper working livery at a good riding school should mean that the riding school is doing the day-to-day care of your horse (mucking out, grooming, tack cleaning, turnout etc. dependent on the routine of the yard), but you do not pay for the full cost of this livery package because they are using your horse in their riding school a set number of days per week. Usually the price for working livery will be between 50% and 75% of the price of full livery (or whatever they call that livery package at their yard). You may be expected to be responsible for some of the care of your horse on the days that you have/ride him, but certainly not every day. The advantages are that it reduces your livery bill a bit and your horse gets regular exercise - but don't go to a yard that doesn't offer at least these terms. Good luck

 

[Echo24]

Thank you DabDab that certainly makes sense. I'm not overly keen on working livery but am considering a youngster who would benefit from more schooling although I'm concerned the arrangement may not suit and she may well become dead to the leg and stale. Sadly they do not offer standard livery, only working livery which means I will probably need to look elsewhere.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I definitely wouldn't put a youngster on working livery. If she needs schooling on, she's not going to get it by being in a riding school. Schooling livery or a friend who knows what they're doing if you're not confident to do it.

My yard is £140 a month for DIY, £200 for working livery which is pretty much everything, bedding, feed, shoes, mucking out, turn out, catch in. I think vet is separate.

 

[wyrdsister]

I too wouldn't advise it for a youngster. One of my girls I took on as a reschooling project. She went to a well known equestrian college as a 5 year old and came back in a right state, needed 6 months off and restarting!

 

[Echo24]

Eeek! A friend couldn't watch his horse being used on working livery. A client was riding his mare and she cantered on the wrong leg so stuck a flying change in and the rider fell off! He was mortified!

The fact that the horse couldn't be kept at a yard I wanted and had to be handled and ridden by other people made me think he wasn't the right horse for me. Still looking but won't be considering working livery. Thanks for your thoughts