Would you move your horse further away for better facilities?

[Nickyhorse89]

Hi everyone

I'm currently on a DIY yard around 10 mins drive away which is pretty good BUT the facilities are rubbish and I've been stuggling to ride when the arena isn't crowded.

I've recently come across a lovely yard, only problem is it's 30 mins drive away. They do offer turn out so will only be going up once a day and the facilities tick all my boxes. I'm worried about the travel, if there's traffic it'll take me even longer and my petrol costs will sky rocket. Who has their horses around 30 mins away? How do you cope with the travel?

Thanks

 

[humblepie]

30 minutes does become quite hard work - was at a yard 30 minutes from home and about 45 from work, going once a day and it does really eat into your day and as you say fuel costs. Perhaps keep looking for somewhere else with better facilities and nearer home. On the other hand if you are not enjoying your horse where he is, perhaps move and keep looking. That said, going into the winter not the best time for longer journeys depending on what the roads are like.

 

[wingedhorse]

Mine are 35 minutes away, on 7 day part livery. Are 20-40 minutes from work, and work is 20-40 minutes from home.

If I time the traffic right, I can get to horses in 30 minutes, work in 20 minutes, and home in 20 minutes.

I was on DIY 12 minutes away.

Time and fuel wise, it is close to the same. As I now only go 5 times a week, and 3 of those are before / after work.

The difference in facilities, hacking and turnout is significant. And not being on wet clay!

Cost wise it is more expensive!

 

[wingedhorse]

I also think it depends what the rest of your life and work travel is like.

I aim for no more 90 minutes of travelling in total in a day where I see horses and go to work.

 

[AFB]

For DIY - no. My yard is 10 mins away but can easily become nearer 30 in traffic which means I have to pay someone else to turn out for me (I'm too lazy to get up at 6.30 to turn out before work). If there's an accident it's taken me an hour and a half to get home before.

For full livery then definitely, yes, if your short on time or there are traffic issues then you don't need to worry.

 

[DD]

30 mins isn't that far really and if you can have good facilities and do more with your horse I'd say go for it.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Thanks everyone. It's a full livery yard so don't have to worry about getting there in time. It's not on my way to work so would be going after work, possibly during rush hour.

 

[Wimbles]

This coming weekend I'm moving two of my horses from DIY 10 minutes away to Part Livery (with a wonderful HHOer!) which is about 25 minutes away. The facilities, hacking and general help is going to make a massive difference to me. I've gone from being out doing something with the horses all the time to barely riding at all and I think this move is going to change all that and I cannot wait. The horses have been part of my life forever and they're too expensive to not enjoy.

 

[WandaMare]

I did a livery yard 30 -40 mins away for a good few years and found it OK. There were places nearer but this one had an indoor school which was definitely worth the extra 15 mins on the journey. It made a huge difference to the amount I did with my horse because she was so much fitter. At one stage she went lame and I had to move her to a quieter yard which was better set up for box rest, this was a further 15 mins away and I found that just too much. I coped with it but as soon as she was better I moved her back to the closer yard and it felt like a breeze compared to having her 50 mins to an hour away. I think it also depends on the roads you will be using because if it is relatively straightforward its not as mentally tiring doing it day in day out.

 

[Embo]

I'm on part/full livery and work in the city with a daily commute time of 3 hours. The yard is 20-30 mins drive from home, depending on traffic - during the week it takes around 25 mins each way. So all in all, I travel around 4 hours each day (yeah, it sucks!).

Being on part livery means I don't need to worry about chores or being late etc. We have a small indoor school, and this makes a huge difference in the winter months.

Ideally I wouldn't want to go any further than this, but I would consider anything up to a 40 minute drive for really good livery and facilities.

...I think it also depends on the roads you will be using because if it is relatively straightforward its not as mentally tiring doing it day in day out.

This is a good point to consider, my current yard is a very straightforward drive!

 

[Nickyhorse89]

I'm on part/full livery and work in the city with a daily commute time of 3 hours. The yard is 20-30 mins drive from home, depending on traffic - during the week it takes around 25 mins each way. So all in all, I travel around 4 hours each day (yeah, it sucks!).

Being on part livery means I don't need to worry about chores or being late etc. We have a small indoor school, and this makes a huge difference in the winter months.

Ideally I wouldn't want to go any further than this, but I would consider anything up to a 40 minute drive for really good livery and facilities.



This is a good point to consider, my current yard is a very straightforward drive!

It would be done the motorway then A roads so seems a straight forward drive.

 

[milliepops]

I did it for about a year, moved from a 10 min drive to 30 min drive. Like others, I needed to have assistance at one end of the day as I couldn't afford the time or fuel to go twice a day (40 mile round trip). It was worth it at the time because I didn't have any good alternatives, horse was settled and happy and the facilities were good. I did find it irritating at times but you do what you gotta do!

I had a few issues at the yard with inexperienced/temp staff & communication issues meaning occasionally my horse wasn't seen to... so just make sure you have 100% confidence in whoever is doing the livery services element.

I'm back to 10 mins away (I moved house and yard ) now and back to DIY which means I can just about afford to keep 2

 

[wingedhorse]

It would be done the motorway then A roads so seems a straight forward drive.

Try it the timings that you'd be driving it.

My home to work and work to yard times double if there is traffic.

My best option is to ride before work, and leave yard about 9.10am, and get to work for about 9.30am. As that minimises traffic. I can then go to gym at lunchtime, and then leave work, after worst of traffic gone.

 

[nato]

If you're on full livery then 30 minutes is nothing. If on DIY I wouldn't want to be far away but if someone is doing everything for you then why worry?

My yard is 30-40mins away and am on part livery, I still go up every day and have two to do after work.

 

[wingedhorse]

If you're on full livery then 30 minutes is nothing. If on DIY I wouldn't want to be far away but if someone is doing everything for you then why worry?

My yard is 30-40mins away and am on part livery, I still go up every day and have two to do after work.

It is not nothing but it is manageable if not having to muck out and do chores. But it depends on the other timing loads on a person's day. I notice that my yard is 1hr10 minutes round trip there and back at times!!!

 

[nato]

It is not nothing but it is manageable if not having to muck out and do chores. But it depends on the other timing loads on a person's day. I notice that my yard is 1hr10 minutes round trip there and back at times!!!

I suppose I have never had the luxury of living near any yards so a 30min trip to the yard to me is nothing. I listen to podcasts or get my phone calls to family and friends done in that time and I don't see it pass.

 

[m1stify]

Yes and have done 3 1/2 years ago never looked back

 

[Notimetoride]

Ive been on a variety of yards, and I think it boils down to where you are actually happiest. I once moved to a yard 25 mins from home (but longer in bad traffic) which had a lovely arena and fab hacking. Turned out the arena was actually terrible and almost un-useable, hacking was good, but worst thing was one particularly troublesome fellow livery who made life very difficult. The journey was also a real nuisance - just a bit too far to be convenient. I was so unhappy there and hated going to the yard. Then moved to a yard 10 mins from home with friends, and i loved it there, even though again, the arena was pretty bad (why cant people build a decent arena that doesnt have a deep, stoney or unlevel surface?). It was a bit chaotic but i did enjoy being with friendly people, and just worked with the arena as best i could. My friends eventually left as they moved out of the area, and the dynamics of the place changed when new people came. It became very stressful and my horse use to jog across the yard when bringing her in as it was so so busy. So we just had to move. Then moved to another yard nearby with what seemed to be lovely facilities, but a bonkers y.o and it was unbearable. Moved again, and now finally settled. Friendly yard, slightly unpredictable but mostly ok yard owner, not bad facilities and not bad hacking, and 10 mins from home. I honestly think you need to take everything into account as it just takes a bonkers yard owner/unpleasant livery/travelling distance etc etc to make it not really work. If everything else is perfect, then you can probably deal with the travelling distance.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

My yard was nearly 25 miles from home. A road and then some 'country' roads. Used to take 45 mins, but it was only 10 miles from work (would take half hour during rush hour time).

Yes it was annoying at times, it was one trip a day but I needed to go everyday. There was cover if I couldn't get down due to accident etc. But I wouldn't have swapped the yard for the world, and definitely made my horse owning 100x better.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Used to keep my horse 20 miles away at a part livery yard. It took me about 30minutes to get there. NEVER AGAIN!

I hated the drive in winter especially. I couldn't trust the yard owner. I was the only person there riding late. The end was when he colicked (luckily mild) and I was so far away I had to stay up there until the drugs wore off a bit to make sure it didn't come back. Meanwhile the YO went home and left me to it. It might have been different if your YO was very good but I just didn't want him so far away again.

 

[chaps89]

Mine is 25 minutes away on a clear run (7am on a Sunday type clear run) 30 minutes away on a normal day and an hour away if I time it wrong and the roads are ********d. I do it twice a day (no assistance on hand without paying a freelancer or if the YO is feeling kind) and I'll be honest, it's taking its toll. It's not even a fancy yard nor do we have much in the way of facilities, but my farrier wouldn't come further out if I moved her closer to home, I'd also then be going in the complete opposite direction to work and most importantly I'm able to micro manage my mares routine really well where we are and I know I couldn't do that elsewhere. So I suppose it's about priorities. But if it's once a day then to me I'd go for it if it means a better set up for you both.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Where I'm thinking of moving is a mainly sj yard (which is what I want to do). They hold dressage and jump clinics so won't have to worry about travelling elsewhere. I'll be trying the journey tomorrow when I would normally go up so after work during rush hour. Might as well test it at it's worst.
Where I am now there is no chance I'm going to try jumping in the school it's so badly maintained it's a shame as the people are really nice.

 

[pepsimaxrock]

My livery yard is 30 mins from home, 50 mins from work. Im on full livery. Its a fabulous yard with 3 indoor schools (one exclusively for us liverys, the others are competition schools and warm ups). We have a super outdoor, jumps, occasional access to riding in fields in summer and hacking is great - once you cross a busy A road.
Its coming up to winter and I am dreading the long dark nights driving - its dangerous, the foggy country roads are hard work and the time element does my head in. But its such a tender trap - my horse is hard to manage (v v colic prone) and the livery yard staff understand her perfectly.

 

[Fjord]

If your current yard is 10 minutes away but you have to go up twice, then that's 40 mins in total each day. So if you only need to go up once at the new yard then it will only be 20 minutes more in overall journey time. And if you have better facilities then it will more likely be more enjoyable too.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

If your current yard is 10 minutes away but you have to go up twice, then that's 40 mins in total each day. So if you only need to go up once at the new yard then it will only be 20 minutes more in overall journey time. And if you have better facilities then it will more likely be more enjoyable too.

I didn't think about it like that. Thanks think I've gotten used to being so close to the yard so the idea of moving further away is a bit daunting. xx

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I didn't think about it like that. Thanks think I've gotten used to being so close to the yard so the idea of moving further away is a bit daunting. xx

I've done both and I can assure you I'd rather go up twice a day 10 minutes each way than drive solidly for 30 minutes each way once a day. Psychologically in my case at least it was much more onerous and I was much more easily put off going for reasons such as the weather, light, traffic, tired etc.

 

[wingedhorse]

I've done both and I can assure you I'd rather go up twice a day 10 minutes each way than drive solidly for 30 minutes each way once a day. Psychologically in my case at least it was much more onerous and I was much more easily put off going for reasons such as the weather, light, traffic, tired etc.

I very much found the opposite. Though if I could have the same facilities and set up closer, it would be better!

I get round the motivation by scheduling lots of lessons / competitions / qualifiers, so I have to ride mid week no matter what! I also mix up riding before and after work.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I very much found the opposite. Though if I could have the same facilities and set up closer, it would be better!

I get round the motivation by scheduling lots of lessons / competitions / qualifiers, so I have to ride mid week no matter what! I also mix up riding before and after work.

I think it very much on depends on what the yard is like. I was located at my then trainers yard because the whole point was to get out competing more, so lessons were part of that and I used to ride on my own on a deserted yard at night in the bitter winter which was no fun at all. It was also the very snowy winter of 2009-10 which meant I couldn't even get there at times. Soon I stopped going as much. However I think it would have been more acceptable if the yard and trainer had turned out to be what they had promised.

I still prefer my boy to be just down the road though especially if he's unwell or injured as I've never met anyone that cares for him like I do.

 

[shadeofshyness]

Mine is 6 miles away - takes an hour to get to after work. It eats up so much time but there's nothing closer.

Time is SO precious. I would stick with the nearer to be honest.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Mine is 6 miles away - takes an hour to get to after work. It eats up so much time but there's nothing closer.

Time is SO precious. I would stick with the nearer to be honest.

Takes you an hour to go 6 miles??? I think 30 mins is my limit. Was originally only willing to travel up to 20 mins but the choice of yards nearby is so poor I've extended my search.