Would you stay at this yard?

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MoodleCob

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Sorry! Bit of a long one, trying to keep it short :)

Been at my livery yard for 5 months now, am thinking I should move on. I pay £65 pw, there is no school, no te
a room, no tack room etc and hacking is 90% road. What niggles is for the
same amount of money I'm sure I can get more facilities and some
decent off road hacking. Also, there
are some issues I have to contend
with:-

* Part barbed wire fence to field
* Less than 1 acre per horse for mix
of 3 x 14-15 hh horses, 6 are 15.2 hh- 17 hh Field is 7 acres
* Field never poo picked
* Horses attended from 9 am, in bed by 4 pm
* Lice breakout
* Bleeding leg unnoticed.
* No water a few times on visiting
* No hay a few times upon visiting as "She's already eaten it".
* Boggy field contributing to mud fever/thrush issues.
* Stable drainage issues meaning eye watering puddles left for horse to stand in, contributing to thrush. Supposed to have been sorted out in Dec and again last month.*
* Everyone apart from me is a friend of the YM so tend to keep *my mouth shut as I'm sure I would be in the minority.
* No yard insurance/cover.
* YM has recently employed someone to look after horses 2/3 days a week as they are now taking those days off.

Good points?*

*small yard, not bitchy and no one looks you up and down when you are there

*10-15 min journey to yard

So, if you were me, would you be spending tomorrow looking for a new yard?
 
i would be out of there like a rocket, it sounds like a dreadful yard.

There is no way in hell i would keep any horse on a yard where it didn't have access to water or enough food. Sounds like the YO has no concern for the horses welfare.
 
^ I agree, I'm the type if person that knows what I should do but has trouble getting the confidence to do it, have to keep thinking it's in the best interests of my mare who, I forgot to add, has turned into a biter (people and horses) for some unknown reason in the last month- go figure!
 
* Part barbed wire fence to field = :eek:
* Field never poo picked = :eek:
* No water a few times on visiting = :eek:
* No hay a few times upon visiting as "She's already eaten it". = :eek:
* Stable drainage issues meaning eye watering puddles left for horse to stand in, contributing to thrush. Supposed to have been sorted out in Dec and again last month. = :eek:
* No yard insurance/cover. = :eek:

I'd move. No doubt about it. Like a shot.
 
Hell yes!! No way would I inflict that sort of livery on my horse. At the moment I am looking around for new livery for my boy, only as we are moving and I would like to have him closer. If I can't find anywhere suitable, I will do the 15 mile or so round trip twice a day as my horse is happy where he is although the riding is boring - roads only.
 
Not many good points are there:eek: Are there any reasons for you to stay.

Only being seen to between 9 am and 4 pm is not acceptable to me, that is a long while for something to go wrong and may be too late, if a horse got colic at 6 pm it would not be found for 15 hours.
 
I read this and thought actually, some of that could be us.
We don't poo pick ever but we do have no more than a total of 38 horses on 107 acres.
We do have barbed wire, with cows on the opposite side they have no respect for electric tape, some horses appear to refuse to stay in taped fenced fields plus the sheer distance of tape needed can't be coped with on somewhere this big. Tape fences need strimming/ several energisers which cost more money to run and a huge outlay for the top quality makes.
Sometimes the stables get flooded, but only when the auto waterers freeze solid and unfreeze and a solid lump of ice forms in the bowls.
I think what you have to do is balance what you can live with and what you can't.
My liveries have our expert help on site 24/7.
Their horses can stay out or in as they please all year round.
We feed haylage in the fields all winter and check their horses once a day regardless of whether they appear or not (and one woman sometimes didn't bother for two weeks' at a time)
If they have fat horses I attempt to give them barer fields, if they need grass, lusher ones etc, and lame ones a special paddock. We rarely have mud and all the fields get harrowed and fertilsed included in the rent.
Several owners don't like mixing so I give them private paddocks, this week one lady with two horses in a 5 acre field was asked if she would mind moving them to their summer field so we could harrow and roll then fertilise her field. She asked me if she could have two extra weeks in there. I know why, so she can park her car at the gate and ride from there, the other field is 200 metres from the yard... Although I try to be obliging in this case I said one extra week then please move. It is inconvenient to us re the farm work but we try.
There is one very simple way you get to run the yard exactly as you wish, buy your own land... round here it is currently £10k an acre. If not then as I say, you need to decide what you can do that suits you best.
As a yard owner I have to say, for the £20 a week we charge (beautiful stables, 60 x 20 arena that's currently having a £6000 upgrade) there are times when I feel I would rather not have any liveries at all, it's totally impossible to please them all.
You sound clearly unhappy here so I agree it's best you move, but please before you all jump in tut tutting think of the actual costs of running a yard, although post and rail paddocks are lovely, check the cost per yard out sometime, plus how much a new gate is when someone's horse has chewed through it, there are two sides to liveries and yards...
 
What does the £65 a week include? Is it full livery? As others have said you often need to compromise but sometimes there are more bad than good things!!
 
You sound clearly unhappy here so I agree it's best you move, but please before you all jump in tut tutting think of the actual costs of running a yard, although post and rail paddocks are lovely, check the cost per yard out sometime, plus how much a new gate is when someone's horse has chewed through it, there are two sides to liveries and yards...[/QUOTE]

You sound like you go out of your way to be a fair YO, I think that the OP is unhappy with good reason to be honest, empty water and no hay, injuries not noticed...
I'm moving my boy this wk because of the same sort of issues.
Kx
 
Henryhorn I want to come to your yard!

OP I would move-the water and hay issues would be enough for me to pack my bags!
 
I would be out of there like a shot regardless if how much it is! :eek:

I pay £60 for 5 day livery with 2 sand and rubber schools one 20x40 and the other 60x40, XC course, farm ride, tack room/tearoom, toilet, all year turnout, large stable

I reckon you will find much somehwhere much better and cheaper!
 
henryhorn said:
I read this and thought actually, some of that could be us.
We don't poo pick ever but we do have no more than a total of 38 horses on 107 acres.
We do have barbed wire, with cows on the opposite side they have no respect for electric tape, some horses appear to refuse to stay in taped fenced fields plus the sheer distance of tape needed can't be coped with on somewhere this big. Tape fences need strimming/ several energisers which cost more money to run and a huge outlay for the top quality makes.
Sometimes the stables get flooded, but only when the auto waterers freeze solid and unfreeze and a solid lump of ice forms in the bowls.
I think what you have to do is balance what you can live with and what you can't.
My liveries have our expert help on site 24/7.
Their horses can stay out or in as they please all year round.
We feed haylage in the fields all winter and check their horses once a day regardless of whether they appear or not (and one woman sometimes didn't bother for two weeks' at a time)
If they have fat horses I attempt to give them barer fields, if they need grass, lusher ones etc, and lame ones a special paddock. We rarely have mud and all the fields get harrowed and fertilsed included in the rent.
Several owners don't like mixing so I give them private paddocks, this week one lady with two horses in a 5 acre field was asked if she would mind moving them to their summer field so we could harrow and roll then fertilise her field. She asked me if she could have two extra weeks in there. I know why, so she can park her car at the gate and ride from there, the other field is 200 metres from the yard... Although I try to be obliging in this case I said one extra week then please move. It is inconvenient to us re the farm work but we try.
There is one very simple way you get to run the yard exactly as you wish, buy your own land... round here it is currently £10k an acre. If not then as I say, you need to decide what you can do that suits you best.
As a yard owner I have to say, for the £20 a week we charge (beautiful stables, 60 x 20 arena that's currently having a £6000 upgrade) there are times when I feel I would rather not have any liveries at all, it's totally impossible to please them all.
You sound clearly unhappy here so I agree it's best you move, but please before you all jump in tut tutting think of the actual costs of running a yard, although post and rail paddocks are lovely, check the cost per yard out sometime, plus how much a new gate is when someone's horse has chewed through it, there are two sides to liveries and yards...
Click to expand...

HH, you sound like a fab yo, and probably undercharge for what you do.

I am a small business owner too, and to be honest, some of the things that the OP is complaining about wouldn't cost the earth to remedy. And for what it's worth, if you can't provide the basics for a lesser price, then simply increase the price so that you can.

I pay £45 pw for pure DIY on a very small private yard. I get an outdoor sand arena which is harrowed weekly (sometimes twice), stable, fantastic hacking, bedding and fodder included. There are automatic waterers, and someone on site 24 hrs a day. There is a brand new tea room, private tack rooms. It was set up to be a commercial yard but when a land purchase fell through they decided to only keep the liveries that were there (me and two others) so six horses in total. THe padddocks are extremely well maintained by yo, post and rail fences with electric on top and middle. I poo pick my own field as do each of the other liveries. I have a starvie for my fatty and everyone else has paddocks to suit, with room for rotation as required. To pay an extra £20 for no facilities but FULL LIVERY that is substandard, no thanks.
 
No way.
To be honest it sounds like you have made your mind up. Look at how many bad points there is to good points and just imagine a yard with a school, nice hacking, big fields and actually worth the money your spending.
 
From what you say it sounds as though you are on a full livery arrangement - if so for £65 a week I'm not surprised that is the level of care you get TBH.

Irrespective of that, then yes move for the well being of your horse.

Perhaps consider DIY/assisted DIY as for £65 a week you will find a lovely facility if you do the work yourself
 
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