WWYD to move or not?

Gropony

Gropony

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I have my pony in a yard 25 minutes from me. He is out 24/7 April to October then stabled with 1/1.5 hour turnout in the arena for the rest of the year (I know, but it is what is available). He is a very good doer, so even with the grass this year he is fat. In winter he has hay twice a day and hard feed three times a day. He is not fat in winter but is very, very "fresh" for obvious reasons and I don't think I will get through another winter without him injuring me. Also, the lessons are demoralising, lots of screaming and humiliation. But the facilities are good and the owner is very professional. To note that my pony has had uveitis in the past but hasn't had an attack since November.

I have the choice of two other places:

Place 1 - field in a riding stables 20 minutes away. Small field/paddock so not much grass and they have hay all the time (this concerns me as he eats constantly given the chance). He would need to wear his mask all summer and on sunny days in winter (I can't go up morning and night to take it on and off). The field will be all mud in the winter. Lessons are club lessons, oriented dressage with a bit of jumping. They do have stables if he needs to come in for medical reasons. Young owner just bought the yard, it is her first stables. The last owner went bankrupt...

Place 2 - yard with 24 hour in field in summer (April to October) and stable night/grass paddock all day with hay in winter. Paddocks are good, not much mud. He could have his mask off all night, even on sunny days. They are oriented western riding and have an indoor arena, amazing mountain trail and do a lot of overnight trekking etc which is what I love. He doesn't hack.out alone.at the moment and has done very little hacking in general. But it is 40 minutes away....

I work full time and have a child,.so need to be practical.

Is 40 minutes just too far? I fear it is. Should I worry that if I put him in place 1 he is just going to stand around eating all day and I am going to struggle to control his weight?

In both I would get a sharer to do a couple of days a week.
 
Yard 2 sounds better- although only you will be able to say if you can find the extra travel time.
If you can forsee problems at yard 1, it's probably not the place, as it sounds like you'd have to make some compromises to his welfare and, if the owner is new to running a yard, it may not continue to function as advertised.
 
Are there no other options? How old is your child and do they have a raft of extracurricular activities that also need to be accommodated? On paper Yard 2 sounds great and your current yard awful but 40 minutes each way is a huge chunk out of an already busy day. Do you already have a sharer and are they willing to move with you or would you need to find someone after you move? Is there someone at Yard 2 that you could pay to cover one end of the day for you so you only need to go up once?

I used to do this when my pony was on livery - I'd get all my jobs and riding done in the morning before work and leave the stable made up so the yard manager could bring him in on an evening, saving me a visit. It was well worth the money as I would have spent far more on diesel and dog walkers than what she charged.
 
There are only other options that are all year stable/paddock individual turnout for a couple of hours a day, or fields with no facilities, which doesn't work as I can't hack out. Or competition yards and I don't have the minimum level required. I live in France close to Paris so there is limited land.

I have a current sharer but she bought her own horse and is leaving in February anyway. She also doesn't really want to ride him this winter if he stays. So I would need to find someone new. I feel that I would have more chance at the second place as he is very good at groundwork and there are people there that do a lot of this.

My daughter is 11 so yes, I have a ton of extra curricular activities, but one is riding and at both these places she could also have lessons.

The reality is that at 40 minutes I could do one weekday evening and the weekend. The yard would do everything, turnout, rugs, feed etc. Also treatment for his eye if needed. I could pay them to work him one day a week. I just feel that I would barely see him, but maybe this is a reflection of my current stage of life 😊.
 
Does yard 2 offer full livery and if so is it within your budget? If you can balance the extra riding time with no having chores to do & literally being able to turn up & ride then it may be doable and sounds like it offers a better setup for both of you than either alternative option.
 
I would go with yard 2, at the moment I am driving 40 mins one way, although a slog it is doable. I use the shops en route for any groceries etc. It does become a chore at times but if you have them as full livery backup it sounds ideal. Also take into consideration what the roads are like, mine are 'fast' roads so easier travel for the majority.
 
You can. It is not needed at all but I have no control over what he is fed. He is on full livery, which is all that is available, and I tried all of last winter to change the way he is fed, however the YO does what, in his opinion, is correct. I spent all winter getting bolted with, bucked off, haring around the arena with no control (he does the lessons so he saw and just spent his time screaming at me to get him under control) and told him several times openly that I was going to get hurt, yet he still continued to feed like this. This is one of the reasons I want to leave as I am actually too scared to do another winter like this.
 
Gropony said:
You can. It is not needed at all but I have no control over what he is fed. He is on full livery, which is all that is available, and I tried all of last winter to change the way he is fed, however the YO does what, in his opinion, is correct. I spent all winter getting bolted with, bucked off, haring around the arena with no control (he does the lessons so he saw and just spent his time screaming at me to get him under control) and told him several times openly that I was going to get hurt, yet he still continued to feed like this. This is one of the reasons I want to leave as I am actually too scared to do another winter like this.
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This sounds like an awful situation.
 
Hmm if the further away one is established and full livery maybe you don't need to go every day. It is far away though so would depend on so many other variables we don't know. Its further than I would like to travel as a parent who is part time working more than 2-3 times /week. Current yard doesn't sound good and yard 1 doesn't sound great either. Constant mud with no stables gets very demotivating.
 
I thought hay twice a day and hard feed three times a day sounded very French!

I think I would go with yard 2. It seems like the set up is what you really want. Yes, it's a bit further away and you might see your horse less, but you will be able to enjoy the time you do spend with him. If you can ride him 3 times a week, that's not bad, and more in holidays, etc... If you could find yourself a good sharer for 2 or 3 days a weeks, he should be covered in terms of exercise.
 
I also think yard 2. If it’s full livery then even going up 2 times through the week and at the weekends would be worth it.
Dad could surely have the child 2 nights of the week.
 
Yard 2 sounds the best option. Maybe a sharer as well. At least for the coming winter it sounds like it would be best for the horse. When you go up maybe do shopping/ etc on way to save time.
 
Yard 2 sounds great so I would give that a go. If after the winter you decide it's just too far, then you can re-evaluate. Is there at least e.g. a supermarket on the way back so you can combine the journey with other chores/errands?
 
It is a bit in the middle of nowhere, but I do pass various shops. It raises a good point though, I need to check the opening hours as, where I am now it is 8.30am tp 8.30pm, which makes it difficult.
 
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