Yard A or B?

[MarvelVillis]

Unfortunately I've been on the lookout for a new livery yard for a while due to the lack of grazing in my current one and not brilliant hacking. I've come across two which I'm going to view this week. Both sound really lovely and I'm torn between which sounds better. Hopefully I'll be able to make up my mind after viewing them both but would be interested to hear others views on what their preference would be. Both would be on a DIY livery basis.

Yard A - 3.9 miles/10-15 mins from my house. Amazing hacking straight onto Dartmoor and quiet lane hacking. School on site. Same sex herd grazing and have to be in from Nov-May overnight. No poo picking required. £110pcm and would have to buy hay/straw on top.

Yard B - 13 miles/25 mins from my house. Good hacking again, short and long routes available. School on site and American barn stabling. Can be out 24/7 in summer and winter as it's 5 horses sharing 11 acres with unlimited bales of haylage. They have a separate 11 acre field for summer with lots of natural shelter. Someone looks at the herd every day so wouldn't need to go to the yard every day if I didn't need to. No poo picking required. £120pcm in summer and £220 in winter months to supplement the haylage.

 

[FlyingCircus]

Depends on needs of you and your horse. Neither would work for me as I need to be able to manage my own grazing as have a pony that lives on fresh air!

 

[MarvelVillis]

Both would suit our needs which is why I'm stuck choosing between them

 

[Equi]

Yard b sounds amazing for some reason but not so amazing for others for example will you know if there are others who stay out 24/7 or will be regularly coming in? Is there any routine? Does your horse need routine?

while a sounds more up my street in terms of settled routine the bother of finding my own hay would make me run a mile - is there sufficient storage to keep it or is it a buy a bale and carry it down a day job.

 

[Gallop_Away]

It entirely depends on your own personal wants and needs.

Yard A wouldn't work for me as my mare and gelding are pair bonded (well I say that but it's more like he adores her and won't let her out of his sight, whilst she mildly tolerates him) so mixed turnout is a must for me.

Purely on my own preferences I'd pick B

 

[MarvelVillis]

Yard b sounds amazing for some reason but not so amazing for others for example will you know if there are others who stay out 24/7 or will be regularly coming in? Is there any routine? Does your horse need routine?

while a sounds more up my street in terms of settled routine the bother of finding my own hay would make me run a mile - is there sufficient storage to keep it or is it a buy a bale and carry it down a day job.

I think 3 of the herd stay out 24/7 winter and summer as they're oldies, and then the others come in every now and then. I would foresee leaving my gelding out 24/7 and only bring in if the weather is really bad. Mine doesn't need a strict routine - I do like how natural and relaxed option B sounds and how I can come and go as I please.

There is an option to buy bales of hay onsite from yard A as they are a farm so that would make life a bit easier than sourcing it myself.

 

[MarvelVillis]

It entirely depends on your own personal wants and needs.

Yard A wouldn't work for me as my mare and gelding are pair bonded (well I say that but it's more like he adores her and won't let her out of his sight, whilst she mildly tolerates him) so mixed turnout is a must for me.

Purely on my own preferences I'd pick B

I think that's my struggle as both would work well for me and my gelding... I've been searching for a nice yard for so long that it feels strange to have two lovely ones to choose from!

 

[Equi]

Hmm then I’m stumped ? just have to go with your gut when you see them then. If yard b was something your horse was happy with then it’s probably my pick but I would be asking if the haylage price was set cause if you won’t be using it it’s hardly fair to pay for it. Oh I really don’t know!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think you will have a much better idea once you go and look at them I know I would.

For me I have 2 geldings that can and have lived out all year but I like to have a stable just incase so B would suit me but it's the distance that would potentially put me off.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

They both sound great but you will pick up a lot when you go and see them. Yard A is ideal because it is that much nearer, if you are time sensitive but then if your horse is living out in winter at Yard B you won't need the extra time for mucking out. Has he lived in a herd before, you do have to be prepared for a period of adjustment as they work out the hierarchy.

 

[Lintel]

I think it’s very horse situation dependent. I would have to pick A for as lovely as B sounds having 24/7 access to haylage all winter would be a DISASTER for a fat Hipo ?

 

[MuddyMonster]

For me I'd pick yard A for the hacking on Dartmoor

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I would pick A - herd turnout is all well and good as long as it is managed and the other liveries are all agreeable. It only takes one to have a badly mannered horse, accuse your horse of being a bull or gate hogger, start trying to feed in the field or have an irritating dog or any multitude of things and it all starts to go wrong.

You might walk onto one and feel at home, and not be that bothered about the other however, so I would wait until you see them.

 

[charlotte0916]

Both sound lovely for the pair of you. Personally I’d go with an open mind to both and see how it feels. I saw a number of yards recently that on paper would be perfect but in practice I had no desire to leave my horse there!

E.g. heaps of weeds in the fields, barbed wire in the paddocks, lots of unrepaired fencing (so limited care being paid), the proximity to things that may disturb the horses (e.g. wedding venue, train line, low flight path!) and the general attitude of the YO to the horses etc.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I prefer 24/7 turnout and am pretty lazy so it's a vote for B from me.

Although both sound awesome. Wish there were more like this with those prices near me!

 

[! Hackinghappy!]

Both sound perfect - I'm jealous.

For me, probably the closeness and convenience of yard a would swing it although I do like the idea of all year round 24/7 turn out.

Hopefully when you visit them you will get more of a feel and make it easier to decide.

 

[MinKo]

Yard A. IMO 25 minutes journey is too long. .

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Yard A, however I bring in at night all year round as its my preference and to keep him in a routine

No poo picking sounds incredible however does this mean loads of poo left lying on the fields?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We kept our horses on a friend's farm temporarily, just before we moved into our own place.That was 13 miles/30mins away and further than we were used to. I wouldn't want to do that long-term.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Time is always short for working horse owners, so yard B is a 26 mile round trip at 25 minutes each way times by a minimum 2 visits per day.

That is 52 miles and probably a gallon of fuel a day and 1 hour 40 minutes of time a day. Not great on a nice day, and a total pain on a winters day.

 

[webble]

How often are you likely to visit yard b? Will the journey become a pain? Also what are the roads to it like? If we have a harsh winter can you get there?

 

[holeymoley]

Yard A . Purely due to distance. If they could both work for you then picking the closest one seems the answer.

 

[splashgirl45]

yard A for me as i like mine in at night in the winter and am a control freak and have to visit twice a day so the distance to yard B would put me off

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

Yard A I couldn’t stand doing a 25 minute journey on DIY. If you have to go twice a day that’s 1hr and 40 minutes driving a day. Even once it’s nearly an hour in the car a day. I had mine on full livery which was a 30 minute drive and even then I truly loathed it especially in winter in the dark with icy roads or driving rain and I didn’t need to go every day. Not sure what you mean by “looking at the herd” many an injury could be missed.

You don’t say if any services are available and also what the Yard is like at the times you will be there. The previous yard I was on everyone had gone home by the time I got there after work and it was very uninviting.

 

[PSD]

Yard a. Distance and hacking would sway it for me, also being able to source your own forage and bedding is a bonus as you can buy better/poorer quality if needed for poor/good doers.

 

[MagicMelon]

Id personally rather B, but the distance would put me off - you cant just nip down there if its a 25 min drive... whereas you can if only 10. But I would generally always choose a quieter / smaller yard as potentially less drama and more laid back

 

[Nasicus]

Hmmm, both have good points, but I think I'd probably veer towards Yard A. And I say this as someone who loves 24/7 turnout year round, with the option of a stable if I want to use it.

For one, 2 trips to yard A and back would cost me £2.56 or £71.68 for 436.81 miles over 4 weeks.
2 trips to Yard B and back would cost me £8.32. Over the course of 28 days (4 weeks), that's 1456 miles and £232.96! (Disclaimer: I'm tired and whilst I think the math is right, it might not be, and this is just me going by my own cars fuel costs/consumption, ymmv). And that's a lot of wear and tear on your car to think about too, tyres and the like.
That's a bit of an eye opener, especially in the winter as Yard B would then go up to roughly £450 pcm.

Of course, you do need to consider the costs of purchasing bedding and forage at yard A, particularly during the winter. But as it stays a consistent price year round, in my example it would make the cost for livery and fuel £180ish, meaning that if you were willing to pay the £450 that yard B would cost in the winter, you'd have £270 left to play with for bedding and feed before you reached £450. If, for example your horse ate an entire small bale each night at £5 a bale, that's £140 over 28 days, leaving £130 for bedding, assuming £8 for a bale of sawdust, being generous with 6 bales to start a bed and adding 2 bales a week so 8 bales every 4 weeks, total of 14 bales to start would be £112, and £64 going forward assuming you only need to keep topping up. So £180 + £130 + £112 = £422 or £180 + £130 + £64 = £374.

Anyway I got way too into doing (probably incorrect) math here, but you can see what I'm saying. When you end up paying near enough the same or less for Yard A than Yard B, well, I'll choose Yard A. It's closer (less time spent in the car, it really adds up and makes a huge difference when daylight is short), has amazing hacking, and the winter turnout arrangement (assuming they don't keep them in at the first hint of a cloud) is reasonable.

Actual state/atmosphere/level of maintenance of the yards depending of course. If A is an actual DUMP with witchy liveries and a crazy YO, whereas B is well maintained, friendly and the YO is sane, then that changes things. But you won't know that until you go have a look which will suit you and your horse

 

[I'm Dun]

I was on a set up similar to yard B and same sort of distance. Easy 30minute drive on dual carriageways. It very quickly became a nightmare! You cant just pop up, you cant just pop back. You have to plan everything with military precision for your one visit a day. I wouldnt do it again. It was too much.

 

[MarvelVillis]

Thanks for all your replies! It's given me food for thought. I think yard B would be perfect if it wasn't a 25 minute drive. Going to see yard A this afternoon so fingers crossed I still like it!

 

[jnb]

If you went for Yard B and didn't have to go daily in winter for example, you could ask if you could set a Reolink Go up for peace of mind so you could check visually?
For me although Yard B sounds better for the horse, the haylage in field would be the breaker, most horses don't need ad lib hayage, I'd want hay.