Yard dilemma: from none to three!

Which yard should I choose?

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Cinnamontoast

Cinnamontoast

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I would love some help from you guys cos I am in a real dilemma about choosing a new yard. Please help by voting for one.

Background to consider:

I rarely ride anymore but I like all the groundwork/long reining/lunging. I would like to ride more but I hate road work. I'll need someone to do mornings and the occasional day. I like a quite busy yard as I rarely have time to socialise elsewhere and at weekends, I am often home alone due to OH being on shifts, so spending time at the yard is fairly important. I like showing but I have no transport. Regardless, I'll see current yard friends outside the yard: we go out occasionally.

Yard one: about 4.5 miles away from home, about one from work. Has a riding school so is busy at weekends. Two people there I know. Decent boxes, good turn out. Would be about 5 minutes' drive from work. Friendly place, owners on site, they're horsey. Easy to get there, wouldn't be a problem in winter. Hacking not stunning. Probably wouldn't be able to take the dogs there.

Yard two: 8 miles from work or home. Great turn out, huge box, yard manager to help with turn out. Deadly quiet except for show weekends (local county shows held there). Would be potentially hard in winter as its down a long single track lane. Takes 20 minutes from work or home. Opposite direction to home from work. Ex sharer is there and would like to ride my horse again. Good hacking.

Yard three: 8 miles from home, about 5 from work. Great turn out, but quite a walk from the yard itself, lovely outdoor manège, YM on site or next door and does services. Hacking amazing. Quite expensive compared to the other two. I can take the dogs there. It's in an area I know and prefer for stabling.

Help!
 
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No brainer - yard 3! More expensive, but great hacking; you can take the dogs; you can go on your way to/from work and as the hacking's great you may ride more :D
 
Nicnac said:
No brainer - yard 3! More expensive, but great hacking; you can take the dogs; you can go on your way to/from work and as the hacking's great you may ride more :D
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It's not on the way to/from work. :confused: Work is 3 miles in one direction, the yard is probably 8 miles from home, work is in a different direction, closer to yard by 3 miles or so. Yard is in a different direction to home or work. :)
 
I'd probably lean for yard 1 as it would save a fortune in petrol being closer, you could walk there at a push if weather really crap/car blew up and if you like a busy yard then it seems to be the best option.
 
Yard 1 for me, the extra travel plus extra cost of yard three would out me off. My current yard is half the distance from home than our previous one , I spend a lot more time there and can just pop up for an extra visit without it feeling like a huge trip.
 
Yard 1 sounds the best but if it's a riding school would you be able to use the school on weekends or school holidays?
 
I voted yard 3 because it is the only one that you state you can take your dogs.

But, I think yard 2 would also be good for you especially if your old sharer wants to start sharing again. This could mean that you could share duties and maybe cut down the amount of times you have to go meaning that it doesn't cost you too much more in fuel. But you don't mention if you can take your dogs to this one.

If you can have services I don't think that the distance is a problem as you can work it so you only go once a day. I travel 17 miles one way to my yard so 8 sounds fantastic!
 
i voted for yard 3 but wanted to vote yard 1 as well. Depends on your preference for hose much time/driving you want to do to get to and from the yard.
 
Yard 1 sounds just like the yard I moved back to a few months ago and couldn't be happier. You literally could have written that post as me a few months back, we sound very similar! I found 5 miles is even too far when you go every day and you find that you run out of time to ride as it's taken so long to get there, same goes for turnout that is far away from the yard. At my current yard turnout for me took 30mins to get her in and same for turning back out, it was a real struggle before work, I now have her in a closer paddock due to a hay allergy and it is so much more enjoyable.

I moved her to a very quiet yard for a year, with liveries that happy hacked mostly in walk. Although everyone was lovely, the grazing was fantastic and they couldn't have looked after her better when I had my accident, I was lonely. As soon as I started riding again and had no one to go out with I realised that I would rather make a sacrafice on facilities and be happy myself than be lonely but with a happy horse. Being happy myself has meant my pony is happy, infact she marched back to the old yard (riding school one) and was very pleased to be back which suprised me!

I love being on a riding school, there is ALWAYs someone to hack with, even if you have to tag on the back of a riding school hack. There are always people around which is a bonus for me with my shift work and odd hours, I still see people! Lots of potential sharers to watch in lessons should you need one, always lots of help, even at short notice. Ours holds yard competions so even without transport I can have some fun and there are enough people there who will give me a space on their lorry or trailer to go schooling elsewhere or compete.

Yard 1 for me!
 
Actually none of them sound ideal. I'd carry on looking.

I'd hate T/O quite a walk from yard, lovely on a summers morning but not in winter.

Distance is also very important and I'd want to be closer than 8 miles.

There was something amiss with all of them for me I'd want something closer, good Turnout and where I can simultaneously walk my dogs.

Perhaps I'm being fussy. Prob why I bought my own yard.
 
Yard 3 for me because I'm used to driving further for the right yard!

Mine is 9 miles from home and a bit more from work and is in different direction to either of them, so I rack up about 40 miles a day doing 2 round trips in a massive triangle. But hacking and people great, turnout great, pony happy - so that's what matters most :)
 
I'd still look too.

Yard three is the best of the bunch. The hacking would be good - and that is what you need by the sounds of it.

Yard two - I would be wary of somewhere difficult to get to in bad weather unless they were on full or part livery.

Yard one - I would hate the volume of people around at weekends in a riding school yard, and the fact that you wouldn't be able to use the school etc..
 
I have a box reserved at yard one! I dunno if it will be forever, but the hugely warm welcome from the two girls I used to teach won me over, as did the close by turn out and lack of mud! The girls' dad owns it. He's a mate of my current YO but had no hesitation taking me. He knows what has happened and is sympathetic.

It's a riding school but there was only one person there when I went up (a friend) who showed me round. It's about a mile and a half from work so 4.5 miles from home, just a bit further up the road. It gets busy at weekends.

There's 30 acres on site to ride round, (didnt realise :o) a fab outdoor, a lovely tea room but most importantly, one of Beau's field mates who moved there last month and a huge stable for him!
 
cinnamontoast said:
I have a box reserved at yard one! I dunno if it will be forever, but the hugely warm welcome from the two girls I used to teach won me over, as did the close by turn out and lack of mud! The girls' dad owns it. He's a mate of my current YO but had no hesitation taking me. He knows what has happened and is sympathetic.

It's a riding school but there was only one person there when I went up (a friend) who showed me round. It's about a mile and a half from work so 4.5 miles from home, just a bit further up the road. It gets busy at weekends.

There's 30 acres on site to ride round, (didnt realise :o) a fab outdoor, a lovely tea room but most importantly, one of Beau's field mates who moved there last month and a huge stable for him!
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Sounds like you have decided then - hope it works out for you:)
 
Slinkyunicorn said:
Sounds like you have decided then - hope it works out for you:)
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I figure that it's not necessarily forever, but I need to move. Although I did love my present yard, it has become toxic with what is happening and some of the people there. In my job and with my husband's job, I really ought to have left weeks ago because of someone who came back to the yard after 'time away'.
 
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