Yard meeting - useful or recipe for inevitable melt down?

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blackandwhite

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Our YM (well she's called YM but has very little autonomy and certainly isn't in charge) sent a text on Saturday evening asking us liveries to attend a "don't hold back" yard meeting. As a DIY livery client, not afraid to speak up if something isn't right, I don't feel any need to go. I also have no desire to watch the yard staff ripped to bits by other liveries who need a pack to raise an issue. Would you go anyway just incase or are these things just an inevitable disaster? My gut instinct says that YM is unhappy and looking to create a reason to justify leaving.
 
She should have an agenda let her speak first and then at the end at open question time you can speak up you feel the need to. If it was me i would want to be there incase an issue was raised that may effect me and my horse and i would want to give my opinion to agree or disagree.
 
It really depends on what has happened to make the YM want to call a meeting. If you are happy to say what you feel, then it might be a good idea to go, just to stop the pack "baying for blood" and to not be afraid to put a reasonible slant on the meeting.
 
Yard meetings CAN be very helpful... Or quite destructive, depending on who/ why they have been called. Would it be possible to talk to the YM beforehand to find out what the agenda is? And, if you feel you have good enough communication with her, tell her so and just say what you have written here.- hope that helps :)
 
This sounds like a blood letting meeting. The YM must have some serious misgivings about something.
Personally, I don't think these kind of meetings are constructive and cause ill feeling, so I'd keep well away and send my apologies.

But then, I'm like you, I mention anything straight to the YO quietly without the need for a back up group of fevered ranters.
 
the few meetings out yard has never result in anything beneficial.

they turn into an argument.

I still go so I can put my point across if needed.
Plus I know exactly whats been discussed.
I done have to speak with atleast Im there if I need to put my point across.
 
I would be inclined to go to the first one to see what its about. If its a tit for tat or breaking the 'rules' kind of meeting then i would suggest a large notice board goes up with all the Do's and Donts on it to keep the rules of the yard clear and consistent.
Our yard can be a bit frustrating like that. They either make the rules up as they go along or tell one person one thing and then expect the rest of us to 'just know' what the new rule is.

Livery yards are a pain int he arss but without one iw ouldnt be able to keep a horse ... Lotto win being the exception!
 
I would certainly go, even if I said nothing I would be in the loop. I think we're going to have a yard meeting soon and I think it'd be very good for my yard, since YO has recently left and everything is changing.
 
Ask that an Agenda for the meeting be pinned up so that everyone will know what is to be discussed, also is it clear that any vote on a given subject will be written or will it be a show of hands (always devisive). In other words find out as much as you can beforehand.
 
Yards are feudal. What purpose can a meeting have? The YM needs to take charge and la down the law consistently rather than have a meeting where doubt feedback will be given, required or not. Could be disastrous!!
 
If it's done well those meetings can be very useful. If she says that anyone who has an issue submits it in writing prior to her before the meeting, and only issues submitted will be discussed, it can be a very useful meeting and avoid the more mob mentality.

I'd go, but not be drawn in unless absolutely necessary!
 
Lolo said:
If it's done well those meetings can be very useful. If she says that anyone who has an issue submits it in writing prior to her before the meeting, and only issues submitted will be discussed, it can be a very useful meeting and avoid the more mob mentality.

I'd go, but not be drawn in unless absolutely necessary!
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Agree.
When I was a livery on the yard I now run, we had a yard meeting with the owners and the YM, because the standard of the haylage was shocking and the YO's were accusing us of wasting good haylage. YM hadn't been entirely honest with the YO's about the quality of their haylage, so it seemed alot was being wasted when in reality we couldn't feed it in the first place because it was rotten. It was also a good opportunity to raise some other points (like fire drills, any suggestions the liveries had for the YO's etc) and whilst it got heated at one point, in the long run it settled everything down.
It's helped me as the new YM to understand things from the liveries POV (seeing as i was one during their rougher times!) so I have learned from it. In your shoes OP, i'd go to the meeting, even if I didn't have anything to input.
 
I would not attend a meeting with a fellow livery who thinks they have authority to arrange a yard meeting. Recipe for disaster if you ask me.

We have a yard meeting every few months but its held by the YO and we get tea and pizza and biscuits and its all very mature and mellow - everyone gets a chance to speak, we discuss any problems, repairs that need done and so on. Its your YO's job to chair any meetings though, not another liveries
 
I'm another who'd go because at least that way you know what was said rather than having to play Chinese whispers afterwards. Plus by going you get to have your say, whether for or against things as they currently are
 
If the YM has gripes then I would be very careful that they dont turn the meeting in to recruiting followers and then present to the YO their demands and say 'everyone' agrees

If you know the YO I would tip them off and ask them to be there, they can then decide if the YM is going to be the best person to do that job going forward
 
I wouldn't like it if we had a yard meeting, the yard is largely peaceful and we all get along fairly well for horse people, if it ain't broke and all that... also as with any human herd there is a "pecking order" so inevitably some people's views/wants hold more weight than others and I think I'd be over-ruled if anything I wanted were at odds with the more influential members of the group. I would however attend if they were having a meeting, just so I could hear first hand what was and wasn't agreed
 
I'd go, but I'd take vast quantities of vino and hand it out just for the entertainment of the cat fight that will surely follow :D

I'm so so glad I'm not on a proper livery yard, I say it time and time again I would rather have no horse than go onto one of these yards!
 
As others, I would go, if only to avoid the Chinese whispers after the event.

I'm intrigued about the YM who has no autonomy and isn't in charge though?!
 
She's in charge of the day to day basic stuff (turnout, mucking out, organising lessons etc) but she's not in charge of the money or any of the big stuff. One of the liveries tore strips off her the other day (infront of other clients) about money, something she has no control over and can do nothing about. Livery should have taken her issue to YO but instead YM left the yard totally humiliated in floods of tears. I suspect that was the last straw. We view her as head groom and anything other than basic stuff we take to YO. I think I'll speak to her tomorrow and fi d out what it's all about and if YO is coming too.
 
Very bad ju-ju if she is going to allow liveries to pick at the yard staff in front of them. If it were me as one of the yard staff, id be printing out my rights as an employee ready to quote if it happened and would refuse to accept any liability from any 'claims' against me.

As for liveries yelling, well....it wouldn't happen! The yo needs to get something in place, no one has the right to verbally abuse someone like that without sufficient cause, and even then it's never productive.
 
DragonSlayer said:
Very bad ju-ju if she is going to allow liveries to pick at the yard staff in front of them. If it were me as one of the yard staff, id be printing out my rights as an employee ready to quote if it happened and would refuse to accept any liability from any 'claims' against me.

As for liveries yelling, well....it wouldn't happen! The yo needs to get something in place, no one has the right to verbally abuse someone like that without sufficient cause, and even then it's never productive.
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I agree totally on the yard I ran the YO would have served notice to any livery who did that.
 
I'd attend to stay in the loop, they can be useful for clearing the air, but our last 'yard meeting' resulted in people ripping each other to shreds and 2 people getting kicked off! :(
 
I wouldn't accept it either but we're talking big big paying clients *rolling eyes*. This is part of the reason I don't want to go. I want no part of self-important people who think their livery bill entitles them to be as rude as they like. I just don't understand why they can't address issues with the appropriate person at the appropriate time, we manage!
 
Doesn't matter how 'big' they are, they have no right to abuse staff like that and the yard owner should be ashamed of themselves for allowing their staff to be treated in such a way.

I agree with not going, but make sure you give your reasons as to why.

Difficult position to be in, stand by your choice!
 
blackandwhite said:
I wouldn't accept it either but we're talking big big paying clients *rolling eyes*. This is part of the reason I don't want to go. I want no part of self-important people who think their livery bill entitles them to be as rude as they like. I just don't understand why they can't address issues with the appropriate person at the appropriate time, we manage!
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I understand totally why you don't want to be there I would not either .
I hate people who have a go at people who do stuff for them.
I still think I would go TBH just so I knew what happened , hearing more of your story I just hope the YMer has thought this through .
 
To be honest I don't think yard meetings achieve anything. The YO is the YO, their yard, their rules. If you have an issue with anything then speak quietly with the YO to try & resolve the matter. Why liveries want to do a Jeremy Kyle & announce to the whole yard the issues they have I don't know. I've been on yards that have done this & it's a reci[pe for disaster. It causes bad blood & splits the yard into rival factions which isn't good.
 
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