Yard "Must Haves" and "Sacrifices"...

BorgRae

BorgRae

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 September 2010
Messages
461
Location
Lancashire
Visit site
A follow on from the “would you move yards for an indoor” thread…

Got me thinking (never a good thing!! :rolleyes:)…

Anyhoo, I just wondered what people had on their list of “Must Haves” for a yard? And what you’d be prepared to sacrifice? I have searched and searched for the perfect yard, but always have to give way for something...

My must haves are:

Turnout with excellent grazing
Indoor School
Floodlit Outdoor School
Large airy stables
Friendly Yard (no Bitching)
Knowledgeable YO
The option of Part/Full Livery (where jobs are done to high standards)
High Standard of Care
Good quality hay/hayledge

The things I therefore sacrifice on are travel time, as the yard is over 30 mins away, and it’s very expensive!! But I love my current yard and wouldn't change it :p

So, what’s your "list", and what are you prepared to let go?
 
Must have:
Good hacking
Big enough stable
Friendly atmosphere
Well fenced paddocks, ideally natural fields with hedges etc, none of this thinly wired fencing you get

Extras such as a arena (not necessarily indoor!) are a bonus :D
I find it a bit strange that people insist on having an indoor, only the past 2 years I've been at a yard with an outdoor arena, before that we just had fields to school in and I managed to keep the ponies fit all year round and competing. Maybe people are just soft nowadays ;)
 
Last edited:
must have,

lots of grazing

can sacrifice,
everything else :)

Thats what Ive got and me and the horses are very happy with our lot...
 
good grazing, hacking, large stables, good quality forage /bedding ,nice atmosphere, good surface ( outdoor is fine) acess to jumps/ training , indoor school
 
Must haves:

All year turnout available
American barn - have tried going back to normal stables and it's not the same, I love being able to tie my boy outside stable with haynet to have a good groom!
Floodlit outdoor menage
Jumps available
Good hacking
Friendly people

Sacrifices - also travel time. It takes me 40mins to get to yard :( but he's on full livery and worth every penny :)
 
Must have:
School - If possible decent sized and normal shaped!
Good hacking
All year round turnout
Nice friendly people
Big enough stable
Good quality hay or haylage

Everything else i could probably compromise on but those are the things a yard must have for me.
 
Must have: (i am diy)

Good Hacking
Close to home
All year turnout
hay/straw onsite
decent sized stable
running water/electric
Ideally a low amount of liveries (just 3 of us here - 6 horses)

Thankfully my yard ticks all the above boxes!
Just need a school next!
 
All year turnout is my no 1 priority. But I could also not cope without a stable, electricity and running water.
These are the essentials - everything else just makes life a bit nicer and easier.
 
Eeek, didn't event think of Water and Electric... That's on the list as well!! :D


Oh, and a brew room is always a bonus!! But as long as there's a kettle, i'm good!! :)
 
Must haves:
Well surfaced arena with lighting (don't mind whether indoor or outdoor).
24 hour turnout in summer and as much as possible during winter.
Well ventilated, safe stables.
Lighting on the yard for late night visits.

Sacrifice: My stable is next to a very rude livery but will be moving to the main barn next year :)
 
The yard Reg is kept at is tiny, very private with enough grazing, electricity and water with a lovely YO. There is a decent stable, a tack room (a stable with rug racks in) and only one other lady who is very nice. Perfect! He competes at BE100 level, will hopefully step up to Novice at some point and wants for nothing :)
 
Must haves:

All year turn out
decent size stable and storage
water, elec.

Mine doesn't have on the door step completely off road hacking which I miss from a yard I used to be on but I love the yard so this is my sacrifice and it is a bit one considering hacking is what I do. However I bought a little horsebox so during the summer I drive to off road hacking.
 
I'd happily sacrifice an arena for good off road hacking, that would be idyllic! I think a good YO or YM is very important, especially after reading some of the horror stories about behaviour on yards on this forum. That kind of thing would never be tolerated on our yard.
 
Good grazing.
Good riding surface that is maintained.
Knowledgable YO.
Good hacking.

And it is preferable to have good surfaces around the yard. I detest having to wade through mud just to get to my stable.
 
All year turnout IN COMPANY, at least 24/7 summer; don't mind in at night over the worst of the winter. Decent fencing, pasture management although prefer to be somewhere without dairy quality grazing for my good doer.

Excellent off road hacking.

Option of part/full if necessary, experienced YO/YM but one who is happy to let you do things your own way and not dictate what you should be feeding, what tack you use etc.

Reasonable outdoor floodlit school is useful in winter although I will hack whenever possible.

On site supply of hay/haylage/bedding or PLENTY of room to store your own, hate not having decent storage at the yard.

Children/dogs kept on leads or under very good control ;) :D

Don't mind other facilities e.g. indoor school, horsewalker...
Don't mind travelling a decent distance
Don't need a flashy yard as long as things are safe and kept maintained.
 
all year *safe* turnout - wouldnt ever go on a yard which was restricted!!
outdoor...
Nice stable


they are must haves ^^


we have that though and more (brew room, tack room, lovely owners etc)!

and its 3 mins from my house :D
 
Must have:

Good grazing with company/definitely all year round and preferably 24/7 in summer
Good fencing
Watertight stable
Storage undercover
Water & lights
Easy access via main roads and no more than 15 mins from home (DIY)
Good hacking with minimum roadwork
 
It would probably depend on whether you're a leisure rider or more into schooling/competing but my essentials would be:
Large, airy stables either American barn or with a really big overhang - not keen on the full wall of bars in Monarch type boxes due to scrapping when food arrives!
Rubber matting in boxes & wash bay
Hot & cold wash bay with an overhead hose
Concrete standing surface/no mud in yard
All year turnout in well fenced paddocks - I prefer electric tape to post and rail - less chewing and generally the insulators break if the horse hits it rather than the horse breaks. Absolutely no barbed wire (trashes rugs as well as horses). Also I don't like that metal estate type fencing (no give at all and I've seen horses catastrophically injured in it)
No mud in paddock gateways
Facilities to turnout solo or with just one or two others
Good arena (min 20x60) with a proper all-weather surface - doesn't freeze or get deep
Round pen with surface
Horsewalker with surface
Good off road riding with places to do fast work
Secure alarmed tack room and somewhere to lock things up
Clean feedstore
Clean haystore
Secure lorry parking
Lovely caring people who treat my horse well
Happy horses & a good yard routine
Tea & bikkies!

.... I think that's about it!
 
I am not too fussy anymore.

Must haves:
Good all year turnout
Floodlit outdoor arena
Decent sized stable
Services available if you need them
Close to home

Extras:
Brilliant hacking
Indoor arena
horsewalker
Lunging pen
 
qaz said:
It would probably depend on whether you're a leisure rider or more into schooling/competing but my essentials would be:
Large, airy stables either American barn or with a really big overhang - not keen on the full wall of bars in Monarch type boxes due to scrapping when food arrives!
Rubber matting in boxes & wash bay
Hot & cold wash bay with an overhead hose
Concrete standing surface/no mud in yard
All year turnout in well fenced paddocks - I prefer electric tape to post and rail - less chewing and generally the insulators break if the horse hits it rather than the horse breaks. Absolutely no barbed wire (trashes rugs as well as horses). Also I don't like that metal estate type fencing (no give at all and I've seen horses catastrophically injured in it)
No mud in paddock gateways
Facilities to turnout solo or with just one or two others
Good arena (min 20x60) with a proper all-weather surface - doesn't freeze or get deep
Round pen with surface
Horsewalker with surface
Good off road riding with places to do fast work
Secure alarmed tack room and somewhere to lock things up
Clean feedstore
Clean haystore
Secure lorry parking
Lovely caring people who treat my horse well
Happy horses & a good yard routine
Tea & bikkies!

.... I think that's about it!
Click to expand...

Have you found a yard that ticks every single one of your boxes? Especially no mud with all year turnout!
 
qaz said:
It would probably depend on whether you're a leisure rider or more into schooling/competing but my essentials would be:
Large, airy stables either American barn or with a really big overhang - not keen on the full wall of bars in Monarch type boxes due to scrapping when food arrives!
Rubber matting in boxes & wash bay
Hot & cold wash bay with an overhead hose
Concrete standing surface/no mud in yard
All year turnout in well fenced paddocks - I prefer electric tape to post and rail - less chewing and generally the insulators break if the horse hits it rather than the horse breaks. Absolutely no barbed wire (trashes rugs as well as horses). Also I don't like that metal estate type fencing (no give at all and I've seen horses catastrophically injured in it)
No mud in paddock gateways
Facilities to turnout solo or with just one or two others
Good arena (min 20x60) with a proper all-weather surface - doesn't freeze or get deep
Round pen with surface
Horsewalker with surface
Good off road riding with places to do fast work
Secure alarmed tack room and somewhere to lock things up
Clean feedstore
Clean haystore
Secure lorry parking
Lovely caring people who treat my horse well
Happy horses & a good yard routine
Tea & bikkies!

.... I think that's about it!
Click to expand...

Wow - just wondering what you'd expect to pay for all that and have you found it?
 
Must have:

Indoor School , at least 20 x 60 with a good surface.
Full set of show jumps
Large stables
Small amount of liveries, so facilities not busy all the time
Proper care on full livery, ie feet picked, horse checked over
All much turn out as possible

Can sacrifice:
Distance
Cost
Friendly people ( just want to go ride my horse and go home )
 
After having moved to a 'interm' yard with lovely hacking while sourcing a new yard in Wiltshire I would never have put excellent hacking on my wish list as my old yard had limited hacking but over the years you just got used to it. The Interm yard has really reminded me the pleasure of stunning bridlepaths and the freedom of being able to go out for hours and not the ususal trot round the block!

So Excellent hacking was top of the list for my dressage horse !!
 
Must Haves:
Great hacking (as that is mostly what I do!)
Be situated in good hunting country (as I hack to all the meets I go to)
Have decent sized stables
Good turnout with safe fencing
Reliable staff and good service provided
Water and Electric
Safe and secure tack room
Outdoor school with floodlights and good drainage

Extras (all of which I am lucky enough to have!!)
Outdoor school with floodlights
Indoor school with floodlights
full set of show jumps
cross country schooling paddock
wash box with hot water
horse walker
rubber matting in stables
hay and bedding provided onsite
tea room
 
Must have;
Good turnout
Flexible YM
Water

All the rest can be sacrificed! Phil is 11 and has only been ridden in (outdoor!) schools for the past year!
 
Grass livery aside. (which I would expect perimeter fence and water)

If I am paying to be on a proper yard I MUST HAVE:

Adequate turnout all year round.
Water.
Electric (kettle is important this time of year ;) )
Concrete yard area to get out of the mud.
Lights.
Somewhere to store hay, straw, feed.
YO who understands I shift work, can be late out, off duty gets to me late.

I can sacrifice (as I do anyway for budgets)
School of any form.
Toilet.
Shower.
X country course
Yard staff.



What I am about to have as soon as a space comes free, I am top of the list.

Outdoor school with floodlights
Option of part DIY (which I will do for 1 week approx a month over different days)
Seperated grazing
toilet, kitchen, shower, lockers, secure tack room, rug storage
Rubber matting.
Yard Owner who is an instructor
Car park.
All in walking distance of my hourse :) :) :) :) :)

I am easily pleased. :)
 
Last edited:
Must haves for me;
Good grazing
Nice people on there.
Good menarge( my ones all boggy though atm grr..)
Lovely and knowlegable YO (though mines an alcoholic and a grumpy old git at the best of times, making younger children cry, but other times he will just come on the yard and decide he is going to build a new tackroom.. Have learnt to change gis mood swing by a pich of salt.. Oh and he knows nothing about horses and he is absoloutly loaded!
Good storage
Good hacking!
 
The top of my list would be;
24/7 turn out in the summer and daytime turnout in the winter, minimum.
Nice big airy stable with a decent floor! I used to work on a yard where the floor underneath the bedding was actually just dirt and the stables were damp and dark.
Excellent hacking, preferably straight from the yard.
Water and electricity.
Outdoor with floodlights and access to jumps and/or field for schooling etc.
Fairly small and non-bitchy with helpful YO/YM and other liveries.
Locking tack room.
Good quality hay/haylage or somewhere good to store it where it doesn't get trampled in the mud and run over by the tractor...

Bonuses would be;
Fields that didn't get too muddy, especially in gateways and down tracks leading to fields.
A place where I could keep all my stuff safely. A place for a trunk or locker or something.
Someone willing to help with my horse if I couldn't make it!

I'm not bothered by an indoor particularly, it's not as if I'd melt in the rain. Having one would probably just increase my livery bill which I'd rather keep to a minimum!
 
Musts for me-

all year turnout with good fencing and able to put hay out in fields
fields to be managed and poo-picked
big stables
good off road and quiet lane hacking
arena with floodlights and good surface
knowledgable YO/YM who I can trust to do my horses properly
part/full livery
secure tackroom
parking for lorry/trailer
ad-lib good quality hay to feed from the floor

I think that is it!

I am flexible on location and price but that is about it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top