Yard owners - how do you feel about people turning up unannounced?

pixie said:
She has already had a tour of the place by my FIL when she pitched up the first time. Its only a small yard with just my pony and no other liveries, so nothing else to see and no-one else to talk to. As mentioned, its part of my in-law's farm, so lots of machinery, chemicals and stuff that could be dangerous if someone was nosing about in the wrong places. So yes, potential safety issue, security issue and invasion of privacy.
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Oh I misunderstood. Sorry the way you wrote your post made it sound like you were a livery yard. I didn't realise you just keep your pony at your in laws farm and that the pony is the only equine there. Well that's very different, it's a private residence as as such they shouldn't have been snooping around the property.
 
ChristmasChick said:
I tend to arrive on yards early to look around but I wouldn't turn up when told not to.
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I wish people would arrive early! In the past I've arranged meeting times around what suits them (I work and don't live at the farm, so have to make a special trip up), only to have people turn up over an hour late or not at all. Without even a phone call or anything! Now I just tell people when I will be available to see them and make a firm appointment. If they don't turn up then its not a bother for me.
 
Personally, I would not take on anyone who just turned up unannouced. I would never dream of doing it myself and don't expect others to. On the occasions when it has happened, I have just told people I have no vacancies, even when I have. At the moment I have a waiting list of five for full livery, so I certainly don't want people wandering up for a look. On the one occasion when I sent someone to my friends yard who had just turned up (she was desperate for a livery at the time and I told her the woman had just turned up). She turned out to be a nightmare livery who never paid on time, and then refused to leave! Turns out she had a reputation around here for racking up huge livery debts and being thrown off yards.

Obviously, once someone is a livery here, they can turn up any time inside opening hours without prior arrangements.
 
in your situation i would contact them and tell them i was no longer looking for a livery as your in laws have decided they dont like the idea of people turning up unannounced all the time
 
I too have someone on full livery at my house, ie: my house, my land just my horse.
Luckily they never come and I get to do what I like with the horse they just turn up once a month to muck out their and my horse (I deep litter and muck out both every week-end) said horse is retired so doesn't need riding anyway I just let him out to mooch about with mine and pay the livery fee.
I even get a message from the owner everytime she turns up just to ask if it's ok (only see her once a month).

I would be very upset though if I had random people opening my gates and letting themselves in. I would also be upset if they got there at an awkward time (ie: stables haven't been re strawed yet, or empty water bucket to be re filled) and that they would get a negative image and maybe give a negative reputation just because they turned up out of the blue when I was in the middle of doing it when in fact I spend hours and hours filling water buckets and mucking out my stables etc. In fact I would just say that I'm not happy with them letting themselves in and looking about when no-one is there, it's just not nice.

It's not like I would be trying to hide something, but I do admit on the odd occasion to going in and seing my horses water bucket empty (that could possibly have been empty for a few hours at the very most), I'm only human after all and do everything myself as well as looking after the animals, working and doing a full time course !!!
 
Definitely agree with those who say do not have her as a livery. Whether she'd seen it before/had a full tour/whatever,she specifically asked you if she could come up that day and you specifically said no. To wander around a private yard/farm,with no one else on it after being refused permission to do so,is rude and ignorant-says a lot about her and how readily she'll ignore what she's told if it suits her. :(
 
Actually I don't think it is good manners to turn up unannounced. This was worst as the YO had specifically said she would not be there AND it is a private home. However, from a security perspective I would be highly peed off (and this is as a livery) if someone felt they could just wander around my yard. Anyone who is not recognised is challenged pretty quickly by staff or liveries plus the numerous dogs will always tell us when someone strange is on the yard. Fair enough you want to know what the yard is like but I really don't think a yard can really hide what it is like. If you are looking around, you look in all the boxes, good fencing and turnout can't magically appear just for one visit and you can ask questions about access etc. Very very rarely someone will just arrive but they are quickly gathered up and given to a staff member if that is the case plus the fact that the canine welcoming committee will be standing at the gate barking might make some reconsider. A yard is not a public area for all and sundry to mooch around!
 
When I'm on my own at the yard, I'm really protective - and ask strangers if I can help them. Only happened a few times, but you just never know who is wandering around if they come up to the stables/ workshop.
 
A few misconceptions have arisen on this thread.

The OP said it was inconvenient for the visitor to come and told her not to come.

She came anyway when the owner was out and had a good snoop around.

In my post, it was a "friend" who (apparently) tried knocking on my door and got no reply so decided on a private snoop around mjy farm and, presumably, buildings.

I don't think either is acceptable. On the other hand, I have no problem with someone turning up at the door or even in my yard to make an unscheduled visit. Having a private snoop beyond the immediate proximity of the house is trespass and an entirely different matter.

As for those who cannot arrive on time, I discussed this with a very intolerant friend. His reply was, "Oh, it never bothers me!" I was truly shocked, until he added, "I just stick another £50 on the price as if they are so dozy as not to remember the time, they will never remember the price I quoted over the phone". So that's what I do now. Makes me feel a LOT better!:D
 
It would annoy me. Whether private residence, or yard. Last yard, my liveries would have stopped them in their tracks, everyone was friendly but if someone who shouldn't be there was wandering around with their property and horses on site they'd be asked who they were. Part of the selling point of the yard was that we lived on site and security was good, so people wandering round would not be accepted and I wouldn't have taken someone on as a livery had they been told when to come up and failed to listen.

Previously we've had someone just turn up and they got a tour of the place. Difference was they came over to us and asked, didn't just help themselves.

On a private residence it's a big no-no. What on earth is there to gain from it bar annoying people.

When I've viewed yards or horses I've always turned up early (not ridiculously). And when we ran ours we used to then let livery wander round by themselves if they wanted after a tour (usually while making them a cuppa) this gave them time to talk to liveries without us stood there and have a look in their own time without worrying. But just turning up and helping yourself is damn rude and sly.

In regards to turning up late, very annoying. Mates or casual meetings is one thing, but if you are going to a professional meeting don't turn up late.
 
Wagtail said:
Personally, I would not take on anyone who just turned up unannouced. I would never dream of doing it myself and don't expect others to. On the occasions when it has happened, I have just told people I have no vacancies, even when I have.
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Had this happen once with a genuine livery we showed round. She was absolutely lovely, needed urgent livery for two horses and was driving round the local area and stopping at every farm/yard she passed. Difference was that she parked up and asked someone where the YOs were. Didn't just wander in.

I've also done this in the past for farms and local fields, but I find most of the places impossible to find online at which point I'd happily phone ahead.

So I guess it depends on intention with me. I wouldn't have walked up and assumed that people were available though, I always asked if it was possible to arrange a convenient time to talk to them.

If I'd been specifically told not to come up, there's no way in hell I would've done so though!

Edit: To say I've just remembered we had a fair number turning up unannounced to enquire if we were a riding school too. We weren't but I also had no problem with that as the old yard used to be and the phone number on site was different.
 
Well, she won't be coming here anyway. I also found out that she is friends with the woman who didn't turn up (!)...

All of the advertising literature has two phone numbers and an email address, so it is not exactly difficult to reach us to make an appointment. Even so, we wouldn't mind if someone drove up, parked somewhere sensible and came to the house looking for someone. Just walking around uninvited is a huge no-no for me. Especially as she was complaining about security (amongst other things) at her current yard.

I think that people don't think of a farm as being someone's home. In my opinion, the paddocks are basically just a large lawn, the crops are the veggie garden and the buildings are the garden sheds.
 
peony said:
I thought I'd found a great yard once, the owner was jazzing it up as you can imagine. I decided to go up after hours to see what I thought without him rabbiting on at me. No gates and access to a main road - ie if a horse got loose at any time of the day or night it could run down on to the main road, no one there after 5pm - what if something were to happen, if a horse colicked at 5pm it wouldn't be found until the next morning. No security, no one living on site and no gates meant it would be easy for anyone to steal a horse.

That's just a few of the reasons I can remember, I wouldn't make it a habit to snoop around on property but I had a strange feeling about that yard so just went up after hours to see what it was like.
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I'm not quite sure what your point is? All of the above things couldve been identified on a legitimate visit during daylight hours, asking appropriate questions.

I can totally understand why OP was annoyed. She'd sprecifically asked her potential client NOT to come and she did anyway. RUDE.

It really gets my goat when horse owners moan about yard break-ins, stuff going missing etc then pay no attention / respect to basic security measures like having a problem with strangers / people who have no business being there coming snooping around the premises.... the mind boggles it really does....
 
I think the lady was rude and intrusive, having been asked not to come that day.

However, have found some great yards by driving around and stopping unannounced. If there is a phone number, I'll phone before walking on the yard, but usually want to have a look at the fields and layout (from the road) before calling so that no one's time is wasted.
 
She sounds like she can't take a telling and I wouldn't have her!

but I have walked onto farms to ask about livery, but I've either walked straight up to the house or office to ask if there is anything available, and could I re-schedule a suitable time to have a look around, or I have a quick look to see if there is anyone in close proximity to grab. If not- a note through the door!

Don't go wandering round peoples yards / farms uninvited. I like a wee wander round by myseld, but mostly after tours YO's will offer you the chance to have a second look yourself now that they have shown you the way around, which gives you the chance to talk to people.
 
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