Yard owners taking the piss? really?

[Wagtail]

I'm at a fab place that does diy for £20 a week - this includes use of the indoor school (which isn't fab, or big, but has a roof at least!).

When the rates went up, liveries complained when the YO asked us to pay an extra £10 per month. Now the YO isn't the strongest of characters (too nice) and so a lot of people are getting away with not paying

I pay it though, as I love the place, and I know that when it comes to the time that she's fed up and kicks people off - guess who'll be the only ones allowed to stay I can't wait!!

Until then, I'm happy to appreciate that things aren't always going to be in the best condition, and that's fine - as I'm perfectly capable of fixing them myself most of the time!

Well I hope she 'man's up' and kicks them off the yard! I hate late payers, let alone none payers.

 

[wench]

I think that perhaps the biggest gripe with some people is when they are paying for a service, they expect to receive it. I think there was a post on here a while back about people supplying individual suppliments for their horses on a livery yard. However, each horse didnt recieve its own, all the suppliements were thrown in the mixing tub that every horse got.

 

[Worried1]

Despite having a busy training yard Mr Worried still heavily relies on teaching a riding to supplement our income.

 

[Wagtail]

I think that perhaps the biggest gripe with some people is when they are paying for a service, they expect to receive it. I think there was a post on here a while back about people supplying individual suppliments for their horses on a livery yard. However, each horse didnt recieve its own, all the suppliements were thrown in the mixing tub that every horse got.

That's terrible! I hope people voted with their feet.

 

[Wagtail]

Despite having a busy training yard Mr Worried still heavily relies on teaching a riding to supplement our income.

Same here. I find the only way you can make money doing livery, is when you do extras such as teaching, clipping, plaiting up etc.

 

[wench]

Wagtail - not really sure of the outcome of the above, but I think the post also said that it was a long time before anyone knew... the owners saw the suppliements going down, and assumed they were going into their horse.

 

[PucciNPoni]

I think that perhaps the biggest gripe with some people is when they are paying for a service, they expect to receive it. I think there was a post on here a while back about people supplying individual suppliments for their horses on a livery yard. However, each horse didnt recieve its own, all the suppliements were thrown in the mixing tub that every horse got.

Absolutely wrong on every level! I would gripe, and I would move!

I think that if you pay for a service, you should get the service...end of. If you're paying for your horse to be turned out, brought in, rugs changed, feet picked out, groomed and exercised, you should expect to pay a fairly substantial amount, and you should get that service.

If you're paying for DIY, then hopefully you're getting whatever is outlined in the DIY contract - but at least the fences should be in good repair, the stables (if any) should not be falling down round your ears, the school should be useable.

But lets face it, price increases happen for a reason - but it doesn't necessarily mean a tenner extra a month is going to equate to a new indoor school being built just because you're paying the increase. Sometimes that means in order to maintain the current level of service/product an increase needs to be paid.
I've heard people say "Oh, if we're having to pay an increase, we should at least get xyz done". Erm....not always.

 

[Cop-Pop]

I pay £195 per month for DIY livery - this includes a stable that leaks like a seive and I can't use because its on a seperate yard to YOs horses and she would be on her own, a small field I can only use a short time of the year, a concrete pen for when I can't use the field thats open to the elements as the shelter fell down and YO won't replace it, a tack room thats so damp things rot in it, a feed room that actually is in good condition apart from the floor gets covered in a green slime no matter how much bleach and jeyes I put down and adlib haylage that for once is good quality.

I repair the fences myself and I even fertilise the paddock and reseeded it at my own cost as YO will only to her own. When the horses were turned out in the last spell of good weather YO flooded my gateway to an extent I couldnt get the horse in and out without getting myself stuck. Everything is falling down and the school is so deep parts of it are too deep to use and its over run by rabbits.

The reason she can do this? She knows in that area everywhere is full that does individual turnout and the ones that aren't fuol are more expensive.

 

[PucciNPoni]

I pay £195 per month for DIY livery - this includes a stable that leaks like a seive and I can't use because its on a seperate yard to YOs horses and she would be on her own, a small field I can only use a short time of the year, a concrete pen for when I can't use the field thats open to the elements as the shelter fell down and YO won't replace it, a tack room thats so damp things rot in it, a feed room that actually is in good condition apart from the floor gets covered in a green slime no matter how much bleach and jeyes I put down and adlib haylage that for once is good quality.

I repair the fences myself and I even fertilise the paddock and reseeded it at my own cost as YO will only to her own. When the horses were turned out in the last spell of good weather YO flooded my gateway to an extent I couldnt get the horse in and out without getting myself stuck. Everything is falling down and the school is so deep parts of it are too deep to use and its over run by rabbits.

The reason she can do this? She knows in that area everywhere is full that does individual turnout and the ones that aren't fuol are more expensive.

WTF! That's a lot of money for a whole lot of nothin!

 

[Cop-Pop]

WTF! That's a lot of money for a whole lot of nothin!

Yup. Luckily Im moving as the yard neighbours are now making it too difficult to ride my horse, only a few weeks to wait Having to move miles away tho!!

 

[VioletStripe]

Where we are for DIY, I think it's £38 for a pony stable, £40 for a large, and an extra £5 if you bed on shavings. Then on top of that, you have to pay for feed and your bedding. Turnout isn't good, and if you want to use a better field, you have to pay more. You can use all the facilities (some only at given times), except for the horse walker which you have to pay for each go.. No idea what that's like price wise comparing to everyone else, but it is an expensive area.. xx

 

[Cortez]

Running a livery yard is pure slavery, I'll NEVER do it again, and I have managed, owned and run several over the years, on a couple of continents. The people who keep their horses under other people's care do not seem to realise just how much it takes to run a yard, or even just maintain paddocks properly.

 

[Wagtail]

I pay £195 per month for DIY livery - this includes a stable that leaks like a seive and I can't use because its on a seperate yard to YOs horses and she would be on her own, a small field I can only use a short time of the year, a concrete pen for when I can't use the field thats open to the elements as the shelter fell down and YO won't replace it, a tack room thats so damp things rot in it, a feed room that actually is in good condition apart from the floor gets covered in a green slime no matter how much bleach and jeyes I put down and adlib haylage that for once is good quality.

I repair the fences myself and I even fertilise the paddock and reseeded it at my own cost as YO will only to her own. When the horses were turned out in the last spell of good weather YO flooded my gateway to an extent I couldnt get the horse in and out without getting myself stuck. Everything is falling down and the school is so deep parts of it are too deep to use and its over run by rabbits.

The reason she can do this? She knows in that area everywhere is full that does individual turnout and the ones that aren't fuol are more expensive.

What a predicament. It sounds like a right old dump.

 

[billyslad]

we charge £55 including ad lib hay and straw ,use of indoor and outdoor (which is 100 x 20 )walker individual turnout and have hacking on our doorstep without roads ,tack room and storage and lorry parking and we do an evening check All stables are in an American barn.
All we ask is that you are normal lol

 

[smellsofhorse]

Our diy yard is on a farm.
I know for a fact they rake it in!

They have well and truely diversified, with no other animals, just around 50 horses.
(devided into 2 yards and a 24/7 field)
Plus units rented to other business.
They do have to do maintenance and cut some crops but they have definately got it easy!

But maybe its due to the way the farm ,was already set up.

 

[ClassicG&T]

I ( well.. My parents) pay £50 a week, for DIY.
We have an indoor (which if we are lucky can use once a week) and outdoor school, fields rolled once a year, that's it. Two tracks around two fields, hay, straw, stable.
There are approx 60-70 horses on our yard and YO husband has a very successful machine business thing, and about 40 people working for him with contractors too.

Yard is falling apart, leaking rooves, stable Walls and doors just staying upright, small cabin for feed room, over crowed tackroom. We pay for lights extra for school lights.

This is for £50 a week!

 

[LollyDolly]

I am stabled on a HUGE yard but I know that the water bill alone per quarter is £6,500!! :O

 

[jeeve]

sticking fingers in ears and humming whilst trying to look away !!!!!!

- I have my own place only 4 acres (2 horses) and dont add up the cost - much too scary !!!
keep telling myself the land is investment haha, saves having to wonder about what to spend money on though - had muck removed yesterday £40 but trailer so small only removed half the pile ! bought teeny tiny harrow recently £140 !! mini ride on mower last year £500 ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I dont think I had any idea when I was a livery of what it all cost - you tend to think - oh they've already got all the tools and land doesnt cost much ! I now know better !!!!!

My OH who pays the mortgage on the property the horses live on knows exactly how much it costs.I always omit property costs from my calculation. (In excess of 50000AUD a year)

 

[teacups]

Below are my actual costs (excluding all feed, bedding, shoeing, dentist, worming etc) of running a yard for 7 horses. So these are the ACTUAL costs per horse of doing DIY only.

Maintenance of fencing, arena,paddocks, muck removal, skip hire etc £48.98 pm £11.30 pw
Communications, admin, £6.19 pm £1.43 pw
Rates £10.40 pm, £2.40 pw
Electric and electrical repairs £9.04 pm, £2.09 pw
Insurance £34.29 pm, £7.91 pw
water £5.05 pm, £1.16 pw
Other £3.77 pm, £0.87 pw
Total £117.73 pm, £27.17 pw

No wonder so many yards are out of business. People want to pay peanuts and expect the earth.

Looking at those figures, the cost of insurance really jumps out.

Are they really that high, per stable?
Seems they might be the ones raking it in. I could be missing something obvious, or just unaware - feel free to correct me.

 

[Wagtail]

Looking at those figures, the cost of insurance really jumps out.

Are they really that high, per stable?
Seems they might be the ones raking it in. I could be missing something obvious, or just unaware - feel free to correct me.

Insurance includes third party insurance for all horses kept on the yard, care, custody and control, and buildings insurance. The main stable block, tack room and feed room cost £250,000 to build, so buildings insurance is expensive.

 

[Sameru]

I am on the most wonderful yard that, for the area, charges much less than the going rate for a wonderful 'do as you please' environment, beautiful school, oodles of grazing and where everyone helps out, keeps things nice and appreciates what we get for the money we pay. We all help harrow the school, keep costs down, share hay costs and NEVER moan as we know how lucky we all are to be part of a lovely *ALL DIY* yard family. Not all DIYers are a mix of bitchy moaners and useless horse owners - most are, but not all.

 

[evj]

My diy yard charges £80 a month for stable and grazing. we have an outdoor school and good hacking. yard is also a farm and we can buy our haylage and straw from them. £30 haylage and £15 straw.

 

[janeprince]

The main stable block, tack room and feed room cost £250,000 to build, so buildings insurance is expensive.

Eeek!

That was a very expensive building project. Can I be nosy and ask what it entailed that made it so expensive?

 

[Lgd]

We rent our own yard and for 6 stables, 9 acres, water, rates and electric it is £650 pcm.
We put the arena in so that does not get charged for, all maintenance is up to us.

So from a DIY perspective that would be £25 per horse per week WITHOUT the maintenance aspect.

 

[Wagtail]

I am on the most wonderful yard that, for the area, charges much less than the going rate for a wonderful 'do as you please' environment, beautiful school, oodles of grazing and where everyone helps out, keeps things nice and appreciates what we get for the money we pay. We all help harrow the school, keep costs down, share hay costs and NEVER moan as we know how lucky we all are to be part of a lovely *ALL DIY* yard family. Not all DIYers are a mix of bitchy moaners and useless horse owners - most are, but not all.

Sounds lovely. You are lucky.

 

[Wagtail]

Eeek!

That was a very expensive building project. Can I be nosy and ask what it entailed that made it so expensive?

It is massive and brick built. Lined internally with wood and all doors are hardwood. Tiled floors in tack room. Double glazed hardwood windows. Separate brick built shower and changing room. Clock tower. Internal walk ways, automatic watering, and top of the range rubber matting. We didn't build it. The woman who owned it before us did and told us how much it had all cost. She was very rich! When we bought it though, it was only a year old.

 

[Katie_lew]

Wow i feel really lucky now. i keep my horse on a DIY livery yard. there are about 40 of us and 52 acres of land that we can actually ride all over that. there is a cross country course and an outdoor arena. Hay/ Haylage is supplied to us in the winter months (included in price)

Huge barn stables and horse are feed in the morning for you if needed
all this onlyu cost £106 p/m

i used to pay £110 p/m for a stable and a small field

 

[Deseado]

Livery yards, raking it in? You ARE joking, please tell me.

 

[pixie]

At that price I would worry that they weren't fully insured or paying business rates...

 

[Katie_lew]

At that price I would worry that they weren't fully insured or paying business rates...

hmmmm interesting everyone on the yard has been there for years and they all seem to love it there have never been any issues?
how would you find out ?
i havnt signed any paper work but then i never have done at any yard.
they used to be a riding school and hunting yard but it changed 3 years ago to livery. they used to charge £160 in the winter and £80 in the summer but last year the set rate of £106 was made