YO's. What makes you give owners notice?

Enfys

Enfys

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 December 2004
Messages
18,085
Visit site
Following on from the "why leave a livery yard?" thread

I thought why not hear it from the other side of the fence as well :D

So, as a YO, or YM, what kind of things would make you itch to give owners notice to quit?
 
I have given notice to a weird livery. Girl and horse were lovely, but boyfriend was a nutter. Final straw was when he started throwing bits of rubber from the arena at his horse's field mate in the field to keep her away from the arena fence where his girlfriend was working her horse. The two mares got on brilliantly and the fieldmate was only near the fence because that was where her hay was! He did loads of other things, and generally made me feel on edge just being on my own yard.

I have also had to give notice (regretfully) to a lovely girl and her lovely horse (lovely to humans, that is). He had not had turn out for two years before arriving on my yard and it had turned him into a sociopath. He would run down and try to kill any other gelding. He would crash through electric fencing to get to them. In the end one of the other liveries asked me to tell her to leave as she feared for her gelding's safety. As it happened I had got him well under control by then, in his own post and rail paddock, but the other livery had been here two years before this horse and so I gave the new one notice for the sake of harmony. Ironically, the gelding whose owner feared for his safety, matured into a horse bashing sociopath himself and now has to have individual turnout.

I would give notice if someone did not pay their livery after being reminded, unless there was a very good reason, or if someone was making trouble in the yard by upsetting others. I would also give notice if I was unhappy handling a horse that I felt was dangerous.
 
Last edited:
One girl came with her horse on DIY, I dont really do DIY but felt sorry for her, she did about 4 days then did not turn up, no call to say why no answer to my calls, I gave her notice by message. The horse could not be turned out for some reason only she knew, so he was stuck in his box, I fed him, did all the essentials including some walking out, she turned up about a week later full of excuses to take him away to his new loan home. Funnily enough she forgot her cheque book:rolleyes: so I kept her rugs, all new, until she returned to pay, she never did.

Another one started an affair with another owners OH, splitting up the marriage, I had to get one off the yard so gave one month notice to the "culprit" she did not want to go, did not see a problem with spending time here, I found her another place to go to and told her if she did not leave at the weekend I would take the horse to the new yard.
 
Have given notice only once. Lady was a nightmare. Telling my kids off all the time, tried to boss everyone around, endless list. Nut job in all. For my sanity and the other livery she had to go.
 
Where do I start?!?

One owner who 'forgot' to put her hand brake on and rolled her car into mine, smashing the bumper and number plate - she wouldn't pay up as was to scared to tell her OH....I didn't chuck her off for that, but did after a series of bounced cheques.....

Same lady backed her car into the barn to unload some hay, broke her back window, and left the broken glass on the barn floor mixed in with the hay...

Another one who was having an affair with her boss and would bring him up to the yard, where husband would also float about too.....

Another one who hit my dog - she drove onto the yard whilst talking on her phone...dog was fine thank god....

I am very lucky now as have a couple of lovely liveries, and share the rest of the yard with a mother/daughter and their horses, and peace and harmony has been restored!

So when people come on here and have a rant about their YO's, please just bear in mind what they may have had to put up with from previous clients - it can make them very cynical and grumpy!
 
One whose horse she had completely misrepresented when she came to view the yard ('She's lovely,just a bit green'. Turns out horse was a proper loon and nasty to boot. Lady groomed her rump thru the stable door/bars(!) and horse was forever turning its backside on her and staff & double barrelling it's field mates(&trying to do so to staff at bring in). We persevered for mths-horse eventually learnt to stand whilst tied. It
boxwalked,was mental for farrier(he eventually worked with it to be semi-sane enough for
shoeing(he had got to point where he said he refused to shoe it anymore),it trashed a stable door,ramming it off it's runners and tried to scramble out over the 7.5ft partition between 2 stables. She treated staff like her personal grooms,forever wanting individual assistance at all times,including accompanying her down the road on hacks (cos the horse napped all the way down the road),barking orders at them 'Dont get too close! Don't fall behind! Wave the whip but don't hit her. Lead her past that rock!' etc etc I gave her 2wks notice-a few days later,I politely asked her if she'd found anywhere & she said 'What do you mean? I'm not leaving,there's no problem.' Seeing as I'd had perfectly clear explanation of the problem,I lost it a bit and said if she wasn't gone, I'd leave it tied to the gate on X day(date notice expired). (Which I would never have done to the poor horse..it was a loon but frankly,I might be had I been owned by her..) She went a few days later. Another,cos she was,(bluntly),a troublemaking,spoilt little b*tch of a daddy's girl. Yard was sooo relieved as soon as she'd gone & atmosphere lifted instantly. Only regret with both is that I'd done it sooner,instead of trying to work/sit it out.
 
I'm not a yo but once got asked to oeave as my horse was an annoying sod at the gate at bringing in time (for others, he was fine with me) to the ooint of heing dangerous and therefore needed individual turnout. This was fine all summer but in the autumn when grass was limited they ciuldn't spare the field.

I totally understood as it was a difficult situation. He yo's daughter rode my boy sometimes too (she wanted to) so she didnt really want s to go, but the mud was bloomn terroble.
 
I've been offering DIY for twenty years now; and all that time have only had one person who was an outright problem from the word go - plus another who whilst she wasn't exactly a "problem", was a bit of a liability TBH.

The one who was a real "problem" came a badly mannered pony they'd picked up for meat price as a trekking centre were downsizing; plus sister who'd do the pony occasionally, and teenage kid who the mother had bought the pony for but she wasn't interested and it showed. The first weekend they were here, she sent me a text saying she'd had to go off to Scotland on some family emergency and that her "friend" would come to do the pony. Friend never came. Pony was shut in the stable, going completely crazy and trying to climb over the door. No food, no water, no hay. So I chucked some hay over the door and at great personal peril managed to get some water in there too. Eventually, later on sometime on the Saturday afternoon, another "friend" came along to "do" the pony - thankfully she was obviously experienced and the two of us managed to get it into the field without ending up in casualty. She stayed for less than a month; one day I looked in the field to see where the pony was, and it was gone! She sent me a text to say she'd found somewhere else nearer home, but never returned the tack-room keys which meant I had to get a locksmith to replace all the locks. Wretched woman!

The second one was a woman who was a total novice, but somehow she'd ended up with two unbroken Arab horses from a local stud (obviously taken for a fool). She hadn't got a clue how to deal with them, tried faffing about with (her version of) "natural horsemanship" which meant giving them no discipline or boundaries and just letting them do what they pleased basically. She'd let them loose in the yard (against yard policy) and they'd tantalise my poor old boy who was on box rest even after I'd asked her please would she not let that happen. One morning they rushed up to her in the field and knocked her over, breaking her collar bone. In spite of it being a strictly DIY set up, she obviously expected me to "do" her horses for her, and one night after I'd got in late and hadn't even settled into a cuppa but started to do my horses, she walked into the yard and asked whether her horses were brought in coz she "would have expected a YO to do that". That was enough, I didn't need any excuse and gave her notice, saying that firstly I felt she was under a misapprehension about what the "DIY" livery included and that I didn't feel I could provide an adequate service to fit her needs, neither could I continue to take the responsibility of her harming herself anymore at my place.
 
I've told only a few to go....

1 for non-payment of livery (clear contract given prior to arrival) I ended up with the pony in exchange for services not paid for.

1 for just getting completely on my nerves & questioning everything I did, from how I managed my youngstock, my entires, how I produced for the ring... if there was a different way of doing domething, she would suggest it was better - I lasted a month with the yadda-yadda-yadda going on at me daily :rolleyes:

And the one who I caught riding my prize 4 yr old stallion in his paddock - bareback, no hat on & only an in-hand bridle with leadropes attached! yes, honestly!!! :eek:Thank goodness he was sweet, but how I shuddered to think what could have happened. I was on the point of killing her :mad:
I loaded her animal & gear up in my box within 30 mins & took it over to a friend of mines yard who kept the woman for a week till she found somewhere else.

I stopped having any liveries 2 years ago..... however, I took in LovelyLivery in March this year as a special favour & we get on okay (she is a YM for another yard :D ), its just the horse this time...... :rolleyes: but I'm keeping an eye on him & letting some of GF's stuff go over my head :)

Enfys - your liveries?
 
1. Non payment, ended up with pony as she just couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge it's existence!

2. Horse didn't settle at all, livery was hardly up to do anything with it & when she did come to see to her horse I ended up doing the handling & riding because she was too scared. Horse kept jumping out of whatever paddock it was in, regardless of field mates or not. Went to bite & kick at another livery client, and nearly jumped on someone riding past.
 
both so called 'professionals' that I've had on my yard had to go - one was running a small riding school from there. We shared the rent per number of horses we had on at the beginning of the month - she took hers off on the last day - all but two - and brought them back three days later; overstocked the fields; turned a stallion out with inadequate fencing,; bounced cheques.... I could go on. The second had race horses; got drunk an
d threatened me, husband and daughter, damaged our horse box and when we finally got rid, went with quite a few of our possessions. Both left fields and stables in a right mess. I'm sure they're in a very small minority, but it's made me very wary!
 
We haven't asked anyone to leave as of yet but have come very close.

Main pet peeves are not paying livery on time, leaving the place in a mess, thieving, not attending to their horse and any violence towards animals or humans.

Some of these would result in immediate notice others would be a culmination over time.
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
1

for just getting completely on my nerves & questioning everything I did, from how I managed my youngstock, my entires, how I produced for the ring... if there was a different way of doing domething, she would suggest it was better - I lasted a month with the yadda-yadda-yadda going on at me daily :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Haha! I think this person must be related to mine. :(
I have only asked one person to leave

I only offer full board, indoor or outdoor, I do not encourage my owners to do anything other than clean up (barn or spare stable) after their horse (tools for the job available)

I couldn't do a thing right:-

My fences, and barns weren't right - despite the fact that they had seen them before they came.

I mucked out wrongly :rolleyes: (I have been mucking them out wrongly in that case, for longer than they had been on this earth:() they were on pasture board, stables not their business:mad:

Paddock had bumps (divots - talking mid winter here) we must fix them because owner had a weak ankle and might turn it:eek::confused: (impossible to roll solid ground at -15C)

I must move my stallion because they wanted the horses in that particular paddock so I could see them all the time :mad:

Constantly took hay from my barn when own feeder was still full.

Constantly parked on the grass outside the barn making it muddy and rutted, and getting in the way of everyone despite me asking not to.

Fed horses with their lead ropes shut in the tailgate of the truck right outside the door of the barn- why :confused: - the barn has a 60' long 15' wide aisle for tying, and spare stables for feeding.

Upset everyone, when they came on the yard other owners left, that wasn't on, so I gave them notice and we avoided each other until they went. Huge clash of personalities.

We share farriers, and gossip, I hear that they were asked to leave 2 other barns after me, within as many months.

Although we didn't like each other (if I had hackles they would have been standing up at the mere sight of her in particular) and my way wasn't theirs, I would not fault their horse care in any way, they are the most diligent of owners. I was genuinely pleased for them when they bought a house with a few acres, it was what they needed, their own little roost to rule - as it should be.
 
Last edited:
I've asked four people to leave over 11 years; Teenager who didn't turn up for days even though on DIY, then found out she had been lying to her parents about where she was, bunking off school, and then to top it off started theiving and got caught with drugs :(

Lady who was incredibly rude about my daughter, said she was lazy and she should help me more even though she was at university and held down three part time jobs! ( This happened a few times )

Another who was meant to be on DIY and would txt me to turn out, bring in, muck out, and who went on holiday at least 6 times a year and NEVER paid any extra! That didn't last long ( at the time I only charged £90 a month including hay )

The best one was a lady who came on grass livery, which obviously means just leave it in the field for 3 months and don't bother even coming!!

I certainly don't do it for the money thats for sure!
 
Enfys said:
Although we didn't like each other (if I had hackles they would have been standing up at the mere sight of her in particular) and my way wasn't theirs, I would not fault their horse care in any way, they are the most diligent of owners. I was genuinely pleased for them when they bought a house with a few acres, it was what they needed, their own little roost to rule - as it should be.
Click to expand...

That was the same with lady-yadda-yadda, horsecare was very good, seems mine was not tho........

Thinking back, those 3 were the only ones from over the years (thats why they stuck in my mind!), having run the yard since 1981 its not bad going I suppose :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top