DIY of Full Livery - advice needed please

kirstinbell

kirstinbell

New Member
Jul 24, 2007
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Glasgow
Well its finally happened - it looks like I will be buying my first ever horse on Saturday!

One of the clients at the yard where I do my horse care and mgmt course advised me last night that she's putting her cob up for sale on Saturday and I've got first refusal.

He's a fab wee pony and I'd definatley going to buy him but I'm now thinking about how to keep him.

I'd always said I'd do full livery as I have to work away a couple of days a month but I was speaking to the yard owner who says hes a good doer and would happily live out all year. He's a very hairy, chunky cob who currently is only eating a handful of pony nuts a day and is spending most of his time in the starvation paddock.

The yard I am looking to move him to offers full livery (3 feeds and 3-5 haynets a day) plus all other costs for £60 per week. DIY on the other hand is £40 per week for the stable, field and turnout.

I'm only planning on keeping him in 1 or 2 nights a week so I'm thinking the cost of shavings will be low and he'll get 1 hay net a day maximum!

Does anyone have any thoughts on what would be the best way to keep a horse like this - I don't want to spend more money to keep him that I have to but at the same time I'm wondering whether or not but the time I pay for hay and shavings I'd be as well putting him on full livery?

Any thoughts?

Kirstin
 
I dont have any experience of DIY Livery, but I love Full Livery. I woudl like to try DIY livery, but just now its not really an option.

At the moment it is perfect for me due to the way my shifts work. I pay £80 a week, which includes everything but exercising and grooming which I would do myself anyway.

What are the local costs for shavings, feed etc? I know some of the girls on my previous yard paid £25 for DIY, but by the time they paid for bedding, feed, hay etc they paid £45 approx, but then again, they sometimes went to the extreme with feeds etc lol.

The cost for Full Livery isn't that dear looking at it, but then again I am bias. lol.

Jenny and Tyler
x
 
woulkd the full livery price change depending if he was in everynight?
just incase of emergency where he had to be box rested? if not i would go for full livery.shavings are quite expensive mine cost £6 a bale and just to top up my shelters i use at least 3 a week.this way you have peace of mind when you go away ,either that or are they flexible enough to do diy when needed and if you wanted full the next week they would?
 
Does that full livery cost include everything? i.e turning out, changing rugs, feed and mucking out when he is stabled?
If so, then I would definately be tempted to go for the full livery option, as when you compare it to the DIY price it seems pretty good.
I'd also be tempted to go with the full livery option to start with as he is your first horse, not to mention that we are heading in to winter. That way you can give all your time and attention to your horse and see how the new horse ownership works out in terms of time and money. You can always change to DIY later once you are in a routine :).

Oh, and congratulations on the new horse - how exciting :)
 
Rhein said:
Does that full livery cost include everything? i.e turning out, changing rugs, feed and mucking out when he is stabled?
QUOTE]

The £60 includes everything but its almost more than he needs - you get 3-5 haynets and 3 feeds a day but I'd prefer to have him in the field 5 nights a week and every and only keep him in 2 nights.

The only other time he'll be in the stable other than the 2 nights is when he's being groomed and getting ready to be ridden which will be most nights but he'll only be in for 1 hour or so each night so I shouldn't need much shavings or hay plus they give them hay in the field during the winter.

I spoke to someone at the yard I'm looking at and he seems to think that if I'm only keeping him in 2 nights a week it will be less than £5 per week on shavings and hay. I also wouldn't want to give him the feed they use as they use corse mix and that makes him a bit hyper!
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Why do you need to keep him in those two nights? Other than using it as somewhere for getting ready to ride, do you actually need a box at all? Grass livery might be even cheaper.
 
theocat said:
Why do you need to keep him in those two nights? Other than using it as somewhere for getting ready to ride, do you actually need a box at all? Grass livery might be even cheaper.
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I probably don't need a stable at all but they only have a few available on the yard and although he's quite hardy and probably would live out with no problem I don't think he's ever done it in the winter before so it's more of a "just in case" thing.

Also - grass livery is still £30 per week so I'm not really saving that much!

I was thinking I could try DIY in the winter then put him on grass in the summer and perhaps share a stable with someone and split the extra cost but I don't know anyone at the yard yet so its a bit cheeky to suggess that now!

k
 
the prices sound very reasonable there! what kind of facilities do they have? do you mind me asking where it is? :eek::D

oh and i agree about going on full livery as its your first horse (and winters coming :() means you can concentrate on on getting to know each other and getting a routine sorted out with minimal worries.

good luck with him :)
 
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saaam said:
the prices sound very reasonable there! what kind of facilities do they have? do you mind me asking where it is? :eek::D

oh and i agree about going on full livery as its your first horse (and winters coming :() means you can concentrate on on getting to know each other and getting a routine sorted out with minimal worries.

good luck with him :)
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It's Tannoch's Farm just beside Palacerigg Country Park. They've got loads of grazing, 2 outdoor and 1 indoor school, a cross country field and direct access to the park for hacks. They've also got one of those equimassage systems that you can hire out for like £2 per session and do loads of jumping lessons etc with loads of good instructors.

Still not sure about the full livery though. I know its my first horse but I've done horse mgmt courses and I work at a livery yard at the weekend so I know a little bit about looking after him and he's really easy to look after - he's always out!

Think I might try DIY for a couple of weeks and if it doesn't work go to full livery but I'd be looking to have him on grass only in the summer as he really needs to keep the weigh off!
 
Ahh my bad, i didnt realise you had all that experience already.
And after me asking and you explaining... i have no clue where Palacerigg Country Park is haha! Sounds lovely though, hope everything goes well with him.
 
saaam said:
Ahh my bad, i didnt realise you had all that experience already.
And after me asking and you explaining... i have no clue where Palacerigg Country Park is haha! Sounds lovely though, hope everything goes well with him.
Click to expand...

Its just next to Cumbernauld - 5 minutes from my house which means I can be there for him everyday!
 
hiya


i'd go for DIY if he does so well --and keep him out all the time

the last yard i did DIY at you could pay extra for a stable-mine was £5 a week -- which meant i could bring him in for a feed -- to check rugs -- get ready for riding etc in a dry place

also handy if needed to stay in overnight if weather truly awful or if box rest needed

would your yard consider such an arrangement?



on the other hand-------

if you go for FULL it does mean you get to do only the nice things with yoiur horse -- no small thing when you're working and have limited time -- also nice to have the support when it's your first horse

could you mebbe ask them to only give him the smallest of feeds (you don't want him left out if others are being fed - it upsets them) ted only has a handful of chop and carrots while everything else gets more --but he gets fat on more-

you could always get a haynet with verrrry small holes and ask them not to overfill it

if he gets regular exercise and you keep an eye on weight he would be fine i'm sure


good luck with your cob whichever way you decide:)
 
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