help me decide on Livery sorry long

wibble

wibble

Active Member
Feb 8, 2006
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Herts/Essex border
I have a bit of a dilemma. I have a loan horse and currently she is on Full Livery (everything but exercise) They are lovely. YO works in vets so very handy if anything is wrong. Great hacking, menage always free. Downsides are cost, £364 a month and distance 55 mile round trip meaning a £5 per visit petrol bill (adding £20-£25 per week to the cost of keeping her) Also because she is so far away driving there and back takes about 60-80 minutes which means hubby is complaining that I am gone most of the day on the weekends.

I should mention I was on assisted DIY with my last horse as I sometimes have to travel with my job and this horses owner is happy for me to move wherever

I have started looking around for alternatives and have found the following options:-

First yard pure DIY, lovely American barn with large stables, Indoor school, individual turnout, well maintained lovely people and owner, great hacking near the local hunt can pay to hack the 15,000 acres the hunt master owns downsides no assistance at all have to rely on favours, no instructor, no-one to be there for vet or farrier. It is 7 miles away from home and £23 a week plus £5 a week for the arena

Second Yard, riding school, massive amount of turnout, shabby buildings, large school, no restrictions on when you can go, do assisted livery and farrier out every 2 weeks for riding school horses can share school when lessons being taken. Private lesson £28 for 45 minutes. great hacking, even closer to the hunt (one of the meets starts at the yard) closer to the 15,000 acres hacking and possibility of tagging along with other owners to shows. £200 a month fully inclusive of hay and straw, Full livery £100 a week. Assistance £9 for a day if not there £2 to bring in or out. 9 miles away

Third yard (haven't visited yet)American barn, good turnout 2 schools cross country course. £57 a week for full livery mon-fri diy sat and sun includes all hay and straw but excludes hard feed (you provide) good hacking but bit too far from 15,000 acres. Lessons £15 an hour. Possibility of tagging along to shows. They will do weekends with advance notice.

I love the yard where I am but cannot afford lessons and miss the interaction and stable duties I hate the commute. I love the feel of option 1 but worry that I won't have back up. I love the sound of option 3 but that excludes me from the fantastic hacking of 1 and 2. I don't mind 2 but I just didn't feel at home when I went to visit although on paper it seems to sound the best.

If there are any of you awake still I would appreciate your thoughts.
 
The second option sounds as though it could be the best bet for you. My livery yard is about 4/5 miles away. He's on assisted DIY livery but lives out all the time. I provide the hard feed but share costs of the hay with YO. It's difficult really when you cant do them yourself every day.
 
Out of the 3 you have given me I think 2 sounds good and I think you have written about that one the most positively :) Shabby buildings is fine as long as they only appear shabby and keep the rain etc out. The first one would be fine if you have the time to do it but remember you will have to do everything- eg. be there for farrier/vet, bring in, turn out etc and could you find someone to look after your horse if you are away etc. I'm sure other liveries will help each other out though!

It does seem like a long trek to the yard you are at now. I moved my horse from a yard that did full livery that was 20mins away to one only 6-8mins away that is DIY (though the YO will do extras :)) and it's definitely been better for me. I now spend less time travelling and more time with my horse.
 
#1 sounds good at 7 miles away, it wouldn't be too far for you to plan your farrier and vet visits ahead of time so you can be present and someone to watch when you travel....and with all the hacking available. Plus you can get back to the stable duties you miss.

#2 sounds great but expensive... but you'd have assistance and full livery if you needed it plus...9 miles away... and if you're not comfy there that's not good....

#3...how far away is it from you?
 
sorry option 3 is 12 miles away but on my way back from work with only a 1 mile deviation off route. I haven't actually seen this one yet so don't know much about it which is why I haven't written much about it. They also offer DIY at £27 a week plus assistance ie £1.70 to turn out or bring in.
 
If you are anything like me, I think you could find yard 1 a continuous source of worry. Being reliant on favours can be awkward, particularly if you don't have much time or opportunity to repay them. Yard 2 sounds good but if you were doubtful about the atmosphere it might not be worth the risk; maybe a second visit would be worthwhile if yard 3 doesn't come up to scratch when you visit. Do you know people at any of the yards who could give you a bit more of a feel for what its really like to be there? Its difficult (impossible?) to find somewhere where everything is perfect, maybe a list of your top priorities would help you decide.
 
I am completely new to the area and have only met one very nice New Rider (Rhein) who got me the numbers but hasn't used any of the yards. The only other people I know are my neighbours and they aren't horsey. I have been trying to ring the hunt contact to see if they could recommend somewhere. I think 1 is out of the question but only listed it as I loved the atmosphere.
 
You could probably find a local riding club contact on the internet or even go a long to a local show - people are always willing to have a chat/give opinions! Although beware as tastes vary so much.
 
wibble said:
I don't mind 2 but I just didn't feel at home when I went to visit although on paper it seems to sound the best.
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Interesting, that's what I thought too. Didn't feel "right" for me personally either (or OH). I wonder why? Didn't like to say at the time as I didn't want to colour your judgement, especially as it was nothing I could put my finger on, just a "feeling".
However we do know YO's OH very well and he is lovely, and having put it all down on paper 2 does look the better option. I guess you could try it (or any one of the others) and see how you feel once you've been there a bit. No 2 might "feel nicer" once you get to know people there, and No 1 might end up not being too much of a problem regarding favours etc (could OH help out when you're away maybe?).
Its a difficult one.

(By the way, we went to see No 2 with wibble, but haven't seen the others)
 
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Dapple Grey said:
Yard 2 sounds good but if you were doubtful about the atmosphere it might not be worth the risk; maybe a second visit would be worthwhile if yard 3 doesn't come up to scratch when you visit.
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Quite a good idea maybe? Would be very willing to go for a hack with you at No 2 if you fancy Wibble? OH and I had already discussed the pros and cons of 2 and as I said, apart from it being somewhat shabbier than I thought it would be (building wise), there wasn't a lot wrong except that I didn't warm to it (or YO actually). We decided that we would do a hack out with her sometime and see if we get a better idea/feel any differently about it. Maybe get to meet some other liveries who use it. Sometimes first impressions can be wrong as well as right.

What happened to the other place you were going to look at that we gave you the number for? No good?
 
Hmm, I'm a great believer in things "feeling" right - so I'd go back and have a second look at the one that sounded right on paper, but didn't quite feel right - you may find on second viewing its better than you thought. I liked the sound of option 1 - but then I have our two on DIY and wouldn't have it any other way - am lucky cos I run my own business and can be quite flexible with coming out of work etc. Good luck whatever you choose!
 
Hubby is willing to help but as he's not horsey I don't feel it's very fair, he never makes me do maintenance on his bikes so feel like I shouldn't rely on him.

As you say it's only a feeling and I suspect it's because it is a riding school and thus there are very few liveries where as all the other yards are livery focused. Also although she was lovely and didn't say anything wrong, I didn't feel the same as when I spoke to the first yard owner maybe because she wasn't as buddy buddy and more clinical in her answers which isn't necessarily a bad trait.
 
Rhein the other place I have decided not to go to, the lady didn't really try and sell it to me and despite her ringing me seemed desperate to get off the phone, It didn't feel right on the phone and I felt like it was too much of a bother me coming to see her so I am cancelling the appointment (when I can get hold of her!)
 
Are there anymore yards local. Does sound like No 2 is the best option but you dont seem too keen. Maybe make arrangements to go down again and have a walk around. Spend a bit more thime there.
 
Rather than relying on favours from other owners, have a look in the local tack shop for a freelance groom who you could use in times of need. Or, why not get a sharer for a couple of days a week.

I like the idea of asking the hunt, they should have loads of numebrs and recommendations for you.

I would try and get a yard with similar minded people with varying levels of experience, that seems to be most helpful when you need some advice or help with farriers etc.

Good luck in your search and happy hacking on your 15k acres.
 
wibble said:
Rhein the other place I have decided not to go to, the lady didn't really try and sell it to me and despite her ringing me seemed desperate to get off the phone, It didn't feel right on the phone and I felt like it was too much of a bother me coming to see her so I am cancelling the appointment (when I can get hold of her!)
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Sounds sensible. If she can't be bothered..........................

Am trying to pm you. You need to empty your pms!
 
Hmm not sure, its s tricky one but I do believe if it doesnt feel right then its not right so I wouldn't go with 2.
If you have to travel with work then I am not sure about 1 as you dont know wether anyone would do your horse for you and that would be an added pressure you could probably do without. Also farrier visits - no disrespect to farriers but I have wasted a lot of holiday waiting for them to turn up so I would be wary of that unless your work is quite flexible so you can get time off if you need it. You could talk to current liveries and see what they say about chipping in and helping each other to get a feel for if anyone would help you out.
I wouldnt be too concerned about the lessons as you can get a Freelance Instructor to come to you.

Good Luck whatever you decide :D
 
Wait until you see 3 (on Friday is it?). You might like it so much that the hacking aspect doesn't seem so important. Similarly, they might have quite good hacking anyhow even if it's not the 15,000 acres that you would have access to at 2.

Have pm'd you.
 
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