Yard visit and interesting realisation!

Cremola Foam

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2005
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Scotland
i've been a bit down in the dumps recently about the yard I am on. It's fairly run down, roof needs fixed as it leeks (farmer put up a tarp so at least B doesn't get a shower every night when it rains anymore!) a bit messy and no facilities to speak of (no school, toilet, anywhere to make tea or coffee to warm up. Basically it's a farm and people rent a field and stable from the, very nice, farmer)

Anyhoo. I'd been getting annoyed as the weather has been so pants I've barely ridden all year. I'm trying to do these online lessons but have nowhere to practice and lots of silly little things have been annoying me so today I went to look at another yard. It's quite far out and a bit of a trek, especially as I don't drive. But I decided I needed to go see it so I could see if the journey would be do-able.

The yard was nice. Not posh posh, but posher than where I am! I liked it but there were a lot of points that I felt wouldn't be suitable for either me, B or Peds. It really made me see what a good set up I have where I am. And not just the journey time (it currently takes me 40 mins to get to the farm we are on, that's from leaving my door to walking into my stable block, took 1 1/2 hours to get from my house to the livery I looked at today) But my whole set up is a huge plus point where I am now. I basically have a stable block to myself as my two are the only ones who come in at night in this block. The other three stables are rented out to people who keep there horses on grass livery, two are a 15 min walk from the farm to their horses field and the other one is just across the road from the farm so they are sometimes on the yard with their horse, but mostly they feed in the field. Then I have a wee field for my two boys (which is a stones throw from the stables)which I can do with as I please. Currently it is split in almost half, with the smaller bit as their winter grazing and the other bit resting for spring. But it's up to me what I do with the field, how best to ensure grazing for as much of the year as possible and when I move them from section to section. Then in the summer I can ride in my winter paddock which is slightly wider and quite a bit longer than a 20x40 school. Plus I have my own lockable tack room just for me!

So really I feel pulled out of my winter funk (that's what I think it was. I think I was just feeling depressed with winter!) and Peds and I are doing our dressage test for interdressage on Thursday (so long as I can book the local RDA's arena) and we are booked into RC club day for dressage and pole work on Sunday :)

I think I'm on the way to getting my mojo back :D
 
You see sometimes the grass isn't always greener ;) Glad you came to the conclusion your wee set up isn't bad at all:D
 
Put in a feed order and booked the outdoor arena at the RDA when I got to the farm. And ignored Peds silliness, he's not had his calmer in 3 weeks so he's aloud to be off his rocker a bit! (I'm picking it up on Thurs and will double dose him for the next week! Lol!)

I actually feel quite positive and determined about our future. :)
 
I think it's good from time to time to re think our options and often sometimes it's all we need to help us see that what we have is actually rather good. Glad you got your mojo back and remember spring is just around the corner. :)
 
I totally get where you are coming from, I long for a school and an indoor to use and this time of year its easy to think I'd be better off elsewhere, but other than having riding facilities there really isn't anything positive about livery for me. My rent is very fair, I have fields and stables to do as I please with, I can ride in the paddock, I have a shed for a tack room but its only for me and I can fill it with as much junk as I like :p and a bunch of other storage sheds for hay, rugs, and random tools etc, I had a plug put in for the leccy fence and my kettle (could you have one put in your tack room @Cremola Foam?) and I can do what ever I want with the space, its 2 minutes walk from home and in the better weather I wouldn't change it for the world, yes it would be nice to have brick stables and a concrete yard etc but the ponies have everything they need and that's most important :)
 
I totally get where you are coming from, I long for a school and an indoor to use and this time of year its easy to think I'd be better off elsewhere, but other than having riding facilities there really isn't anything positive about livery for me. My rent is very fair, I have fields and stables to do as I please with, I can ride in the paddock, I have a shed for a tack room but its only for me and I can fill it with as much junk as I like :p and a bunch of other storage sheds for hay, rugs, and random tools etc, I had a plug put in for the leccy fence and my kettle (could you have one put in your tack room @Cremola Foam?) and I can do what ever I want with the space, its 2 minutes walk from home and in the better weather I wouldn't change it for the world, yes it would be nice to have brick stables and a concrete yard etc but the ponies have everything they need and that's most important :)

@Jessey said it in a nutshell in the last sentence really.
 
I think its the constant wet weather it gets to lots of us. It seems that when I am working a whole day the sun shines, even if its a bit chilly. As soon as I have a part day it turns to wind and rain. Whilst I am like you I can manage my fields how I like. The drive leading to ours stables is ankle deep in mud. So leading the horses down to the stables is a nightmare. What Id give for a nice tarmac drive. Im sure I could go elsewhere have a lovely menage, concrete yard, would I get a field to myself, but at what cost. Well think I will just put with a few more weeks of mud.
 
I think I might have to do a barn tour so you can see what we have. As reading what some of your wants are makes me feel a bit guilty about moaning! Lol!

@chunky monkey I know what you mean about it being nice when your working. It's Half term this week and the forecast was rubbish! Not too bad today so going to get some riding in (in an outdoor arena I've hired that my friend is taking us to in his trailer) and hope to get out hacking the rest of the week.

@Jessey you are totally right. The ponies having all they need is the important thing. Peds couldn't care less if we master leg yield or crack cantering in a school! He is getting a bit bored being a pasture pet though and is longing to get out hacking again and cause some mischief! I can see it in his eyes!
 
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