A Guide For Selecting A Livery Yard.

ACCORDING to the definition in the eleventh edition (revised) 2006 of the "Concise Oxford English Dictionary", the phrase "at livery (of a horse)" means "kept for the owner and fed and cared for at a fixed charge". And this is certainly the basis of all livery agreements between livery yard owner and horse owner.

What am I saying?! What livery "agreements"? Too many people don´t have any sort of livery contract, formal or informal, written or verbal. In fact, a contract of sorts does arise from habit and practice but these are difficult to quantify when problems arise - and they do.

In the end, it all comes down to money. You get what you pay for. The cheapest option is almost invariably the one that, in the end, is the most expensive. Think about it. If people do things for nothing, it becomes difficult, embarrassing or impossible to keep asking for things to be done because there is no payment. And also, nothing costs nothing; something always costs something. The minute someone provides a service, however basic, for someone else, costs are involved.

All the above are truisms and everyone understands the basic honesty within them. Right? Wrong! The great thing about a correctly-worded formal written contract (looked over by a legal adviser) is that there are fewer margins for error. Both parties know where they stand in all situations; several clauses will be general and will cover, without precisely itemising them, eventualities that are likely to arise when caring for horses. It is so important that both parties enter into such a contract at the beginning of any level of livery, whilst friendliness and goodwill still exist. That way, both these latter states might stay in existence.

This more than holds good if you intend to keep your horse at your friend´s yard; in order to stay friends, it is much better to agree beforehand exactly what who will do, and when; friends aren´t running businesses and thus you have little or no come back and might find yourself out on your ear, and friendless.

While it is not always the case, usually (and hopefully) the livery yard owner is a professional horse person, used to the care of many and varied horses, is someone who has extensive experience in the horse world and understands just what a responsibility they are taking on in caring for other people´s animals (and they will be properly insured accordingly). Ask about their experience, chat and find out what sort of person the yard owner is and how they view the service they offer.

Equally, the majority of horse owners requiring livery are amateurs - sensible people who earn their living at something other than working with horses - who are paying for the service as defined (and they need proper insurance, too). It is sensible to make sure when chatting, as above, that you are upfront about your lifestyle, wants and needs, and that you can afford everything that you do need. It´s also quite handy to know your limitations as a rider and owner; if you don´t know how to ride and look after a horse, don´t try it on your own.

What options are available? These days, it is possible to choose from total DIY to total and complete care in a luxury yard, with personal grooms, a resident trainer, CCTV, solariums, various indoor and outdoor arenas, washing machines, lunge pens, individual daily turnout in personal paddocks, horsewalkers (mechanical and human) and anything else your heart, and your pocket, could desire.

DIY now covers a pretty vast range as well - from the hire of a stable and nothing else, through to services asked for and charged for on a pro rata basis. This latter option can end up costing as much, or more, than full livery, so beware. Some yards charge for literally everything, from picking out feet, turning out and bringing in, rugging up and changing rugs, to putting in feeds, filling haynets and water containers. And why not? All these things take time, effort and have to be done by someone and paid for by someone. Other yards are more lenient (or should one say less business-like?) and include some basics in their DIY package but, again, why should they?

DIY means do it yourself. If this is not what you want to do, can do, and know enough to do, regularly day in and day out, presumably at least twice a day, then this is really not the option to choose. The point of DIY is that it´s like keeping your horse at home, without the need to buy the land, build the stables and so on. It also gives you some backup in case of holidays or illness but, nevertheless, it is DIY.

By no means are all livery yards registered or licensed and, although there are suggested standards by bodies such as the BHS, (British Horse Society), there is no current legislation in place to bind them to such standards.

So, caveat emptor - do your research. Use your eyes when visiting a yard, look at the resident horses, are they relaxed and friendly, with good beds, well rugged up, with a good haynet? Ask around, visit several yards, ask about contracts and insurance, make sure you know what is included, and in particular what is excluded, in any of the livery options offered. If there is a waiting list at the yard, this is a good start but may mean that they are the only one locally, so be prepared to travel a bit further to a better yard if necessary but remember to factor in your travelling time when planning your daily/weekly routine.

Cheap is seldom cheerful, and doubly not where horses are concerned. Go to the best run place you can find; not the flashiest or the most expensive but the one where you feel comfortable and able to trust that the owners will care for your horse as if he was their own, whether or not you are around.
(by Andrea Hessay)