Starting a livery yard

[Sarah&Pebbles]

Hello everyone and a very happy new year to you!

I am after some advice if possible please.

I am seriously thinking of starting a livery yard and I wondered if anyone has any words of wisdom please?

I understand that I have to have financial backing and I need to do my market research but any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Sarah

[kjr]

Noticed you'd not had any replies and wanted to wish you luck. An IH livery yard would be such a treasure to find.

As an owner (who has had 'varying experiences' with livery yards over the years!!! ) it helps if when loking round a possible new yard if you can find out exactly what's what in terms of what is and isn't included and what the daily yard routine is. That way you know if it is likely to suit your horse.

I wish you the best of luck. BTW whereabouts are you?

[Deleted]

Hello,

I haven't got my own yard but I work at one on Saturdays and a good friend has set up her own yard with the help of the lady I work for and these were the main things I can remember she said (this was for part livery):

1- Decide on how you want to run the yard and stick to it. When you show people around show them how the stables are made up. Both of them have had people wanting their horses beds deeper/ with bigger banks/ with smaller banks/ with a bigger space cleared around the door/ with no space clear at the door etc and unless you are willing to make every bed differently then make that clear.

2- Get owners to agree at the outset if you can use your discretion to rug their horse, if not then have a white board for what rugs they should wear day and night and make it the owners' responsibility to keep it up to date.

3. Don't let people make complaints/ requests by text. If they have any problems or complaints they should be willing to tell you to your face.

4. Finally, the golden rule: you mustn't give your horse preferential treatment over other peoples - clearly what you do when you're not working is different (grooming, fussing, training etc) but if everyone else's turn out is limited to 4 hours a day yours should be too.

I hope that doesn't sound too doom and gloom but those were answers my boss gave to my friend when she encountered much whingeing from one owner in particular!

Best of luck, you must be very excited! x

[Deleted]

just thought, one yard I visited gave me an info sheet to take away with all the key details on like what was and wasn't included and the price which was really useful to refer to later after seeing other yards

x

[lisap]

My advice to anyone considering starting a livery yard would be "How much do you like people?".

Those people who run yards because they like horses and want to finance their own horses are likely to be very disappointed and frustrated. As a livery yard owner/manager, you need to be a real people person for the yard to have the great atmosphere that can be quite difficult to find.

You need to be endlessly patient, and genuinely interested in owners' interests and concerns, and spend a lot of time in making sure that everyone knows what is going on regarding the yard. Great communication is essential. I use group text messages, emails, notes on the board and face to face in order to make sure that everyone is kept in the loop.

The poster who commented that all horses should be treated equally is absolutely right. You must care for each horse as though it were your own.

It is also a very expensive business running a yard, and frankly, if you have to rent somewhere then you will find yourself working very hard for very little money. If you own your own facilities then it is much more worthwhile. You need to run the numbers again and again and again otherwise you could be making a very expensive mistake.

If you are not very good with figures, then you need to find someone (and cost them in) who is, otherwise you will find budgeting a nightmare. We have access to a superb finance person and our own costs are tightly controlled and also transparent to all our liveries. However, we are unusual in that we run as a co-operative, so we are a not-for-profit operation. However, we still have to make sure that income exceeds expenditure!

To give you an idea, our costs last year were in the region of £30,000, and £8,000 of that was in rent, and this was for about 12 horses. (We now have 17, but that was more by accident than design!)

[feemac]

If you get in touch with the BHS and they can send you a Livery yard pack it gives alot of info on what you should provide, what you must provide, even if you don't decide to become a BHS approved yard. They also have a buddy system now pairing you with another more experienced yard for advice they can also help with letters for planning, I found they very helpful.

Above all make sure you have Insurance that cover care and custody and liability, Livery contracrts so everyone knows where they stand backing of your vet, Good tidy facilities, Opening and closing times otherwise you life will never be your own, above all happy and healthy horses.

Its also a good idea to have a long hard think about what livery you want to provide as some DIY yards changed to full livery as there is always 1 or 2 people that don't respect your property leaving it a mess, but all in all there are alot of nice people out there esp if you end up with IH people but beware there will be trouble makers and people that don't agree with IH or BHS! Try not to get involved with yard politics.

Forgot to add good luck as we need more livery yards out there that are run by horse people and not ones that are in it for the money because theres not much in it as Lisap says!

[stablehand]

Mmm its a hard one. Area makes a masive difference to the need for livery yards weather full. part or diy. i do think the way things are with the current climate there are lots of farms etc diversifying and there are many yards i know which have spaces.
I have a few liverys and agree with lisa it can be very frustrating. I am now very straight with new people exactly what is actable and what isnt!!!!
But good luck in what ever you decide to do.

[lilaclomax]

From what I have seen, you definately need to be a people person, also the yard needs to be as a business not a place for equine friends.
I would definately have a list of dos and don'ts before you even advertise to let people know exactly what is expected.. even better could you draw up a list of what is offered/not allowed and pop on here to get the best opinions from great horse owners

[Amanda Seater]

Hard work - you need the patience of a saint with people - a niche idea/service is always a good idea.
You may not et any return for several months while building the business. Advertising and keeping a firm hand on finance and coming through with your promises is a must.

It is no good saying yes yes yes and then not doing it- I have heard alot of this lately and that is why I have liveries traveling over 100miles!!

Horse and its feed and care should come before tidiness if labour is short.

have fun good luck - you won't make a million but if it is what you want be happy.

[lucy2]

I manage a livery yard for someone. So i am very lucky as I have no rent/mortgage to pay and I get a regular income as manager. But if we have liveries move on occassionally then there is a shortfall in income until I find replacements. I strongly recommend professional indemnity insurance policy. But some of the main items of expediture is the utilities. Electricity, water and rates really can bump up your expenditure.

Having a contract for your liveries is a good idea and don't let them get behind in paying you.

Livery yards are a great business if it weren't for the owners ! LOL

[lilaclomax]

We all pay in advance for the livery on our yard and hay and straw is paid at the end of every week. I suppose that way you should never be out of pocket and liveries are less likely to do a runner! We pay on the 25th of the month so the money clears by the 1st, it is set up by standing order which makes it even easier.

[Sarah&Pebbles]

Wow, I am really grateful for all your responses! Thank you very very much!

I am definitely a people person and I just aim to please so I am hopeful I would make a good yard owner.

Thank you very much for all the pointers, I am contacting someone about a yard tomorrow so I will keep you all posted.

Many many thanks everyone!

Sarah xx

[kt with Hanni]

Good luck Sarah. I'm currently looking at properties with some land to purchase. I've also considered looking into liveries if the property I find has more land and stables than I need, so this thread has been helpful for me too - thanks :-)

[Amanda Seater]

Oh - my lot pay by standing order or direct debit - no messing then!
Good luck

[ashleigh]

Brilliant thread, as I am considering doing this with my own property in the future.

I was just wondering whether we would have to get planning permission for change of use, as currently it is just a domestic set up for my use only (All facilities already in place, so no planning needed for that). Also I wondered if it would affect my mortgage in any way?

Will be ringing the BHS later I think.