Latest from Horse & Hound in Livery-yards

Running a livery yard is ‘emotional labour’ new study finds

Becky Murray — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:00:20 +0000

Livery yard owners and managers are facing increasing challenges and “emotional labour” – as new research shows the need for better support.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool explored the experiences of 52 yard managers and managers around yard set-up and management and how decisions are made regarding horse wellbeing.

The study, published in CABI’s Human-Animal Interactions journal, highlighted the “complexity of livery yard management with each yard functioning as a unique ecosystem based on a balance of independent factors including the management of horses, clients, land, business and facilities”.

“Livery yards were frequently run from a desire to work with horses, and this shaped the yard managers’ provision of services and care,” said the authors.

“While yards were organised around the physical tasks of looking after horses, participants suggested that the core of their workload was, in fact, related to the organisational and emotional work of managing clients and horses. This included negotiating around interspecies individual needs, managing disagreements and building relationships. Collectively, this required complex organisation and emotional labour.”

Lead researcher Tamzin Furtado told H&H she came away with a “huge amount of sympathy” for yard owners and managers – and said a takeaway is that there needs to be more support and professionalism for yard owners and “respect for it as an industry”.

“There are so many things that just fall to yard owners and managers, without any of us knowing about it,” she said, giving examples of assisting with euthanasia decisions or “extreme scenarios” such as being shouted at by liveries and having horses “dumped on them”.

“A lot of the work yard managers described went unrecognised, and working conditions which we just wouldn’t accept in other situations. They were trying to manage all these difficult situations, while managing their own work-life balance and the costs of running the yard and many described basically subsidising the yard themselves,” she said.

“It’s hard, we’re in a changing world where things are more expensive, we’ve got more horses, less land, winters are getting worse. We need to understand yard managers better and understand why certain decisions might be difficult for them.”

Ms Furtado added that Chery Johns of LiveryList is doing a “phenomenal job of plugging the gap” and providing a community for yard owners.

Ms Johns told H&H she is pleased to see the work highlight the fact yard management is “far more complex than it often looks”.

“Decisions made on yards can directly affect welfare outcomes, standards of care and the experience of horses and clients in an unregulated industry,” she said.

“It’s encouraging to see the role being recognised properly for what it is; a skilled, responsible and often demanding job that plays a vital role within the industry – and one that needs the right level of support to maintain standards and strengthen the sector.”

Sarah Dale, British Horse Society (BHS) head of approved centres, told H&H the society welcomes this “important study that highlights the challenges and complexities faced by livery yard owners and managers”.

“These businesses are central to equine welfare and the wider equestrian community, so improving understanding of the pressures they face is vital in helping create better outcomes for both people and horses,” she said, adding that the BHS supports livery yards becoming licensed in the future.

“We recognise that running a yard requires far more than excellent horsemanship. Owners and managers are balancing business pressures, client relationships, staffing challenges and ever-changing operational demands, often all at once.”

The BHS offers support for approved centres, including advice from regional business support managers on topics including business and pricing strategies; marketing and mental health; as well as access to professional helplines, networking events and vouchers towards training courses and professional development.

“Studies like this reinforce the importance of continuing to invest in meaningful support for yard owners and managers, who remain at the heart of a healthy and sustainable equestrian industry,” said Ms Dale.

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Types of livery to consider when looking for somewhere to keep your horse

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:30:13 +0000

The majority of privately owned horses in the UK are kept on various types of livery yards. What’s offered by individual livery yards can vary enormously – and I have been lucky enough to have first-hand experience of a few different types – so here’s a handy break down of what to expect at different types of livery.

Thinking about what type of livery arrangement will suit you best is something to carefully consider if you’re buying a horse, assessing the cost of keeping a horse or looking for a new livery yard.

What is livery?

A livery yard or stable is where horse owners pay a fee (typically weekly or monthly) to keep their horses. Horses kept on livery yards are usually privately owned.

A livery yard not the same as a riding school – although some riding schools may offer livery as another part of their business – and facilities and types of livery vary widely.

Types of livery

Below are the most common livery options you’ll find in the UK.

Grass livery is usually the cheapest form of livery. (Image credit: Alamy)

Grass livery

This means that you’re being offered grazing only – no stable, although there may be a field shelter. Grass livery options also vary from a field space (either individual or group turnout) with a storage area, to having facilities, such as an arena or the option to pay for ad hoc for regular livery services.

It’s possible that your field may not have a water supply, although this is more common when renting land for grazing rather than on a livery setup.

Pros

Generally the cheapest form of livery
You don’t need to pay for a stable you won’t use if your horse lives out

Cons

You don’t have a stable in case of emergencies, such as needing to box rest
Usually less facilities available, although not true for all cases

DIY livery

Many horse owners choose DIY livery, as it tends to be one of the most economical options if you have time to care for your horse yourself. Once again, what’s included can vary a lot.

Some yards take “do it yourself” literally, and will expect you to pay for and undertake any repairs, while others will take care of the yard while you do all the jobs associated with looking after your horse. This may also include sweeping up and tidying of communal areas alongside other liveries.

Pros

Economical option
You have control over your horse’s daily care

Cons

It’s a lot of work
There are usually rules to follow, such as turnout times

Some livery yards offer services, such as mucking out, in addition to your package. (Image credit: Sarah Farnsworth)

Assisted DIY livery

This is where you keep your horse on grass or DIY livery, but usually either have help at one end of the day or can add on optional services as you need them. For example, you might be on a DIY yard and pay for your horse to be turned out three times a week if you need to get to work early. This is a great option if you need a bit of help or flexibility, but still want to be heavily involved in your horse’s care.

Pros

Saves you time and fuel travelling to the yard
Very involved with your horse’s daily care
Usually more flexible than part livery

Cons

Not all yards offer the same amount of flexibility with services
Services are charged as extras

Part livery

This is a step up from assisted DIY and tends to include all the essential aspects of horse care, but typically with no extras such as grooming, tack cleaning or exercise. It may be on a five-day per week basis, with owners doing DIY on weekends, or a full seven-day per week basis. It might also lean more towards the description of assisted DIY above with services at one end of each day. Yards can interpret part livery and the care package included differently, so it is essential you check what the agreement is first.

Pros

Saves you time and fuel travelling to the yard
Regular help

Cons

Wide variation in what yards offer

Some full livery options will have your horse ready for you when you arrive. (Image credit: Andrew Sydenham)

Full livery

This option probably has the most room for variation, so if you’re planning on moving to a full livery yard, make sure you know what’s included. Some yards will clean your tack, ride your horse, polish his hooves and read him a soothing bedtime story, while others will muck out and put him on the horse walker twice a day. Costs vary from “great value” to “it would be cheaper to buy him his own apartment in St Tropez”.

Pros

Great if you can’t commit to being at the yard twice a day on regular days
You can focus on riding in the time that you have

Cons

Expensive option
You may have less control over your horse’s care

Competition livery

If you would like your horse to be kept fit and taken to competitions by a professional rider, this is the type of livery you’re looking for. Competition livery involves your horse being on full livery, with the rider doing some or all of the exercise with your horse.

A sales livery will care for your horse while they manage the sale. (Image credit: Andrew Sydenham)

Sales livery

This type of livery does what it says on the tin. Your horse is in full livery on a rider or dealer’s yard, with the idea being that they will take on the responsibility of selling your horse for you. It’s likely that you’ll pay a weekly fee for the duration of their stay, and the seller will also usually take a cut of the horse’s final selling price.

Working livery

Working livery is usually offered by riding schools, and means they can use your horse for lessons in return for a reduction in livery fees or possibly in return for them doing all the work. This can be a good option if you don’t get as much time to ride as you’d like, but does mean you might not have much control over who is riding your horse.

Retirement livery

This is usually a similar setup to grass livery in that your horse will live out 24/7, but within a herd of other retired horses. Usually there is someone who will perform daily checks, feed and water. Depending on the arrangement, this person may also take on the responsibility of organising farriery visits and other care.

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Livery yards will close without support, expert warns, as survey shows huge range in pricing

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 18:01:42 +0000

More livery yards will close if action is not taken to support them, the industry has been warned, which would mean a lack of options for owners.

Cheryl Johns, founder of yard owners’ and managers’ platform Livery List, spoke at the National Equine Forum on 5 March, about her latest survey on yard pricing.

“I work with a large community of yard managers and owners and therefore understand the trends and challenges they face,” she said “Over the last two to three years, costings have been a major concern, especially over viability. Since Covid, the cost-of-living crisis, increases in the national minimum wage and increases in forage costs and availability have provided a major concern for these business owners. In recent times, many yards have closed down due to being financially unsustainable.”

Ms Johns said many owners run yards owing to a love of horses rather than business, and that many struggle with pricing; she frequently sees queries on this, from how to implement increases to people asking “What should I charge?” This led Ms Johns to conduct her pricing survey, in December, and there were 768 responses. The full results are online; Ms Johns said the trend in all categories of livery was major gaps between the highest and lowest prices charged.

For DIY, for example, the average price was £201 per month but the minimum was £75 and the maximum £500. For full ridden livery, the average price was £1,010 but the minimum and maximum were £450 and £2,123 respectively.

“One of the most interesting results was that for full livery as an example, over 12 months, there’s a representative difference of £20,000 separating the highest and lowest prices,” she said. “This is for one horse owner over 12 months for the same livery package. It’s also interesting that some yards charge as little for full livery as some charge for DIY, showing the scope of differences in the fees available to horse owners.”

Livery prices: different factors

Ms Johns said factors behind the variation in pricing include location, facilities, services and operating costs, but that yard and horse owners should also consider staff, welfare standards, financial and legal compliance and the experience of the human client.

“There’s also a lack of governance in the industry,” she said. “There’s no licensing, no dedicated regulatory body, no mandatory inspections, which means it’s fairly inconsistent, and that anybody can open a livery yard and operate as they wish.

“Some examples are employment obligations, such as paying the national minimum wage, being appropriately insured, yards that do or don’t pay business rates, biosecurity protocols, quantity and quality of forage and feed –. All these have a major effect on operating costs, which are passed on to the horse owner. Yards who don’t meet expected standards in these areas, and more, can compromise the health and welfare of the equines in their care. These yards who don’t operate meeting industry standards also undermine and undervalue those who do.”

Ms Johns said horse owners must do their due diligence when choosing a livery yard, but that there is a lack of guidance and support for yard owners.

One-woman mission

“For many years, I’ve been on a one-woman mission to represent and support yard owners and managers, including the development of initiatives to try to help future-proof this industry for business owners and horse owners,” she said.

“These initiatives help bridge the gap, but the industry as a whole needs to consider what systems, regulations and support can be put in place to better support the future of livery yards; this must cover all areas, including welfare, business support, compliance, employment, financial viability and legal and moral obligations.

“This is a challenging industry and without change, it will only get harder. More yards will close, and there will be limited options for quality, affordable livery for horse owners. We also need to support and educate horse owners to understand expected standards and questions they should be asking when they’re seeking a new yard, to ensure they find somewhere safe, suitable and compliant to keep their horse, rather than simply making a choice based on the cost.

“We all know the social value of equestrianism, the communities it supports and the joy it brings, and most importantly, it is vital to keep equestrianism and horse ownership safe, accessible and affordable for all.”

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‘It’s not about glitz and glamour, but the care provided’: national federation rewarding stables that put horse wellbeing first

Becky Murray — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:25:53 +0000

German yards and stables that act as “role models” by putting horse wellbeing at the forefront away from rather than “glitz and glamour” are being rewarded by the country’s national federation.

The federation has opened entries for its annual stable of the year competition, recognising businesses that show “exemplary horse husbandry practices” – judged by a panel of vets and equine welfare experts.

“Horses spend the majority of their lives in their living environment, which has a decisive influence on their wellbeing. The competition highlights stables that take this responsibility seriously,” said a German federation spokesperson.

“We are looking for role models for species-appropriate horse husbandry. It’s not about glitz and glamour, but about the actual care provided. Not about perfection, but about responsibility. Whether it’s a free-range stable or paddock boxes, what matters is not the building’s design, but the daily care provided.”

In the first stage of the competition stables apply online and present their concepts. In round two, they submit photos and a virtual yard tour video. Those who make it through to the final stage are visited by the judging panel.

The panel is looking for businesses that “demonstrate in their daily practice what it truly means for species-appropriate horse husbandry: exercise, social interaction, light and fresh air”, as well as innovative concepts and ideas that prioritise horse welfare.

In 2025 two winners were crowned; Gstach’s Lindehof – which provided at least 10 hours of daily turnout and exercise, had well thought out herd management, highly professional staff, consistent health management and safe horse-friendly construction.

The other winner was Gut Schmuttermühle, recognised for its husbandry, spacious boxes, well-designed infrastructure and “competence and experience combined with loving care”.

Winners are crowned at the Al-shiraaa Bundeschampionate (25-30 August) – and those who have taken part and made it to the second stage receive feedback on their husbandry practices.

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Warning about livery contracts after increase in disputes going to court

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:58:18 +0000

Yard owners and clients have been reminded of the importance of having appropriate livery contracts, after a legal firm recorded an increase in related cases.

Rider and equestrian law specialist Lara Davies, of OLS Solicitors, told H&H her firm has seen a “significant” increase in livery contract disputes reaching county court, owing to absent or inadequate contracts.

“The number of disputes between horse owners and livery yard operators has grown substantially over the past year,” she said. “Most stem from verbal agreements or poorly drafted contracts that lack clarity on basic terms like notice periods, fee increases and responsibility for veterinary costs.”

Ms Davies said many yards have had to increase fees to cover the rising cost of living, but that in some cases, these have been introduced with “minimal notice”, causing horse owners to look for alternatives. In other cases, clients have left without giving appropriate notice, causing issues for yard owners.

“One client faced a 40% fee increase with just two weeks’ notice,” Ms Davies said. “Another yard owner had three clients leave simultaneously with no notice, creating significant financial pressure.”

Lack of clarity

Ms Davies said major causes of disputes include unclear fee structures or notice periods for increases, lack of clarity on who pays for damage and is responsible for welfare, and notice periods.

“When relationships break down, horses can become caught in the middle,” she added. “We’ve seen cases where owners were denied access to their animals during disputes, creating welfare concerns.

“A good contract protects everyone involved. It should clearly outline services provided, costs, notice periods for changes, termination procedures and liability terms.”

Ms Davies said contracts should be reviewed as circumstances change, and that all parties should check them carefully before they are signed.

“With rising costs across the equestrian sector, clear agreements aren’t just helpful, they’re essential for protecting both businesses and horse owners,” she said.

Oonagh Meyer, head of operations for approved centres at the British Horse Society, pointed out that as livery yards do not have to be licensed, many operate without guidance.

“This can lead to a greater risk of problems and disputes,” she told H&H. “We’d recommend using a BHS approved livery yard, as they are required to have a written livery contract in place. It’s important that these clearly define the yard and horse owners’ responsibilities, any liability regarding theft, loss or damage of equipment, basic terms like notice periods or fee increases, and any agreed extra services that are being provided.

“Without having such contracts, which have been signed by both parties, things can easily become ambiguous and relationships can come under strain. Importantly, the horse’s welfare may be impacted, which is the last thing we all want to happen.”

Better relationships

Cheryl Johns of Livery List, founded to support yard and horse owners, told H&H she champions quality, up-to-date contracts, which as well as protecting everyone, benefit management and organisation of the yard, and its relationship with clients.

“Personally, I recommend a decent contract, and a separate yard handbook for specifying things that are important but non-contractual such as opening times, yard rules, arrangements for yard routine, pricing and arrangements for other services, biosecurity expectations and suchlike,” she said.

“Plus I always recommend supporting documents such as horse and client detail forms, providing proof of ID address, copies of insurance and disclaimers/details for service providers or sharers/loaners.

“This means everything is covered and whether there’s an issue with the horse, a service provider, debt or anything, the yard should have all the documents they need to help them deal with it, which helps reduce disputes and losses through such disagreements.

“We have various contract templates, produced in collaboration with equine contract lawyer Jodie Seddon of Aria Grace Equine Law, but it’s always recommended yard owners get any contract overseen by a lawyer; to make sure it’s suitable for their particular circumstances, and secondly because the slightest change in wording can easily render a contract completely useless.”

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13 ways to save money on horse costs without compromising on care

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 13:22:25 +0000

Saving money on horse costs is something we’re all thinking about at the moment – and it can be really stressful. Horses are expensive and you don’t need me to tell you that. The cost of keeping a horse is more than ever, and making sure we can provide for our horses’ needs is at the top of every owner’s priority list.

I’ve pulled together a range of money-saving ideas for horse owners – some are small, whereas others are big changes to daily life – however, not all will be applicable or possible for every owner as each horse and situation is different. Instead, I hope they might be food for thought and maybe spark an idea that will help you.

How to save money on horse costs and bills

1. Track your spending

Record what you’re spending. This might feel daunting or overwhelming, but it will help you understand where the majority of your horse’s expenses are. You can then focus on cutting costs in manageable areas.

I find it really helpful to allocate my horse an “allowance” each month. When I get paid, he gets this allowance in a separate account or saving pot, which means that no matter how poorly I budget in other areas of my life, he never goes without. But it also helps me track and manage his costs.

His personal monthly budget covers all his essential costs throughout the year, from livery and hay costs to dentist visits and insurance, so I never have that panicky feeling when vaccinations are due, for example – the money is already there. Some months he’ll have surplus – for example, if there’s no farrier visit – but I know that will roll over and be used when he’s due for something else. It all evens out in the end and I never feel like I’m spending extra because his allowance costs me the same each month.

Think about whether your horse needs everything you’re feeding him (Image credit: creditUnknown)

2. Review your feeding

The majority of horses manage well on a forage-based diet and, if necessary, one broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement, feed balancer or fibre-based complete feed. Your vet or an equine nutritionist can advise whether or not your horse needs additional feed or supplements and how you might be able to save money on feed.

If your horse has extra needs, a nutritional helpline (which is free) will be able to advise you where you might be able to cut costs. A few years ago, I sought this advice and went from using a feed balancer and a joint supplement, to a senior balancer that already contained the joint support – and although the senior balancer is more expensive per bag, it works out less over time.

There are, of course, lots of things to consider when changing your horse’s feed and for another horse the answer might have been to forgo the balancer and feed a chopped fibre with an added supplement. Every horse has their own requirements, and different products will provide varying levels of active ingredients, which is why it’s best to seek nutritional advice specific to your horse.

3. Reduce wastage

If your horse tends to waste its forage, then make sure you are only feeding as much as they are likely to eat, while not leaving them without any forage at all for long periods as this carries a risk of causing gastric ulcers. Also consider whether feeding the forage in a small-holed haynet or slow feeder would save you more money in the long run. Check out more tips for saving money on hay.

Share jobs with fellow liveries to save money and time (Image credit: creditUnknown)

4. Save money on livery and daily horse care

Consider whether you really need everything you’re paying for at your livery yard. If you are paying for someone else to provide all or part of your horse’s day-to-day care, you may be able to reduce costs if you were able to do more yourself, even on a temporary basis. However, if this means you visiting the stables more frequently than you do now, make sure you consider the cost and time involved with this extra journey.

If your yard allows, share daily jobs, such as turning out, with your fellow liveries.

Ask about flexible livery packages – for example, would your yard allow your horse to live out full time during the summer at a cheaper rate, then be stabled during the winter? If you think your horse would do well on permanent turnout, it could be worth looking around for a suitable grass livery or renting a field, but consider how you would ensure your horse’s needs were met if you were taken ill.

Also consider whether you need all the facilities offered by your yard (horsewalker, arena, etc), or would a yard with fewer facilities be sufficient? Either way, keep an eye out for added extras. Understandably, most yards charge extra for using the horsewalker, solarium or lights in the arena, for example, to cover the costs of the electricity. As these charges can add up, make sure you keep track of what you’re spending so you don’t get an unpleasant surprise when your livery bill arrives.

5. Shop smart and buy in bulk

Shopping around for hay and bedding, and buying directly from a local farmer rather than through an equestrian retailer, can be a good penny saver. In particular, buying hay directly off the field after it has been baled (you will have to be able to collect it) can result in major savings.

Wormers are another item where you can save by buying in bulk, although it’s vital that you worm count first – which could save you even more money if the test shows your horse doesn’t need de-worming after all.

Research the different types of horse bedding on the market and shop around as it may be cheaper to buy in bulk direct from the supplier if you have room to store it, rather than as and when you need it via your local feed merchant.

And while fitting rubber matting requires a significant initial financial investment, it can pay for itself in reduced bedding costs over time.

Arrange for group vet visits so that you can split the call-out fee (Image credit: creditUnknown)

6. Save money on professional care

While we absolutely do not want to promote scrimping on your horse’s care – these professionals are essential to your horse’s wellbeing – there are some ways you can do this for less to save money on horse costs.

Organise communal visits and ask for discounts. Some veterinary practices offer free yard visits to a particular area on specific days for routine tasks, such as vaccinations. Even if you can’t benefit from a free call-out, teaming up with other owners for routine appointments, including the vet, farrier, physio and equine dental technician, can typically save you a fair amount of cash.

7. Check in with professionals about your options

For example, investigate shoeing options with your farrier; you may find your horse doesn’t need to have a full set of shoes all year round. And if there is not much wear on the shoes, your farrier may be able to refit them rather than replace them. You may also be able to go an extra week between appointments at certain times of year.

But remember that money saved in the short term by switching to use a cheaper farrier, or regularly extending the periods between shoeing visits, may be short-sighted, so a little extra spent each time could save you a lot in the long run if you avoid vet bills resulting from poor hoof balance.

Alter your lesson frequency or team up with friends to have a group session (Image credit: creditUnknown)

8. Save money on lessons

Whether you travel to your trainer’s yard for lessons or have your trainer come to you, by having a shared or group lesson you can keep the cost down, which may allow you to train more frequently. Having a riding ‘buddy’ also means you can be ‘eyes-on-the-ground’ for each other, helping you both to progress in between training sessions.

If you currently see your trainer routinely but need to save money on training, ask if you could replace every other in-person training session with either a remote training session if you have the necessary kit or a virtual session. This usually involves supplying a video of you doing a pre-agreed exercise or movement and then the trainer gives feedback via a phone or video call that you can use to improve the performance before your next in-person session. During the pandemic many trainers diversified to offer these types of training and they may be a cheaper way to keep your riding on track.

9. Competition expenses

If you want to continue to pursue your competition ambitions, but need to cut costs, discuss with your trainer which are the most important competitions to target and spend the time in between training to increase your chance of success when you do compete.

Competing and the associated travel costs are significant (Image credit: creditUnknown)

10. Transport costs

Transport can be a major cost for competitive horse owners. If you have a friend who is competing in the same discipline or at a similar level, you might consider sharing the running costs of a lorry between you.

Another alternative is to choose a livery yard that holds regular competitions. Although the livery rate is likely to be higher at these types of yards, you will save yourself time, running costs and fuel, which all adds up.

If you don’t compete frequently, but own your own lorry or trailer, sit down and work out whether hiring transport would save you money in the long-run.

11. Spend less on kit

For those of us who love to shop and ensure our horses have the best of everything, working out ways to save money on kit will make a big difference.

Share equipment where possible. There is little point in investing in items that you might use only occasionally, such as a portable hot horse shower, have a chat with your friends to see if you can club together and have shared use of the equipment. Make sure you agree who is responsible for the cost of repairs and maintenance beforehand to avoid problems later on.

If you have room to store it, stock up on hay and bedding in the summer. Not only will you be prepared, but you’re very likely to save money. Just make sure you check the quality of the forage, especially if you are buying hay from the previous year’s crop.

Keep an eye out for sales, both online and in your local tack shop, as buying winter rugs during the summer and fly rugs in the autumn will also give you the chance to save – but only buy what you are confident you are going to need, rather than simply expanding you horse’s wardrobe because an item appears to be an unmissable bargain. We cover the big sales and shout out which deals are actually worth it – you can find these at Horse & Hound deals or by following us on social media.

Sort through your kit and sell anything you no longer need (Image credit: creditUnknown)

12. Sell surplus kit

If you have tack and equipment you no longer need, there are a number of ways of finding it a new home and earning a bit of extra cash. You can sell your unwanted horse kit online on eBay or Vinted, via social media, through ads in your local tack shop, by attending a horsey car boot/table top sale or by listing things on a board at your livery yard.

Whichever route you choose, we recommend you either do transactions face-to-face for cash or using a protected payment system like Paypal for extra protection.

13. Make what you’ve got last longer

Spending time caring for your existing tack and cleaning your riding boots will help them to last longer, reducing the likelihood of anything needing to be replaced.

We’ve put together some guides on washing rugs at home, reproofing turnout rugs and repairing rugs yourself to help you save money here, too.

It’s also worth mentioning that old quote “buy cheap, buy twice”, but more expensive does not always mean better. To help you make the best buying decisions, check out our buying guides.

Tips for managing your money

1. Know what you’re dealing with. Sit down and perform a monthly budgeting exercise each month. Be honest and realistic with yourself and include all expenditure that will occur. Visit moneyadviceservice.org.uk and moneysavingexpert.com for advice on how to pull together a monthly budget.

2. Face your debts. List all your debts and create an action plan of how/when you are going to repay these. Find good advice on dealing with debt at direct.gov.uk, nationaldebtline.co.uk and citizensadvice.co.uk

3. Consolidate accumulated debts where possible. Look for good rates of interest, especially on credit cards – there are always 0% balance transfer deals around, although check if there is a one-off charge. A number of sites can help you compare credit cards, including gocompare.com, moneysupermarket.com and comparethemarket.com

4. Struggle to limit your spending on credit cards? Lower your credit limit at the first possible chance.

5. It sounds obvious, but strive to save as much as you can where possible. As a guide, try to have a minimum of at least one month’s salary in reserve. This will help plan for the future and ensure you have a cash reserve in an emergency – for example with an unexpected vet’s bill or lorry breakdown.

6. Review your insurance policies. Are you really prepared/able to make that one-off payment should an accident occur? Consider whether it would be wiser to have a reduced excess and pay slightly more each month.

If you find that you are still struggling, we’ve collated some advice on what to do if you can no longer afford to keep your horse.

For unlimited access to advice on how best to care for your horse, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Yard owners urged to play their part against ever-growing and deadly threat to horse health

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 12:34:10 +0000

Yard owners are urged to play a part in tackling growing and potentially deadly wormer resistance.

Project WORMS, an initiative set up by vets is asking owners and managers of livery and competition yards to share information about their parasite control methods.

The project was set up in response to “real concern that the horse world could be left without effective de-wormers in the future, putting horses at an increased risk of parasite damage-related illnesses such as severe diarrhoea, weight loss and colic, which are currently preventable”.

It has already gathered information on worming practices from horse owners and stud managers, to help inform improvements, and a key finding was that 42% of owners who responded keep horses on a yard managed by someone else. For most of theses horses, yard managers make decisions about worming.

“All grazing horses are affected by worms and controlling them is vital to maintain the health of these horses,” a Project WORMS spokesperson said. “However, the deworming drugs (anthelmintics) that we have relied on for many years are becoming less and less effective due to increasing levels of resistance among the worms.

“The latest survey is aimed at owners and managers of yards with two or more liveries and the data captured will be used to help support yard owners to make better decisions on their properties, to try and prevent serious disease, and even death, due to wormer resistance in future.”

Take the survey online

The project is a collaboration between VetPartners’ equine clinical board, CVS Group, IVC Evidensia and Equine Reproductive Services, and is supported by the British Equestrian Veterinary Association (BEVA). It has ethical approval from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

Vet Julia Shrubb, chair of the equestrian industry’s CANTER initiative set up to tackle wormer resistance, said: “We need to take action because resistance has been demonstrated in all the deworming drugs currently available to us and there are no new products being developed to replace them.

“The results of the first Project WORMS survey were encouraging because they showed that resistance has become more widely understood and more owners are switched on to testing. However, some liveries may be continuing to over-use dewormers due to rules set out by their yard.”

Difficult decisions

Ms Shrubb said yard owners have to make difficult decisions when considering all the horses in their care. The project team wants to understand how they make these decisions, to be able to support them better.

“It’s really important that yard owners make sure their deworming approach includes risk assessing and testing,” she said. “If many continue as they are, we are not only risking the health and welfare of horses in the future, but the viability of livery businesses if the land cannot safely be grazed by horses.”

Equine internal medicine specialist Tim Mair of CVS Equine added: “More information is now needed about how yard managers are controlling worms and using deworming drugs on their yards. A responsible approach to the use of dewormers is crucial to maximise animal welfare and ensure we have effective products available in the future.

“We understand that controlling parasites in groups or herds of horses is complicated, but we hope that by finding out more about how it’s approached we’ll be able to identify where improvements can be made, which will benefit livery yards as well as horses and their owners.”

Surveys are anonymous, but anyone taking part can leave their details to be entered into a prize draw with the chance to win £100 in Love2Shop vouchers.

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‘We’re not here to subsidise people’s hobbies’: the steps livery yards need to take to stay viable

Becky Murray — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 17:07:16 +0000

Livery yards can be viable businesses – but running them as such, and being focused on costs, is key.

This is the message for yard owners, as rising costs across the industry continue to be a concern for many. Utilities, business rates, the minimum wage and the cost of hay, feed and bedding have all risen, but some yard owners are reluctant to increase livery prices.

Stephen Cole runs a viable livery yard, Parsons-Cole, in north Hertfordshire. He offers five- and seven-day full or ridden livery, and employs five members of staff.

“I understand things can be hard but you really have to understand your costs. We have all our processes streamlined and the yard is run efficiently; we have everything timed so we know how much staff we need, we installed automatic drinkers and switched from straw to shavings to make things easier,” he told H&H.

“We also plan six months to a year ahead; I’ve already bought the winter hay and I’m constantly planning. Sometimes I’ll say to the team we need to just tweak something a bit, because you’ve got to be on the ball all the time.

“This year our national insurance contributions and the minimum wage went up so our livery prices went up with it. I explained to the customers why we’re doing it; no staff means no service.”

He added that he has lost liveries in the past to price raises, but gained others, and said yards have to move with rising costs.

“You have to be open-minded that you may lose liveries, but I’m OK with that. You can’t have a service and not pay for it,” he said.

Milton Keynes-based Folly Fields Farm owner Helen Newbold told H&H she has been forced to become “more business-minded”. She has “drastically” reduced her liveries, no longer employs staff and the farm has diversified in a number of ways, including having a dog-walking field.

“The business we are running is profitable, but only because we’ve been brave enough to make changes. We have taken a bit of a step back and it does force you to look at things,” she said.

“We’re not here to subsidise people’s hobbies and it’s hard; liveries become friends and you don’t want to put prices up, but it’s making sure your business model works and continually checking your figures to make sure everything adds up. I have everything recorded so I can see what everything costs each month and there’s nowhere to hide.

“It’s too easy to let years go by, suddenly realise you’re running at a loss, and the amount you’ve got to put your prices up to get back to where you were becomes too much.”

Cheryl Johns of yard directory Livery List told H&H it is challenging if, when livery charges go up, client expectations go up too.

“Horse owners think that if the yard is putting the prices up, they should be getting better or more facilities. It can end up a bit of a vicious circle of constantly needing to meet expectations that cost more, then prices having to go up,” she said.

“But the people doing it as a hobby, or unintentionally keeping their prices low to keep stables full, they’re undervaluing and undermining the people trying to run yards as a business. It’s totally possible to have a viable yard, but you have to be knowledgeable about your own business and costs.”

Ms Johns added that it is also down to horse owners to make careful decisions on where they keep their horses.

“Do they have things like insurance, and health and safety, and biosecurity policies? If we can eradicate some of these places that don’t have these things, horse and yard owners would have to face up to what it really costs to keep a horse,” she said.

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How to find an ideal livery yard: six key things to consider before you decide

bethany.stone@futurenet.com (Bethany Stone) — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 14:30:12 +0000

If you’re feeling confused about how to find the ideal livery yard for your horse, you’re not alone. Whether you’re choosing a livery yard for your first horse or relocating, it’s a huge decision hinging on several factors. These factors won’t just be specific to your horse’s needs, but your own, too.

Before we delve into the criteria that will help to rule livery yards in or out, having made initial enquiries via phone, email or messaging, make sure you visit your potential yard at least once. Ensure your tour is thorough and the manager is at ease with you viewing the tack room, stables, facilities and turnout up close. You shouldn’t feel hurried in any way. If you get the chance to speak to existing liveries, make the most of the opportunity.

Furthermore, ask your new livery yard manager for an example copy of their livery contract detailing the terms of the livery and the extent of services included and provided. This will clearly define your responsibilities as a horse owner, as well as the yard’s, and protect both parties in the event of a dispute. Also ask if there are any yard rules beyond that which is outlined in the contract. Yards must provide a contract to livery clients in order to be accepted on the BHS Approved Centre list – in fact, there’s a whole list of criteria that make the BHS Approved Centre accolade worth looking for in your search.

How to find an ideal livery yard: what to consider

While we aim to cover all things you need to think about when looking for a new livery yard, it’s also advisable to discuss your options with a qualified person you trust, who understands your horse and your situation – such as your coach.

1. Type of livery package

There’s a huge variety of livery services and packages available to suit different lifestyles and care requirements. We’ve written a comprehensive guide to the types of horse livery, but briefly:

Grass livery is usually a no-services livery type. It can be anything from a field and nothing more (i.e., you supply fencing, security, water, shelter etc) or a paddock on a yard with a water supply, hay in winter and use of facilities
DIY livery doesn’t include services, but you may be able to add them for a fee. Most DIY packages offer use of a dedicated stable, daily turnout and use of facilities. They may also include bedding and hay
Assisted DIY is as above but includes some services, for example a daily morning turn out or fetch in and delivery of morning/afternoon feed
Part/full livery usually includes all basic aspects of horse care. It can be on a five- or seven-day basis, meaning some yards will require owners to fulfill care tasks on weekends or perhaps a nominated two days per week. Services can vary from package to package – for example, some yards include grooming in full livery packages, others don’t – so it’s essential to clarify what’s included and how flexible it is
Competition/schooling livery is a seven-day service and includes basic care as well as grooming and riding. Sometimes weekly tuition is included in schooling livery and competition livery will include the fee for riding at shows, but not the entry fees.
Sales livery allows you to hand over the reins to a professional who will conduct every aspect of your horse’s sale for you, from producing the advert to negotiating a deal. Most yards will take a commission from the sale as well as a weekly livery fee.

The package you choose will depend on your lifestyle and budget. For example, if you work a regular 9–5 and the yard is a 30-minute drive from your office, it might be in your horse’s best interests to ensure he is tended to at one or both ends of the day during the week. This will also take the pressure off you.

Alternatively, if you work flexibly, the yard is down the road and your horse lives out, a no-frills grass livery package might be the perfect fit.

2. Turnout

Now that the importance of turnout to a horse’s mental and physical state is far more widely appreciated, the amount and quality of turnout available is likely to be a key consideration when choosing your ideal livery yard.

The BHS recommends at least 1–1.5 acres of permanent turnout per horse, which allows for rotation of paddocks for maintenance purposes. A yard manager should be able to tell you the acreage and the yard capacity. If the number of acres doesn’t at least line up with the number of horses, then ask how they make this work.

Additionally, ascertain the turnout arrangements. Are horses turned out individually, in pairs or in groups? Are horses segregated by sex? What protocol is in place to ensure new horses are introduced to others and monitored properly? Let the yard manager know what your horse’s requirements are. Can arrangements be made to suit him, or must he adapt to the yard rules?

It’s handy to know the yard’s policy on paddock maintenance. This includes clearing droppings, weeds and poisonous plants, resting paddocks, rolling and reseeding.

Finally, be clear on daily turnout hours – this will vary yard-to-yard. Some will have regular daily hours that are unchanging all year, while others restrict turnout hours during the winter months. Some may not turn out in winter at all. Find out whether this is the case, or if the yard provides alternative turnout such as all-weather pens.

3. Stabling

If you plan to stable your horse, check that the dimensions are appropriate. The BHS minimum recommended stable size for a horse under 17hh is 3.65×3.65m (12x12ft), which will allow him sufficient space to lie down and rest.

Furthermore, inspect the yard for signs of good ventilation and cleanliness. A coating of dust or lots of cobwebs not only looks unsightly but could affect a horse with respiratory problems, and there should be no evidence of spilled feed that might encourage vermin. In the interests of biosecurity, ask the yard manager if the stable your horse will be moving into is in use currently, and if it will be disinfected thoroughly before your horse arrives. Do they have an isolation box and paddock for new arrivals, or do they move straight into their regular places?

If bedding is included in the livery package, check what types are available and their quality. Straw should be kept clean and dry, should smell fresh and not be excessively dusty. If shavings are provided, check they are dust-extracted. If the product you prefer isn’t in use, ensure your yard manager will take delivery of the best horse bedding for your equine friend.

4. Health, safety and security measures

Health and safety is a broad topic. We’ve touched on quarantining new arrivals and making safe introductions, but there are numerous other areas to consider including:

Disease and parasite control Ask the yard manager if the yard has entry requirements, such as a strangles test. You should also be clear on the yard’s deworming and vaccination procedure, as there should be a deworming regime in place
Dealing with icy conditions Is the yard set up to keep walkways safe and pipes insulated to guarantee the water supply?
Injury and illness Do they have a procedure for dealing with an injured or sick horse in your absence? Do they keep clear records of your horse’s vet and medical information for staff to find?
Fire safety Is the yard risk assessed for fire and have a plan in place? Are staff and liveries well versed in the fire plan and are there drills?
Security Are entry points to the yard secured with codes? Is there CCTV in operation? Is the tack room sufficiently secure in line with your equine insurance policy?

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

5. Extras and services

Once you’ve established what’s included in your livery package, ensure that the level of service is appropriate. For example, if your horse requires soaked hay, is this included or will there be an additional fee? If your horse is brought in for you, does this include a rug change and picking out hooves?

With this in mind, ensure all your horse’s individual needs are acknowledged and can be accommodated. This entails anything from the supplements in his feed and prescription medications to health conditions and calorie requirements. BHS best practice is a written care plan for each livery resident – ask if this is in place at the yard.

6. Facilities, hacking and training

Your horse’s work intensity and your ambitions will inform your facility requirements. If you spend most of your time in the saddle on a hack, check out the local hacking situation. You can do this on OS Maps online or purchase a paper map of the area you’re looking to base your horse. Is there any on-site hacking at the yard? How much road work would there be?

If you enjoy schooling, inspect the arena for evidence of regular harrowing and ask if this takes place regularly. Ascertain whether there is an option to book the arena for sole use, whether you need to book for every session or just for lessons, and that they allow external instructors on site.

Finally, if you’re wondering how to find an ideal livery yard as a keen competitor, there are more factors at play. As well as the above schooling concerns, you might want access to a larger-than-standard arena to train in, and you might benefit from an on-site gallop track or cross-country course, or a walker for days you don’t ride. Do they have sufficient horsebox parking, or if you don’t have a box make sure you can hire one locally. Perhaps check that what training venues in the area if the full scope of your facility needs aren’t satisfied at the yard.

How to find an ideal livery yard: do your homework

There’s nothing like a testimonial to help you make a decision, and speaking to current liveries’ about their experience can help you to decide if this is the ideal livery yard to suit your needs. The yard manager should be open to you chatting to liveries over the course of your tour. To really make the most of it, you could schedule your visit to cover a peak time. Try a weekday evening or Saturday morning.

While you should make sure to ask the yard manager why the vacancy has come up, it can also be really insightful to speak to an outgoing or former livery. This can be tricky to orchestrate, but there might be a mutual contact who can pass on your details. Or, if the yard manager is happy to approach them, that’s a green flag when looking to find an ideal livery yard.

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The pros and cons of keeping a horse at home: what you really need to know

Emily Bevan — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:00:01 +0000

While many people dream of keeping their horses at home – gazing out of the kitchen window to see their horse in the field, having complete autonomy over how their horse is managed and saving money – is it really all rainbows and sunshine? What are the pros and cons of keeping a horse at home?

“For those who are fortunate enough to keep their horse at home, they will benefit from reduced costs as they will not need to spend additional money on livery yard services. Being in close proximity to your horse will also mean that you can maintain a regular routine that is suitable to you and your horse’s needs. Not to mention how it’ll help you to build that unique and special bond,” says a BHS spokesperson.

While you don’t have to pay livery fees to keep your horses at home, the burden of managing the land falls to you. You are responsible for any rolling, harrowing or topping of the fields, maintaining the fencing and the stables alongside all the other jobs associated with land management.

You also need to ensure you have the amenities necessary to facilitate keeping your horses at home. You need sufficient grazing with safe, good quality fencing, a shelter or stables with drainage and ventilation, a secure tack room, a muck heap and a water source supplying clean fresh water. You will also need to arrange feed and bedding deliveries yourself and ensure you have enough space to store it. Don’t forget to consider security too, will your horse be safe on your land? Do you need to install security cameras or an alarm system?

Most types of livery yard also often offer facilities that you are unlikely to be able to replicate at home. Things like horsewalkers, indoor and outdoor schools and access to showjumps and cross-country fences are expensive and require a vast amount of space, so you may not have the means or the space for them on your land.

Olivia Walker built three stables, a tack room and hay barn and fenced off two paddocks on her partner’s farm, where she lives, so she could move her pony Riley, an 18-year-old Connemara, there from a livery yard.

“The main reason I wanted to move Riley home was the cost. He’s quite a fussy pony and needs routine so he was on full livery which was costing me £600 a month,” says Olivia.

Olivia acquired a 14-year-old New Forest pony called Syd to keep Riley company as she didn’t want him living alone. Horses are herd animals and thrive in the company of others so if your horse would be living alone at home, obtaining a companion for them is another consideration.

“It’s early days but currently I’m really enjoying it. As well as saving me money in livery fees, I’m saving money on fuel and time as the yard was around 25 minutes’ drive away,” continued Olivia.

“My only real concern is if I’m going away who will come to the house and do the ponies. At the yard there was always someone around to ask to help or you could pay the owner to do it, but no one will be coming to my yard so that’s something I need to figure out.”

Keeping your horse at home can be lonely. As well as not having anyone to look after your horse if you are going away or running late, there’s also no one to hack out with or travel to competitions with, and no one to pick the brains of when you need advice.

“Keeping you horse at home isn’t always going to be easy. Horses require daily care which can be time consuming. Whether your horse is field-kept or stabled, they’ll need to be checked at least twice a day to make sure their health and welfare is maintained,” says a BHS spokesperson.

The time commitment that comes with keeping horses at home is something that has prompted Sally Anderson, who keeps four horses at her home near Cirencester, to contemplate a move back to a livery yard.

“Having them at home is so labour intensive. I work full-time and I’m finding that by the time I’ve done all the jobs – mucking out, feeding, poo picking etc. – I don’t have time to ride. If they were at a livery yard I could pay someone else to do those jobs so I could arrive, ride and then leave,” says Sally.

“The downside of livery yards is that they are expensive and they can have strict rules about things like turnout or feeding but if they have great staff, are well run and have like-minded people on them then I like having my horses there.”

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How inheritance tax changes could hit the equestrian industry as well as farmers

Becky Murray — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 20:33:12 +0000

Changes announced in the budget could affect stud, riding school and livery yard owners – as people are reminded to take appropriate financial advice.

In the Government’s autumn budget on 30 October chancellor Rachel Reeves announced reforms to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR).

Currently, people can claim for agricultural property relief on qualifying agricultural land and property, and business property relief on qualifying interest or shares in a business without a limit or cap.

But from 6 April 2026, the full 100% relief from inheritance tax (IHT) will be restricted to the first £1m of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, individuals will only be eligible for 50% relief from IHT.

Concerns from farmers have been reported nationally, and protests have taken place in London. But it has been highlighted that equine stud owners who claim agricultural property relief could also be affected.

“Upon a farmer or stud owner’s death, their beneficiaries could apply for agricultural property relief – and potentially also business property relief – and there was no limit to how big that claim might be,” Nicola Glass, an independent financial adviser at Integrity365, told H&H.

“But now the Government has put a limit on this, and when it comes to studs, when you add up the land, buildings, farmhouses and anything else that could qualify, it could easily be more than £1m in value. This means that the beneficiary will have to pay 20% IHT on anything over this.”

Generally, livery yards and riding schools trading as businesses do not qualify for agricultural property relief but some may qualify for business property relief – so such businesses could also be affected by the changes. It is important that owners take professional advice from their solicitor and tax advisor to confirm their situation.

“Should business property relief be applicable to an estate or individual, as with the agricultural property relief, this will be capped at 50% for anything over £1m,” said Ms Glass.

“There’s lots of change from the budget that people haven’t quite picked up on yet. There’s been lots of discussions about farmers, which is important, but it affects a lot of other people as well.”

Ms Glass added that the message is “not to panic”.

“There are things that can be done, and the first step would be to value all your assets and speak to an adviser about what your potential tax liability could be,” she said.

“From there you can look at IHT planning, and options can include taking out insurance against the liability or considering gifting within your lifetime.”

A British Horse Society spokesperson told H&H it encourages anyone who owns a riding centre or livery yard to think about whether they could be affected by the changes to business property relief.

“Of course, the impact will vary largely depending on your individual situation or circumstances, so we would strongly urge you to seek clear legal advice and guidance,” she said.

Example: Anne Stables runs and is the sole owner of a profit-making stud farm.

Anne has full use of her IHT bands on her death, totalling £500,000. Her will gives everything to her three children equally, and her home is not deemed a “working farmhouse”, so does not qualify for relief.

Her home is worth £400,000 and she has £100,000 savings. Her APR/BPR qualifying land and assets are worth £1.3m

Previously, the stud farm would pass tax-free; only her home and savings would potentially be subject to IHT. As these are under £500,000, no IHT is due.

When the changes come into force, only £1m of the stud farm value would fall into the 0% tax charge; the additional £300,000 only qualifies for 50% relief. This would be taxed at 20%, totalling £60,000. Anne should seek professional advice to look at IHT tax mitigating solutions.

*Example only. Financial advice must be sought for each individual case.*

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Horse world faces ‘perfect storm’ of wage and tax increases

Lucy Elder — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:22:03 +0000

The equestrian industry is facing “the perfect storm” as minimum rates of pay will rise further than predicted next spring.

Businesses face soaring wage bills on top of the well-documented ongoing issues, including high interest rates and increased pressure on everyone’s finances.

There are also concerns that some in the industry have failed to move with the times over the years – they have been warned that non-compliance with the law is not an option and that HMRC is cracking down.

The living wage – the minimum rate of pay for people aged 21 and over – will rise from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour in April. The rate for 18- to 20-year-olds will increase from £8.60 to £10, as part of the phased move to a single hourly rate. Apprentices’ minimum wage will be boosted from £6.40 to £7.55.

This will mean those on low incomes will have significant pay rises. But there are serious concerns about what this will mean for businesses’ viability, and if it may lead to a rise in false self-employment, and a narrowing gap in wage progression between less and more experienced staff.

Equestrian Employers Association president Tullis Matson told H&H he is “really concerned” about the effects.

Mr Matson stressed that the workforce in the equestrian industry needs to be properly paid, and that businesses will need to reflect on where to find the money.

“It’s like the perfect storm for the industry, which is quite worrying,” he said. “This really is a tricky time for the equine industry. We will fight our way through, but I worry about the impact on certain businesses and individuals.”

He added: “The belt is already tight and it can’t go any tighter.”

National Insurance (NI) contributions for employers will rise from 13.8% to 15% on workers’ earnings. The threshold at which employers start to pay NI will change from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year, for each employee. But the employment allowance – the amount employers can claim back from their NI bill – will increase from £5,000 to £10,000.

British Grooms Association chief executive Lucy Katan warned that the equestrian industry is already behind when it comes to good employment, so the impact of this budget will be keenly felt.

“My advice, as I’ve said before, is that the entire industry has to reduce its hours,” she told H&H, adding that for many, these rises will not be sustainable.

“By bringing it down to a 40-hour week, you reduce the impact substantially.”

She added: “They’re investing in HMRC, so we are going to see many more investigations – and targeted investigations – and our industry is already flagged. If you are an employer that is not adhering to the national minimum wage, you are going to get found out.”

What’s the difference?

Rough examples based on a 50-hour working week (wages alone, not including increased pension contributions or NI, so overall totals will be higher).

Age 21, living wage (£11.44/hr rising to £12.21/hr):

Current: £29,744
From April: £31,746

Age 19, minimum wage (£8.60/hr rising to £10/hr):

Current: £22,360
From April: £26,000

Example yard: two workers over 21, one 19-year-old, one apprentice:

Current: £98,488
From April: £109,122
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‘You can’t pay bills with love’: the business of keeping horses must be made viable

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 17:03:03 +0000

The equestrian industry has to act to ensure it is viable – as 58% of employers fear they will not be able to pay staff the national minimum wage (NMW) in future.

The Government has announced that the NMW will increase from £10.42, for those over 23, to £11.44 from April 1, and this will apply to all those aged over 21.

Aiming to identify the impact this would have, the British Grooms Association (BGA) and Equestrian Employers Association (EEA) conducted a study. It found that 90% of employers are concerned about the increase, and the lowering of the age threshold, and that 21% may have to close their businesses as a result.

“There has to be change, to be viable, as well as legal,” BGA and EEA founder Lucy Katan told H&H. “It’s not viable at the moment, in so many ways. We can’t get away from the price of hay and straw, and other elements, but horses can’t care for themselves.”

Ms Katan has long advocated for working smarter, not harder; questioning whether all grooms need to arrive at 7am, and whether, as long as equine care and welfare is not affected, mucking out has to be done by 8am, for example, or horses groomed to perfection for every ride.

“We must see modernisation in the equestrian working day, or the industry will not be viable,” she said. “In our survey, 46% of employers say they will have to reduce staff hours. With the average groom’s week 50-65 hours, this is a progressive resolution. Yards must operate more efficiently – later starts, shift work, flexible working, streamlining, and reviewing livery packages. It is crucial that, especially in the competition sector, businesses that are not viable take a much-needed review of their working day. If a business is not viable it has two choices; either alter the operation or cease to trade.”

Ms Katan added that owners need to be realistic about what it costs to keep horses on livery and be prepared to pay accordingly, with which eventer Ibby Macpherson agrees.

“This is where the equine industry needs a kick up the backside,” she wrote. “Riders putting costs up means they can pay staff properly as well.”

Ibby told H&H her post had “kicked a hornets’ nest” but that it needed to be said.

“Livery clients don’t seem to see the depth of cost behind the face value of the service,” she said. “The horse industry is a hobby for many but it’s the bread and butter for many others. So many have to teach or sell horses to make it work but then you’re financing someone else’s hobby. Doing it ‘for the love of it’ doesn’t wash any more; I can’t pay my energy bills with ‘the love of it’.”

Ibby said she is not sure what the answer is. but that the industry needs to reevaluate itself and look hard at its viability.

“I can see why so many yards have gone bang as it’s not sustainable,” she said. “People have to want to change, and people wonder why there are no good staff any more. Speaking out has caused me to get a lot of flak but I’m happy to ‘take one for the team’ if it makes people more aware of the costs on both sides of the coin. Hopefully it will make owners more aware of the depth of costs and yard owners reevaluate what they charge to make businesses more sustainable – bring on the change!”

A British Equestrian (BEF) spokesman told H&H industry viability is something the BEF has been working on with the British Horse Society, Association of British Riding Schools, Pony Club and Riding for the Disabled, as well as the EEA and BGA for some time – and that Sport England has found that the current economic situation is having a negative impact across sport and physical activity.

“Wages is one element but when you add running cost increases, declining facilities through lack of investment and so on, it is a concern,” she said.

“Via our ‘health of riding schools’ work and the insight it’s provided over two years, we’ve been working with member bodies in trying to support with wider education. As an example, we funded a session looking at income diversification through setting up CIC arms alongside the more traditional sole trader model so they can generate more income through grants. Through the survey and feedback, centres told us what help they need and we’re working to deliver that with member bodies.

“This work focuses on riding schools but our participation team will continue to work with member bodies on the wider concerns. We all want the equestrian sector to be a rewarding place to work in a variety of roles, and will continue to do what we can through support and education for employers and workers.”

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(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

Why owners and livery yards must acknowledge the true cost of keeping horses

(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

‘If you can’t pay staff properly, your business isn’t viable’: yard owner speaks out on ‘self-made’ staffing crisis

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‘I can’t afford to eat properly’ says groom, as research shows illegal employment still an issue

(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Most livery yard owners would support licensing

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:54:12 +0000

More than half of livery yard owners would support licensing, a survey has found, which it is hoped would benefit standards, business value and horse welfare.

SEIB Insurance Brokers and LiveryList carried out the research on yards, which are not subject to regulations at present. The Scottish government has just concluded a consultation on similar proposals.

“More than 60% of the 420 survey respondents – all current livery yard owners – feel that the introduction of licensing would encourage more responsible yard ownership,” an SEIB spokesman said, adding that any scheme would “undoubtedly” have a strong emphasis on equine welfare.

“A majority of yard owners understand the need for licensing, and the advantages this could have. Concerns among yard owners focus on additional costs and increased paperwork for a licence application. There is a fear that with many yards already struggling to make a profit, additional costs and time spent meeting administrative demands may make their businesses unviable.

Survey respondents said they would like considerations for minimum welfare standards and insurance requirements, and health and safety “high on the agenda”, as well as potential minimum qualifications of experience.

World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers said: “We welcome the SEIB findings that many English livery yards support licensing, which we certainly support, too. For a licensing system to be proportionate and effective we first need better understanding of this important element of the equestrian sector and a clear definition of what constitutes a ‘livery yard’. The views of yards and other equestrian establishments will be vital in taking this forward.”

LiveryList founder Cheryl Johns said yard owners felt licensing would help level the playing field, as it would help horse owners find suitable establishments.

“This turn could add value to the industry by horse owners knowing they are keeping their horses at a compliant livery yard,” she said. “The consultation on licensing in Scotland is a welcome and positive development that is long overdue. Too many yard owners simply don’t meet what the industry would deem as basic ‘best practice’. Although I understand that this consultation may be a worrying development for some yard owners, I strongly believe that these proposed changes will raise standards, and hopefully the value, of the industry.”

British Horse Society chief operating officer Sarah Phillips told H&H horses’ care and wellbeing is the charity’s top priority.

“We believe these findings will be a really supportive step towards developing and nurturing the best processes required to support livery yards and, critically, better animal welfare,” she said

“It is important, however, that any proposed new licensing model is implemented consistently, and the needs of all livery yards and horse owners are taken into consideration. Only by doing this can we guarantee stability for such equestrian businesses as well as peace of mind for horse owners.”

SEIB equestrian services manager Steph Ellis said: “Livery yards offer such a key service and anything we can do to help ensure high standards and promote equine welfare is crucial.”

A Scottish government spokesman told H&H: “Our consultation on the licensing of activities involving animals – including livery yards – closed on 26 September. Analysis of all the responses received will be undertaken and a consultation summary report produced in due course.”

Licensing livery yards could be on the cards in new Government plans

Becky Murray — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 20:03:03 +0000

Licences for livery yards could be on the cards for Scotland – as a public consultation is launched.

The Scottish Government is seeking views on proposals to extend licensing to “currently unlicensed animal-related services”, including livery yards. Also included are proposals to revoke the 1964 Riding Establishments Act and introduce new licensing for riding establishments through the same framework as the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, and to extend statutory licensing “beyond riding establishments to a number of currently unregulated equine activities”, such as donkey hire and pony parties.

Throughout the consultation document, which includes data from the British Horse Society (BHS) and World Horse Welfare, the Scottish Government references welfare, transparency and accountability – and raises “key animal welfare concerns”.

Take part in the Scottish consultation

“Currently in Scotland the provision of livery services is unregulated, with no licence or equine qualifications required to own or run a livery business. The absence of regulation and minimum standards to protect animal welfare and ensure accountability is a matter of concern,” said a Scottish Government spokesman.

It is proposed that a future statutory licensing scheme for livery providers would require anyone offering livery to undergo an inspection by the licensing authority before any licence is granted. These would be for one to three years; and an online register of those who held them would be published.

“The statutory licensing of livery services in Scotland would help ensure that horses are kept in safe and appropriate conditions, receive the care they need to maintain their health and wellbeing, and have opportunities to express natural behaviours and socialise. This would help promote the welfare of horses and provide assurance to owners that their animals are being cared for appropriately,” said the Scottish Government spokesman.

Sally McCarthy, executive director of riding school and livery yard Aberdeen Riding Club, told H&H she believes licensing is a “really good idea” and “long overdue”.

“I think it’s good that there is a consultation; by doing this we are more likely to end up with a system that works,” she said.

“From a welfare point of view licensing can only be a good thing; as long as it’s done in a way that’s transparent and that the criteria for the licence are fair and the same across every local authority in Scotland.”

Ms McCarthy, who is also chair of the BHS, added that she thinks it is positive that the Riding Establishments Act is being reviewed in Scotland.“It’s quite an old piece of legislation now, the way we keep horses has changed, and any review is only going to be beneficial,” she said. “Riding schools are hugely in decline, so any changes to licensing need to support riding schools and local authorities need to acknowledge that we need to keep them going, and encourage more to start up.”

BHS national manager for Scotland Helene Mauchlen told H&H the society and World Horse Welfare welcome the consultation.

“Riding establishments are vital to Scotland’s horse world, but regulations around their licensing need a refresh,” she said.

“Meanwhile livery yards where so many people keep their horses are not regulated at all. This consultation is an opportunity to change this and give owners the peace of mind that the welfare of horses at these establishments will be protected. Our organisations have been working with the Scottish Government on these and other issues for some time, so we are delighted to see our joint work come to fruition.”

BHS chief operating officer Sarah Phillips added that the society is “looking forward to seeing what the outcome of the consultation is, and if this is something that could be replicated across the other nations.”

‘Long may they continue’: Britain’s best equestrian yards celebrated

Eleanor Jones — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:03:20 +0000

The six top establishments in the country have been named, at the fifth SEIB Yard of the Year Awards 2023 in association with British Equestrian (BEF) and Horse & Hound.

The winners and runners-up in each of the six categories – DIY and full livery yards, small and large riding schools, competition venue and Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) centre – were announced at a celebratory lunch on 4 July.

H&H editor-in-chief Sarah Jenkins said: “H&H is happy to support these awards again, such is the support for yards nominated. It is a great opportunity to recognise excellence, and client appreciation of all the hard work and business acumen that goes in to running a truly successful yard. It is also wonderful to see what a difference each yard is making to the lives of riders. I hope all those nominated are rightly proud of the positive impact they have had – and huge congratulations to all this year’s winners.”

Arrow Riding Centre in Kent took the RDA centre of the year title, and Chard Equestrian Centre the competition venue award. Mill Farm DIY Livery Yard and Hurston Eventing and Dressage took the DIY and full livery yard awards respectively, and Hemps Green Riding Stables and Pinkmead Farm Equestrian Centre were the small and large riding schools of the year respectively.

SEIB marketing and events manager Nicolina MacKenzie said: “What a celebration of excellence in yards from Scotland through to Kent we have had. So many grateful customers, owners and riders have put time and thought into their nominations for the yards they love. To celebrate with and speak to our winners is so encouraging and long may they continue their hard work and the fabulous services they offer at this worrying time when many riding schools are facing closure.

“We were delighted to welcome the support of British Equestrian this year and to have Horse & Hound on board for the second time. The awards are growing and this extra support from leading industry names reflects this.”

BEF head of communications Winnie Murphy said it was a privilege to be involved.

“Learning more about the fantastic work going on across our industry, the dedication involved and the communities the yards create is truly inspiring,” she said.

Celebrating excellence: shortlist announced for yard of the year awards

Eleanor Jones — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 16:09:06 +0000

The finalists have been announced in the 2023 SEIB Yard of the Year Awards, in association with H&H and British Equestrian.

A panel of judges has decided on two finalists in each of the six categories; small and large riding schools, DIY and full livery yards, Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) centre and competition venue. The winners will be announced at an awards lunch in July.

The awards were set up by SEIB to celebrate excellence in teaching, training and horse care in yards across Britain. Horse & Hound came on board to support them in 2022 and this year British Equestrian has added its support by “rewarding and recognising the vital services provided to the equestrian industry by livery yards, riding schools, RDA centres and competition venues”.

The winners will be announced at a lunch at Dorney Lake, Berkshire, next month, to which the owners of the finalist yards have been invited.

SEIB marketing manager Nicolina Mackenzie said: “Our judges have done a brilliant job in going through all the many wonderful yards people have put forward. At SEIB, we know there are many livery yards, riding schools, RDA centres and competition venues that provide outstanding service and through these awards we are determined to put something back by recognising and highlighting their professionalism, skill and commitment to the industry.”

Yards were nominated by clients and the public and judged by a panel including H&H editor-in-chief Sarah Jenkins, Winnie Murphy of the BEF and Cheryl Johns, founder of Livery List. Shortlisted yards sent videos detailing their highlights and what they offer, after which the finalists were decided upon.

Sarah Jenkins said: “It was a pleasure to be invited to judge these awards again. I’m always blown away by the depth of support for all those yards nominated and the clear excellence shown in terms of both best practice and building wonderful communities that offer tremendous support to participants.

“The impact a great yard can have on riders’ lives is significant – and in many instances quite moving, too. I particularly enjoyed seeing those yards that give strong consideration to providing for and supporting all children and adults while recognising we are a neurodiverse society, as well as those yards adapting to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious – taking positive actions that put them a step ahead.”

Finalist yards – by category in alphabetical order

Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Centre

Arrow Riding Centre – Kent

Gordon Group RDA – Aberdeenshire

DIY Livery Yard

Mill Farm DIY Livery Yard – Somerset

Swarthdale Stables – Lancashire

Small Riding School

Hemps Green Riding Stables – Essex

Sweetlands Farm – West Sussex

Large Riding School

Pinkmead Farm Equestrian Centre – Hampshire

Rein and Shine Equestrian – Wiltshire

Full Livery Yard

Hurston Dressage and Eventing – Oxfordshire

Nodwood House Equine – Surrey

Competition Venue

Beechwood Equestrian Centre – Essex

Chard Equestrian Centre – Somerset

‘Where will the riders and horses go?’: campaign as major livery and show yard is to close

Eleanor Jones — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:19:13 +0000

The closure of a major livery yard and competition venue in Essex will affect more than the owners of the 90 horses there, riders have warned.

A petition has been launched to try to save Harold’s Park Farm in Nazeing, which was described by one livery as “the local events venue everyone goes to”. It has indoor and outdoor arenas, and a cross-country course, in 800 acres of equestrian and agricultural land.

“Some of the liveries have been there for 30 years,” Stephanie Brown, a livery who was hoping to return once her horse has completed rehab, told H&H. “It’s a big loss. I’m a committee member of a local riding association that uses it; East Anglia Trec Group was looking at it for their events. It’s big, has parking for boxes and bridleways from it – it’s well set up and there’s nothing like it our side of Essex.”

Stephanie said riders travelled to Harold’s Park from Norfolk, Suffolk, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as within Essex. The Mackie family had been tenants of the farm for years, renting it fro CBF Funds Trustee Ltd, a fund managed for Church of England investors.

A spokesman for CCLA, which manages the fund, told H&H that since George Mackie died in 2020, “discussions have been ongoing with George’s family regarding the future management of the farm”, and as a result, the family is to leave.

“We’re trying to do what we can to save it, as it’s going to be too much of a loss,” Stephanie said. “People are trying to find homes for 90 horses, and they’re not there.

“So many yards in the area have shut and there’s the pressure of development; it’s a problem everywhere. The local vets will feel it and the feed shops; it’s going to have a ripple effect.

“This has torn everyone apart; they don’t know which way to go.”

Vicki Justice, a livery at Harold’s Park for some 13 years, told H&H campaigners are writing letters, and “lots of people are trying to save the centre”.

“We don’t know what the plans for it are and people are worried,” she said.

International dressage rider Claudia Davis told H&H she went to her first show, aged six or seven, at Harold’s Park.

“It’s a massive loss,” she said. “I used to practise there for internationals, there are 90 horses there who have to find new homes and there’s simply not enough space so people are having to choose to sell their horse or their house, because there’s nowhere round here.”

Claudia cited British international success in horse sports, and the fact equestrianism in many European countries is subsidised by governments.

“Places like this are where people can start; where will our future generations go?” she asked. “It was such a big part of my childhood, now there will probably be flats built all over that beautiful land. It’s so sad. It may not be a big place in that it didn’t have Premier League shows, for example, but it’s where people started out and that’s arguably more important.”

The CCLA spokesman added: “The Mackie family have been custodians as tenants of the farm for many years and we are working closely together to ensure as smooth a handover as possible. As such the livery business, being run by the tenant, is being wound down.

“We very much regret the inconvenience and disappointment this will cause to those who keep their horses there and all those involved with the Harold Park Riding Centre over the years. We hope that everyone will find a new livery soon and continue to enjoy a close equestrian community.

“With regards to the future of Harold’s Park Farm, CCLA is considering various options but no firm decisions have as yet been taken. We understand that livery customers have been given notice to end their agreements, but customers should speak to the Mackie family in relation to timing. We will continue to work closely with the Mackie family to ensure a smooth transition.”

6 things livery yard owners really, really hate – so don’t do them!

Amanda Vlietstra — Sun, 22 Jan 2023 18:32:05 +0000

While owning a livery yard might look like a dream for some horse owners, running a livery yard is far from an easy task. Managing to balance the books, comply with employment law, undertake all the necessary maintenance on the land and buildings, while also keeping your liveries (and their horses) happy can be a huge challenge.

So whether your yard owner likes to run a tight ship, or has a more easy-going attitude towards their clients, there are still a few things sure to get even the most chilled individuals hot around the collar…

1. Bringing horses out of their stable without picking out their feet

There’s always one livery who forgets to do this, and walks their horse across the yard leaving a trail of dirty straw/shavings and poo behind them, like those kids in Hansel and Gretel with their biscuit crumbs, only more disgusting. It’s safe to say this livery is probably not the yard owner’s favourite, particularly if the yard has already been swept.

2. Leaving the lights on

So your yard owner is just relaxing in front of ‘Enders, when she happens to glance out of the window and spot that Fluffy’s light is still on in his stable. The resulting explosion is worse than that time Max Branning did that thing with Stacey.

3. Not clearing poo out of the school

If your trusty steed drops his apples while you’re riding in the arena, pick them up, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! The same goes for putting the jumps away after you’ve used them, rather than just, well, leaving them there. In other words, clean up after yourself. If not, know that your yard owner (and most of the other liveries) will have something to say.

4. Know-it-alls

There’s at least one of these on every yard. They are fonts of knowledge on everything from bitting to feed to grand prix dressage, and more than happy to share with you their advice – direct from Charlotte Dujardin herself, a close personal friend of course – on how to do the perfect flying change. You’ve never actually seen them ride, because their horse always seems to have something wrong with it, but this doesn’t stop them telling everyone else what to do. Including the yard owner. Strangely, this rarely goes down well. Funny, that.

5. Using the muckheap as a dustbin

If you actually want to see steam come out of your yard owner’s ears, chuck an old piece of baling twine on the muckheap. If the muck is spread on the fields to fertilise the grass and make hay, there’s a good chance a horse will end up with that manky old piece of baling twine back in their haynet. Alternatively, if your YO pays someone to take the muck away, prepare to be handed the massive bill for the repair of the large mechanical equipment involved when your baler twice causes it to breakdown. To avoid all such risks, just put it in the bin instead.

6. Out-of-control dogs

Dogs are great. We all love dogs. Except there’s a time and a place for them — and it’s not having a great big love-in with the other liveries’ hounds on the middle of the muckheap. Or playing a fun game of tag with your, or someone else’s, horse in the field. Keep your pooches under control or leave them at home. Your yard owner will thank you (or at least, not chuck you off the yard for breaking the rules. It’s nearly the same thing.)

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Higher livery bills should follow April’s minimum wage increase

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:52:28 +0000

THE equestrian industry has to “work smarter”, do its calculations and know its value to remain viable with forthcoming national minimum wage (NMW) increases.

The legal minimum that can be paid to employees is to increase again on 1 April, and British Grooms Association (BGA) and Equestrian Employers Association (EEA) founder Lucy Katan said the implications are concerning for the industry.

The rate is increasing from £6.83 to £7.49 for 18- to 20-year-olds, from £9.18 to £10.18 for those aged 21 and 22, and from £9.50 to £10.42 for anyone aged 23 and over.

For a 23-year-old groom working 60 hours per week, this is an increase of £2,870 per year. Ms Katan also points out that there may be many grooms who will go up an age bracket this year; a 20-year-old currently earning £7.49, and on the same hours, will legally require an £8,392 annual pay rise when they turn 21.

“I’m really worried about this, and I don’t say that lightly,” Ms Katan told H&H. “I don’t know how some yards will afford it.”

Ms Katan added that awareness of the legal right to the NMW in the workforce is “the highest it’s ever been”, and that employers who under-pay staff face having to pay 200% of arrears – and the Government can investigate the past six years.

She said employers must protect themselves by logging all staff working hours, and recommends paying monthly rather than weekly so overtime can be paid, or time off in lieu taken, within a pay period.

But her main message is that some yards and employers have to change their mindset.

“We have to change the way the industry operates,” she said. “We’ve got to modernise and lose the old-fashioned view that the yard has to be perfect at 9am. Less hours of working will reduce the wage bill. That may not hugely benefit the groom who doesn’t get a big pay rise, but the reality could be otherwise that she doesn’t have a job.

“Yards have to change. Even starting an hour later can add up to a big saving. As long as horse welfare isn’t affected – but it won’t be if they’re mucked out a bit later, or the yard isn’t swept to perfection. You have to modernise and professionalise and run a business.”

Coach, judge and rider Ali Dane also runs a livery yard, and has joined the EEA and BGA boards.

She told H&H that although this is a significant increase, employers should be aware that the NMW goes up every year, and expect a significant rise this year owing to the economic situation. She added that this should be budgeted for on top of other rising costs.

“It was inevitable the NMW would go up significantly to reflect the cost of living,” she said. “But on the other hand, clients, whether owners of competition horses or livery clients, need to better understand the cost of keeping horses.”

She said, as H&H has previously reported, that many owners do not know how much it costs to keep horses, and that sometimes neither do the livery yards. The latter need to set a price, that covers all costs including staffing, and makes a profit, and the former have to pay it.

“Yard owners often don’t want to pass on cost increases,” she said. “They feel bad about charging the correct amount, which is crazy. In what other industry do businesses feel guilty about making a profit? But I feel many yard owners almost don’t really want to, which is bonkers.”

Ms Dane said she knows what everything costs her, and she increased her prices from 1 January to cover increases.

“I have six people working for me and everyone’s had a pay rise to reflect the cost of living,” she said. “I think yard owners need to be better at forecasting and understand how the industry is changing.”

Ms Dane said the industry has to understand modern employment and business practices and comply with changed laws.

“We’re not in the 1980s any more and people are more clued up on their rights, as they should be,” she continued. “People want career development but above all, they want to be treated fairly. I think as an industry, we’re not good at investing in people and we need to get better at that, then NMW wouldn’t be such a drama.”

Cheryl Johns, who set up yard directory Livery List followed by an online support group for yard owners, agreed that if yards work out costs, including increased wages, and set their prices to reflect this, the NMW rise should not affect business viability.

“A lot of yard owners tend to pluck an amount out of thin air,” she told H&H. “I’ve always been an advocate for working out costs and setting prices accordingly. They need to be mindful that even if they’ve just put prices up, for those who employ staff, it’s unavoidable that there will be more increases coming. Yard owners need to continuously monitor their costs or they’re subsidising other people’s horses.”

Owners put their horses first as economic situation bites

Eleanor Jones — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 20:51:11 +0000

Equine and human wellbeing is being put under pressure by the financial situation – but owners are putting their horses first.

These are findings from nationwide surveys conducted by SEIB Insurance Brokers to determine how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting livery yard owners and clients. More than 1,400 people responded to the questionnaires, which asked how costs are increasing and the impact this is having.

“The surveys found the significant increase in costs is biting but at present people are ultimately putting their horses first while making personal sacrifices,” an SEIB spokesman said. “Many yard owners are anxious about having to increase their livery fees on the back of surging fuel, maintenance and staffing costs as they know their already cash-stretched clients cannot afford to pay more.”

The survey found that so far, just under 40% of respondents’ livery fees had increased recently, although charges had risen by £5 to £30 per month for 20%, and over £30 for the rest. Of the respondents, 44% said they have taken measures such as turning heating down at home and cutting back on socialising to pay the bills.

“Having established that many people are facing increased costs, are these sustainable long-term?” asked SEIB’s Georgina Dewar. “What impact will this have on mental health?”

Many respondents said they are competing less but some are decreasing the frequency of physio, saddle-fitting and farrier appointments.

British Equestrian CEO Jim Eyre said: “There’s little doubt all of us are feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis as we search for ways to save money. For horse owners, this comes with added concerns around equine welfare as owners have to make difficult decisions, often without all the detail to make informed decisions. We would encourage every owner to carefully consider the lasting impact of any decisions and to research fully ahead of making any changes.”

Of the 280 yard owners who responded to their survey, a fifth had not yet increased livery prices, although many planned to.

“The market won’t accept the type of price increases yards need to stay profitable,” one said.

“It’s such a worry for the whole industry as those on low to medium income will be priced out of the industry and it will become elitist.”

Many owners did not feel clients are aware of running costs, and the effects of wasting bedding or leaving lights on, and believe working together could help keep livery prices down.

“Inflation and the cost-of living crises are taking their toll on the work-life balance and the mental health of yard owners,” the SEIB spokesman said. “The survey found that half of yard owners have reduced their staff hours and taken on more tasks themselves to cope.”

Riders Minds mental health expert Sylvia Bruce said poor work-life balance can affect mental health, adding: “The cumulative effect of overworking, business stress and lack or loss of disposable income spirals and has a detrimental effect on lifestyle, life enjoyment and ability to socialise, leaving livery yard owners vulnerable to deteriorating mental health.”

SEIB CEO Suzy Middleton said having found out what the issues are, the company is keen to raise awareness and start the debate.

“Livery yards are such a big part of the equine industry, they make horse ownership accessible to so many people who otherwise wouldn’t be in a position to have a horse of their own,” she said. “At SEIB, we are determined to do our best to support increasing accessibility to equestrianism.

“Our team has close relationships with other equestrian businesses and we are working with them to see if we can offer our customers ways to benefit from savings on feed, bedding and supplements in the always costly winter.”

‘It is not ok to operate illegally’: work continues on good equestrian employment

Becky Murray — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 20:51:22 +0000

Work towards ensuring good employment in the equestrian industry becomes “the norm” is continuing, as a new four-year strategy is set out.

Last month, the Equestrian Employers Association (EEA) joined forces with the equestrian industry’s major governing bodies to push for good employment practice across the industry, in its annual Good Employment Week (news, 10 November). Following this, the British Grooms Association (BGA) and EEA have launched new strategic plans for 2023-2027.

The plans set out the organisations’ “mission” to promote, support, educate and lobby, as grooms’ and employers’ representative bodies, on the importance of good employment and career opportunities in the industry. The focus will be on representing grooms in the UK, inspiring future generations and raising the profile of grooms as a rewarding career choice, assisting and educating the equestrian workforce about compliant employment, supporting mental health in the workplace, and advocating that EEA and BGA members adhere to high standards of professionalism and conduct.

“Stable staff perform a critical role in the success of an equestrian yard and the welfare of the horse. We wish for all grooms to only ever work in professional, caring, viable businesses where the legalities are adhered to, and their wellbeing is paramount,” said BGA and EEA chairman Chris Hewlett.

“Our revised strategy focuses on helping employers to achieve and maintain the best standards. Our new vision sets the tone of our plans for the future. We will continue to advocate, educate on and support good employment, as we positively believe that this is the only way to sustain the workforce of our industry.”

EEA founder and BGA executive director Lucy Katan added that the organisations “felt it was time to review their work and reset their focus”.

“It is simply wrong that we still have employers who think that the law does not apply to them. This is detrimental to the entire sector and is evidenced to have damaged our recruitment and retention of the workforce. We are now being more strategic with the message that it is not OK to operate businesses illegally; only good employment is acceptable and, together, we must strive for this to become the norm, just like it is in any other sector,” she said.

“Grooms wouldn’t work in a factory that paid below the national minimum wage, ignored all employment rights, and believed that despite the machinery being somewhat dangerous, health and safety didn’t apply in their facility – so why should they work in an equestrian yard that adheres by the same principles?”

‘We need to make working with horses attractive’: organisations join forces on good employment

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 12:44:47 +0000

THERE is a push for good employment practice in the equestrian industry – and the major governing bodies are throwing their support behind it.

The Equestrian Employers Association (EEA) has joined forces with British Dressage (BD), British Eventing (BE), British Showjumping (BS), the British Horse Society, British Equestrian, the Association of British Riding Schools, Horsescotland and Haddon Training for the annual Good Employment Week, from 14–18 November.

EEA founder Lucy Katan told H&H the ultimate aim is to make the equestrian industry one in which good employment is a given.

“We want it to be the standard and the industry a good place for people to work,” she said, adding that she thinks the tide is slowly turning, away from the bad practices that have been evident.

“We used to see a lot of adverts offering illegal employment,” she said. “We’re seeing less of that now, although we know it’s still out there. Things are moving forward, but we’re not there yet. This week is about raising awareness and inspiring employers to be legal, fair and compliant – the EEA is there to help with achieving this status.”

During the week, educational content will be provided for employers and staff on what “good” looks like, addressing challenges and giving practical solutions. The focus will be on the links between positive employment practices, increased productivity and business viability.

Key themes include contracts, employment status, recruiting and retaining staff, business viability and sustainability.

BE chief executive Helen West told H&H: “We are delighted, at BE, to be part of the good employment week campaign being driven by the EEA. Raising awareness of the pivotal role that support staff play in the success of the sport and those within it, along with the business continuity they offer their employers under their diligent care, cannot be underestimated.

“As employers, we all need to embrace this responsibility and ensure that we are not only employing staff within the legal requirement but also ensuring they feel valued, inspired and encouraged to make their career choice with longevity in mind.”

H&H has reported extensively on the staffing crisis facing the equestrian industry and what action can be taken to attract and retain good employees.

BD chief executive Jason Brautigam told H&H that providing a positive employment experience is “essential if we are to attract the highest calibre of individuals to work within the equine sector”.

“Good employment practices, supported by quality training, education and development, is also vital to retain the best staff, who have the right skills, knowledge, and experience,” he said.

“BD has recently launched apprenticeship-based education routes in both horse management and business, with added value qualifications and workplace experiences. BD is committed to supporting employers by providing apprenticeship placements through the scheme, to achieve the best practice standards included in the EEA code of good employment.

“We continue to work closely with the EEA and other industry partners to promote working environments in dressage that offer the same high standards that we aim to achieve as employers ourselves.”

BS chief executive Iain Graham agreed that having good employment practices help encourage and retain the best people.

“That’s grooms, yard managers and all the roles our industry needs,” he told H&H. “We’ve probably noticed a reduction in the number of people from Europe [since Brexit], so it’s even more important we keep hold of the good people we’ve got.

“As a governing body, it’s important we support initiatives like this that raise awareness of bad practices in our industry.”

The week will end with the annual “Give your staff a pizza day”, on 18 November, when all employers are encouraged to celebrate their staff.

EEA president Tullis Matson said: “It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that employment practices within the equestrian industry meet legal requirements, plus adhere to best practice. Together we need to make working with horses an attractive career choice and in turn achieve a sustainable workforce.”

Why owners and livery yards must acknowledge the true cost of keeping horses

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:00:29 +0000

THE true cost of keeping a horse must be appreciated by livery yard owners and clients now more than ever, if businesses are to survive.

This is the message from across the industry, which has been as much affected by recent price increases – as any other – but which had existing issues to deal with.

Cheryl Johns, who set up yard directory Livery List followed by an online support group for yard owners, told H&H businesses are facing huge and varied challenges.

“I work with thousands of yard owners across the UK and have done for many years and know that now, more than ever, there is an unavoidable level of concern around the future of this industry,” she said.

Ms Johns said the soaring cost of everything from electricity to bedding means yard owners have to increase prices to remain viable. But as there is no regulation or licensing of livery yards, reputable businesses that do everything by the book are competing with others that may not, and so can offer much lower prices. Ms Johns is concerned about the possible welfare implications of cut corners.

“There are yards that may not pay business rates, or have the right insurance, or do the right maintenance, so maybe aren’t as affected by price rises,” she said. “So liveries are handing in notice at the decent yards to go to the cheap ones, and many good ones are closing or on the brink of it, because they can’t do it.”

Ms Johns added that some owners do not appreciate how much it costs to keep horses; not only bedding, forage and feed, but everything else from insurance and rates to the cost of muckheap removal, fencing – and good staff. She added that many yard owners do not calculate, or update, what their costs are, and so what they should charge to make profit – which every business needs to survive.

“Many are subsidising their liveries,” she said. “Unfortunately, a lot of yard owners aren’t business people, they’re horse people, and they don’t know how to cost a business. I put up a guide to likely costs, and so many people have done it and realised they were in effect paying people to keep their horses there.”

Christine Shubrook of Thundry Farm Livery & Training Yard in Surrey told H&H she has three “full livery” packages offering different services. She has had to put the cost of her middle package up from £256 to £420 per week – but this only makes her £20 per horse.

“I look at others’ prices and think how are they doing that, are they doing magic!” she told H&H, adding that when she told her clients of the increase, some said they could not afford it.

“I said that was ok as I couldn’t afford it either; I can’t afford to pay for other people’s horses,” she said. “Other businesses put a 50% mark-up on products; can you imagine if I put that on my costs? I charge for maintenance and depreciation of equipment but nothing for my yard management, and I worked out it costs me £400 per week, per horse.

“Horses aren’t cheap and if you can’t do it yourself you have to pay someone to do it. And that person has to make a profit or they can’t do it. People say it can’t cost me that much, and I wish it didn’t.”

Elaine MacDonald, of Thornhill Stables in Ayrshire, told H&H she had been looking at doggy daycare locally, for which people pay £20-27 per day, from 9am-5pm.

“The owners supply food and you need a 1-2m space per dog to get a licence,” she said. “You don’t have to do fencing or pasture management, or have the staff I have, and the dogs go home at 5pm. Horses are 24/7.”

She agreed that the number of cheap but unregulated yards is an issue and there could be welfare risks, adding that at the costs charged by some yards, “they can’t be doing it correctly and making money”.

She added, as an example of her costs, that it takes £6,000-7,000 per year for field maintenance and that her insurance has increased from £2,000 to £8,500 in the past 15 years.

“In summer, when the horses are out, we can sometimes recoup a bit, but that’s of the costs in the winter, I’m not going to Barbados for a month,” she said. “That’s why I’m starting to look at other ways of making money from the land. I have a fabulous yard manager, which lets me have another business that makes money. It’s rare that an exclusively livery business makes money, which is sad as then people will end up at a £30 a week yard where welfare is a major issue.”

Equestrian Employers Association president Tullis Matson said yards faced a tough enough time even before the recent cost increases.

“So they’re going to face the effects even harder, and that’s what’s worrying,” he said. “With a business, you’re meant to put costs up every year in line with inflation, but we know that doesn’t happen often [in livery yards], so when inflation goes up this much it hits them even harder. I worry about employees too because they’re the ones who could suffer because of this.”

Tullis has said before that both owners and yards need to be aware of the costs involved and charge and pay accordingly.

“Yard owners have to understand they need to make a profit and horse owners have to be realistic about how much it costs,” he said. “Hopefully if they do, that will help, and filter to employees, as they’re such an integral part of our industry.”

‘Very challenging times’ ahead as minimum wage set to rise again

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 16:21:11 +0000

THE equestrian industry faces “very challenging times” across the board in terms of financial viability.

This is the message from the Equestrian Employers Association (EEA), which carried out a survey as part of the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) consultation on national minimum wage (NMW) and national living wage (NLW) rates.

The aim was to gather employers’ thoughts on current and future rates; the Government has proposed that the NLW, paid to those aged over 23, will be £10.95 per hour by April 2024, which 65% of those surveyed by the EEA said was too high.

This amount, for a 50-hour week, would mean an annual salary of £28,470, a £3,770 increase from the current rate.

“The survey has highlighted some very challenging times ahead for the equestrian industry,” an EEA spokesman told H&H. “Employers are struggling to recruit skilled workers, and the higher NMW rates proposed are further limiting the pool of applicants employers feel able to recruit from. Essentially, recruiting older workers is becoming cost-prohibitive for some. The lack of flexibility in working hours is also posing a huge problem in both the recruitment and retention of experienced staff.”

The survey found that during the past year, 72% of employers’ profits have fallen, and 60% said they are unable to invest in their businesses.

“Three-quarters of employers have had to increase their prices to clients to accommodate this, and with the proposed rise in the NMW rates, it’s highly likely that employers will need to continue this trajectory,” the spokesman said.

“We help our members through education and advice on a wide range of employment matters, alongside the awareness-raising and advocacy work that we are doing to support the industry. The EEA will continue its work, with the issues raised by this survey at the forefront.”

Other issues raised in the survey were attracting and retaining staff; 93% said recruiting was an issue, the main reasons being lack of flexibility in work hours and the fact qualifications do not prepare people for the real world.

Responses to the survey, on lowering the NLW threshold to 23, included “Unsustainable. We cannot keep increasing charges to cover the costs.”

EEA president Tullis Matson said: “It’s highly expected that the rise will go ahead due to the cost-of-living crisis and the pledge in the Conservatives’ manifesto.

“Employers in the equestrian industry must plan and take action if their businesses are to remain viable over the next two years.”

An LPC spokesman told H&H: “We welcome this submission from the EEA. We will review all the evidence received and make recommendations to Government by the end of October on minimum wage rates for 2023.”

A Government spokesman told H&H: “The Government is determined to make work pay, and in April we increased the NLW to £9.50, the largest ever increase since its introduction in 2016. Thanks to the action we’ve taken, unemployment continues to fall and there are more employees on payrolls than ever before.

“In the long term, we are committed to building a high-skilled, high-wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work.”

What a celebration of excellence’: top yards of 2022 honoured

Eleanor Jones — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 14:17:19 +0000

FROM more than 650 nominations, and after an intensive judging process, the winners of the SEIB Yard of the Year Awards, in association with H&H, have been confirmed.

Titles were handed out for the best Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) centre, the best small and large riding schools and the top DIY and full livery yards, at a ceremony at Eton College on 6 July.

This is the first year the awards were run with the support of H&H. Editor-in-chief Sarah Jenkins said: “Over the past few years we have reported the challenges facing riding schools, competition centres and livery yards – exacerbated by the pandemic. Those who run and work at these centres put blood, sweat and tears into doing so, but never more so than since 2020. For those reasons I was happy to be involved in this year’s awards, to help celebrate and recognise those who have gone above and beyond, in particularly difficult times, to do the best for those riders who benefit from their expertise.

“The number and calibre of entries was high, and it was heart-warming to see the appreciation and support behind every nomination, to read some incredible stories of triumph against the odds, and to learn just how much of a difference all of those yards shortlisted are making. Their teams should be hugely proud of the job they are doing and the service they are providing – their clients and participants clearly think a great deal of them.”

The RDA centre of the year was Erme Valley, with Penniwells RDA highly commended.

“It is fantastic, much appreciated support,” said Erme Valley founder Peggy Douglas. “Everyone on our team knows they are part of the award – staff, volunteers and participants. It is because of them we have received this award.”

Mill Farm won the DIY livery yard, with Whincover Farm Livery Stables highly commended. Julia Banwell, who owns the yard with her husband Robert, said: “Our lovely liveries nominated us and they all wanted to be in our video submission for the awards. They put forward what the yard means to them. It is really nice to be recognised for the effort we all put in.”

Country Treks Equestrian Centre won the small riding school title, with Stonelea Riding School highly commended. Country Treks owner Stephanie Eddies-Davies said: “This is just magic! We have been running for 34 years and to get this recognition is such a boost for us and our staff and customers. It feels like we are finally reaping the benefits of the blood, sweat and tears we have put in over the years.”

Mount Mascal Stables won the large riding school title, with Summerfield Stables, Horses in the Community, highly commended.

Mount Mascal owner Alison Window said: “The Mount Mascal Stables team – human and horse — are our true heros and make it all possible. Thanks also to our lovely clients for their nominations and to SEIB for the award.”

The full livery yard award went to Mark Walters and Nicholas Lawson of Corvedale Equestrian (pictured), with OSH Dressage highly commended. Mr Walters said: “It was a genuine surprise to have been nominated by our wonderful liveries, they kept it very quiet! Our focus is on providing a non-judgmental, supportive environment where we coach, guide and help our clients.”

The new competition venue of the year title went to Colraine Equestrian Centre, with Chard and Netherton equestrian centres highly commended. Colraine general manager Helena Ellery said: “This means everything to us. Both Becky [King, of Colraine] and I have young children and we give up our family time each weekend to be there so to achieve this recognition is amazing. This award shows that we are going in the right direction.”

SEIB marketing manager Nicolina MacKenzie said: “What a celebration of excellence we have had. So many grateful customers, owners and riders have put time and thought into their nominations for the yards they love. To celebrate with and speak to our winners is so encouraging and long may they continue their hard work and the fabulous services they offer.”

Celebrating excellence: shortlist of Britain’s top yards announced

Eleanor Jones — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 08:57:56 +0000

The finalists in the SEIB Yard of the Year Awards 2022, in association with Horse & Hound, have been announced.

Following nominations and voting, the judges have decided on a shortlist in each of the six categories, covering livery yards, riding schools, competition venues and Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) centres.

The awards were set up to celebrate excellence in British yards, and support those that deserve recognition for their vital services to the industry. H&H is supporting the initiative, and the many yards that deserve recognition for the vital services they provide to the equestrian industry.

The winners will be announced at the SEIB Yard of the Year Awards lunch at Dorney Lake, Berkshire, on 6 July, to which the owners of the yards concerned have been invited.

Finalist yards – by category in alphabetical order:

Riding for the Disabled centre

Erme Valley RDA, Plymouth
Penniwells RDA Centre, Elstree, Herts

DIY Livery Yard

Mill Farm, Wedmore, Somerset
Whincover Farm Livery Stables, Rotherham

Small Riding School

Country Treks Equestrian, Kidderminster
Stonelea Riding Centre, Gloucester

Large Riding School

Mount Mascal Equestrian Centre, Bexley
Summerfield Stables, Birmingham

Full Livery Yard

Corvedale Equestrian, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
OSH Dressage, Colchester, Essex

Competition Venue

Chard Equestrian Centre, Somerset
Colraine Equestrian Centre, Truro
Netherton Equestrian Centre, Perth, Scotland

Yards were nominated by clients and the public, then judged by a panel. Each shortlisted yard was asked to submit a video of its highlights and what it offers to clients.

SEIB marketing manager Nicolina Mackenzie said: “Our judges have done a brilliant job in going through all the many wonderful yards that people have put forward and evaluating the video content they have submitted. At SEIB, we know that there are many livery yards and riding schools that provide an outstanding service and through these awards we are determined to put something back by recognising and highlighting their professionalism, skill and commitment to the equestrian industry.”

H&H editor-in-chief Sarah Jenkins said it was “extremely difficult” to decide on the shortlist.

“It was heartwarming to be involved in judging these awards, to see so many people holding their nominated centres in such high regard and to see the spread of excellence across the country,” she said.

“It was particularly wonderful to see the excellent work being done by riding schools and RDA centres to give more riders who might not otherwise have the opportunity to get involved with horses that chance, and to see all riders benefit to such a degree. For that alone it was wonderful to be invited to help judge these awards. Similarly, following such a difficult time during Covid for all equestrian centres, it has been incredible to see the phenomenal hard work and goodwill that has gone into making those centres shortlisted thrive today against the odds.”

The judges are Richard Ramsay (Team Ramsay Horton), Sarah Jenkins (Horse & Hound), Emma Bedford (Your Horse Live), Petra Ingram (Horseworld), Katie Oswald (SEIB) and Georgina Dewar (SEIB).

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The expense of horses: should I buy, share or have lessons?

Martha Terry — Sat, 02 Apr 2022 07:32:35 +0000

Purchasing a horse at whatever budget you have is only the beginning; the ongoing cost of owning a horse is the most important figure in terms of what you can afford to maintain. But there are several ways of experiencing the joys of having what feels like your own horse to ride, without the financial commitment of full ownership. Horse & Hound compares approximate costs of owning a horse outright, sharing and having lessons on a riding school horse.

Cost of owning a horse

Unless you have the luxury of being able to keep your horse at your own home, your heaviest monthly cost of owning a horse will be the livery bill. The bare minimum annual expenditure for a horse kept on livery will be around £85 a month (grass livery for a hardy pony) going up to £1,ooo–£1,600 a month for a horse stabled on full competition livery. Prices will depend on location, the facilities at the stables and the level of care offered.

DIY livery is at face value a much cheaper way of keeping your horse than part or full, but remember to factor in the costs of feed, bedding, forage, and the responsibility of needing to be at the yard twice a day, or pay for cover whenever you away. Expect to pay in the region of £120-300 per month.

Whatever livery package you choose, additional costs will push it significantly above the flat monthly fee.

Typical routine “extras” include:

Shoeing: every four to six weeks at around £80-95 per new set
Dentistry: regular check-ups, either six-monthly or at least annually, at a cost of around £80 for a full examination plus rasping
Vaccinations: equine flu jabs need to be done at least annually, but some competition authorities require every six months. These are around £35 (£45 with tetanus) and you usually have to pay a call-out fee, too
Insurance: this depends completely on the value of your horse, what you do with him, and the depth of cover you go for. Costs can vary from around £50 per month into the thousands.

This is by no means a comprehensive list – the saddle fitter and physio are additional costs, and there will inevitably be vets’ bills at some point. There are other one-off costs, such as tack and rugs, plus regular less expensive items that soon add up, for example: supplements, worming and grooming products. And this is before you even start on transport or training.

If you own a horse and want some breathing space on the monthly bills, finding someone to share your horse who will shoulder some of the financial burden is worth consideration. It’s essential to have a contract and appropriate insurance, even between friends, so that you both know where you stand in case anything untoward occurs.

Sharing contracts vary enormously. Typically, the owner will allocate a number of days for the sharer to ride the horse in exchange for a financial contribution and sometimes yard duties. The contribution tends to vary according to the riding ability of the sharer (for instance, they may be adding value to the horse through their schooling), whether they wish to compete and so on. If an owner is short of time and is seeking a sharer so they don’t have to pay someone to ride their horse, they may allow the sharer to pay nothing. On the other hand, they may want as much as half the cost of the livery, or for the sharer to pay for the farrier for example.

From the owner’s point of view, this reduces the monthly costs, while they retain their overall responsibility for the horse (and the asset should they wish to sell). For the sharer, they have no long-term financial commitment, and may find a nice horse to ride – and sometimes compete – without a major investment. If they decide they no longer enjoy riding the horse, either they or the horse suffers an injury or their funds dry up, they can move on without any responsibility. Conversely, if the owner decides to sell, they are likely to lose the ride.

Taking lessons at a riding school

Riding lessons might seem expensive as a one-off cost, but if you can only ride once a week and don’t have your own horse, this is often the most viable option. And there’s the benefit that you are learning and therefore making progress in your riding. You can often build up a rapport with a certain horse or pony, giving you some of the experience of having your own horse.

As with the two previous options, the range in costs are as long as a piece of string. Prices are much higher in the south of the country, and again within London’s commuter belt. For example, an hour’s private lesson in the centre of London could set you back as much as £145, while in Leicester it might be only £36. It also depends on the level of instructor – a highly qualified senior instructor will charge up to 50% more than one with lower qualifications.

Then there are variations in cost according to the type of lesson you want. A group lesson will be cheaper than a private one, and although you won’t have the intensity of one-to-one tuition, there’s plenty to be gained from watching other riders, listening to the instructor’s comments and making friends. Booking a block of lessons is likely to earn you a discount. Bear in mind, you will usually have to pay around £2–5 to hire a hat if you don’t bring your own.

For younger riders, many riding schools offer “pony days”, which allow for time both riding and learning to look after horses. Week-long camps also work out a better value for money in terms of hours spent in the saddle and gaining valuable education.

Some riding schools will offer hacks in the countryside or on the beach – these are often cheaper per hour than a lesson in an arena, although you won’t be benefitting from the same level of tuition.

It’s worth checking out if the riding school offers cheaper lessons during the week; weekends are often more expensive due to demand.

Most expensive of all lessons is hiring a schoolmaster to teach you the more advanced movements and jumping. Few centres offer this (subject to riding ability), and you’ll need to budget around £130 depending on the level of the instructor.

Like many hobbies, horses are expensive, but there is a vast range of options to suit more budgets than you might think.

NB: All prices given here are approximate and are based on prices correct in March 2022.

‘If you can’t pay staff properly, your business isn’t viable’: yard owner speaks out on ‘self-made’ staffing crisis

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 14:21:33 +0000

A livery yard owner who is concerned about the industry’s future believes the staffing crisis is “entirely of our own making”.

Ali Dane, a rider, judge and coach who owns Hurston Dressage and Eventing in Oxfordshire, contacted H&H having read “with alarm” recent pieces on the plight of grooms in the sector.

She said the five staff at her small yard are legally and fairly employed, with contracts and paid sick leave, holiday and overtime.

“But many yards cannot afford to do this, and therein lies the issue,” she told H&H. “Most yards do not have a viable business model.”

Ali said she came from a corporate background — “working 60-hour weeks while trying to event five horses, which doesn’t work!” — but moved into running her yard 14 years ago.

“Because of my background, I knew what the law was but what I think is happening is that many people are starting competition or livery yards without any idea what the law actually is,” she said. “They don’t charge enough for their services, so they can’t pay their staff properly, and then the staff get treated really badly and expected to work all hours.

“I’ve been reading the articles on H&H and it’s horrific what’s been happening, but I think this staffing crisis is entirely of our own making.”

Ali is keen for as many people as possible to know of the Equestrian Employers Association (EEA), of which she had not heard until she put one of her staff on to its sister organisation, the British Grooms Association.

“I want people to know that there are employers like me, and the EEA, doing something about the awful stories we’re hearing, and that people can vote with their feet rather than putting up with being treated like that,” she said.

She cited one example of a rider, who thought he was paying his grooms legally but was not, and who said: “I can’t afford to pay them any more.”

Ali said: “In what other industry do people run businesses where they exploit staff and still don’t make enough money to live properly? I just don’t understand it.

“My prices are the highest in the area, I think, but we provide an excellent service, and I know what my unique selling point is.”

Ali explained that her corporate business-management background may give her an edge in running her yard, adding: “I’m no Alan Sugar but I know what makes a successful business; you’ve got to stand out from the crowd.”

Ali offers bespoke packages of full and competition livery, mainly for clients who are cash-rich but time-poor.

“That’s the market I cater for but a lot of yards don’t know what they should charge,” she said. “They cut prices to get people in, then they’re stuck with them, they don’t make money, so they cut back on what they think they can, which is staff costs.

“Staffing is a big effort but they’re people, who need to be treated with respect, and they’re the heart of your business. I feel we don’t have enough compassion for people, in the horse world.”

Ali said she has encountered the view that “you work with horses because you can’t do anything else” but that in her view, those who can run a successful equestrian business are “bloody clever”.

“This is not a minimum-wage job,” she added. “The minimum my staff earn is £11 per hour, and it goes up to £15 because looking after horses properly is not a minimum-wage job.”

Ali believes many employers need more education, about the relevant laws, but also in business, so they check all their costs frequently, to ensure businesses are viable, because “if you don’t understand the figures, you’re in trouble, and that’s where there’s a big gap”.

“We have to normalise talking about money and how much it costs to keep horses,” she said. “It’s an industry-wide problem, not just employers and employees, and we need to change the mindset. I think if most horse owners knew the real running costs, they’d be shocked, and you should be paying more like £10-£15 per hour for someone to take care of your horse, because of the level of knowledge needed.”

Ali added that if a yard cannot afford to pay its staff legally and make money, “your business isn’t viable and you shouldn’t be in business”.

“I’ve had kick-backs for saying that,” she said. “It’s uncomfortable but the whole industry needs a wake-up call.”

And she believes grooms and consumers should “vote with their feet”; the former by not working for employers who do not comply with the law, and the latter by calling out any bad practice they see, and realising horses are a luxury, and the true cost of their keep.

“I’d also welcome the governing bodies taking action to ensure that professional riders, who earn money competing under their umbrella, are employing staff legally,” she said.

“We need to put pressure on the culprits – they won’t change otherwise. But it’s difficult, expensive, and no one wants to ‘rock the boat’, which is why change is so slow to happen.

“These riders compete because they have their own competitive goals, and grooms should absolutely not be exploited in order for them to achieve those goals. I think we sometimes forget that leisure and competition horses are not a charitable cause that workers should give their time and energy to for free. It’s hard for grooms not to be dazzled by high-level riders, and the promise of endless support and training, but they absolutely should not waive any of their legal rights, just because they’re working for a ‘name’.

“Having made contact with the EEA recently, I’m hoping that we can start to work together to make a difference and change the workings, and eventually, the image of the industry.”

Major fund launched to boost equestrian skills and workforce

Eleanor Jones — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 13:01:55 +0000

The equestrian industry may have to reconfigure how it works to try to solve the skills gap and become sustainable, the British Horse Society (BHS) believes — as it launches a major fund to boost skills.

BHS chief executive James Hick chaired a panel discussion on workforce sustainability in the equestrian sector, at the National Equine Forum (NEF) in London today (3 March), during which he announced details of the society’s new career transition fund.

The scheme will offer training grants to people who have completed their BHS stage one, to allow them to progress to stages two and three, which the BHS hopes will fill a skills gap and improve the situation for staff and employers.

“Something we at the BHS are very much aware of, and H&H has covered, is the issue around attraction and retention of staff, and good employment across the sector,” Mr Hick told H&H. “From our perspective, and our approved riding schools and livery yards, there’s an equestrian-industry talent crunch. That means there’s an ever-increasing shortage of talent in our sector, at all levels.”

Mr Hick said the BHS conducted a survey at the end of January, to which 170 employers responded. This found that more than half the vacancies they had advertised in the past year, offering an average salary of £24,000 and crucial to running a successful equestrian business, went unfilled.

“This was across the board; coaches, grooms, ground workers,” Mr Hick said. “So we then talked to people working in the sector.”

There were 160 respondents to this second survey, asking what they looked for in an employer.

“And there was a mismatch,” Mr Hick said. “Employers were looking for industry experience, long hours and working weekends and evenings, and it’s hard physical work; the 160 workers in the sector said they were looking for something different. They’re looking for personal development, to be able to control their hours and know when they’ll be working, employment benefits — and often, work-life balance is more important than pay. That’s an important message. And underlying all this is that they’re looking for a good employer.

“Fundamentally, we’re going to have to reconfigure how we work to be able to align requirements, so people will come into the sector.”

Mr Hick said a positive thing is that since Covid, the number of people wanting to start or return to riding has increased, and many schools have waiting lists.

“That’s the great news, but the bad news is that there aren’t the qualified staff to meet the demand,” he said. “That’s a serious profitability issue, and we think we’ve got a responsibility to support the sector in addressing the shortage.”

Mr Hick added that the BHS research also indicated that people who work in the industry for two years tend to go on to longer careers within it, “so we’ve got to try to keep people”.

He added that the BHS has supported its approved centres with grants over the past two years of Covid, and is now taking a more “holistic approach” to supporting them.

“Our strategy now extends to riding schools and livery yards, and all those people who want a professional career within the sector,” he said.

The fund is aimed at anyone who has taken the BHS stage one, and will pay for training from BHS accredited coaches or at approved centres.

“And we very much hope it will attract more professional grooms and coaches into the sector as we run it this year, and hopefully in years ahead,” Mr Hick said.

“This is a job for life and if you’ve got your stage two or three, you’re eminently employable across the sector, and have so many life choices. Having that foundation gives you the earning potential, helps support people in long careers and to be employed by good employers.

“Similarly to how we supported people during the pandemic, the next part is to give back to the sector as a whole.”

Horse & Houndteams up withSEIB to recognise the best yards, riding schools and competition centres

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 14:24:12 +0000

Horse & Hound and SEIB have joined forces to recognise the country’s top yards in the SEIB Insurance Brokers Yard of the Year Awards.

The awards feature categories for small (20 horses or fewer) and large (more than 20 horses) riding schools, full and DIY livery yards and Riding for the Disabled Association centres plus, for the first time this year, competition centres. Nominations are open to the public and the winners will be revealed in July.

SEIB marketing manager Nicolina Mackenzie said: “SEIB has insured livery yards and riding schools for decades and are proud to support the industry with these awards. We are excited to have Horse & Hound on board this year and look forward to their input on the judging panel.

“The inclusion of the competition venue of the year award in 2022 is something we are looking forward to. At SEIB we know that there are many yards, venues, centres and riding schools that provide an outstanding service and we want to recognise and highlight their professionalism, skill and commitment.”

H&H editor-in chief Sarah Jenkins said the H&H team knows well from running the H&H Awards, in partnership with NAF, how much it means to members of the equestrian community to be nominated for industry awards such as these, let alone being shortlisted and winning.

“So many professionals and volunteers in the horse world work tirelessly in their areas and could not be more deserving of wider recognition,” she said. “SEIB has long supported excellence in yards with their awards, in categories that we also feel strongly at Horse & Hound need positive recognition and support.”

The public are encouraged to nominate their favourite yards in the six categories. Nominations are open online until 5pm on 14 April, after which judges will compile shortlists. Each shortlisted yard will be asked to submit video and more information, and will be invited to the awards ceremony in July, at which the winners will be revealed.

Make your nominations here

The judging will take in competition, training, horse care, marketing and business acumen. Atmosphere in the yard and help and support for clients will also be “vital for the judging panel when it comes to choosing their winners”.

Sarah added: “Riding schools are the lifeblood of our industry, without which we would not have a viable sport with enough new riders coming through developing a love of horses and going on to buy animals for leisure or competition. And of course riding schools in the UK have faced serious challenges, particularly over the past few years where Covid restrictions meant they were unable to operate for months on end while still needing to pay for animals’ care.

“Similarly, Riding for the Disabled centres do incredible work to give life-changing experiences to those who come to them, and again these organisations struggled to operate for much of the past two years, while simultaneously losing numbers of their volunteers without whom they cannot provide their vital service. Livery yards and competition centres, too, face challenges with rates and the cost of horses’ keep, and it is often the hard work of those behind the scenes that goes so far to improve the experience of horses, owners and competitors. For all these reasons and many more, this year more than ever, we are delighted to be associated with these awards, and encourage everyone who is eligible to nominate the centres they feel most deserving of these accolades and prizes from SEIB.”

‘What the hell happened to my horse?’ owner’s warning after mare sent for backing found in ‘disgusting’ state

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:53:44 +0000

The owner of a young mare who was sent for backing and within a fortnight had multiple wounds, a “disgusting” coat and had lost condition has urged others to research thoroughly before they send horses away.

Belinda Spittle thought the trainer to whom she sent her homebred mare Orlaithe, pictured before she went, in September was reputable. But when she went to see the four-year-old, 12 days later, she told staff she was taking her home at once.

Belinda told H&H the mare was “rank rotten”, “covered in untreated cuts” and had two haematomas.

“As soon as I got there, I said ‘What the hell has happened to my horse?’” Belinda said. “The girls with her were as if nothing had happened but I’m so glad my friend was there as a witness.”

Belinda said she had sent Orlaithe with the balancer she was supposed to be fed, but that yard staff said they had been told not to feed her as she was in good condition. She added that she had asked for the mare to come in at night, but she does not believe this happened.

“The cuts hadn’t been treated as they had mud on them, and pus underneath,” she said. “She had a cut above her eye, a lump on her back and a great big cut where the skin had curled back and dried. Her boots had been left on and her heels were raw; it went on and on but the trainer was just dismissing everything I said.

“She looked so sad, probably because she was dehydrated. When I got her home, she went straight for the bucket and just drank and drank, and when I put her out, she went straight for the trough. I’ve never seen a horse drink like that.”

Orlaithe has had veterinary and chiropractic treatment and is on the mend but Belinda wants to warn other owners to research those they send their horses to.

“Double and triple-check,” she said. “I’ve had horses all my life and I’m no drama queen but this has really hurt me. Riding schools have to be inspected but noone else does so I want to warn other people.”

The diary of the home-made livery yard: The weather appears to have severe mood swings and I have a daily wardrobe to match, plus a farewell

Katy Malone — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 09:55:02 +0000

Christ, this weather in the UK is weird, isn’t it? Sunny, warm and glorious, but sometimes literally freezing. Icy, gale force winds on some days and not a single leaf rustles in a tree, the next. The weather appears to have severe mood swings and I have a daily wardrobe to match. I start the day in two winter coats and gloves, stripped down to shorts and a T-shirt by midday. Jodphurs make an appearance at some point, too.

Not only do I feel perpetually confused by the weather (“Arctic rug, today? Or fly spray, fly rug and mask, Dobbin?”), but my skin is suffering for it, too. I can blame my ancestry for my terrible skin. To a point. There may, possibly, have been some poor life choices along the way, in my youth, too. Let’s just say my body has not been so much a temple and more of a public toilet, at times. We live and we learn.

The extreme changes in weather and temperature, lately, play havoc with a common skin condition I suffer from called Rosacea. My outdoor equestrian lifestyle aggravates it terribly and I get a very sore, red face when I’ve been out in the wind and sun. I am finding great relief in slathering vast quantities of Sudocreme on my face, each morning and night. Yes, of course I got it out of the vet kit. Yes, of course, I picked off the horse hairs and general bits of muck before I put it on my face. I have some standards.

My other dermal complaint is that, for all my sins, God has smitten me down with a sun moustache. If you are not familiar with this affliction, a sun moustache is uneven pigmentation, caused by excess production of melanin, on the upper lip, following exposure to the sun. And I am not pulling it off. Not at all.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

In my research on how to rid myself of this unwanted facial feature, sun protection is a key feature. I have taken this advice seriously and have bought a load of baseball caps and sun block to wear daily. Modelling myself on the cricketers and surfers, who wear a thick streak of sun block over their noses and cheeks, I am doing similar with my sun moustache. I think you’ll agree from my photo that it looks rather fetching.

Aside from wandering around the yard looking like a toddler with a milk moustache and with my face smelling like a baby’s bottom, I have been coping with the demands of running a yard and parenting three children, ranging in ages from three to 11 years, throughout lockdown. I am fairly lucky. My children are older, fairly independent and get on together really well. I also only have them here half of the time, as they currently stay with their father for the rest of the time. I know from social media that yard owners were despairing at the start of this most recent lockdown at how they were going to yet again juggle yard duties with the closure of schools and child care facilities. There was confusion among the livery community and vast discrepancies between different schools over whether yard owners counted as essential workers and whether school places were available for their children. I hope everyone muddled through in one piece.

Kate & May training for competition (Image credit: creditUnknown)

We had another foal at South Woolley this year! An unexpected surprise. A lovely client, Kerri, bought a very sweet cob for her daughter to ride. When the pony arrived back at the yard, the size of Bella’s abdomen stirred suspicions among us all. Less than two weeks later, a cheeky little filly appeared in the pony’s stable overnight and there was another soft, tiny muzzle waiting for me at morning feed time.

Bella and her foal, Cracker (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The mare, Bella, was very protective over her foal. My stables are separated by partitions of metal railings on the upper section of the dividing walls. To help the mare with her maternal distress, Kerri had the idea of tying old horse rugs to the stable dividers, so Bella could not see her equine neighbours. The plan worked brilliantly for the horses. The comical consequence of this, however, was that livery client, Jack, whose horse was in the neighbouring stable, subsequently became a shameless peeping Tom. In order to be any part of social interactions on the yard, while in his horse’s stable, Jack would have to peer out from between a crack in the wall of rugs. As was appropriate, I teased him mercilessly.

Cracker (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Article continues below…

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: I’m getting back on my feet and thriving instead of just surviving

Katy shares a brave and honest account of her life of her life over the past few months and what

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I am now back to teaching outside clients and the competition calendar for me as coach, rider and groom is filling up again. It’s a priviledge to be allowed back to these aspects of my work and know, with the utmost certainty, that I truly love what I do.

One of my favourite parts of my job, is at the end of a client lesson, where we are all finished, the rider drops the reins and they fall against their horse’s neck and shower the horse with praise. It is then that I can see, visually, and feel deeply, in my heart, the emanating sheer love between that human and that beast. It’s beautiful.

It is with mixed emotions that I am bringing ‘The Dairy of a Home-Made Livery Yard’ to a close. This will be my final blog post for Horse & Hound (my 47th entry!). I will never forget receiving the email that I was to be joining the blogging team, four-and-a-half years ago. I was so incredibly excited to start my new adventure with Horse & Hound. When the email came through, I was horrifically hungover, following a dinner with friends the evening before. So, it seems apt that, on the day I sign off from my blogging position, livery, Jack, found me sitting in a disheveled heap on the floor of the barn, nursing a sugary cup of tea, having enjoyed a bit of a celebration with friends the evening before. I had finished my morning duties, but was now feeling the worse for wear and, as we chatted away, I became increasingly horizontal and eventually succumbed to using the cold concrete floor as a welcoming pillow for my weary head.

Next month it will be a whole year since my husband left. A whole year that I have been running South Woolley Livery & Coaching on my own. When I say, ‘on my own’, that is, of course, total nonsense. I have had incredible support from friends, family, clients and colleagues, to whom I will always be very grateful. I was repeatedly told (by someone who did not want me to succeed) that I wouldn’t manage the yard on my own. So, I am hugely proud that I have succeeded in steering South Woolley through a global pandemic and we have come out the other side in one piece — just about!

It has been a huge privilege and honour to write for the Horse & Hound team for all these years. I’d like to extend a heartfelt, thank you! to H&H for the opportunity and for providing a platform from which I have been able to connect with so many lovely readers.

I am not going anywhere, or disappearing off the face of the earth. You can find or follow me, on Facebook, at South Woolley Livery & Coaching. I continue to welcome messages from anyone who has read my blogs and wants to get in touch — I really do love hearing from you!

I will continue to run the yard and teach. Who knows, maybe a new writing project will come my way?

So, for the last and final time (*sniff, sniff*)… Thank you for reading the thoughts of ‘an ordinary nobody from Cornwall’ (blog entry number one).

I hope I’ve given you an occasional giggle. Goodbye, for now, and I’ll see you on Facebook!

Take care of yourselves,

Katy x

Katy x

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Insurance warning as three-hour summer storm causes £700,000 damage

Sarah Radford — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 07:03:42 +0000

The owner of a competition venue and livery yard is warning others to make sure they are well insured after a freak summer storm destroyed £700,000 of their facilities in just three hours.

Anvil Park Stud near Norwich, which had no history of flooding, has spent the winter rebuilding all its stabling and arenas after it was hit by a devastating localised storm on 16 August last year.

The deluge started while the venue was running a British Dressage competition and the show had to be halted when judges could no longer see the competitors and the arena boards started to be washed away.

“It just came out of nowhere,” Emma Alexander, who owns and runs the business with her partner Robert Reeve, told H&H. “In the morning I had a bit of a migraine, so I had gone into the house and left Rob and our livery manager Becky running the show.

“One of the liveries messaged me saying ‘should I come and ride or not?’ and I couldn’t see why it would be a problem as we have an indoor arena — but then I walked into our kitchen and it was flooded.

“I went outside and Rob said ‘I was just coming to get you, I’ve had to cancel the show as the dressage boards were floating away’.”

Water burst through the sides of both the 70m x 20m indoor arena and the smaller indoor arena, washing away the surface, as well as removing gravel and the membrane from the two large outdoor arenas and washing the surface into the nearby fields.

The floodwater also undermined the cafe, wrecked the horse walker and car park and flooded the stables, damaging the supporting brickwork and leaving horses standing up to their knees in water.

“It got so heavy so quickly, I think the drainage just couldn’t cope,” said Emma, who has since had new drains and a 6ft holding tank installed, to handle any excessive runoff.

“In some ways being damaged by water is worse than fire because of everything it brings with it. We didn’t know if the water that flooded the fields was contaminated or not.”

The livery yard had 42 horses on site, some of which were initially turned out but had to be brought back in again when the fields also began to flood.

Emma had to have temporary stables erected in the car park the next day; the horses remained there throughout the winter until the yard was rebuilt.

Friends and neighbours stepped up to take in her stallions, who she did not want to keep in temporary boxes.

“Liz and Mark Mills were amazing, they took my stallions and also allowed us to use their arenas whenever we wanted. John Egmore, Nic and Laura took my other stallion in and allowed arena use and Allister Hood took a couple of horses,” Emma said.

“They never asked when the horses were going to be picked up and looked after them as if they were their own.”

Emma said that when they walked round the yard after the storm to survey the damage, Rob was “heartbroken” but she was confident they would be able to start again.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“We’d put in so much work since we moved in five years ago but I thought it would be OK as I paid so much in insurance. We’re with NFU and they told me we were actually over-insured for all the damage and were brilliant helping us sort it out.

“So many people begrudge paying insurance and go for the cheaper option and don’t have the correct level but we would have been bankrupt if we hadn’t have been covered. We’d just put all of our savings into building a new outdoor arena.”

Some work is still going on at the venue, although the indoor is complete, having been rebuilt from the groundworks up, and the huge 100x100m outdoor is also finished, while the horses are now in their new boxes. Anvil Park has been ready to run shows again since 1 February and Emma is now waiting for Covid restrictions to lift.

“From 29 March we are going to start with arena hire for first week, then we are having an unaffiliated three-day show at the start of April, which will be 40-110cm,” she said. “From 9 April we will start BD and then hopefully it will be full swing from there.”

While the arenas were out of action, liveries were forced to hack, or use a jump field set up on grass or Emma’s friend’s facilities.

“It’s made us really appreciate the facilities we have got,” Emma added. “But at the same time I think we remembered that there is more to riding now, without arenas.

“When we went to Hickstead, we found the horses had really benefited from the practice on grass.”

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Emma added that she was grateful to all the liveries who had stayed with her throughout the massive rebuilding operation, as well as the companies that had finished the work as quickly as possible.

As well as the new, improved facilities, they have also expanded to include holiday cottages, enabling people to come and stay with their horses and take advantage of both the arenas and hacking.

“We’re also going to extend the outdoor to include a water splash, so we can run cross-country schooling,” she said. “Hopefully 2021 will be Anvil’s year!”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

The diary of the home-made livery yard: please be kind to yourselves

Katy Malone — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 10:55:10 +0000

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

I truly hope everyone had a lovely time celebrating Christmas in whatever ways were allowed this year. I have decided any cheese not eaten by this point needs to be removed from the premises immediately. I had a dream last night about shooting down a water slide that landed in a swimming pool of rather unpleasant looking, cold fondue. It is time, Katy. It is time.

We move forward into 2021 with Coronavirus still playing a huge role in all of our lives, our jobs and our businesses. Last Christmas, all this difficulty lay ahead of us. But I, for one, feel very hopeful that this is the year that we move forward and away from the dark clouds of Covid-related adversity.

There are lots of things that I wish for in 2021, but one of them is that my friends who work for the NHS be able to perform their jobs each day, without the fear and stress that comes from working around and among the virus. If we can get everyone safely vaccinated, then I would be perfectly happy for a large wedge of tax payers’ money to be spent on sending every NHS worker, supermarket worker and essential worker off, in batches, for a month in Barbados.

I idly scrolled back through my livery yard Facebook page on Christmas Eve, and I couldn’t help but notice how much we have managed to achieve here at South Woolley, despite the government restrictions, this year. Lessons were taught and training continued, when it was allowed. Clinics were attended and clients got out to any competitions that they could. I’ve been impressed how my clients have fought the temptation to drown themselves in a vat of gin, despairing, “What is the point?!” and kept their motivation levels up. If you didn’t manage that, not to worry… New Year resolutions are here to help anyone in need of recovery from 2020-related drink habits.

Pumpkin, the foal (Image credit: creditUnknown)

A beautiful foal was born at South Woolley in June, which lifted our spirits and provided us all with endless hours of entertainment and giggles. And puppies. There were lots of puppies! Clients brought sweet and tiny, little woofers to the yard and I jumped on the bandwagon and got a new faithful friend in terrier pick ‘n’ mix, Chloe.

Me with Chloe (Image credit: creditUnknown)

We made it to Keysoe one-star para-dressage international with Emily Skerrett and Carol Pearson’s Clint (pictured with me, top), where I learnt that two double gin and tonics (I’m currently a bit of a lightweight and out of practise) is too many to be able to competently sew a GB flag onto a jacket. There was plenty of swearing and unpicking of stitches after I realised quite how wobbly and drunken the badge looked on the lapel. A second attempt, switching from gin to prosecco, and plenty of, “Pull yourself together, Katy! For God’s sake, woman, you are sewing for Great Britain!” proved more successful.

Me doing some drunken sewing! (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I also learnt that the trot up for an international is not something to be taken lightly. There are commentators, a crowd of spectators and photographers. And everyone runs really, really fast! I will dress up in my finery next time, and if I start an Olympic sprint training programme now I’ll be ready for the next international event.

I am blessed with an amazing support team, who enable me to go away like this occasionally. My super freelancer, Abby, took care of the yard flawlessly, while my father heroically helped out with my children (starting at 4am — he got an appropriately large bottle of whiskey for his birthday!).

Me riding Jen Parker’s Caspar (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Some things can’t be left at home however, and Emily’s lorry hilariously became my office for electronically receiving solicitor letters and court papers, in-between plaiting and warm-ups and tests.

Always a big believer in multi-tasking, I also had a one-hour telephone couselling session in the grounds of Keysoe and a therapy session in Emily’s lorry via Whatsapp over our three day stay. These things are really important to me and I feel they must have time made for them, no matter what else is going on. I am not ashamed of being in counselling or therapy. I think it is something to be celebrated.

Kate and Debbie (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I had a new carpet gallop arena surface laid this autumn — an occasion that reduced me to tears (I am getting soppy in my old age) as clients, neighbours and friends all turned up to help me complete the first big project I’ve taken on since my husband left. They were all completely conned into it. I promised everyone a party in return for their help in spreading the surface. But then Boris galliantly saved me from a massive imminent prosecco bill and put us into lockdown again (I haven’t forgotten, folks! I am aware I owe you, big time.).

I rode my first BD medium test at the end of the summer, which was a tick off my personal goal list. We enjoyed beach rides with stunning photography to take home and treasure from Julia Powney and a single case of strangles infection was successfully tackled, head-on.

All really not too bad for a very challenging year.

For me, 2020 has been a year of change and growth in my personal life. I have had to take on new roles, such as ‘part-time, single mother’ and I have run the business on my own, alongside caring for the children for 50% of the time, for the past seven months. I have learnt how to connect gas bottles for our hot water, change a spare tyre on the car, navigate our plumbing and water systems and fix the exhaust when it fell off my beloved 25-year-old Citreon Saxo on Christmas Eve, jeopardising child handovers. I’ve asked for help from family and friends and they have generously provided, often teaching me new skills, so I can be independent in the future.

Lauren (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I fixed the printer when a cufflink got stuck inside of it, fixed the TV so that, God forbid, we didn’t miss out on too much Cbeebies and opened a stuck door lock on my car. In fact, between me and Youtube tutorials and a can of WD40, there is nothing that can’t be done. Or at least temporarily bodged until a proper grown up arrives.

I am reluctant to set any major professional goals for 2021, as there is still a lot of uncertainty about how much training we can attend. So, rather than specific goals, I am focusing on pathways that I want to set out upon. For example, I feel confident telling you that I really am keen to get back to BD judge training this year. But I won’t set myself a deadline for completing my exams, because Boris might well get in my way and I don’t want to set myself up for unecessary disappointment.

So, please be kind to yourselves as we embark 2021. We’ve all survived a very trying year with less support, less services, less time with our loved ones and much less freedom than we are used to. And we are not out of the woods, yet. My plan is to keep my chin up, keep smiling, enjoy everything that is still within our grasp and just simply do my best.

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I had a chat with one of my trainers, John Chubb, and my client and friend, Emily, recently. We were talking about how sick and tired we are of staying in, for every special occasion this year, with “a nice bit o’ wine and a nice bit o’ food”. I joked that for New Year’s Eve I might go the other way, for novelty value. I was thinking perhaps a starter of Dairylea Dunkers, followed by a main course of Lucozade and a Pot Noodle? Ooh, fancy!

I love receiving comments and messages from those of you who humour me enough to read my blog. Please feel free to get in touch with me at any time. Whether it is horses or mental health-related — I love hearing from you. I can be slow to reply sometimes, but I do get there in the end.

Merry Christmas and a happy, successful New Year to you and your loved ones!

Katy x

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A change of view could help equestrian business viability H&H Plus

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 11:02:54 +0000

Even without the coronavirus, times have been tough for riding schools, livery yards and competition centres. H&H speaks to centres and businesspeople to find out what could be done to help

A CHANGE in perspective from both employers and clients could be key to ensuring equestrian businesses stay financially viable in challenging times.

H&H has reported on the many and varied impacts of Government policy, such as business rates and minimum wage increases, rising insurance premiums and the industry’s need to remain relevant to clients with a wide choice of leisure activities to choose from – even without the effects of the coronavirus.

But another obstacle to being able to make a profit could be clients’ views of the sector.

“I feel quite strongly that people need to be realistic about what it costs to keep a horse,” Tullis Matson of Stallion AI Services, also president of the Equestrian Employers Association (EEA), told H&H.

“Wages have to go up, prices of feed and insurance go up, but livery doesn’t; people need a reality check about the costs.”

Tullis cited the everyday costs livery yard owners must take into account when setting prices, such as staff time, feed and forage, which could near £20 per day for full livery. But on top of that, yard owners have to take into account factors not only including business rates and insurance, but also depreciation in value of buildings, and the cost of maintenance.

“You have to be realistic about what it costs, but you have to make a profit to survive,” he said, adding that a common attitude in the UK equestrian world is that people do the job for the love of it; so not only is making a profit not always seen as an integral part of running the business, some owners are more equestrian- than business-minded.

“It may be a slightly survival of the fittest thing, where those who have steady price increases every year will carry on but others fall behind and suddenly have to put prices up by a lot more, and owners will say they can’t afford to pay it,” he said.

Undercutting

TULLIS said the issue of local yards undercutting each other, by charging prices that mean they cannot make a profit, was raised at the EEA conference last year, as was the possibility of trying to set a cap so all yards can survive.

Aurora Eastwood, who runs a livery yard from her home in Hampshire, told H&H she has suffered from others offering cheaper livery. She had to put her prices up, as she was losing money on her business.

“All the local yards charged roughly the same as I did but I could no longer operate on that basis,” she said. “I couldn’t justify making a loss any more.”

Ms Eastwood agreed with Tullis that some clients do not take into account all the costs; even running a tractor for an hour to level the arena or maintain the fields costs £25.

“There’s an odd pressure or acceptance in the horse world that you shouldn’t expect to earn money from working with horses, but that’s wrong,” she said.

“If you put your dog in daycare, people seem to be prepared to pay £25 or more, a child in nursery might be £65 to £100 per day, with the same staff-to-child ratio as I have for horses, for a third of the time I look after horses here – and a small child doesn’t eat as much as a 17hh warmblood.

“I think as an industry, all yards need to look at their costs and set a fair profit margin for their work and care.”

Helen Williams, finance director of the Wellington Estate in Hampshire, which includes Wellington Riding equestrian centre, told H&H staffing costs are the biggest challenge, as it is such a labour-intensive business.

“This year has shown just how much as we can’t cut those costs,” she said. “It’s been really hard and if we hadn’t had the support of the estate, I’m not sure Wellington Riding would have survived.”

Ms Williams agrees equestrian centres’ clients must be realistic.

“I’ve got my horse because I can afford to keep her but I’m aware she’s a luxury,” she said. “If I couldn’t afford her, I couldn’t have her; it’s not up to where I keep her to fund her for me.

“There’s a sense that it’s an entitlement, having a horse, but we’re a business and we have to charge enough to cover costs. We charge £249 a week for full livery and we don’t make money on that.”

Ms Williams says Wellington offers different livery packages, such as using horses in lessons, to try to make it more affordable but also viable.

“It’s a tough business to be in, especially now,” she said. “You have to love the job, but it also has to be commercially viable.”

A riding school owner who did not want to be named told H&H he should charge more for lessons, but if he does, he feels clients will go somewhere cheaper.

“All centres are struggling, in my view,” he said. “We looked at buying some others and starting a chain, but the figures made awful reading. You’d have to invest so much into them but there’s no chance of getting that back.

“This is the bitter pill people are seeing when they try to retire – then land agents appear, saying the business isn’t worth anything, but they’ll knock it down and build houses; that’s one reason riding schools are disappearing. We get people here probably every month, speculatively, talking about building houses here.”

The owner said his school gives some 12,000 lessons every year, and he struggles to believe that this does not make a profit.

“It may be there are too many riding schools,” he said. “Maybe we’ll end up with fewer, bigger, centres eventually, and they’ll charge more; but that will make us back into an elite sport again, which would be a real shame.

“I think centres will have to evolve, maybe offering coffee shops and lounges, but the horse world wants everything on the cheap and it’s just unrealistic.”

H&H approached the Government’s business department for comment, pointing out that the equestrian industry is worth about £8 billion to the economy annually not to mention its benefits in terms of exercise and mental health, its positive effects on re-offending rates and getting young disengaged people back into education or work, and it would be a great loss if riding centres continued to be closed as they are not able to make ends meet.

A spokesman for the department said: “We want the UK to be the best place to work and to grow a business. The national living wage delivered the fastest pay rise for the lowest earners in 20 years, with the latest increase this April estimated to benefit over eight million people, directly or indirectly. To make it easier and cheaper to grow a business, we’ve committed to review and reduce business rates.”

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Yards still feeling effects of first lockdown — but some positive news H&H Plus

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 07 Nov 2020 11:03:36 +0000

Insurance broker SEIB surveyed its commercial clients on the effects of the first lockdown. H&H goes through the results and speaks to equestrian centres to see how business was looking as the second lockdown came in

NEARLY 70% of equestrian centres surveyed on the effects of the coronavirus were still operating with limited or adapted services before the second lockdown – but there have also been positive effects.

Of 75 respondents, including riding schools and livery yards, over 95% said turnover was down on pre-lockdown levels, while some raised fears over the effect the return of business rates will have on yards already hit hard.

SEIB insurance brokers conducted the research to find out how customers’ business was, and what support it could offer them.

Respondents were asked if they had taken any measures to reduce costs; 48% turned the horses out for the duration of the first lockdown, while 16% sold horses. One respondent “got rid of all staff”, others “reduced my wages and “tightened my belt”.

SEIB digital marketing manager Katie Oswald said: “Many of our commercial customers are concerned for the future of their businesses. Plenty of yards have accessed support from the Government and charities, including the British Horse Society (BHS). But we have found plenty are unsure where to turn for help, whether that be financial support or advice.”

Just over 13% of respondents applied for the Government’s job retention scheme, the same number that had applied for charitable grants such as from the BHS hardship fund.

Almost half applied for business grants and 24% for government-backed loans or finance agreements. Over 33% had not applied for any of the above. And although only 12% had to make staff redundant, nearly 15% fear they will have to cut jobs in the next six months.

Asked what other government support could help, some praised the help they had already had, while others said there should be more funding, better clarification on restrictions and removal of restrictions altogether.

On a more positive note, 29% of respondents said interest in their services had increased since the first lockdown, while 36% said it had stayed the same.

One respondent wrote: “We think parents are trying to get their children into the countryside more; we have lots of new riders.”

Others reported positive effects of the first lockdown, including “better work-life balance”, more awareness of health and safety and better related measures, and “clients working better together”.

Coming together

Lucy Thomson, of Lavant House Stables in Chichester, told H&H that while she knows this has not been the case for all, she was not hit too hard by lockdown.

“We run a club, where clients pay a monthly sub,” she said. “Initially, a lot of them paid 25%, which I’d refund after lockdown, so I had something coming in.

“All my owners, livery clients, and staff have been fantastic, they really came together, and the Government was so generous. We got lots of help, like the rates relief and grant, and furlough; staffing is our biggest cost and that way, we didn’t feel we let them down.

“After lockdown, we were swamped; so much interest, we had to close our books.”

Wellington Riding, which operates a riding school as well as a competition centre and livery yard, agreed interest had rocketed since the first lockdown.

Manager David Sheerin told H&H Wellington had to furlough staff and make changes. Group lessons had to decrease from eight combinations to five, to fit with the “rule of six”, and the centre put prices up to compensate.

“It was a bit of a risk but clients have been loving the move to five people, and they get about 37% more of the instructor’s time so it was better value for money,” he said. “That was still a loss but we haven’t lost any clients.”

Wellington has also made plans to cover itself if, as feared, its popular junior residential camps cannot run next year, as it went into “survival mode”.

But Mr Sheerin agreed on the increased interest.

“We’ve got 496 people registered on our system waiting for assessment lessons,” he said. “I’m an optimist but the opportunity for the industry is massive.”

Take a look around Olympic dressage rider Spencer Wilton’s stunning new base – you might turn green with envy…

Polly Bryan — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 16:39:09 +0000

It’s always fun to drool over lust-worthy equestrian facilities, and Spencer Wilton’s new stable yard is sure to impress. The British Olympic dressage medallist and his husband Darren Hicks, moved their horses in over the summer to the stunning Cotswold Club Equestrian, near Naunton in Glos, which is a luxury equestrian facility founded by Charlotte Dunkerton. Charlotte’s vision was to create a five-star equestrian centre, with all the facilities a rider could want for their horse, while also providing a relaxed social atmosphere.

Let’s take a look around…

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Spencer has room for 10 horses in his section of the indoor barn – where the current star resident is his Rio Olympic silver medal winner Super Nova II. The horses here enjoy enormous, airy stables, and there is a large private tack room, two wash bays with hot water and a solarium.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Darren Hicks’ courtyard-style yard may be open to the elements, but it is no less impressive, reached through a romantic archway, and also offering 10 luxury stables and its own tack and feed rooms.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Indoor schools don’t come much brighter than this – the glass walls make this 80x50m arena feel even larger than it already is. With a viewing gallery and glass-fronted lounge overlooking the action, it is set to host a number of clinics and conventions in months and years to come.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

If you ever felt your own yard was lacking something, perhaps it was this bar! At the Cotswold Club, riders and connections are treated almost as well as the horses, with a stunning, cosy lounge taking pride of place in the centre of the complex.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

There’s not much that beats cosying up by a log fire with a drink – or cupcake – in hand after a tough schooling session or exhilarating hack. Actually, maybe if it was followed by a massage…

In addition to the two further social spaces in the pipeline, both overlooking the indoor arena, the club will also soon boast treatment rooms where riders can indulge in various treatments from visiting therapists.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

The 20x60m outdoor arena, with an all-weather surface by Equestrian Surfaces, nestles alongside the indoor, framed by shrubs and – on the day of our visit – lots of gloriously autumnal trees.

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The centre also boasts a useful all-weather canter track, as well as seven furlongs of all-weather gallops just a short, beautiful ride away.

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With smart post-and-rail paddocks – monitored by CCTV – and woodchip turnout pens for use in winter, in additional to the indoor facilities, this is certainly an enviable place for your horse to call home.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

The diary of the home-made livery yard: I’m getting back on my feet and thriving instead of just surviving

Katy Malone — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:55:44 +0000

Hello!

Before I fill you in on all the latest news at South Woolley Livery & Coaching, I need to address the fact that I haven’t been around lately. Indeed, I haven’t written a post since May, which was five months ago, now. Writing for Horse & Hound is a really important part of my life and a huge privilege. As such it has taken a very serious chain of events for me to neglect my blog.

Over the past year, my marriage broke down and I am now separated from my husband. It was messy and dramatic. Things really came to a head just a few days after I wrote my last blog post. I haven’t been able to write since then. All my energy was focused on fighting like a tigress for my children, running the livery business and keeping the family home going.

With my children (Image credit: creditUnknown)

This past year may well have been the hardest thing I have ever been through, but something has changed now. It has taken plenty of space and time on my own, months and months of therapy with the most incredible psychotherapist (one and a half hours, twice a week, to be precise!), counselling from The Women’s Centre, Cornwall and the most overwhelming level of support from my family, friends, colleagues and clients. But I am finally getting back on my feet, stronger than ever before, and starting out on my new path of thriving rather than simply surviving.

Photoshoot on the beach with Clint (Image credit: Julia Powney Photography)

So, what has happened with the horses since May? Well, Emily Skerrett’s beautiful para dressage mare, Lila, had her Belissimo M foal in June. A gorgeous, cheeky, healthy colt appeared one Tuesday evening after a thunderstorm. Emily and her boys named him, Pumpkin, due to his distinct orange-ness.

Pumpkin (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The birth was wonderfully straightforward. I was lucky enough to witness the whole thing and capture the event on video for Emily, who rushed straight down to the yard to meet the little chap as soon as she could get my livery client and our friend, Jen, to arrive and look after her sleeping children.

There were a couple of comedy moments that evening. The first being Emily, totally drunk on love for her new foal and a couple of celebratory beers, stumbling around Lila’s stable, attempting to identify the foal’s gender (rather unsuccessfully and to much hilarity for us onlookers), while trying to avoid tripping over her crutches. If it had been any other mare, I might have intervened. But Lila is incredibly placid and tolerant. I swear she raised an eyebrow at Emily, as if to say, “For goodness’ sake, woman! He is clearly a boy!”

The second being the moment where the vet and I finished up at 3am and I could not face the final bit of tidying up that remained to be done in the maternity suite. I sent my amazing freelancer, Abby, a bizarre message, saying, “Abby… It’s 3am. Knackered. Soz about placenta in a bucket. Will deal with it tomorrow.” I feel as though Abby knows me well enough, now, to expect nothing less of me.

May, June and July were very tough months for me, personally. But it was special occasions, like the arrival of South Woolley’s first ever foal, that gave me the morale boost I needed to look forward towards the future.

I have a few standout horsey memories of those hard, long months.

A day or so before the foal was born, Emily allowed me to tag along on a photo shoot at the beach with her very talented photographer sponsor, Julia Powney. I nearly didn’t go. I’d lost my mojo a little bit. I just wanted to work hard by day and then hide away at home in the evenings. I think you can see, from the look on my face in the photos (pictured top and above), that I made the right choice.

The horse is another of Emily’s rides, Clint, who is owned by Carol Pearson. I tell all my children and my horses that I love them the same, but Clint is just that little bit special to me.

I had another exciting opportunity with Clint at the end of July. Emily had entered for a BD elementary and medium test at our local venue, Tall Trees. I can’t remember the exact circumstances, but Emily could not make it. Emily and Carol offered me the ride, rather than waste the entries, and I eagerly accepted. I was punching way above my weight. I hadn’t competed at all in nine months and had totally neglected my riding over lockdown and the breakdown of my marriage. I had never competed at medium level before and I now had 24 hours to learn how to sit Clint’s super bouncy trot. These are the circumstances that hors concours was made for!

Me mid-test with Clint (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Safe in the knowledge that our times were last of the day, when everyone else would have gone home, Clint and I went and wangled our way clumsily around a medium test. Clint gets fabulous scores at medium (and now advanced medium) with Emily, but he does not give the rider those scores on a plate.

I was happy with our elementary score, even with two rider sat-nav errors. And I was absolutely thrilled at being in possession of a test sheet that read, ‘Medium 69… Katy Malone’ at the top, no matter what the marks were below. The previous sentence is, of course, a pretty poor disguise for, ‘Some of my my marks were a bit sh*t.’ But I am in no way lying about the ‘thrilled’ part. And with the obligatory folding of my test sheet (requiring the intricate skill of an origami master), I was able to hide the worst marks, add the pretty rosette we took home, and take a photo that contributed to a social media post that I am still very proud of today.

My test sheet and rosettes (Image credit: creditUnknown)

We are now well into autumn and I’m feeling stronger and happier day by day. I have had huge amounts of support from my family and friends over the summer, but, essentially, I am currently a full-time businesswoman and a part-time single mother of three. I knew I would cope perfectly well, but I also knew there would be a learning curve and a period of adjustment, as I settled into a new life for me and the children.

Abby and Judy testing out our surface (Image credit: creditUnknown)

There are certain things one takes for granted while having a man around the house. Instant on-site repairs, for example. As such, I have bought myself a set of shockingly cheap and crap quality tools. I repaired a fence rail today and I am pretty sure I bent my new £2 hammer by banging a nail into the timber. Domestic spider removal, for another example. I am not too bad with slow-moving arachnids, but I find the Usain Bolt-type variants fairly traumatic to live with. For me, the best method for spider eviction is to use one of those massive gin glasses, for maximum spider capture area (reducing the risk of Usain Bolt escapees) and maximum human-hand-to-target distance (reducing my panic and anxiety). Overall, I am getting more grown up about it all. Okay, that is a lie. As demonstrated by an horrific incident in the tack room, a couple of weeks ago, where I picked up a saddle and Emily did ‘The Face’. You know the one… The, ‘Oh my Christ! You have something un-Godly on your face/head/neck/shoulder and I think you are going to die and I am leaving you for dead!’ face. Yes, that face.

I dropped Emily’s very expensive saddle on the floor (luckily it landed safely in a cushioning pile of numnahs) and ran out of the tack room, leaping around like I was on fire.

“What is it?! Where is it?! Is it on me?! Oh my God, OH MY GOD! GET IT OFF ME!!! HELP, HELP, HELP!”

When presented with a perceived imminent threat, it is perfectly normal to enter into a fight, flight or freeze mode. However, it is not so often that we hear of the ‘strip off all your clothes’ mode. (I am reminded of the time when one of my oldest friends, Lottie, ended up standing naked in the middle of the road at my house, when she had gone into ‘strip mode’ after a bee had gone down her dress on the way to my wedding. The whole village had turned out to see us all off and, boy, did they get a show!).

This was the tactic my body involuntarily chose on behalf of my brain and, before I knew what had happened, I had stripped down to my bra and continued my dance over imaginary hot coals, while frantically brushing the (probably now long gone) ‘tarantula’ off of my head and my neck.

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Very briefly, in other news, we now have a lovely new carpet gallop surface on our arena. And today, I leave for Keysoe International Para Dressage with Emily and Clint. Emily informed me that Horse & Country TV would be live streaming some of the show. I threatened to streak through the arena during her test, just to get on telly. Emily replied that during her walk pirouettes would be best, please. And, if anyone complains, we could easily blame it on another spider incident.

In love with my new surface! (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Thank you for having me back.

Katy x

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Livery contracts are crucial to protect horses and people H&H Plus

Eleanor Jones — Tue, 19 May 2020 14:43:24 +0000

A spate of recent legal cases has prompted a lawyer to explain why having written terms agreed is essential for all parties involved in livery services. H&H finds out more...

The importance of written livery contracts to all parties has been highlighted by a series of recent legal cases.

Barrister Simon Bell, of Kent-based Knights Solicitors, told H&H his practice had been involved in a number of disputes, in the most recent of which the livery provider had tried to keep possession of his client’s horses.

He explained that his client had been evicted from her previous yard, so the defendant offered space for 11 horses. The defendant served an abandonment notice on the herd under the Control of Horses Act, and when the allotted time had passed, claimed ownership.

But Mr Bell said the defendant sent the notice to his client’s former address, knowing she was no longer living there, and that the pair had agreed the horses would be taken in, but that the existence of a verbal livery agreement was still to be decided by a court.

“Our case was that the procedure had been manipulated to try to retain the horses,” he said. “She also tried to retain the horses on welfare grounds, on the basis of our client’s ability to care for them, and owing to unpaid livery. It’s been a bitter case.”

The client now has her horses back, although the costs issue is yet to be decided, but but Mr Bell said the case highlights a number of issues. There is no basis in law for a yard owner to hold horses on welfare grounds, as they do not have authority, while the Control of Horses Act had not been followed appropriately.

“We’ve had a spate of these cases, on the basis that some people offering livery are doing so on the basis of a verbal agreement,” he added.

“That’s something that should cause concern as there will always be an underlying reason, and if someone doesn’t pay, you could end up in court with one person’s word against another’s. If you’ve got something in writing, and all parties comply, there’s no issue. Protect your money and property, and insist on a written agreement; that way, you know what you’re signing up for.”

A spokesman for the British Horse Society (BHS) told H&H written contracts should always be in place to protect all parties’ interests – and horse welfare.

“Contracts should clearly outline a workable communication and action plan that will be followed in the case of emergencies; for example, ensuring the horse owner immediately informs the yard owner of any change in contact details, and provides the written details of a ‘go-to’ contact that the horse owner authorises to make decisions for them should they be uncontactable – similar to a next of kin arrangement,” she said, adding that the plan should include clarity on permission to discuss and attend the horse with its vet practice.

“Each emergency will differ, but horse welfare should always remain at the forefront,” the spokesman said, adding that the BHS has template livery contracts available and is happy to advise.

Jen Baldwin, who runs a livery yard in Kent, says she has always had written contracts in her 25 years’ trading.

She told H&H hers cover issues such as permission to call the vet if necessary and the owner cannot be contacted.

“Mine include yard rules, too, such as no free-schooling, and if people express an interest in coming here, I give them a copy to read first, so it’s all down,” she said.

“Before I had a decent one, I had non-payers, and if the contract had been better, as it is now, I wouldn’t have lost the money. Now, it’s about as watertight as it can be.

“It’s about safety. It’s a litigious world these days and you need everything covered.

“My liveries are all lovely now and none of them would dream of being anything but good-hearted but you never know what’s round the corner.”

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: I have learnt some big life lessons

Katy Malone — Thu, 14 May 2020 09:55:20 +0000

Did you ever see such a sad looking pair of riding boots?

If these boots could talk they would say, “Why, Katy? Why did you leave us? Was it something we did? Don’t we make you happy any more? Have you found better elsewhere? Do we smell…?”

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Lockdown 2020… What a ride! And while the horse hasn’t quite stopped bucking yet, it looks like the sedalin might finally be starting to kick in.

Today is the day, as I write this, in the UK, where lockdown measures have eased slightly for the first time since it was imposed a long, long seven weeks ago. Today is the day I can take my kids to the beach! I don’t know what we are all more excited about — going for a walk that is not round the block yet again, or the notion of all of us getting in a car together and going for a family drive!

Today is also the day I can sit on a horse again and teach riding lessons! I have really, really missed teaching. Equestrians all made their own decisions at the start of lockdown as to whether or not they would ride during our confinement. For all sorts of reasons, I made the personal decision not to ride over lockdown. It was a decision for me, alone, and I fully support those who chose to keep going for their own individual reasons.

Endless painting! (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Seven weeks is a very long time for a professional (or any rider) to not ride a horse. I am having to resist the urge to contact my local riding school and ask for a private lead-rein lesson on a nice, steady gee-gee to ease me back in.

All jokes aside, I could feel really insecure about the break in my riding, if I allowed myself to. Half of my clients will have continued to ride over lockdown and it’s easy to start thinking, “Hang on a minute… Should they now be teaching me?” As it goes, I am fairly sure my qualifications and skills haven’t evaporated over the past seven weeks and if you too haven’t been riding, then I doubt yours have either.

It’s easy to feel as though you’ve been left behind, watching all your friends on Facebook and Instagram going for glorious sunny hacks, teaching their horses intricate pole work, new dressage movements and tricks like how to stand on a box and knit a scarf (I’m sure I saw that somewhere on YouTube — or had I had some wine?). You haven’t, though. We are all in the same boat and loads and loads of people haven’t been riding at all or have been struggling without their regular training sessions or facilities to use.

Catching up on the strimming (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I’m all about a positive mindset, so I am looking forward to making good use of any anxiety and being able to empathise and sympathise with the clients who are feeling a bit wobbly about getting going again.

There are lots of things to look forward to now lockdown is slowly easing.

First on my list, when restrictions are lifted further, is to get my arse seen to. Apologies. That statement really required a little context before I threw it out there. If you have read any of my previous blogs, you will be familiar with my whingeing and moaning about an old injury that has left me with a disfigured, concave buttock. I’d like that looked at.

Plaiting manes… I miss that! Going to the tip… oh, heaven! Looking people in the eye, rather than staring at their half-closed upper eyelids on video calls. Sitting trot… no amount of YouTube abdominal workout videos quite cut it in the same way (or maybe you have to actually join in with them, rather than just watching them — I still don’t know how it works).

And going to a show! Monster Munch and Lucozade just don’t taste the same unless you buy them at 4am from a fuel station, with a three-hour trip up the M5 ahead of you.

I learnt some big life lessons over lockdown. Namely, that if you get a splash of creosote in your eye when you are painting the arena fence, you will live and you don’t necessarily go blind as a result, despite what you might think (please note, I am not qualified to issue official advice on the pros and cons of pouring creosote into your eye). If you get some on your cheek, however, and accidentally smear it around and stay out in the sunshine for a few hours afterwards, you will get an agonising chemical and heat burn all over your entire face that stings for days.

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While I have kept myself really busy over lockdown, looking after my 11 livery horses and catching up on various maintenance jobs, it felt like someone had hit the pause button on normal life. The best way I heard it described was when a listener called into Radio 1, saying they felt as if they were starring in The Truman Show (the film where Jim Carrey’s character is unaware that his life is being broadcast to the world on TV, 24 hours a day), and lockdown is a fictitious event that the scriptwriters have created so that the TV crew can change the set.

I’m now ready to press play on the world again — even if only at half speed — and start looking forward to summer 2020. Whatever that may look like.

Katy x

We continue to publish Horse & Hound magazine weekly during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as keeping horseandhound.co.uk up to date with all the breaking news, features and more. Click here for info about magazine subscriptions (six issues for £6) and access to our premium H&H Plus content online.

Equine welfare warning as virus restrictions hit riding schools hard H&H Plus

Eleanor Jones — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 14:03:48 +0000

H&H speaks to industry experts to understand the impact the restrictions put in place to help combat the pandemic are having on equestrian businesses such as riding schools and livery yards

There could be “catastrophic” equine welfare implications of the coronavirus pandemic, concerned stakeholders have warned. All businesses are affected by movement restrictions, but equestrian centres still have horses and ponies to care for, so staff cannot be furloughed.

Tim Downes, who owns Ingestre Stables in Stafford and is a Fellow of the British Horse Society, told H&H Britain is “on the brink of a welfare catastrophe”.

“The plight of British riding schools is that they still have their animals to cater for and with a total loss of income, equines and carers will suffer in what can only be described as the most devastating and unrecoverable issue since World War II,” he said.

Mr Downes said the social impact on society of riding school closures – he has personally already heard of three closed owing to the pandemic – would be huge.

He added: “Many riding school proprietors are in a state of total desperation. British riding schools are the backbone of equestrianism; without them the long-term effect of the current situation will ultimately be a serious decline in the standard of horse welfare.”

British Horse Society (BHS) head of approved centres Oonagh Meyer said: “The BHS is working tirelessly to help support our approved centres through these incredibly challenging times, and we have been in direct contact with all of them to offer guidance and support.

“We are also continually updating our online Covid-19 information hub, in line with government guidelines, to provide as much guidance and information as possible to all owners, coaches, yards, centres and schools. Advice and contact information can be found at bhs.org.uk/covid19.”

Julie Magnus, of Julie Magnus Racehorse Transport, is also concerned that welfare issues are occurring at livery yards. She told H&H she has been contacted by owners of horses who have been turned away when this is detrimental to their health; owing to laminitis or recent surgery, for example.

“I’ve had calls from terrified and distraught owners all over the country needing to move their horses immediately,” she said. “It’s a massive problem. I think some yards just panicked and shut up shop without thinking.”

World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers told H&H the immediate outlook for the sector, including riding schools, is “hugely challenging”.

“The government is under intense pressure so, while as a sector we need to be realistic about our chances of getting significant support, equally we need to reiterate to the government that the equine sector is the second-largest rural employer behind agriculture, and the benefits horses bring to the physical and mental health of society,” he said.

“We also cannot forget that this is a public health emergency and we have all been given very clear direction on how to help win this battle, through following government recommendations including hand-washing and social distancing.

“Collectively following these measures will minimise the time before a degree of normality returns and riding schools can start operating again. As a sector we should do all we can to weather this storm, support each other and provide maintenance care for our horses to reduce costs without compromising their welfare, so we can all get back on our feet when the restrictions start to lift.”

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: a baptism of fire

Katy Malone — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 09:55:02 +0000

It’s been a couple of months since I last wrote. I’ve missed it. I’ve missed you!

Since I last checked in, I have been working on my new career in small-scale, equestrian centre crisis management.

I had my first incidence of an infectious disease on the yard at the beginning of this month and, more recently, the coronavirus lockdown has turned the world upside down, on its head. It’s been a baptism of fire. And, now I have successfully acquired these new skills and added them to my C.V., I would be quite happy to not ever need to use them again, thank you very much.

Everything was ticking along quite nicely. New year training plans were going well. Everybody had their competition diaries planned, goals were set and we were all making fantastic progress.

We welcomed a new livery client and a new horse into the South Woolley family, which is always exciting. It was all going very smoothly and the horse was settling well. Until one morning, I walked out onto the yard and found a lump on the underside of his jaw. Yes… Shock! Horror! Strangles.

William, our strangles patient (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Sheer panic and terror were my immediate reactions. The urge to run around in circles, hysterically shrieking, “Strangles! Strangles! Everybody, run! Save yourselves!” had to be resisted. Thankfully, logic and reason kicked in pretty fast and I contacted the yard the horse had come from, worried for them, as well as us. When the lady who runs it told me they also had symptoms and swellings on their horses that morning, it became almost undeniable that we were dealing with an outbreak.

This is where I give deserved credit to the BHS exam system. Biosecurity, infectious diseases and quarantining all feature heavily on the stable management exam syllabi at all levels. And, while it can all seem a bit tedious at the time of studying, it does mean that you can handle a real-life disaster with a little more ease, if the worst happens.

With a combination of fast and stringent action, fabulous veterinary support, excellent biosecurity, unfaltering cooperation from liveries and a bit of sheer luck, we managed to successfully contain the strangles infection to just the one horse. All of a sudden, we were all able to justify the obscene numbers of coats and gloves that us equestrians seem to gather, as we all changed outer layers several times throughout the day, to prevent the spread of the infection. I used so much disinfectant over those weeks that I could no longer smell it, even if I put my nose right in the bottle.

On that note, I had a rather embarrassing shopping trip. I bought huge numbers of disinfectant bottles from the supermarket at the same time that coronavirus media reporting caused shoppers to panic buy all the loo roll and soap in Britain. I wheeled my trolley round, getting knowing looks and amused glances from the staff and customers. I stopped trying to explain myself by the time I got to aisle 13 and resigned myself to being thought of as a common hoarder. But a very clean one, at least.

Visiting Chunky at his new home (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Our poorly, quarantined horse has now recovered fully and all the other South Woolley horses are officially clear and free from strangles. We were celebrating this — and simultaneously mourning all the competitions, training and qualifications everybody had lost out on over the duration of the strangles lock down — and were just about to resume some sort of normality, when the Prime Minister put the whole country on lockdown.

Coronavirus… It’s like living in a sci-fi movie! At the time of writing this, the UK is on the sixth day of the lockdown imposed by the government. I would be lying if I said it hasn’t felt like an eternity already (possibly because we took the kids out of school a week early, due to everyone of them having the sniffles and semi-isolated). And I have it so easy. I have an 11 acre property for my family to isolate in, with horses, garden and house projects, running and maintenance jobs to keep me busy. The weather is beautiful and I have three gorgeous children, who all help to entertain each other. It really shouldn’t be that tough. And yet, I am finding that it is.

I admire all the people on social media who are keeping everyone’s spirits up with humour and silliness. It is so needed right now. Usually, I would be the first person to join in. But, if I’m totally honest, the coronavirus lock down has hit me hard, mentally. I was struck by a really heavy, dark depression this week and I struggled to even reply to messages from my closest friends. But, as dark stormy clouds can muscle in, they always move on. So, what moved my dark clouds on this week?

I’ll tell you what… a (necessary) trip out to Lidl! I kid you not. It was the most thrilling, exciting experience ever. On day six of lockdown, an outing to the supermarket felt like a trip to Las Vegas!

Having a word with Chunky, post-fall (Image credit: creditUnknown)

One of the most gutting aspects of the lockdown for me is that I had all sorts of hard-won and long-awaited health appointments due to happen around this time. One of the most crucial was cancelled as I pulled up into the hospital car park (a 45 minute drive away), the week before last, and there is no knowing when these sorts of services will start up again.

On a similar vein, seeing as I am unlikely to set foot in a GP practice for the foreseeable future, I am considering putting my low-grade medical questions to the general masses on the internet. For example, last summer, I fell down the front steps to our house. Very, very painful. A trip to a minor injuries unit some weeks later, to be fondled by a male nurse, who was doing his heroic very best not to giggle, diagnosed a “big, juicy haematoma sitting on the sciatic nerve” on my buttock. I was told it would take ages to heal, which it did (take ages, I mean — it never quite healed fully).

A few months later I still had lots of tingling and shooting pains. Then, without any further damage to the area, the original injury site started turning black. It was slightly alarming, but I assumed I must have acquired a UDI (if you are unsure of the term, please google it in the esteemed, Urban Dictionary).

What would have happened next, I don’t know, because I took a fall off a horse (yes, that was you, Chunky!) and re-injured the same buttock. Now the buttock is completely concave when viewed from the side, there is a huge, hard lump in it and the nerve pain can be agonising. Certain things, like riding a quad bike (quite a substantial part of my job) are not okay. Really, really NOT okay!

Article continues below…

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In these unprecedented times (if I hear or see the word, ‘unprecedented’ one more time, I might scream), all I want to know is what is happening to my off-side arse cheek?! So, answers on a postcard, please. I don’t want to burden the NHS right now, so I am accepting medical opinion from anyone with sufficient experience. Which currently includes, ‘once played the popular family game of ‘Operation’’, or, ‘my skills include putting on a plaster.’ Thank you in advance.

I hope everyone is keeping well and surviving (or hopefully thriving!) as life changes for us all for a while. I, for one, am consoling myself by looking forward to drinking Champagne for a week on the extra earnings in riding and coaching I am fantasising about coming my way when this is all over and I have to help my clients bring all these roughed off horses back in to work.

Katy x

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5 key relationships you will establish when on a livery yard

Alex Robinson — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 08:24:07 +0000

So, you’ve just moved onto your new livery yard. You’re seriously impressed with the facilities — an Olympic-sized outdoor school, large well drained all-year round turnout paddocks and some of the best hacking in the county.

While your horse is certainly due to be living a happy, relaxed life for the foreseeable future, everyone knows that negotiating the livery yard politics and navigating around your fellow horse owners might take a little more work.

You’re bound to stumble upon a few easily-identifiable figures during your time at the stables.

Which of these five relationships will you establish at your livery yard?

1. The best friend

You hit it off instantly. You bond over your love of second-hand tack shop sales and arena eventing while enjoying a cup of lukewarm coffee, which she kindly gives you as you haven’t had time to invest in your own stash yet. You might think your attempt to juggle a full-time job, a family, a pack of dogs with general life duties and a horse makes you a bit of a hot mess, but hey, she’s in exactly the same position and can relate to rocking up at parents’ evening in jodhpurs and a Mountain Horse jumper that needs a wash. Your weekends are spent hacking together, catching up on gossip and planning your next horsey outings, where you’ll take it in turns to drive. Your horses — quite similar in height and disposition — get on like a house on fire and have even become field buddies. You share each others stuff and don’t mind lending her your expensive bit because you know you’ll get it back. In sum, you don’t know what you’d do without your yard bestie.

2. The frenemy

You’re not quite sure what it is, but there is just something about this irritatingly immaculate equestrian queen that makes you a tiny bit jealous and ever so slightly bitter. And it appears the feeling is mutual. While you always exchange pleasantries, conversation is kept light and you seem to have developed a rivalry when in the saddle. You don’t go into detail about your horse’s feeding regime or training schedule in fear that it could enable her to beat you next time you face off in the dressage arena. Last week you overheard her twittering to the farrier about your horse’s lack of hind-leg movement and extended trot. Little does she know you’ve booked an intensive course of lessons with the area’s top dressage trainer. So next time you meet in the ring, the gloves will be off (expect, of course, they’ll really be on).

3. The man (or woman) of the hour

Perhaps they are the yard owner’s non-horsey significant other or a farmer who, unfortunately for him, resides across the road directly opposite the yard. It’s pretty much guaranteed that when disaster strikes, this heroic figure will be drafted in to save the day. Lorry won’t start? No problem. Herd of horses have crashed through a fence? No worries. Rat in the feed bin? Let me get that for you. Their disassociation with all things equestrian has made them particularly good in a horsey crisis where common sense is needed.

4. The clinger-oner

You don’t remember mentioning to her that you were going to a show, but she always ends up there anyway. Her horse is a bit past it to be ridden, but she still loves to be in on the action. This person will always be there spectating when the yard hosts a clinic and is at the stables so much you wonder if she ever leaves. You feel a bit sorry for her, so you sometimes let her ride your horse, which she is eternally grateful for and overjoyed. Over time you develop an unspoken agreement; I’ll let you ride occasionally if you groom for me at shows… seems to leave both parties happy.

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5. The person with ‘stuff’

Her space in the tack room is larger than everyone else’s. She ended her career as an Avon representative last year when she realised that repping for horse feed and grooming companies would be far more lucrative. Anything you need, this is your gal. She’ll get you the ‘best prices in town’ on all the latest products and if you get on her side, she might even let you borrow something from her mountainous collection of kit. Her horse has a sizeable social media following and she’s got about six sponsorship rugs, though you’re pretty sure you’ve never seen her got out competing. Some people are just blessed with the gift of the gab, I guess.

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: are you treating yourself in the way you treat others?

Katy Malone — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 10:55:42 +0000

We have all survived Christmas and New Year here at South Woolley, and are now tackling ‘real’ winter, head on.

Christmas was really good fun, if not without elements of drama. My eldest son set his favourite Christmas present (a toy remote control boat) on fire within 24 hours of having opened it and the whole house nearly went up in flames! Luckily the inferno was intercepted by my husband, just in the nick of time.

We had my husband’s large family round for Christmas dinner and they all stayed the night, meaning the adults could enjoy themselves ‘properly’. Foolishly, we had forgotten to buy any soft drinks or mixers, so when the wine ran out, our only option was to play a type of alcohol-themed Russian roulette.

We each took it in turns to rummage through the depths of the spirits cupboard in our kitchen (a dusty, eclectic collection of random bottles won by my husband at several household auctions, those given to us as gifts over the years and some salvaged from a pub that was shutting down) and concoct a round of shots or shooters.

Christmas shots (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Some were truly inspired and surprisingly good. Others were simply horrific and you wouldn’t wish them upon your worst enemy. After the fourth or fifth round, however, everybody seemed to be far too jovial to care. It was, indeed, a very merry Christmas.

What goes up, must come down and it would be fair to say that Boxing Day on the yard was something of a struggle, for me. I’m sure you can imagine. You don’t need to, however, as I have provided comedy photographic evidence below. This photo was taken in the middle of my third stable out of 11. Mucking out was rather slow and painful — my delicate state only mildly improved by round two of Christmas dinner and cheeseboard at morning tea break. I refrained from the port.

Me going through Boxing Day hell (Image credit: creditUnknown)

New Year was a quiet affair at home with my husband and the kids. Our eldest daughter is at the age, now, where she is keen to partake in the countdown. I battled to keep my eyes open until midnight, but found my second wind and danced around the living room with her to Craig David’s performance on the telly.

I have always been a big New Year person. In years gone by, it would have been for the wild, debaucherous parties. These days, I am more excited by the resolutions, goal-setting, dreams and aspirations for the coming year aspect.

As a coach, I am very familiar with setting goals and making plans as to how to achieve them. It is an amazing feeling to be able to help riders realise their goals and celebrate with them in what are often very hard won successes.

January is, of course, the perfect time to reflect on the past 12 months and implement any changes that we might like to see for the following year.

We sit back and take stock of what we have achieved and note any goals that slipped through our fingers. We analyse what we liked in 2019 and what we didn’t like; what went well, what didn’t go well; what we want more of in our life and what we want less of.

And then, my favourite part… the dreaming. The part where you let your imagination run wild and fantasise about your perfect 2020. All followed by the practical planning of how you are going to accomplish it. I find it all really thrilling and exciting. The start of a new year is so full of hope and dreams.

Me on Christmas Day (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Personally, I tend to let the heady buzz of Christmas and New Year celebrations die down a little bit before I do my own reflecting and contemplation.

Usually, I make a long list of professional goals for the coming year — exams, competitions, new skills to achieve etc. — and spend the following 12 months rushing around like a lunatic, making it all happen.

This year, my ‘resolution’, as it were, is to allow myself to take my foot off the gas pedal a little bit. I have worked incredibly hard over the past five years, building and setting up the yard. I trust myself enough to know that I won’t allow my career to come to a standstill without a concrete list of goals and I will still keep gently plugging away at all the things that are important to me (such as my BHS exams, my riding and my BD judge training). I have already proven that I can ‘do it all’ and stretch myself in multiple different directions, while working a physically demanding full-time job and parenting three small children.

This year is going to be about resting when it is needed, without the pressure of a mammoth list of boxes to tick. Well, I shall try it, at least. If nothing at all has been achieved by summer, I might have to reassess and give myself a kick up the arse!

Another theme for me for 2020 is going to be about practising what I preach.

As a coach, I show lots of kindness and compassion to my riders (if any of my clients are reading this, please stop rolling around on the floor, laughing — you are showing me up). For some reason, I really struggle to show the same warmth to myself. I wouldn’t dream of talking to a client the way that I talk to myself — they would never come back! I know I am not alone in this, having spoken to other riders and trainers. You will probably have heard of the common technique of thinking to yourself, when having a tough time or in a situation that you are unsure of, ‘What would insert name of your horsey hero or mentor, here say or do?’

I endeavour to use this method, this year, putting a little spin on it, and asking myself, ‘What would I say to somebody else in my situation?’ I can hazard a guess that it would be, for example, much less, ‘What a stupid mistake, you bleedin’ idiot! You know better than this!’ and much more, ‘You have been under a lot of pressure, lately. I know you are frustrated with yourself, but it is totally understandable that you would make a mistake when you are so tired’ etc. etc.

I think a lot of us are guilty of beating ourselves up, mentally. I intend to be a bit less of a bully to myself in 2020.

Continued below…

The diary of the home-made livery yard: a Tesco ‘robbery’, a record deal and the H&H Awards

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(Image credit: Katy Malone)

I don’t know if this next bit counts as a resolution or a goal, as such, but there is currently a big horse-shaped hole in my life. I love riding, schooling and competing other people’s horses (pictured top riding Emily Skerrett’s ‘Giant’). But it’s just not quite the same as having your own, is it? Heres hoping that 2020 could be the year that I treat myself to a four-legged, furry best friend!

Katy x

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Legal case over horse being put down sparks warning H&H Plus

Becky Murray — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 11:12:25 +0000

Yard and horse owners are being encouraged to have written agreements in place to cover the authorisation of emergency veterinary treatment after an owner took action against her vet when her colicking horse was put down in her absence

The 2019 legal battle was brought after the horse was put down, rather than undergoing colic surgery, when its owner was not present.

While the vet told the yard owner surgery was an option, she did not advise on the horse’s chance of returning to competition. The yard owner did not pass on the fact surgery was an option to the horse owner, who said she would have opted for surgery had she been given more information on the prognosis.

The owner took legal action against the vet practice, claiming negligence for failing to advise the horse had a 50/50 prospect of returning to competition after surgery. The judge found as the yard owner did not pass on any information about surgery to the horse owner, she would not have passed on the prognosis, even if this had been given by the vet. Therefore, the case was dismissed.

Hannah Bradley of the Equine Law Firm told H&H the case was significant because it could have been brought against the yard owner for not passing on the information. She recommends yard and horse owners have an agreement in place on what decisions should be taken in the horse owner’s absence in an emergency.

“Having a contract is important; for yard owners’ protection and horse owners’ peace of mind. People have different expectations based on sentimental attachment, value of the horse and financial affairs,” she said.

“Everyone has to be clear because disputes happen when people make decisions they’re not authorised to.”

Ms Bradley said yards should have terms setting out emergency situations. She added that agreements can be made in an exchange of written communication such as email, whereby both parties agree.

“Society is becoming more litigious; people want to protect themselves and that is the correct thing to do — particularly from a yard owner’s perspective,” she said.

“For horse owners, it gives certainty because they don’t want a situation where they’re incurring vet bills they wouldn’t have authorised, or where a horse is euthanised when they wouldn’t have chosen this.”

British Horse Society (BHS) head of approvals Oonagh Meyer told H&H in the owner’s absence that deciding whether a horse should be referred to a veterinary hospital or for surgery is “almost impossible” if guidelines are not in place.

“Contracts should outline a plan to be followed in emergencies — for example, written details of a go-to contact the horse owner authorises to make decisions should they not be contactable,” she said.

“Communication should include clarity on permission to discuss and attend to the horse with the veterinary practice with which the horse or yard is registered. Many vets request clients notify them in advance of any such permissions.”

A spokesman for the Equestrian Employers Association told H&H written policies are “vital” for businesses with equines in their care.

“This should cover day-to-day care, responsibilities when contacting the vet and owners’ wishes in the event of emergency. It is better to have the conversation before an emergency than during a time-sensitive and stressful situation when emotions are running high.”

Things to consider

Ms Bradley recommends owners consider the following points:

What efforts should be made to contact you if an issue arises in relation to the welfare of your horse?
If you cannot be contacted, can a vet be called without your authority?
Do you wish to put a cap on how much can be incurred on vet’s bills in your absence? Make this decision considering the level of your insurance cover and any exclusions on the policy. If necessary, agree a separate cap for fees that are potentially not covered by your insurance policy.
Do you wish to define how certain important or urgent veterinary decisions should be made if you can’t be reached? It will be difficult to define your wishes for every possible scenario. You could, for example, agree the yard owner may authorise veterinary treatment to relieve the horse from pain or to prevent the deterioration of any condition.
Do you wish to agree in what circumstances the yard owner may sanction the euthanasia of the horse? As you will unlikely be able to define all the possible scenarios where euthanasia may be a possibility, it may be sensible to agree that euthanasia may be sanctioned if it is advised by the attending veterinary surgeon.

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Equestrian businesses need to prepare for minimum wage rise: ‘It’s not a choice, it’s the law’ H&H Plus

Lucy Elder — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 18:02:34 +0000

The Equestrian Employers Association (EEA) is urging yards to look at their business models ahead of a hike in the minimum wage.

The national living wage, the minimum legal hourly pay for workers aged 25 and over, and national minimum wages for all younger age brackets will increase on 1 April.

The living wage will rise by 6.2%, from £8.21 to £8.72 per hour — which the government says is the “biggest cash increase ever” — with increases of between 4.6% and 6.5% for younger workers on the minimum wage, dependent on their age.

“It is absolutely right that everyone is paid fairly,” said EEA president Tullis Matson. “However, in some cases equestrian businesses are already struggling; this rise will be a challenge for them. It’s vital increases in the living wage are manageable and do not put jobs at risk.“This government has promised a reduction in the jobs tax through an increase in the employment allowance [money off an employer’s national insurance bill]. With a living wage increase of this size now on the horizon, it’s critical that it delivers swiftly.

“As a small employer, equestrian businesses must consider a rise in their prices in response to living wage increase of this magnitude. There needs to be an industry-wide increase, the employer cannot be tasked with this on their own.”

A statement from the EEA said HMRC is “certainly targeting the equestrian industry” with “hefty fines being issued” for non-compliance.

“The EEA is concerned about the impact on many equestrian business, remembering that it’s not a choice to pay [at least] the minimum wage [for the relevant age], it’s the law,” said an EEA spokesman.

“For a groom working a 50-hour week, this will be an annual pay rise of £1,326.”

The EEA has also questioned whether the Conservative Party’s pledge to raise the living wage to £10.50 an hour for everyone over 21 by 2024 is sustainable for an equestrian business. The EEA has worked out that a yard employing four staff — across four of the five minimum and living wage age brackets — on a 50-hour week, could result in an increase in staffing costs of around £4,500 per year.

On the other side, provided the rise does not result in job or hour cuts, employees on the living wage working a 35-hour week will be better off to the tune of around £930 a year under the proposal.

Hubbards Hall Livery’s Mike Hallows, who will be speaking at the first EEA conference in Shropshire on 25 February, told H&H those who pay for services, such as livery, need to realise the financial impact and why costs may rise.

“It isn’t because the [business] owners or the business are getting more out of it, it is covering our costs and people have to realise that they need to be prepared to pay enough for livery so that we can pay to provide it,” he said.

He added the impact for individuals will all depend on each person’s business models and where money comes from to bankroll that. For example, if an equestrian business is entirely self-sufficient — relying totally on money coming in from the services it provides — the increase may have a different effect to a business that has a substantial amount of capital invested from another source.

Appenticeships

An independent think-tank report has raised concerns over the rapid emergence of “fake apprenticeships” diluting the apprenticeship brand as a whole, but the equine world has been reassured this is not the case in the equestrian industry.

Chris Hewlett, managing director of apprenticeship training provider Haddon Training and chairman of the British Grooms Association, told H&H the report’s finding “generally doesn’t apply to the equine industry”, but issues are found more within the business sector and are being “stamped out”.

He added apprenticeships and the way they are run have become much more transparent, with personal learning records and final assessments.

“There are some challenges within the [equine] industry,” he said. “For example, if someone does their BHS stage two, they cannot then come and do an apprenticeship level two [on a similar subject].”

He added this, combined with a lack of careers advice in schools, can lead to innocent mistakes and people having to be turned away from possible positions.

An overhaul of apprenticeships happened in 2017, with the changes in the equine sector coming into force around 16 months ago. This means the first cohort under the new scheme have only recently finished their 12-month positions, and feedback so far has been positive.

“It is a much more stringent product,” said Mr Hewlett, adding there were teething problems, but it is working well. “People have enjoyed the experience and employers think it is more fit for purpose.

“The minimum wage increase is a challenge for the equine industry, and will put pressure points on businesses to survive and training providers to make sure that people are genuinely [employed in apprenticeship positions].

“Apprenticeships are a fantastic tool in developing the next generation of staff — there is no better way to develop those skills than on the job.

“The backbone of the industry is the work force. For all the medals, behind all of that, there is a really hard working team.”

The diary of the home-made livery yard: a Tesco ‘robbery’, a record deal and the H&H Awards

Katy Malone — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 10:55:30 +0000

Back in February 2019, someone in the Horse & Hound office very nearly lost their job. In a catastrophic error, I was accidentally confused with somebody important. A terrible blunder was made and, in what I can only guess was a case of mistaken identity, I wangled myself an invite to the 2019 Horse & Hound Awards.

Presumably, it would have been far too embarrassing to revoke the invite and admit the mistake. So, it came to pass, that I recently attended the very glitzy, fourth annual awards at a glamorous gala ceremony at Cheltenham racecourse.

Many, many moons ago (possibly a lifetime), I used to go to a very posh school in Knightsbridge, London. My friends lived in Chelsea and the smart bits of Battersea. I, myself, resided in Acton — an area of London suburban enough that my inner city friends would come over to my house and ask if it was okay to drink the tap water in the ‘countryside’, by which I presume they meant overground Picadilly line rather than underground? Riding on my friends’ coattails, however, I enjoyed rather glamorous teenage years and my early 20s were filled with glitzy nightclub events, opulent parties and gate-crashing extravagant weddings.

Times have changed. These days, my life is much more about mucking out stables, paying invoices, wiping my children’s snotty noses and making sure the bins and recycling have gone out on the correct day.

It comes as no surprise, then, that my attempt to find an outfit for the awards would portray a similar downward trajectory of class and style. I’ve never really been one for big label shopping and designer names, but even I wondered if I’d pushed it too far when I hurriedly shoved a party frock into the trolley as I was rushing round Tescos with my three children in tow.

To add insult to injury, I was stopped by the Tesco security guard, who thought I had stolen the dress, upon leaving the store. If, in a brief delusion of grandeur, I believed that a supermarket frock would not suffice for an occasion as prominent as the H&H Awards, any dreams I had of fitting in at such an event were quashed when Fred, the security guard, made it very clear that I didn’t look classy enough to be shopping in Tescos. I will stick to Lidl next time.

Our hotel in Cheltenham (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I actually really loved the dress. It was very gold and very sparkly. The unfortunate scenario was that I could take it in a size UK 8 or a size UK 18, of which I am neither. I chose the size UK 18. I was duly told off by my friends and husband. This is not the first time I have been accused of having body dysmorphia. I did my best efforts with pinning and sewing, but I am sadly not the seamstress that my fashion designer mother was.

Outfits acquired and prosecco packed, we merrily set off for Cheltenham. I took my friend and livery, Emily, as my guest and her toddler son came along with us for the road trip. Disaster struck en-route when our babysitter in Cheltenham messaged, announcing that he had come down with a vomiting bug and could not look after Emily’s son after all. With just hours until the start of the awards, we frantically googled ‘Cheltenham babysitters’ and and eventually found our very own Mary Poppins — a lovely nursery school teacher, who came to our rescue with only minutes to spare.

I was run down with a rather bad case of Laryngitis in the week preceding the awards. There were times where I could not make any sound at all, just a pathetic wheezy noise of air rushing through my trachea. I missed out on a week’s worth of coaching, and riding wasn’t particularly fun for my sore throat in the very low temperatures we experienced. But, of course, none of this mattered much to me. Missing out on the best part of a week’s wages was of little concern, when my ability to schmooze and network with the equestrian great and the good at the H&H Awards was at stake.

Emily and I with the Police horses outside the awards (Image credit: creditUnknown)

By some miracle (which could quite possibly be attributed to the three packets of Strepsils I devoured on the journey and the ‘robust’ pre-drinks session we had in the hotel room), by the time our taxi arrived to take us to the awards, I could just about manage to communicate in the fashion of cartoon character, Marge Simpson. Just as well, really. The only alternative was an evening of mime and interpretive dance.

Having acquired ourselves a record deal with Joe, our taxi driver, on our way to Cheltenham Racecourse (I have no idea — don’t ask!), Emily and I arrived at the venue. Somewhat predictably, we made a bee line for the two very handsome police horses of Gloucestershire Constabulary, who were standing patiently outside to greet the guests.

We checked ourselves in at the ground floor reception and gawped at the impressive table plan for the evening. Like moths to a flame, Emily and I gravitated towards the champagne reception, where we happily remained, celebrity spotting, mingling with friends (we did actually know a fair few people there — perhaps we weren’t totally out of our social league?) and taking shameless selfies.

The table plan (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I suppose the beauty of being invited purely as a guest, as opposed to a presenter or being shortlisted for an award, is that you have no obligation to remain sober. There is no chance of having to get up on the stage, so you are free to thoroughly enjoy yourself. And enjoy ourselves we did! The people on our table were absolutely lovely. A blend of shortlisted award winners, H&H staff and fellow bloggers.

I got lucky and found a golden winning ticket for the novelty, giant advent calendar in my H&H goody bag, which meant I received some fun NAF gifts.

With my goody bag (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The food was gorgeous and was followed by a thrilling charity auction, with prizes including a wine rack made from the shoes of some very famous horses. My husband made a wise move, confiscating the business card before I left home.

Next came the big event itself. Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes presented the awards ceremony. You can read all about the awards and the winners in the 12 December issue of Horse & Hound, but I can tell you that there were tears, laughter and absolute awe among the crowd for the winners — both human and horse. It really was quite inspirational and a lovely, morale-boosting celebration of the equestrian year that really got me into the festive spirit.

Somewhere over the past year or so, my style of dancing has evolved. For reasons unknown to me, I no longer shimmy or shuffle elegantly, but I pogo up and down rather energetically. It’s not particularly pretty but, Christ, do I have a good time! H&H surprised all the awards guests with a fabulous live band and we all hit the dance floor with fervour. There was elegant shimmy-ing, shuffling, swinging, pogo-ing and Macarena-ing late into the night. My body suffers for it these days, however, and it would have been a challenge for a passer-by to discern which of us was the para rider when Emily and I gingerly got out of the car at the service station, half way home, the next day.

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(Image credit: Katy Malone)

The diary of the home-made livery yard: bullying in the horse world — my experiences and how to tackle it

Katy shares her experiences of bullying and gives some great advice on how to deal with the issue

(Image credit: Katy Malone)

By some divine miracle, I didn’t suffer any terrible hangover. In fact, I returned back to the hotel after the awards with enough foresight to take my make-up off, have a shower and neck some paracetamol. I lay down in my hotel bed feeling very smug and pleased with myself. There was obviously still some lingering effects of all the champagne and gin, however. I reached out for a sip of water and, forgetting to sit up into a more upright position, proceeded, in a clumsy display of in coordination, to pour the entire contents of the water bottle over my whole face, up my nostrils and all over the pillows.

My lasting thought, as I went to sleep on the evening of the H&H Awards, was, ‘This must be what waterboarding feels like. How horrid.’

My huge thanks and gratitude go out to Horse & Hound and NAF for such a fabulous evening and the generous invitation. Please do have me back next year, H&H!

Katy x

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: bullying in the horse world — my experiences and how to tackle it

Katy Malone — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 10:55:24 +0000

Last week was ‘Anti-Bullying Week 2019: Change Starts With Us’. What a fantastic awareness initiative to bring bullying to the forefront of our minds and encourage both children and adults to stand together to confront and prevent the unnecessary suffering of the victims of bullies

Bullying is just awful. I would love to think that the majority of those reading this have never experienced bullying but, regretfully, I hugely doubt that is the case.

Bullying is the intention to hurt someone emotionally or physically and is usually repetitive. Intimidation, humiliation and coercion are inflicted upon the victims of bullying in the forms of name calling, criticisms, threats, rumours, physical attacks or exclusion, to name but a few. These behaviours shatter the victims’ mental health and is so destructively powerful it can, ultimately, end lives.

As equestrians, we are all painfully aware that bullying is rife in the industry.

I’m not sure why. Perhaps it is because sport is a breeding ground for jealousy? Perhaps it is that there are so many varying methods and ideologies in equestrianism, that it is easy to have differences in opinion and judge others negatively? Factor in that our horses are often thought of as an extension of ourselves. Almost like our children. You can see how things can get very personal, very quickly.

Equestrian yards can often resemble school playgrounds. Riders, owners and trainers come from all walks of life and are lumped together on a yard and required to get along. Sometimes it works fabulously. Either you are all from the same ‘camp’ of equestrianism, or you have differing ideas, but you accept and celebrate the variety. Sometimes, however, there are nasty clashes. Cliques and divisions can form and those who are deemed on the ‘outside’ will have this made painfully clear to them by those on the ‘inside’.

No talk of bullying would be complete without mention of the internet, of course. Social media now offers a convenient opportunity for bullies to gather information to be used against their victims and provides the bullies with an effective platform upon which to spread their vitriol.

I am incredibly fortunate, in that bullying is not something I have ever suffered from for any length of time. I have, however, experienced several singular episodes of bullying during my time working with horses. I have been bullied by an employment boss (a couple of them, actually, now I think about it!), I have been bullied by liveries on my own yard (the audacity!), I have been bullied by a schooling client and I have been bullied by internet trolls.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

I am by no means an expert on the subject and I would never claim that my way is the right way, but I would like to share with you my tried and tested methods for dealing with low level bullying and boosting your confidence in the face of generally mean people:

1. Talk to someone. Tell your most supportive people. Try and believe every word when they tell you that you are amazing and that your bully is a “horrid, smelly poo-face”. If you are in any doubt, this absolutely does not count as return-fire bullying. This is purely friendly support and consolation. It is totally allowed.

2. Make a list of all your horsey accomplishments. Anything from that hard won trophy or rosette, to the time you managed sitting trot all the way down the long side without getting a stitch, to that time you managed to muck out your stable before the yard kettle boiled.

3. Make a list of all your horsey goals for the next few months. Think of something you can do right now to take a step towards making it happen. Print off that show schedule, book that lesson, or simply message a supportive friend and grandly announce your plans to bring your goals to life. The best revenge against bullies is to quietly lead a life that is successful for you, in the face of their hurtful actions. Take some solace in knowing that at least you don’t have to get your kicks by making other people miserable.

4. Self care. For me that is a reliable combination of a hot bath, followed by posh wine that is wildly out of my usual price range. Think of the fancy bottles that are displayed in wooden crates in Waitrose with shredded paper cradling them. Or, failing that, something over £5 from Co-op will do the job nicely. You’ll know whatever it is for you. It might be chocolate. Perhaps you need to buy some more matchy-matchy?

5. Write a therapeutic letter to the bully. This is my absolute favourite. This is what usually heals me, conclusively. The idea is that you write a letter to your bully. No holds barred. Tell them exactly what you think of them. Rant, swear, call them names. Do the literary equivalent of sobbing and crying. Whatever the injustice is that is burning inside of you, write it down. When you are done, you send it to a trusted person. Someone who is a little bit out of the loop, so there is no chance of incrimination, who will respond a way you want to hear. I have an invaluable trusted person. Honestly, it is the best therapy.

6. Be disciplined with cyber bullies and trolls. I have a ‘one reply’ rule. I allow myself one chance to respond. I can say my piece and (usually) have the satisfaction of shooting the troll down with wit or intelligent argument. If I indulge in anything more than that, I feel I am starting to ‘negotiate with terrorists’. Know it is not a battle for you. Walk away with your head held high.

7. Post a passive aggressive meme or article on social media. I am joking. Sort of. It might make you feel better? I don’t know…

8. Get legal support. Have a chat with the Police. I am completely serious. Sometimes certain forms of bullying are a criminal offence. I rang the Police (non-emergency number) when threats were made to harm me on the internet. I was never actually concerned for my life, but the Police informed me I had a case for threat to harm, defamation and slander to my business. I had no intention of acting upon this information, but I felt incredibly empowered to know that the law was on my side.

9. Get mental health support. Bullying will ruin you. Even the strongest of people. Do some research into bullying and mental health on the internet, speak to your doctor, ask for counselling. Be proactive. Just one tiny step towards looking after your mental health can make all the difference to your well-being.

10. Exit the situation. If none of the above is useful and it is at all a possibility, get the hell out of there. Leave the yard. Get a new job. Walk away from a toxic clique and find some new friends. Be brave. Anything is possible. You can do it.

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(Image credit: Katy Malone)

The diary of the home-made livery yard: learning a big lesson

Katy reports back from an eventful yard outing

(Image credit: Katy Malone)

In line with the ‘Change Starts With Us’ message, we all have huge power within ourselves to tackle bullying in the horse world.

Unless horse or human welfare is compromised, or our advice is asked for, we must bite our tongues. Celebrate, or at the very least, tolerate each rider and owner’s differences.

If you encounter bullying at your yard, this is your chance to be a hero. Do what you can. A dramatic and public display of solidarity with the victim would be commendable. Equally, inviting someone who is looking a bit lonely for a hack or simply not joining in with the bullying and a quiet message of love and support later that evening can be life-changing for a victim. Feel what is right and appropriate.

Sending all my love to anyone who is suffering from bullying right now. You don’t deserve this heartache. Hang in there. This won’t be your life forever.

Katy x

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: learning a big lesson

Katy Malone — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 10:55:01 +0000

So — Cricklands Dressage Championships of Great Britain…

The team South Woolley convoy was all set to roll. We were packed up, loaded up and perfectly on schedule for our planned 11am departure time. Chunky and Spice were travelling in the lorry, with me at the wheel, while May and Bea were happily aboard a trailer with their owners and liveries, Kate and Lauren, in the towing vehicle. Off we set — lorry in the lead, followed by the trailer and finally my husband, Jerome, at the rear in our car.

I had tried my best to psychologically and emotionally prepare my non-horsey muggle husband for the torturously slow speed at which this three-hour journey would be made. We discussed stress relief techniques and the incentive that there would probably be gin at the other end of the agonising crawl that was about to begin.

The first half an hour of driving from my yard is along a very windy, single carriageway A-road. As it stands, I have a reputation for being an overly cautious horse transporter. Okay, a ‘Granny’. They call me ‘Granny’. I was additionally wary that day as Chunky had never travelled for longer than one hour before and certainly not on a motorway. Spice, being my daughter’s beloved, ancient little pony, was just of much of a concern with his age. So, I was rather pleased with myself when I got 20 minutes down the A39 to our first stop to fuel up and I looked behind me to see that I had lost the rest of our convoy. ‘Hah! Who’s the granny, now?’ I thought to myself, smugly.

Ellie and Spice (Image credit: creditUnknown)

As the realisation dawned that there had actually been a pretty healthy looking tail-back behind me when I turned off into the fuel station (none of it containing our other South Woolley vehicles) and I considered the fact that no one had turned up to join us in the last 10 minutes, I started to wonder if, perhaps, I wasn’t Lewis Hamilton after all and possibly there had, indeed, been a problem. A quick glance at my phone revealed that liveries, Kate and Lauren, and horses, May and Bea, had got no further than the layby at the top of our lane before disaster struck — less than a mile from the yard!

I am not qualified to convey the mechanical diagnosis for you, but essentially a part had fallen off somewhere inside the trailer and locked one of the wheels in position, so it could not turn round. Blissfully unaware of the problem behind her, Kate had driven the horses up the lane with this locked wheel, smoke emitting from the trailer, while Jerome madly flashed his lights to indicate to them to stop. With the trailer looking very sad indeed, our horsey neighbour and heroine of the story, Sarah, popped out of her house and offered her own trailer for them to borrow for the weekend. I was delighted to hear that the horses had been successfully transferred to a new wagon and each part of the (now disbanded) convoy were once again on the move and heading to Wales.

Chunky doing some arena familiarisation (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Much to Granny’s (my) relief, Chunky and Spice travelled beautifully and calmly, finding the smooth motorway much more forgiving than our horrid, windy lanes at home. Jerome caught up with us and the whole Malone family arrived safely at the David Broome Event Centre in the early afternoon.

Ellie and I managed a sneaky arena familiarisation, then tucked Chunky and Spice up in bed. I was feeling very smug about how the two animals had handled the atmosphere and was confident that flower pots, banners and the likes were not going to be an issue when competition started the next day (can you sense the irony brewing, here?).

Upon making our entries, back in the summer, the whole of team South Woolley had conferred that camping would be the most economic way to approach the subject of accomodation for the weekend. As October loomed however, horses were clipped, warm jackets were pulled off of coat hangers, rainstorms ensued and we all lost our nerve. For some inexplicable reason, Jerome had decided to accompany us to those three long days of dressage and evenings of incessant dressage conversation. Every non-horsey husband’s dream, I am sure. Seeing as it is frowned upon to leave small children unattended, this meant our two young boys would be coming to Wales, too. The final nail in the coffin for any camping plans, for me, was the image of trying to keep show whites clean admist a tent filled with tiny muddy wellies, sticky finger prints and spilt milk. As a result, we booked last-minute with Airbnb and spent the weekend sheltering from the elements in the warmth of a three-bedroom house.

Me, Lauren, Gemma and Kate celebrating (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Such luxury was hugely warranted when poor Kate and Lauren (who had experienced trailer problems at the start of the journey), arrived in a very sorry state, in the dark, having taken 11 hours to get from Cornwall to Wales! In a deluge of bad luck, Kate’s truck had also broken down some 35 miles on from the layby at the top of our lane. Again, mechanics has never been my calling, but I believe the engine kept overheating and they had to agonisingly nurse the car and trailer to the showground with an excruciatingly painful number of stops along the way. I really felt for them both and I worried we didn’t have enough gin and prosecco to rectify the situation. I needn’t have worried. After a few bottles of prosecco and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, spirits were uplifted and we looked merrily ahead to competing in the morning.

Keeping in mind none of our steeds are seasoned championship competitors, the South Woolley horses did us all proud. There were, understandably, some, er… ‘adjustment periods’ for most of the horses.

Chunky doing some arena familiarisation (Image credit: creditUnknown)

I was so focused on flower pots and banners that I had neglected to consider the effect of having such huge numbers of riders and horses out at one time. On day one, Chunky resembled a horse who had gone from a stable to an indoor arena all his life and had suddenly been dropped out on the hunting field. The poor lad was quivering with adrenaline and quite spooky and sharp, which is simply not his nature at all. Having clawed back some sort of a domesticated animal in the busy warm-up arena, every ounce of training over the past few years was pretty much thrown out the window as we rode down the centre line. Chunky stubbornly stuck his head in the air, losing all balance to the point that I felt as if I was driving a lorry with a tyre blow out. The test was not pretty, but at least we made the judge at C laugh. Our score reflected the dismal performance we put on, but I wasn’t too concerned. It was only day one — I’d pretty much blown the poor horse’s brain and things could only improve from there.

I felt I had no choice, but to call in the big guns. Chunky’s mother, Jo Bunker, was summoned from Cornwall to Wales to give him ‘the look’ and a good talking to. By the next morning, Chunky had taken his mother’s words to be a good lad and do his best, on board. He had quickly processed the whole experience in his head and I had my boy back! Chunky went on to really try for me over the next few days, battling fatigue at times, and we ended up in the top 10 placings, with prize money! A huge achievement for him at a level he is not established at, yet.

Jo giving Chunky a pep-talk (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Ellie’s, Spice, was a saint. Apart from on the second day, where he made it very clear that two tests in one day really was a bit much and napped out of the arena a couple of times. I trust that pony wholly to look after nine-year-old Ellie in such a big atmosphere and she hacked him around the showground on the buckle end of her reins and manouvered through the sea of snorting, prancing warmbloods in the collecting rings in total serenity. It made my heart swell with love and pride to watch them both out there in the big arenas.

Ellie and Spice (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Kate and May had a fabulous show, overcoming initial spookiness to improve their scores steadily throughout the weekend and bringing home some rosettes. Lauren and Bea made a valuable training exercise of the trip. Bea was clearing struggling with the atmosphere and Lauren had a pretty hairy first test. We took the kind judge’s helpful advice to, “Go and ride the s*** out of it and come back in the afternoon,” and I rode the wall of death on Bea in the warm-up for nearly an hour (the curse of having a very fit pony) until she was calm enough to contemplate going back in the test arena with Lauren. From that point onwards, Lauren and Bea improved massively and rebuilt their trust in each other for some great schooling rounds.

Ellie and Spice (Image credit: creditUnknown)

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The diary of the home-made livery yard: ‘the type of fall where you lie very still and undertake a mental assessment’

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Team South Woolley had a much less eventful return journey and we all arrived safely home, having had a brilliant adventure with our furry best friends at a hugely friendly championship. None of us had gone out with competitive ambitions, so the show had been totally no pressure and loads of fun, with some surprise pleasing results thrown in for good measure. Best of all, we had a really fun social weekend. Kate, Lauren and I discovered that dressage tests for the following day were best learnt at midnight the preceding evening and, if you can still remember them after that fourth double, then you know you’ve nailed it.

What was the biggest lesson we all learnt at Cricklands? Never, under any circumstances, let Lauren pour you a nightcap! Not unless you want to be seeing three judges at C when you wobble your way down the centre line the next day.

Katy x

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine out every Thursday

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