Finding the ideal livery yard for your horse

Anyone who keeps their horse on livery knows how important it is to find the right yard for themselves and their horse. A great livery yard makes horse ownership a joy, while a bad one can cause considerable stress for both horse and rider. As you are leaving your much-loved horse in the livery yard’s care, we have produced a checklist to help find the right livery yard for your needs.

What to look for in a good livery yard

A business-like livery yard operator who treats you as a valued customer. Gauge reputation. Feel atmosphere
Fair charges
A signed contract covering all important issues
Insurance and other relevant business certificates displayed
Well maintained, organised office and premises. Information boards and signage
Current Health and Safety policy, risk assessments, first aider, accident procedure details
Obvious security measures
Fire point; fire fighting equipment and written policy
Safe feed storage
Dedicated horse area, specific visitor, dog and vehicle policies
Safe riding practices. Whereabouts monitored
Sympathetic horse management policy. Essential horse-husbandry
Secure horse friendly fields; well managed using nitrogen-free fertilizer, neither overstocked nor lonely horses
Instructors and contractors: qualifications and insurance displayed

Someone who runs ‘their’ yard as a sideline or hobby; either nobody notices or cares while you wander around looking into stables, around tackrooms and machinery, or treats you as a ‘nuisance’
Prices reflecting sub-standard care or greed
Vague verbal agreement, or on a scrap of paper. Expecting everything to be rosy. Too little flexibility
Conversation limited to warnings of existing customer problems. Unrealised personal aspirations
Unkempt office. Premises littered with abandoned objects giving a ‘seasoned look’
Unrealistic codes of practice purporting to represent Health and Safety regulations. Loud bickering voices. Nervous horses
Broken door bolts and hinges. Unlocked tack-room littered with rugs, broken equipment. Spilt food.
Vermin
Little sign of fire-fighting equipment. People smoking, children running amok amid bales and gas cylinders
Unsafe bale stack
Loose dogs and worm-ridden cats. Close proximity of horses to farm animals, cars and scattered machinery
Uncaring horsemanship; sweaty horses. Mismanaged arenas; deep tracks, ill-placed jumps, abandoned cups
Horses stabled 24/7
Fields: overstocked, weed and dropping-infested, poor fencing, muddy, difficult gateways, green slimy water troughs
Self-taught ‘horse-experts’.
DIY disaster repairs

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