bad yards

[rezbeck]

anybody had any bad experiences on yards???

[Wally]

......how many lifetimes have you got to listen?;) ;) ;)

What like?

[rezbeck]

well bitchiness, back stabbing, and petty yard owners, aswell as cruelty to horses

[Wally]

Got all those Tee shirts, Bitching and backstabbing is something I will not tolerate, not one bit. If someone cannot pull together they can go.

I have met neglect rather that true cruelty, but it is a fine line. I was young then and now would not let it lie I would speak out and make a issue of these things.

Petty yard owners.......aren't they all?:D :D ;) Nowt so strange as folk and everyone has thier ways, uptight folk, insecure? yes, but isnt that part of being human?

I have found that yards echo life in general. If you do not have a strong manager/leader things deteriorate into bedlam. If you have a strong leader then everyone knows that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and it doesn't start. If the yard owner is unsure and weak then things will get out of control. Factories, offices and general life is the same.

[chapsi]

I would like to add two more things, as regards YO.
Ignorance, that can lead to mishandling horses and patronising attitudes, that can at times undermine clients envolvement in the yard´s life.
My former YO was like that. It took me some time to pluck the courage to leave, but when I did so, I was up to my tether with him. The move did wonders for both me and my horse.

[ponytude]

Originally posted by Wally


Petty yard owners.......aren't they all?:D :D ;) Nowt so strange as folk and everyone has thier ways, uptight folk, insecure? yes, but isnt that part of being human?



err.. I may be draft at times but I want to own my own riding lessons/ boarding stables when i am older..... :confused:


Wally I really think your advatar is just the cutest!!!

[tubby]

Wally's right you will find people of differing charecters wherever you go. If things are unbearable you have to vote with your feet, but most of the time if you are pleasant & mind your own business, not interfering unless asked , but giving help to people if needed you usually find people respond accordingly. Of course if the man at the helm isn't in control of the yard then things disintegrate fast, but as long as the Y/O knows enough & is firm enough things should run relatively smoothly.

[HairyCob]

Originally posted by tubby
Of course if the man at the helm isn't in control of the yard then things disintegrate fast

Of course with a WOMAN at the helm, things are likely to be a lot smoother..... or a lot bumpier depending on the time of the month/ good or bad hair day/ current state of relationship with significant other etc, etc!!;) :D

Only joking, just couldn't resist!

More seriously, I think most yards have their ups and downs..... certainly at our yard at the moment there is a lot of ill feeling and it is degenerating into back biting and bitching- which is unusual for us but is caused by one owner not pulling her weight and not looking after her or our horses properly (we have a rota system). It has got to the stage that some of us are saying 'us or her have to go' and thank god, the y/o has finally started to listen and is beginning to lay down the law!

Needles to say, when she is on the rota at the moment one of the rest of us goes to the barn to check that she has done what she is supposed to- defeating the object of having a rota, but at least ensuring that the horses are OK!

Are you experiencing problems at the moment then, Rezbeck? I guess you are or you wouldn't have posted the question!

Hope things improve for you!

:D

[rezbeck]

things were unbearable so i moved my horse out of the yard, unfortunately i miss being able to use the indoor school!!!!!!!!!

[Kady A]

Been there and no longer there! Most problems tended to come down to poor management - something I am aiming to rectify at the yard where I now work! Sadly I have seen some awful cases of neglect - mainly caused through total ignorance and inexperience, pretty awful especially when offers of help are either ignored or abused. I agree if you are in a "bad" yard vote with your feet and if you can leave.

[rezbeck]

wont go into too much detail but yard owners used to kick and punch horses in their care!!!!!!!!!!!!

[*Glitter storm*]

Its also quite common for arguments to happen as every1 is in a close environment on a yard and every one will have a different opinion and view. A lot of the time i find that those who express their views the most are not always right! for new owners who are inexperienced a yard with people who think they are knowledgable but arent would be so confusing! what you said about the YO's kicking an punching the horses - o my god thats awful! get the RSPCA or a pony protection league in quick!!
xx

[rezbeck]

thats what i want to do but my hubby said just be glad jack is out of there

[*Glitter storm*]

yeah fair enough. hopefully evryone else there will also realise whats happening. Im glad your pony is safe now anyway!
xx

[FRED]

Here are a few coments from folk I know who own livery yards.
1/its amazing how often a horse returns to stables without their rider:eek: sometimes 4 times in one day,worrying that.
2/the next quote is unprintable;)
3/and the next most comon quote is related to the above, if they are not prepared to get on, then move on.
I think thats a sign of good management personaly, these guys would feel bad just at the thought of hitting some ones horse, there is good out there.

I liked what Wally said, anyone good in a senior position at work will now that feeling and man is it spooky how we can know what people are thinking or are going to say before they say it, and know what their motives are too.
;)

[Showjumper]

My last yard was pretty bad - bad mouthing, two faced people, bad turnout, crazy stabling plans, the yard owner had no clue and just wanted money...I could go on.

Now I just rent a space in a field from a farmer and am much happier. I very rarely see any of the other rentees (there's 6 owners with 19 horses distributed over 3 large fields) and when I do, everyone is pleasant :)

[Yann]

The more clued up and interested the yard owner is, the better the yard in general from what I've seen. Where the owner isn't particularly horsey and leaves issues to be sorted between the liveries things are more likely to end up getting heated and nasty.

There are plenty of good places too, I'm at one:)

[rezbeck]

yeah its a shame i had to move jack but i am gonna have to find out if i can use the indoor school down the road. its nice where he is now, in a field but i do need some schooling myself!!!!!!!!!

[clepper]

Well i love my yard! so it shows some places can be good you just gotta find them. My yard owner is VERY experienced, loves me and my horses and i too hers!
I guess i'm just lucky, but i have heard of places like the ones mentioned!

Clepper ~x~

[Quarterbell]

After reading all your replies I feel very lucky. I love my yard as you call it.

The owner has gone out of her way to show to me and explain every illness, problem or behavior of any horse on her property. She stops in the middle of her day to help me understand any concerns I have about my horse.

She has endlessly helped me to make sure I have correctly tacked my horse. We have looked at feet, feed, injuries, births and deaths together and she has done her best to teach me. She is not getting any extra money to educate me. This is just part of her customer service.

When I told her once that I felt bad that I never have seen my horse laying down to sleep she gave me permission to come on her property in the middle of the night so I could see my horse sleeping.

They only way I would ever leave her business is if I buy my own land.

[G.Gracious]

When i got my first horse on loan (lease), the yard she was at (she stayed at the same yard) was awful!! the yard owner, let's call her Anne (not her real name), tried to squeeze every last penny out of you. There was one girlf there who was about 9 or 10, her parents didn't know the first thing about horses but she had her own horse. It was obvious that they were quite rich (the cars, clothes, etc.) so Anne decided to make them pay as much as she could. I was paying £15 per week for grass livery whilst they were paying £30 for the exact same thing :eek: Anne told them that they would get the same prices everywhere else!!! Also, i was up one morning at about 6.30am (i had to be somehwere at 7am and the horse had to be done before that) and i was just stood by the barn feeding my horse when Anne came out and said, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??!! Do you know what time it is?? 6.30am!! I am trying to sleep, can't you come later??!!" I was in a pretty bad mood so i just told her that if she didn't charge £10 extra per day if you want your horse fed in the morning then perhaps i would have asked her to do it for me later on. Grrrrrrr... :mad: I moved to a different yard in the end, thank heavens, but the rich girl and her horse are still there and Anne is probably getting at least £50 per week from them now.

[rezbeck]

mmm that sounds awful, what a nasty person. they should regulate these places!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ponytude]

Originally posted by G.Gracious
When i got my first horse on loan (lease), the yard she was at (she stayed at the same yard) was awful!! the yard owner, let's call her Anne (not her real name), tried to squeeze every last penny out of you. There was one girlf there who was about 9 or 10, her parents didn't know the first thing about horses but she had her own horse. It was obvious that they were quite rich (the cars, clothes, etc.) so Anne decided to make them pay as much as she could. I was paying £15 per week for grass livery whilst they were paying £30 for the exact same thing :eek: Anne told them that they would get the same prices everywhere else!!! Also, i was up one morning at about 6.30am (i had to be somehwere at 7am and the horse had to be done before that) and i was just stood by the barn feeding my horse when Anne came out and said, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??!! Do you know what time it is?? 6.30am!! I am trying to sleep, can't you come later??!!" I was in a pretty bad mood so i just told her that if she didn't charge £10 extra per day if you want your horse fed in the morning then perhaps i would have asked her to do it for me later on. Grrrrrrr... :mad: I moved to a different yard in the end, thank heavens, but the rich girl and her horse are still there and Anne is probably getting at least £50 per week from them now.

Some people!!! Anne sounds like quite the charcter!!!

[FRED]

Well, dare I say if poor Anne can't get onto the TV show 'who wants to be a millionaire'
She sure has found method in what seems madness:o

[Bobbi77]

We keep Lady (and now Holly) on a farm which, so far, is great. There is 45 acres and stabling - the cost is £10 per week and hay and straw are available at £3 and£2 per bale respectively. The farm is owned by a very sweet elderly lady and is run by an equally nice man. There are lots of experienced owners there to call upon for advice, (There are around 18 horses there at the mo.) Some of them have been there for 20 years plus, which speaks for itself. In the rush hour it takes me up to 40 mins to get there, but I feel it is worth it.

I live very near lots of livery yards (some within 5 minutes drive) but I hear such horror stories such as bitchiness, and one in particular, the owner doesn't like you going after 6pm because it is "her home", which probably isnt very practical in the summer months for working people. I am looking forward to the long summer evenings to spend as much time as I possibly can with Lady and Holly....roll on summer :-))

Bobbi

[Yann]

LOL G. Gracious, I've been on a yard like that too:D

£1.60 per person per session for using the floodlights in the menage, Izal toilet paper in the loo with the string cut short so most people couldn't turn the light on in there, livery horses bedded on sawdust and shredded newspaper (which you had to shred yourself most of the time), lightbulbs on the yard which went weren't replaced till the clocks changed. I could go on... If you were on part livery you couldn't get a friend to look after your horse if you couldn't make it or were on holiday, it was you alone or full livery charges.

Apparently the liveries were all invited to a barbeque one summer evening and then had a charge added to their bills afterwards:eek:

[Laetitia]

Obviously not a way to make a living if so many owners are that grasping. Perhaps if they put their prices up to a realistic band they would still get the liveries but provide a better service. L

[FRED]

Well Yann, in Australia they have signs 'BYO ' meaning bring your own food, so if you go to the BQ without, you go hungry.

[tubby]

While I feel it's a bit rough to invite smeone to a barbecue & then charge,I feel there's nothing wrong with having to pay Y/O to look after your horse & not be allowed to have one of the others do it. Wher I am if you can't fetch in or turn out yourself you are not to have one of the others do it you have to pay Y/O a£1 each time .I don't think this is unreasonabl at all, after all it is their living. Also feel this solves the problem of one person being put on & stops bad feeling.

[Hels]

i am really jealous of Quarterbell and everyone else who has fantastic yards. The one I am on has great facilities but a nightmare owner. She doesn't provide particularly good leadership and lacks knowledge, is totally dozy and unreliable, but what really irks me is that she lies at the drop of a hat and tries to bully people. She knows who are the most pliable people and they get charged the most. So if you don't confront her you get taken advantage of. She never delivers on her promises and throws blame for things onto other clients, behind their back.

I get so tempted to move, but the last yard I was at I wasn't happy with the management either (though at least I lbasically iked the owner) and it doesn't have such good hacking and facilities. The others in my area are much smaller and only DIY. On top of this, I don't want to move my horse again, it's so disruptive for them.

I am gritting my teeth and bearing it and hoping for a change of management sooner rather than later...

[Tootsie4U]

I cant find a good yard anywhere.

You dont know how bad your yard is until you've worked there either! Then you're eyes are really opened! At least in my case...

[Yann]

The yard I was referring to wasn't cheap to begin with, it was an insult to injury situation:rolleyes:

Big difference between bringing in for £1 and having to pay an extra £15 a day for full livery too.

[tubby]

Must admit if I am away for the day I only have to pay £5 for the YO to look after Ben ,£15 does seem a lot to me . If anyone on our yard has full livery they £5 per day plus rent hay etc.

[shandy84]

I know what you mean I miss having a school, now rent a field in which we errected stables-with permission.

I had a 1yr old Arab x Hanovarian filly in livery, she was like a puppy loved people and just followed you all willing to fields and stable etc yet YO wouldn't leave her out longer than 2hrs because the other's brought thier horses in so young girl was getting no exercise and then one day I turned up early and saw one of them bringing her in with rope mashed round her nose twice. I took her there and then told them to P*** off or I'd report em for cruelty to animals. Shes a sensitive baby and walked in like a lamb for everyone. Then one day she got really ill in the morning was on the floor all sweaty, I had asked the YO to feed her as was unable to get up til an hr so later, they never called me, they put her in a field! If she'd have rolled that could've been the end of her she was not being supervised. I got there and they told me I went ballistic, went straight to her and she was dripping and in agony, called the vet immideiatly took her for a walk round the sand school till he arrived. He had said left any longer we could have had complications arise. They also had my vets number. So now I just turn up I have a good Nxt door neighbour to the field who lets me know if he hears any upset.

It's a shame though

[Flidge]

Hi
Yard i kept my horses at for 9 years was great too,only moved because ive got a job where i could take them so its great

Debbie

[horsefreak]

Yards can be funny - the one I am at now is lovely, except for the two sisters argueing lol, but i just ignore that!! Funnily enough, it seems that a couple of people I know have had bad experiances with some yards/YO's while having there horse there, or before moving, while others get on brilliantly with them. I've never had a problem with the YO's in mind, but I know they have been particulary nasty to others that have decided to move - putting pressure on the horses and owners. I have never had a horse at that yard, and after hearing about things that have been said, I wouldn't really want too!!

My yards cool, its just out in the sticks a bit so you have to walk ages for a signal for your phone :rolleyes:

Ax ~ Emx

[Big Ears]

I suspect yards will get worse as more and more farmers turn to horse farms instead of trying to earn a living farming. So the YO is not going to be someone with experience of horses - also a lot of owners take on ownership without really having a clue as to the commitment and knowledge required. We have a lot of DIYs locally where it is run by a farmer rather than a horse person.

I keep mine at home and at first it was very frightening, as you have no one to ask for advice other than calling the vet. However after 10 years of this, I am happy trusting my own judgement - it's amazing how many people have no feel for their horse - my cob is a slightly reluctant heroine at times, and as she is a bit too large, and a bit unfit, she tires sometimes when out - I get off, run up the stirrups, loosen the girth and walk home (one day it was 3 miles). Someone else sees this as being 'soft', I see it as listening to Rosie saying mum that was a very big hill, and I did have a canter, and I'm whacked - so as praise for her good work, we wander off home together with me holding her ear, or rubbing her neck as we walk, so she is nice and cool when she gets home and has forgotten she is tired.

The problem oftne on yards is too many experts, who interfere.

[Cheko]

I too have been on a bad yard where the owners dont care too much. Everyone was left alone to do their own thing and that included interfering with my pony and causing one hell of a row. Needless to say I left. Everyone pays good money to keep their horses/ponies at livery and I think the owners should acknowledge this fact and provide the service which they advertise. DIY is a different matter but you're payng full or half livery fees then you should get the value out of what you have to pay for this service.