Working Livery?

[~Perdita.M~]

Could anyone give me any advice on working livery, pro's cons etc, how it works and what the basic arrangement is? I feel I might be having a very painful decision to make soon:( Thank you xx

[Bloss]

As far as i know working livery is when a horse is used for lessons at a yard in return for cheaper livery charges.:)

Pros and cons i can think of are-

pros-
1. it is cheaper
2. the owner doesn't have to worry about not having time to ride.
3.if the horse is used for experienced riders it can benefit from the lessons.
4. the horse can be kept fit.

cons-
1. if the agreement between the yard owner and the owner is broken it problems occur likethehorse being over used in lessons, the horse being used in lessons when the owner wants to ride etc.
2. the horse may be ridden by beginners which may spoil the horse.
3. the horse would be ridden/handled by many different people.
4. what would happen if an accident occured involving your horse.

i think that it depends a lot on the agreement between the yard owner/instructor and the owner if a contract which covered everything was drawn up and followed careully i think it could be a good idea but with out knowing where you both stand there could be trouble.

i don't know what the yard you were thinking of is like so i cannot say but at my yard i would not like to do working livery because i would not trust the yo as i know that she would not stick to the contract. (i have seen this happen before at the yard)

whatever you decide to do good luck and i hope it turns out well:D :)

[leo's mam]

Hia!
I kept a horse of mine in working livery and im afraid im not going 2 b singing its praises!!
I nvr really felt like the horse was mine
i didnt no wen the horse was goin out or who was riding him
all the hard wrk skoolin etc was wasted
u tend 2 get pple taking ova ** horse ***** they ride him etc
although wking livery cheeper i am now in part livery @ a different yard and 10 times happier
u hav 2 bear in mind it will b different @ different yards and it depends on ** lifestyle

usually u pay 1/2 shoes
wormer
about£10 wk includin evrything(will depend on yard)
all vets bills etc
they will usually take full care of horse and u fit in around them

[Mehitabel]

there was a long thread on this a while ago - might be worth doing a search for more opinions?

it's one of those things that will vary 110% depending on who you ask and where their horses are. copper has been on working livery for 15 years, and i am perfectly happy with this - he is now on permanent loan to the school. but then i am (so it seems from reading about other yards!) at an extraordinarily good place and this doesn't seem to be the norm. it works well for me - i trust the YO absolutely, used to run the place so i trained all the current staff so i know how they care for the horses, and i am happy with how the horses are worked, cared for and how lessons are taught.

our arrangement is that you get a cheaper livery fee and we use the horse for up to 8 hours a week - 3 of those on a saturday morning - our busy day. the horses rarely do that much, and we will try our best not to book them for rides if the owner lets us know she is coming on a particular day. i am not sure about shoes - whether the owner pays all or whether it's split.

if your horse is one that will be happy being a teacher (and some just don't suit it) then it can work ver ywell provided you are at the right yard. unfortunately it can also go very wrong if you aren't.

[Lgd]

My niece's pony was on working livery but it worked really well as I taught at the riding school and had my own horse there on DIY livery.

The arrangement we had was she worked 6 hours per week for the school - one hour for two evenings a week and 2 hours each on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I paid for shoes, tack and worming and insurance for our use. School paid for everything else and she was on their liability insurance when they were using her.
She was more of a second pony, so the real novices never got near her. She was also very popular with the staff as a lead 'horse' for hacks so she was often ridden by experienced people for her 'work' hours.
If we wanted her for a show she just did her hours at another time. She was not available for courses unless I agreed - in practice I was never asked, I usually offered her for use if niece was away.

It meant she got exercised regularly and made keeping her much cheaper which saved money towards getting a horse when she outgrew her.

[Zingy]

It can work very well, very badly or anywhere in between. A lot depends on the yard and how much they stick to your agreement and see the horse as yours rather than theirs. Get an agreement drawn up that will include who is to ride, how often etc. You also need to check out insurance and what happens if your horse is ill. When I kept Yog working livery the riding school didn't have vets insurance for the horses, but I would have been expected to pay vets bills. There are insurance companies who will cover you for working livery - think I had to pay an extra 25% on my premium to cover it. If he was ill though he had to go on full livery, which was nearly double the cost of working livery. A lot will depend on the school, but worth asking if you are thinking of doing it.

[kyanya]

Ohh, Perdita, I hope things come OK for you. I have a feeling this 'painful decision' may be involving Shammie.

[~Perdita.M~]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, and I will do a search on the subject to see what else I can find. It is something I dont want to do, but may have to, although it will break my heart to share him:(

[Arabmare]

Dont be stupid you are not going anywhere!!!! We would all lose our horses not just you!! Please dont do anything stupid its all over now!! :D

[rache]

i dont understand why would you be moving shammie? sorry if you already have said

[Lucy J]

my yard does schooling livery quite well. i keep saying ciara can do it, but she doesn't have riders who are experienced enough to handle her!!! :eek:

basically you get £5 off your livery bill each time the horse is used, and she never over horses anyone (which is why she hasn't used ciara!)

[Tootsie4U]

There's always a way Perdiata ;) If anyone knows this, its me! In the 2.5 years I've owned Bon, I've had to work my tail off at the barn(s) in exchange for his board. Its hard, physically and mentally, as I also work a full time job with a husband and home to look after, but its not something I think twice about. You do what you gotta do....

<edit> getting ahead of myself there... its only been 1.5 years. Ah, but its felt like 20.5, belive me! :D

[Hels]

i used to keep Carrie on working livery, and then I changed and now have a sharer instead. Carrie is much happier with just two riders instead of lots! It's worked out really well for me. Why not consider it instead of working livery?

[Lucy J]

i'd love to have a sharer for ciara, but have been unable to find one. it can be difficu;t, although certainly a better option.

[Kady A]

My horse Stella is currently on working livery at the EC where I work. She's not a "novice" horse as is usually proved by the fact that children (and sometimes adults) have cried at the prospect of riding her, however, she will generally adapt to the rider and I have seen her catch a novice who was starting to slide off in canter (as he slid off she moved sideways underneath him and scooped him up). I admit though I find it very very difficult to watch others ride her - even instructors, although its only instructors and myself who would even contemplate hacking her out - she gets very over excited and has to be in front all the time. I keep her on working livery as due to demands of the job I don't always get time to ride, she is only used 3 hours per week in the school, further hours are only after I have been consulted. Its not an ideal arrangement for everyone and I think if I didn't work where I keep her I would have looked for a sharer - the BHS classified website is really good - I previously shared three before I got Stel. I advertised on there looking for a share and got sorted out really quickly with a lovely owner who has become a good friend.

I hope you manage to sort things out for you and your horse.