In the long term I'm thinking of moving to grass livery..

MrA

MrA

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Feb 8, 2012
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So not at the moment obviously as he has damaged his check ligament and is on boxrest.

I would be sad to leave my yard I like the set up and the other people. I hate the hacking as lots of roadwork and trotters which scare me :frown:

Only problem is my horse is a very good doer and won't wear a muzzle so would have to get round that someway.

I think he would happily live out given enough space and a good buddy.

Just need to find a yard suitable which will probably be very hard I don't know of any that do grass livery nearby and that have hacking with less roadwork.

I am selfishly doing this for me, it would give me more time and money so long as I can find somewhere nearby ish that suits him.
 
why not? you may find somewhere that fits both of you better - I like our house, our compromise is that we have less grazing than before but better quality, and the hacking is ok, not very much off road unless you box, but there is little traffic as it is all minor lanes.

the best we ever had was in sussex where we had less horses, enough grazing, and wonderful hacking apart from the 10 minutes to the bridleways which was a nightmare.

our horses like here better than our last house, where we had more grazing, good hacking, though none was sound in the time we were there so they didn't take advantage of it! but they didn't like the ground as much - boggy - and while the indoor barn was cosy they prefer having more of a view.

This time we have built an outdoor stable block which they prefer and the fields are dryer, disadvantage is that I have to poo pick now. Though can't in the winter as can't get the tractor in the field as it would sink.

Everything is a compromise. My gang are happier here and settled instantly, within a day they were out grazing, coming in, quite ok with everything, when we moved the last time, Molly took 4 months to settle and trashed all the fence lines. You never can tell!
 
Sounds like a plan. You'll maybe have to try a few different ways to keep the weight down, if I had free rein I'd limit grazing in a way that made my horse walk further, like the paradise paddock system. Failing that, and Flipo not wearing a muzzle either, I do the equivalent of stabling in my field during the summer. I have a sectioned off bit that I pen him in over night and we leave it open during the day so the other horse helps keep the grass short - it almost becomes a bare patch, but never bare enough that I would need to feed hay. It's about the size of four or five stables and seems to keep his weight at an ok level.
 
I'd check the grazing and yard carefully eg. you wouldn't want a good doer on fertilized lush pasture on an inflexible yard that wouldn't allow you to eg fence off a bit/stripgraze/muzzle etc. it's also useful to be able to use a stable as a backup option or have access to a smaller paddock for medical emergencies / paddock rest etc.

i'm on grass livery but have 'options' if I need them, which is nice.
 
Unfortunately being sw London based this may be an impossible dream unless I relocate, but I want to cut down my spending slightly to save to get a place with my bf.
Thanks for the advice I appreciate it all :)
 
You could always post him up to me Ale... he'd have a girlfriend and restricted grazing and would be very well looked after! Be a long way for you to come and ride him though. :)

Seriously though despite my whiney post earlier I'm a great believer in if you want something bad enough you'll find a way to achieve it and we all know how dedicated you are to him. You never know what's around the corner, you may even find somewhere you could rent and have full control over how you restricted his grazing. Good luck.
 
Hope you find something suitable Ale - I remember one of your threads from a while back about the hacking and the trotters. I would be scared too! Wish you were near me, there are tons of good grass places near us and I could point you in the right direction.
 
Thankyou both, wish I was closer to you! Everything would be much easier!

I would love to have my own place sooo much. He has his rescan on the 24th and then I should know more about how well he is going to heal up and things. We will find somewhere somehow. So long as he's as happy as where he is now that's the main thing!
 
I'm trying to get Rubic on grass livery. (It is looking fairly promising but I don't want to jinx it). Yes I am going to have to be very careful with her weight but I can muzzle and we do have restricted grazing so I have options.

I am sure she will be happy out as, even now, the ponies are all at the gate but she is a bit away eating her fill of grass!!! She does seem to enjoy coming in but it is more the feed than the fact she is in her stable, she is most unhappy if the food is not up to standard. I am also doing mine for slightly selfish reasons! I am struggling after my vet bills and would like to have that little bit of spare cash to enjoy myself etc.

You will need to pick the yard carefully though especially if you still want to ride, a lot of grass livery round here is just a field and nothing else!
 
I tried grass livery but it was a nightmare tbh.

Nowhere to put a sick horse, very difficult to restrict grazing. No respite from torrential rain or extreme sunshine.

If you do decide to do it, make sure you have somewhere to keep hay and a field shelter that you can adapt into a stable in case at the very least.
 
I sound think, sorry what's grass livery again? I am just paying or a field and stable but on a yard, am I not grass livery?
Is it a field with shelter and nothing else?
 
newforest said:
I sound think, sorry what's grass livery again? I am just paying or a field and stable but on a yard, am I not grass livery?
Is it a field with shelter and nothing else?
Click to expand...

Personally if you have your own stable (not just a spare/"communal" one for emergencies) then I don't class that as "grass livery"... whether your horse is out 24/7 or not.

To me grass livery is a field and you are just lucky if you have anything extra on top of that! Our yard has grass livery (no stable) or DIY (stable) The vast majority of grass livery round my area is just the field usually with natural shelter but many have access to nice hacking, just not storage for tack etc. I'd be lucky to get grass livery at my yard as I'd still have full use of the school, somewhere to tie up, storage space etc. If you pay for your own stable I'd call you DIY whether you end up using it or not. I'm just going by the reasoning that if I were looking at adverts and one said grass livery I wouldn't expect a stable and another advert said DIY I'd expect a stable (and that, more than likely, the horse would need to come in overnight in winter)
 
Ah thank you for clarifying that. I was grass livery until my previous chap was sick. I then got used to having one and so I m now diy. Its useful to have if its pouring down and I am trimming feet and somewhere to leave stuff that doesn't fit in the tack room.
I am lucky in that i don't have to bring in. No one has yet this winter.

Eta-its a stable that I move about in, if its needed I get moved, but its a space. We moved to have goats arrive. :)
 
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