Blimey, it's making me feel so nervous (the older I get the more I think.. just too much :furious
When we first got Ed we were at a lovely DIY yards, 24/7 at grass with smart paddock/field-shelter and an on-site RI and bark-chip school. All good fun. However, in Winter (for six months ) the place turned into a bog.. school unusable, absolutely no hard-standing and lots of traffic (yard has 25+ horses), it resulted in tacking up in 12" deep bog and not being able to even push a wheelbarrow... here;s the tack-up and storage area:frown:
I mainly hacked with my friends at a yard next door, and in September a place came up... very smart yard, lots of stables, storage, electricity, water etc..... It was hardly a move for Ed as he already new the horses and we always hacked to the yard to meet riding friends.. he settled immediately. Here's some pics
Biggest disadvantage with the yard, is there's no school. The only place you can ride when the ground is fine is a small paddock which is rather rutted, but fine for walk/trotting and x-poles etc. However, sometimes the horses are grazing there, so you need to move them out first :stomp:. The lack of school is not a major issue for me, as I take Ed for a lesson each fortnight and then tend to hack, but it's a huge problem for my duaghter (13) as she can only ride, if we trailer him to lessons, shows or clnics etc. Also, there's nobody for her to ride with or have fun with.
Biggest issue for me in moving, is that I lose my closest riding friend and hacking buddy. But, she is pretty much my only riding friend, as the other horses at my yard are now all non-ridden. And, whilst I depend on my friend (as I don't hack alone), she is a very confident and busy horse owner, so has other things to do apart from ride with me oop::biggrin:
So, daughter and I have been on a yard investigation w/end. We have narrowed it down to two. We have the 'possible' offer of a space at a small yard 4 miles away. Totally DIY, 11 horses in total, but 7 in regular work. Tend to be all very good riders, but appreciate we are first-time owners etc. There's no YO/YM so seems all quite relaxed. Has an large all-weather menage. Lots of grazing. Horses are stabled in winter overnight, for around 4 months. We already know several people there and there's a girl the same age as my daughter (and there's people the same age as me too :redface::wink There's potentially some reasons why we might not be able to move there (trailer parking issue and loan pony has moved in).
But, I've this morning asked if we can have a space, so now waiting to hear. If it's a no-go we have a 2nd option, also 4 miles away, total DIY, yard of 20 horses, sand-school. Nice paddocks and optional stabling... on farm hacking around four fields and a wood...
Thought I'd share my monday morning news. Will keep you posted :smile:
When we first got Ed we were at a lovely DIY yards, 24/7 at grass with smart paddock/field-shelter and an on-site RI and bark-chip school. All good fun. However, in Winter (for six months ) the place turned into a bog.. school unusable, absolutely no hard-standing and lots of traffic (yard has 25+ horses), it resulted in tacking up in 12" deep bog and not being able to even push a wheelbarrow... here;s the tack-up and storage area:frown:
I mainly hacked with my friends at a yard next door, and in September a place came up... very smart yard, lots of stables, storage, electricity, water etc..... It was hardly a move for Ed as he already new the horses and we always hacked to the yard to meet riding friends.. he settled immediately. Here's some pics
Biggest disadvantage with the yard, is there's no school. The only place you can ride when the ground is fine is a small paddock which is rather rutted, but fine for walk/trotting and x-poles etc. However, sometimes the horses are grazing there, so you need to move them out first :stomp:. The lack of school is not a major issue for me, as I take Ed for a lesson each fortnight and then tend to hack, but it's a huge problem for my duaghter (13) as she can only ride, if we trailer him to lessons, shows or clnics etc. Also, there's nobody for her to ride with or have fun with.
Biggest issue for me in moving, is that I lose my closest riding friend and hacking buddy. But, she is pretty much my only riding friend, as the other horses at my yard are now all non-ridden. And, whilst I depend on my friend (as I don't hack alone), she is a very confident and busy horse owner, so has other things to do apart from ride with me oop::biggrin:
So, daughter and I have been on a yard investigation w/end. We have narrowed it down to two. We have the 'possible' offer of a space at a small yard 4 miles away. Totally DIY, 11 horses in total, but 7 in regular work. Tend to be all very good riders, but appreciate we are first-time owners etc. There's no YO/YM so seems all quite relaxed. Has an large all-weather menage. Lots of grazing. Horses are stabled in winter overnight, for around 4 months. We already know several people there and there's a girl the same age as my daughter (and there's people the same age as me too :redface::wink There's potentially some reasons why we might not be able to move there (trailer parking issue and loan pony has moved in).
But, I've this morning asked if we can have a space, so now waiting to hear. If it's a no-go we have a 2nd option, also 4 miles away, total DIY, yard of 20 horses, sand-school. Nice paddocks and optional stabling... on farm hacking around four fields and a wood...
Thought I'd share my monday morning news. Will keep you posted :smile: