Taking Horse on Full Livery

Ah_Yeah

Hi All,

Does anyone know if taking a horse on full livery from a school mean you will be responsible for veterinary bills/insurance? I have been told I pay for full livery, and shoes every 6 weeks (they will use him every second Sunday so will go halves on the shoes)

I forgot to ask them this, and intend to once I make my final decision, but was just wondering if anyone has done full livery before, and where do I stand.

Valentina

AFAIK you'd be responsible for vet and insurance. That's how it is in my yard, and all yards I've been in previously.

Edit: Sorry just remembered my old yard used to include vaccs & wormer in full livery! They did various levels (gold, silver, etc) of health packages that contained different things. Everything else though you covered yourself.

Ah_Yeah

Valentina wrote: »

AFAIK you'd be responsible for vet and insurance. That's how it is in my yard, and all yards I've been in previously.

Edit: Sorry just remembered my old yard used to include vaccs & wormer in full livery! They did various levels (gold, silver, etc) of health packages that contained different things. Everything else though you covered yourself.

Thanks Valentina

It's my first time leasing a horse so I just want to make sure they don't take me for a ride (pardon the pun!), and also that I am not asking them to be responsible for things they're not supposed to be responsible for.

fits

So you're taking a horse on lease and they're keeping it in the yard while you pay full livery am I right?

You really need to ask them this. I would think they'd be responsible for vet bills but you would need to check.

BHS have sample loan agreements on their website. Google it as im posting from my phone so not so easy to link.

helibelly

vets bills and worming at my yard are up to me. Oh, and get a contract for both your loan agreement and the livery contracts (if you can!);)

Ah_Yeah

@fits, yes that's exactly the case - I'm taking it on loan and it would be kept in their livery yard!

Thanks all! Have now made the decision to go on Half Livery as I have been approved to start a night course in Dec, so it would be unfair to the horse to have him sitting in the stable 3 nights a week.

Im going to try out half livery until my course is over, and then move to full.

In this case, would the yard be responsible for half of all bills?

Ill definitely be getting contracts for everything!

ilovemarmite

Ah_Yeah would you mind pm-ing me the name of the school where you are doing half livery, sounds like similiar arrangement to what I want to do probably from February. Thanks a mill.

Ah_Yeah

ilovemarmite wrote: »

Ah_Yeah would you mind pm-ing me the name of the school where you are doing half livery, sounds like similiar arrangement to what I want to do probably from February. Thanks a mill.

PM sent Marmite

Imhof Tank

OP, if they are using your horse every second weekend, that is more of a working livery deal - I dont think there is really any such thing as a "standard" practice for vet bills etc with working livery - they would just put the terms to you.

Then you negotiate.

Ah_Yeah

Imhof Tank wrote: »

OP, if they are using your horse every second weekend, that is more of a working livery deal - I dont think there is really any such thing as a "standard" practice for vet bills etc with working livery - they would just put the terms to you.

Then you negotiate.

Thanks for this! I have now decided to do half livery and I want to set my days at Saturdays, Sundays and a Wednesday which they have agreed.

Do I have a right then to ask what they will be using him for on the other days? As I don't want to have the horse exhausted from being worked constantly.

Sorry for all the questions.

Imhof Tank

Ah_Yeah wrote: »

Thanks for this! I have now decided to do half livery and I want to set my days at Saturdays, Sundays and a Wednesday which they have agreed.

Do I have a right then to ask what they will be using him for on the other days? As I don't want to have the horse exhausted from being worked constantly.

Sorry for all the questions.

Sorry but I think you may have some terms a bit mixed up there.

Full livery means the yard does everything - feeds, mucks out, turns out, takes in, everything - so you dont need to be around at all.

Half livery means the yard does some of the work and you do the rest - not that you have access to the horse for half the week. So on a half livery deal, unless out on grass permanently, you would have something to do every day - which doesnt sound like what you have in mind?

There seems to be a lot of uncertainty on your part - my advice would be to say to the yard "tell me exactly how this will work" and then ask them all of the questions you have asked on this thread.

Ah_Yeah

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Sorry but I think you may have some terms a bit mixed up there.

Full livery means the yard does everything - feeds, mucks out, turns out, takes in, everything - so you dont need to be around at all.

Half livery means the yard does some of the work and you do the rest - not that you have access to the horse for half the week. So on a half livery deal, unless out on grass permanently, you would have something to do every day - which doesnt sound like what you have in mind?

There seems to be a lot of uncertainty on your part - my advice would be to say to the yard "tell me exactly how this will work" and then ask them all of the questions you have asked on this thread.

Sorry - what I meant then was on a share basis, i.e. I would have the horse half the week and then someone else, or the yard would have him the other half.

I haven't agreed to anything yet, I just wanted to go in armed with as much information as possible so I don't get duped.

Considering I worked in a livery yard for years, I can't believe how much I have forgotten! It's shocking and quite frightening :eek:

Thanks a million for the information though I really appreciate it.

marley123

OP - I would be wary of loaning a horse that will outside the 3 days you ride will be riding school property... as you have no say on who rides him or way horse is ridden! Which couldnt counteract the work you put into the horse. Also if horse gets injured when being used in the riding school, that could leave you in a tricky place...

Ah_Yeah

marley123 wrote: »

OP - I would be wary of loaning a horse that will outside the 3 days you ride will be riding school property... as you have no say on who rides him or way horse is ridden! Which couldnt counteract the work you put into the horse. Also if horse gets injured when being used in the riding school, that could leave you in a tricky place...

That's a good say - I'll have a lot of questions to ask! She wants him to go on full livery as opposed to being in the school as he has a lot of potential but unfortunately I can't commit the time to having him full time.

Thanks for all your help - if there's anything else you think I should ask/know, please let me know!

coppershill

I run a livery yard. If a horse is being loaned out for a full lease then no one else should ride it without your permission.WOuld leave you and the livery yard in a very tricky position if something were to happen. We expect the person who is leasing the horse to pay for livery, and keep the horse in good health so that includes shoes, vet and vaccines etc. On a half lease you can only be responsible for the horse on the days you have paid for but you should be extra vigilant in looking after the horse and keeping records of everything. You would need to be above reproach if something happens to the horse. Full livery is a better option in my experience. We only offer half leases to a pair of friends or partners that way they get to pay less and then what happens with the horse stays between them.
Hope this helps

Ah_Yeah

Thanks for that! Looking at another horse tomorrow, am trying out a few and will probably end up going with full livery if the match and cost is right.

With regard to insurance, does rider only insurance cover me? It has tack, emergency vet fees and third party in that, or would I need to get horse and rider even though I don't own the horse?

I know I need to discuss responsibilities with the yard, but if they do say insurance is up to me, what should I be looking at?

Rdo

I notice that you said that the yard owner says the horse "has potential", just be careful that this doesn't mean the horse is green and she is basicly getting you to pay to school her horse. Remember, it's not your horse and you are going to be paying a lot of money so you want to be safe and have fun not just pure work!

I used to keep my horse at a yard where several people were leasing horses from the yard. The horses they tended to loan out were very green, badly trained and they wanted people to pay to train the horses. They then tried to push people into buying these horses that they loaned, the yard making a tastey profit without even having to bother with training!

Ah_Yeah

Rdo wrote: »

I notice that you said that the yard owner says the horse "has potential", just be careful that this doesn't mean the horse is green and she is basicly getting you to pay to school her horse. Remember, it's not your horse and you are going to be paying a lot of money so you want to be safe and have fun not just pure work!

I used to keep my horse at a yard where several people were leasing horses from the yard. The horses they tended to loan out were very green, badly trained and they wanted people to pay to train the horses. They then tried to push people into buying these horses that they loaned, the yard making a tastey profit without even having to bother with training!

Hiya, yes the horse is green, has done a bit of everything but needs additional schooling. I've hacked her out and she's a lot of fun, just needs a bit of fine tuning! The price of the livery is a steal considering I'm getting lessons and cross country included in the price, and I have been told to try the horse for a few weeks or months even, if I'm not happy then I can always look at other horses. To be honest I was looking for something that was a challenge, so this suits me perfect!

I spoke with them anyway and everything is included in the livery price, including insurance (I obviously need to get my own rider insurance, but the horse is covered under theirs) and all I need to pay for additional is the shoes every 6 weeks.