Working livery?

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

How much on average would you expect working livery to be and what kind of agreement as to how often the horse is used for lessons is standard?

One of the horses at the riding school my dd goes to is being retired so there will be a stable free and I know they're looking for a new horse which can be used for the more advanced riders

I was going to have an initial chat with dd's instructor but would like to have an idea of the costs and pros and cons first.

Dd's been riding for nearly 6 years and is very competent and confident - she volunteers at the stables one day a week and has lessons twice a week

For logistical reasons having her own horse at a livery stable is not going to work so we wondered if working livery might be a solution

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Hopeful bump - does anyone have any experience of working livery please?

[sparechange]

I would expect working livery to mean the livery element is free, but to still have to pay for shoes and lessons. I know a yard near me which gives a 50% discount for working livery, but it is a very, very expensive yard on the outskirts of London that doesn't need to give any more of a discount.

The arrangement with lessons will vary depending on the yard and the standard of the horse, but it will be used at least once a day. I think the most common thing is for you to 'lock in' your preferred hours, and then they can use the horse around those times, up to an agreed maximum.

You need to trust the yard to only be using the horse for appropriate riders, and they will want some say in the horse. If it is too fizzy or spooky, they won't want it, but if it is too much of a schoolmaster, they are inevitable going to put some hard handed beginners on there and potentially ruin the horse.

What they want in a horse will depend entirely on their usual clientele, so it is probably worth having a chat with them about what they are looking for, and what they'll offer in return. Will you be able to have the horse at weekends to compete? Will they want to use the horse for paying pupils to compete on?

Having your own horse on working livery is going to be better than having a standard riding school horse for lessons, but it is going to be a compromise compared with having your own horse which you ride every day. But if that isn't possible, then working livery might be a good way of getting to compete and build a bond with the horse.

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

Thanks - we're in London (but it's not a particularly posh yard!)

I'll talk to them and see what they can offer

[honeyroar]

A friend of mine has her daughter's pony on working livery. They pay £40/wk, which is about half the cost of regular livery for a 14.2. The pony is used an hour a day, six days a week. All feed and care is included. They have the use of two outdoor and an indoor school. They were able to up the payment so that the pony wasn't used at weekends once the child started pony club and going to shows etc. It was a good system when the child was young and struggling with the pony a bit, it took the edge off the pony.