How much would you pay for this livery?

[houmousandcarrotsandwich]

sadly our last pony died over the summer and we now have empty stables & paddock. It seems a waste to leave them so, and I can't see me getting any more horses at this moment in time as have 2 very small children.

So thinking of letting, but no idea on how much to charge. Livery would be..

• 2 stables (really good quality, on hard standing)
  *tack room & hay storage (all in the stable block, no drafts, lockable, on hard standing)
  *1 acre of flat paddock, with wooden post fencing, all in good condition
  *running water, electric, lights
  *quiet location (Essex/Suffolk border), good hacking, quiet roads
  
  So what would you pay for this?
  
  Also would I need to take out additional insurance?
  Oh, and should I decide to get another horse in the future ( ) what sort of notice is normally required?

[Sparklyoldwhizzbangcatpusswhee]

Ooh, where abouts?
I'd pay £25 or so per week for this, personally, there's not too much grazing, so I'd need to offset the cost of extra hay and feed. I'm not sure about insurance, but anyone renting should have their own public liability insurance.

[Sparklyoldwhizzbangcatpusswhee]

I'd ask for a couple of months notice really, you need to give plenty of time for finding somewhere else.

[houmousandcarrotsandwich]

I was thinking about 3 months notice would be reasonable (from both parties, except in unavoidable circumstances eg death of horse)
It's in a village between Colchester & ipswich

[houmousandcarrotsandwich]

Would have to have a contract of some kind I would imagine (not used livery for about 15 years so this is kind of new teritory). Do others have contracts? What kind of things do they say?

[Floralnomad]

Are the stables at your home ? The only reason I ask is that we have a pony on full livery at a private stables . For a long time it has just been our pony and the lady owners ponies but recently she started doing other liveries again and TBH she's had to get rid of about 5 different groups of people because they are too awful to have on her property ( late nights, no poo picking , really untidy in the yard, leaving horses in for days without proper attention) . I'd make sure that you have only a months notice period in case you want to get rid of them. I'm sure there are lots of good horse owners about but there is equally lots of crap ones .

[Sparklyoldwhizzbangcatpusswhee]

Ooh, I'm from Langham. Maybe I know you!

[frostyfingers]

Whatever you charge you need to make it absolutely clear what your do's and don'ts are. Never assume that someone will do things how you like just because you say so. A good contract, adapted to fit your expectations are a must (make sure horse/pony is regularly wormed for example) so that you don't fall out.

My two are at a farm with 2 others and the most recent arrival is causing problems just from being a little thoughtless - if she's last up mucking out she doesn't sweep up the wheelbarrow fallout, buckets and kit are moved, things aren't where I left them (she has a small child, which in itself isn't a problem BUT the child fiddles about and moves things, which is), and from these minor niggles major problems arise.

[DENMAN03]

Are the stables at your home? I ask because I used to have a spare stable at mine and rented it to a friend. She used to leave straw all over the place (even when it was obvious the yard was immaculate) wouldnt do her share of poo-picking, would turn her horse out in the fields when I had specifically said not to (only had three acres on clay so in winter had to be very carefully managed) and so on..Complete nightmare and wound me up no end. The last straw was when her horse got into my newly landscaped garden (despite me saying to always keep the gate shut) and destroyed the lawn. It simply was not worth the money!

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

I would expect to pay around £20 per week per horse, assuming that you would attend to fertilising field, topping if necessary and ragwort spray, fencing repairs (unless horses are fence destroyers)
Do make sure you state exactly what is included in the contract and specify muck heap maintenance and poo picking/worming etc, stable painting, door repairs if one of them chews, stuff like that. Also, if it's at your own home, do be wary of what happens if one of the horses colics or needs emergency treatment and how quickly you would get there.

[PoshPenny]

I have something similar in Hampshire (no hay storage though) and pay £50/week for it plus water rates. No electric, but solar lights, I have to do all field maintenance/fertilising, but landlord pays for fencing if its wear and tear, I pay if its damage by my lot. Round here thats actually quite good. DIY with stable and grazing and electric is £30 upwards on a decent yard with nice people.

I would stress with the others that you need to find "nice" people with tidy habits to rent it, they can be quite hard to find...

[Alameda]

maybe I know you too