I've posted before about the riding school that both I and DD go to. It's great for lessons (£20 an hour, well-looked after horses, and experienced instructors.) It also has livery horses/ponies. We've been thinking about getting DD a pony in a few years. However:
- it has some tiny stables
- there is very little land. Horses are stabled 24/7 in the winter and only allowed out for a maximum of 4 hours a day during the spring/summer.
- there's no off-road hacking, and the roads are narrow country-lanes that have quite a lot of traffic.
It's £60 per week, which I believe is for DIY livery. On the plus side, they have 2 indoor and 2 outdoor schools. It's a nice community, people are friendly, and it seems well-run (which I know is not always the case).
Would anyone use a livery like this? I had ponies as a child that lived out all the time & I struggle to imagine how a pony would cope with being cooped up for so long. However, the place is full & there's a waiting list so it's obviously not a problem for some people.