Anyone on a yard with no electricity or water?

[Springersrock]

How much of a pain in the arse is it?

Been offered the opportunity of renting our own small yard. Lovely stables, fab grazing, small sand school, good off road hacking nearby

Only downside - no electricity or water

Could pick up a generator 2nd hand fairly easily I guess but the water issue puts me off

Thanks!

[RatherBeRiding]

How many horses?

I rent 2 fields with no electricity and no water but the guy who owns the field provides 2 IBCs of water whenever I need topping up. He also provides car batteries to run the electric fencing and also a floodlight (it doesn't cast much light but enough for me to find my way to the storage).

Otherwise I am relying on head torches and camping lanterns which is actually not as much of a pain as I thought it would be.

There are also battery operated lights you can buy that you can attach wherever you need light.

Water would be the bigger issue for me if I didn't have the IBCs but I guess I could manage with carrying water in containers on a daily basis from home.

[RatherBeRiding]

Forgot to add - obviously the taps on the IBCs freeze in very cold weather anyway so I still had to carry water from home sometimes last winter.

For the set up you describe, I think the disadvantage of no water would be far outweighed by the advantages of having my own place!

There are ways round it - a small car trailer, a small IBC container which you fill up at home from hose-pipe, take to field and leave trailer in situ till you need a top up. This is what my farmer does - 2 IBCs on a trailer which sits in my fields till I need more water then he hooks up to his tractor, takes them home, fills them up and returns them leaving trailer in field.

[frostyfingers]

I have one of these which provide a good 3 hours of decent light - 2 might work better as they don’t really go dim, just turn off without warning!
www.screwfix.com/p/diall-mains-powered-led-work-light-11w-220-240v/2564K?tc=XA4&ds_kid=92700019938281987&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249401&gclid=CjwKCAjw1_PqBRBIEiwA71rmtcD-BPHpkeZ2RdBtafoW5k987QPU7fr-34KE4ivbt0K7Z9oJs7DIUhoCRmcQAvD_BwE

[Springersrock]

Thanks all!

It is lovely and peaceful up there, plus it would be amazing to be on our own

There are a few downsides - electricity and water being the main ones. Not insurmountable, but it does put me off

They’ve not had horses on the yard for years so there’s quite a bit of work we’d have to do - fencing, the school is looking a bit sorry for itself, there’s ragwort everywhere. We’d be responsible for muck heap removal/maintenance, etc and I don’t know if I can be arsed

We have 2 horses, 1 of which is retired. The retiree kicks off if she’s on her own so there’s issues there whenever DD wanted to hack out/go to competitions/etc.

There is 3 stables, but I don’t want another horse, or have anyone else there either

We’re on a livery yard at the moment with kids DD’s age so she’s got horsey friends and people to ride with - she loves the idea of our own place, but realistically I think she’d get bored/lonely

[snowpo]

Hmm I think you're right, your DD might lose interest. I've always been on DIY yards but had our own land for a couple of years, found I really missed the company of others even though I always hack out alone. I think this applies even more to kids, it's much more fun doing gymkhana games, picnic rides, exploring on hacks if you have friends to do it with.

[UrsulaPandress]

I had the chance of a lovely field once with a shelter/stable and nothing else. I was put off by the thought of dark winter mornings and evenings.

[Booboostwo]

I've done it but it does add to the work you have to do. I had a small water trailer I could tow to a tap and that kept me going for a while but there was a lot of extra work making sure all the water troughs were full up, especially in winter. You'd also need a generator to run lights, it gets dark quite early and you need lights to bring in the horses safely and check them over as well as for emergencies. The farrier, dentist and vet may also need access to electricity.

For what you say though, you might be better off in a livery yard for other reasons. If you have one horse that won't stay alone, you will need a third one. Sounds like the yard needs a lot of work just to get it up tp standard. Children usually prefer the busy social environment of a livery yard, alone in a private yard they may soon lose interest.

[longearedbat]

I haven't owned horses for years, but I have been on yards without one or the other, or neither. I think no water is the worst, as it's just such a faff to lug it around. Also, you can't hose off/shampoo them, because you have to conserve your precious water supplies. Just simple things like washing out buckets and food bowls, or soaking hay, becomes a real problem.
Lack of electricity is easier, but you spend a fortune on alternative lighting, and it is a real problem if you've got a sick horse.

[Springersrock]

Thanks all!

Trouble is, I’m inherently lazy and it just makes it too much like hard work

I like the idea of our own place, but at the same time I like being on livery. We’re on DIY but the YO deals with the big stuff/maintenance/muck heap removal/etc. Plus he’ll give them their breakfast and chuck them out for £1 each a day which saves us going up there twice a day

We don’t have a tow bar on our car so there’s the expense of that if we wanted to use a trailer to move water around

Buy a generator or battery powered stuff.

We’d have to find a companion for the retiree

I can’t see it being any cheaper than livery but it would be loads more work but DD and DH are raring to go - riding is really DH and DD’s thing.

Went for another look and it’s not actually as bad as I remember. The fences are pretty much ok, stables are sound and the school just needs a good tidy up

Thanks!

[cherrytree63]

After having my own yard I'm finding being a livery really stressful, so if I was offered my own yard I'd jump straight in!
I've just moved from a yard with no electricity and the summer grazing was down the road with no water.
I used the screwfix rechargeable lights mentioned upthread, and had some bigger ones to use in the school.
Also some little solar panel motion sensor lights for the yard. One of my boys is a bit stressy in the stable so I'd be up early to turn out and late to bring in and the lights served their purpose.
Taking water to the field was harder, I've got some big water containers and my helpful DO would take 8 over every few days so I could top up the trough.
Ive seen some really good lights that you fix in your stables, they're connected to each other and run from a rechargeable torch. About £120/140 depending on how many lights and LED or normal.

[cherrytree63]

bedazzledledlighting.co.uk/product/stable-lights-system-standard-brightness/

[littlelandlord7]

I don't think you can beat having your own yard

Having said that I'd want mains water
You could definitely live without elec and get solar lights & or get a generator

[Trewser]

I have a rainwater bowser x 2 which collects rain water. If it gets very dry i drive over with a water container.

I use rechargeable lighting. Im brilliant at picking out feet and changing rugs in the dark, i barely bother with a head torch these days!

[Tyersal]

No electricity is fine check out bedazzled stable lights. Not sure I would like no water especially in summer