What rules does your yard have?

[Honeyroar]

What rules does your DIY yard have that you think are acceptable or sensible?

[maxelly]

We're a mix of DIY, part and full and have lots of rules. Most of them sensible, most of them (in general) respected. YO is pretty hot on enforcement and gives anyone a good old-fashioned bollocking for repeated infringement which usually does the trick although as in any yard there is always grumbling/bitching about the reasonableness of the rules and who is/isn't following them!

Lots around equipment, where muck goes, what lives where etc. The yard has communal barrows, skips, brushes etc for anyone to use, these have to be returned to the store empty/clean when finished with (this works so much better than everyone having their own as things perpetually go walkabout).

Leave communal areas as you found them, particularly poo picking the walkways and school, hosing/sweeping down the wash-off areas and sweeping the bit outside your stable after mucking out (bone of contention that some people never seem to do this!).

Complicated school booking system where it's free-for-all at some times and bookable at others (for lessons etc) - made even more complicated by the fact there's a riding school on site as well which has first dibs on the schools. At one point there was an attempt to make the small school into a permanent lunging area and to always have jumps up in a part of the big school but that was just too much!

A rota system for DIYs to poo pick and weed the fields (part and full liveries don't have to), this is unduly complex too and everyone is permanently convinced they do more than others and/or that some people aren't pulling their weight - for myself I think most people under estimate how much their horses shit

Rules around what bedding and feed you can use, how much etc. Feed is an area of contention, everyone used to buy their own but then the feed store was overflowing with random bags, no-one knew who's was who's, everyone was always 'accidentally' taking from someone else's. So now it's bought communally (part and full is included in livery charge, DIY get charged for what they use on a bit of an honesty box system), which doesn't bother me as mine are fatties and don't get hard feed anyway (aside from the occasional handful of chaff if they need supplements/medicine), but I know is annoying for some who want fancier/different stuff...

A hacking board to write down where you are going and when you will be back, esp if hacking alone. This one is so important for safety!

Dogs and DC allowed on the yard but must be under control at all times - not always abided by

Probably more but these are the ones that spring to mind!

[bobstersmum]

I don't have horses now but when I was younger one of the unbreakable rules was no boyfriends on the yard! Can you imagine trying to enforce that now. The yard owner was a bit crazy. The older ladies husbands were allowed though!

[Pleasedontdothat]

Our yard doesn’t have many rules - dogs are welcome but have to be on lead, which is fair enough. There’s the usual ones about clearing up after yourselves etc and the one inviolable rule is that if you’re bringing in your horse and there’s only one other horse left in the field, then you need to bring that horse in too so they’re not left on their own

[Honeyroar]

Thanks everyone.x

[Jonb6]

I have my own place. Bliss, but my rules are sweep up loose straw/hay and the area in front of the stables. Put things back where they belong.