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Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Original poster

Hay and livery price increases

30 replies

HelpMeHiveMind · 01/04/2022 14:36

How much are you now paying for bales and livery vs this time last year? I really feel for the farmers and yard owners at the moment, but equally it's starting to become a bit scary how fast the costs of pony care are rising- between hay and livery increases, I'm hoping it doesn't become unfeasible.

Interested to know how much everyone else's have increased.

OP posts:
Mollyplop999 · 01/04/2022 15:49

Hay is £40 for a large bale. I'm in the East Midlands

XelaM · 01/04/2022 16:34

I'm in London and the yard increased the already astronomical livery fee by 20%. It's totally unfeasible for us to continue staying there and we are moving yards.

InflationRising · 01/04/2022 18:15

I've just moved yards and today the fee went up 6%

freshcarnation · 01/04/2022 21:05

Livery costs won't go up. Hay is £5 a small bale, straw is £1.50 a small bale. South East

Original poster
HelpMeHiveMind · 01/04/2022 21:41

@freshcarnation wow that's super cheap! Hay here has just gone from 35 to 45 and whilst my livery is currently staying the same, 2 of my friends have just gone up 20% - making it over £700 per month for part livery. My yard is due to close down at some point next year and I have zero idea how I will afford those kind of prices which now seem to be the norm around here.

OP posts:
freshcarnation · 02/04/2022 07:11

It's my yard, so I don't pay livery Smile. I would imagine if we were a commercial yard we would have to put up livery costs though

InflationRising · 02/04/2022 07:18

£700 a month for part!?!?!? I assume you're in the SE? That's crazy money. I've just moved from yard charging £100 a week for full livery to one charging £130 and that's painful enough.

PaperDoves · 02/04/2022 08:14

Part livery as in everything but exercise or part livery as in they do some care and you do the rest? I've been looking at livery yards lately and have noticed part livery doesn't always have the same definition. £700 per month for "full" part livery is standard here (SE) for a place with good facilities. I'm on "full" full livery and pay nearly £900 a month. That includes all hay and feed. Luckily prices haven't gone up!

HighlandCowbag · 02/04/2022 08:20

Our increased it's price in January by £5. Pay £230 pcm for diy, including hay and bedding. They did reduce the hay allowance in February tho, mainly because some people were taking the piss with it but you can buy extra hay.

It's at the top end price wise locally (yorkshire) but has cracking facilities. We pay for extras like bringing in and tbh that is the thing the yard is struggling with most, recruiting staff that is A competent and B reliable.

alloalloallo · 02/04/2022 08:31

I’m on the south coast

Livery increased from £30 to £35 per horse at the beginning of March - we’re on DIY

I pay an extra £20 week for extras for my 2 - in the winter they bring in, change rugs and give them their dinner and in the summer they do morning feed/rug/turn out - that hasn’t gone up and hasn’t for years. Now it’s light enough both ends of the day I could do them myself but I’d spend that £20 on petrol

Hay - £42 for a large bale last year, was £40 the year before. My hay man said he’ll wait and see what the weather does this year before deciding if it will go up

Original poster
HelpMeHiveMind · 02/04/2022 09:11

@PaperDoves part as in they do everything 5 days (but no exercise), then 2 days per week the owner does everything - for circa £700.

OP posts:
Original poster
HelpMeHiveMind · 02/04/2022 09:11

Should add, the going rate for that at a yard with decent facilities used to be between 550-600 around here

OP posts:
PaperDoves · 02/04/2022 10:12

[quote HelpMeHiveMind]@PaperDoves part as in they do everything 5 days (but no exercise), then 2 days per week the owner does everything - for circa £700. [/quote]
Yikes, that's expensive. I'd pay that for all days with no exercise but part of the joy of part livery is not waking up at 6am on the weekends!

nearlyspringyay · 02/04/2022 10:23

It's £90 a week diy, £150 for full at mine.

CountryCob · 02/04/2022 10:54

I don’t know about livery costs but the farrier is having to pass on some of their increased costs and the big factor where I live it also yard/land availability as so much is going for housing, including the hay fields which could drive up costs eventually….

InflationRising · 02/04/2022 12:10

£90 a week DIY? Jesus Christ. Does that at least include hay and bedding?

Original poster
HelpMeHiveMind · 02/04/2022 17:05

@CountryCob we've just been told to expect hay to double next winter due to fertiliser plus fuel costs...making a large bale next winter just under £80 per bale which would be needed fortnightly...that just seems like madness.

Every yard round here is now charging very similar rates, and the majority have also stopped any part / assisted livery so it's forcing full (which is more like 900 p/m) on anyone who can't do DIY. How the heck is anyone meant to afford this?

OP posts:
CountryCob · 02/04/2022 17:40

@HelpMeHiveMind doubling would be massive, my farrier and riding instructor went up this week also. I agree I feel for everyone in this situation but a lot of people are on fixed incomes and just won’t be able to afford the increase, although we do need hay is everyone really going to pay twice as much, I’m not sure.

Lastqueenofscotland · 02/04/2022 18:55

£90 a week DIY?!?!? We are £100 for full! With year round turn out, immediate access to off road hacking and 2 indoor schools

XelaM · 02/04/2022 22:54

@Lastqueenofscotland Omg where is this yard?!? I pay over 1000 for full livery every month and with extras it's never less than 1300-1400. These prices are the reason we're moving yards.

Floralnomad · 03/04/2022 12:32

@XelaM what extras are you paying if you are on full livery ? I’m SE and pay £120 per week and I think £110-200 is roughly the going rate depending on facilities / what they do . I actually think some of the problem with pricing is the actual definition of full livery . When we first started with full livery ( were DIY before children ) it meant that the stable literally did everything including riding / lunging so many times per week as reqd, grooming etc so it really didn’t matter whether you visited or not . Nowadays I see numerous ads for Full livery but all they do is turnout , change rugs , do beds , feed and maybe pick out feet - to me that is part livery as I’d still need to visit at least every day / other day to groom .

Lastqueenofscotland · 03/04/2022 17:10

[quote XelaM]@Lastqueenofscotland Omg where is this yard?!? I pay over 1000 for full livery every month and with extras it's never less than 1300-1400. These prices are the reason we're moving yards.[/quote]
East lancs/west Yorks border.

puddlesofmothers · 04/04/2022 20:05

I have my own yard luckily so can't comment on livery prices but hay prices were cheap this year I pay £25 for a round bales and just bought 12 large square haylage bales for £22 each. I expect them to increase by about 50%, most farmers won't use fertilisers this year but will just get one or two cuts, some farmers last year got 4 but not without hammering the fertilisers!

Prancingponies · 06/04/2022 19:30

85 pounds a month DIY. Yes, a month.

Hay has gone up to 30 pounds a bale. North East.

Expecting hay to go up, judging by what our supplier is saying about fertilizer/wrap/fuel prices.

whymewhyme · 07/04/2022 06:17

I rent my own little place, its not gone up and i have been paying 40 for a hay or haylage for about 18 months