# Differences between part/full time/DIY livery?



## sophieex (6 March 2011)

I've been horse riding for about 4 few years now at a local riding school, but I'm interested in buying a horse for myself, but I'm confused on what the difference is between part/full time and DIY liverys. Also what would be best for me if I'm at school/college 5 days of the week from 9am to 3:15pm. thanks!


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## Luci07 (6 March 2011)

Basically price and how much is done for you, but if you look at any of the routes, always find out exactly what is included as extras can really mount up.

So, in principle, Full livery - means, your horse is completely taken care 7 days a week, fed, mucked out, turned , tack cleaned, worked and groomed. Yard takes care of shoeing/vetting. You can just come down to ride when you can. Some full liveries include clipping/trimming. A gotcha can be bedding - only have x no of bale, anything else is charged.
Part - stable care done but tack cleaning, work and grooming is down to the livery. Some yards do a 5 day part and you revert to DIY at the weekend.
DIY - all down to you, but some yards will include some forage/bedding in the price. You need to factor in things like petrol and time to get down twice a day (unless living out), and remember that most DIY means you also need to source your own bedding,feed and hay. When I was on DIY, that (as I worked full time) meant being very organised!


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## schneeko (6 March 2011)

as above,

I would say a DIY with morning turnout/bring in for you would suit you. Then you don't have to go to the yard in the morning. I really enjoy the early mornings, but I didn't do them when I first got a horse because even once a day is a lot to start with


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## mudmonkey17 (6 March 2011)

Have found this thread interesting as I am on part livery which includes haylage, hard feed and either a turn out or bring in. Full in the area would be bedding, feed, haylage, grooming, mucking out turnout etc but no riding. 
Our yard has just put prices up to 64 a week with no bedding included which inthink is steep hence looking for new yard.
Sorry to hijack your post and good luck in finding a horse and yard to suit


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## haycroft (7 March 2011)

sophieex said:



			I've been horse riding for about 4 few years now at a local riding school, but I'm interested in buying a horse for myself, but I'm confused on what the difference is between part/full time and DIY liverys. Also what would be best for me if I'm at school/college 5 days of the week from 9am to 3:15pm. thanks!

Click to expand...

agree what the others have said,and it depends what horse you get high or low maintance.
if you get a native, a good doer and barefooted that will keep the cost down compared to some finer breeds
,
also when i had my first pony and i was at school with non horsy parents i just rented grazing and just visted once a day(twice if weather was really bad)

good luck finding yourself your first horse


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## CBFan (8 March 2011)

echo the others re differences.

IMO i think you should be on DIY... if you aren't working full time I'm not sure how you'd afford anything else and if you want a horse so badly you should be prepared to get out of bed early to turn him / her out before school / college. As you have the luxury of finishing at 3.15 you can then spend time riding and mucking out in the afternoon  .

Good luck with your search!


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## applecart14 (8 March 2011)

sophieex said:



			I've been horse riding for about 4 few years now at a local riding school, but I'm interested in buying a horse for myself, but I'm confused on what the difference is between part/full time and DIY liverys. Also what would be best for me if I'm at school/college 5 days of the week from 9am to 3:15pm. thanks!

Click to expand...

I'm on assisted DIY livery and pay £44 per week which lets me have rug change and turnout in weekday mornings but £1.00 a day for bring in.  We get haylage or hay included in this price.  Weekends we have to pay around £2.00 for turn out or bring in.  Boots cost extra.  Trailers cost approx £2.00 per week to park.  If you want your horse held for the vet/farrier that costs £5.00 a time.  We are on a really nice yard with horsewalker and large school.

I like DIY as I prefer to do muck out my horse myself although I like the fact that the yard will turn out for me in the morning so I don't have to go up twice a day, something which I am not able to do due to distance and time constraints.


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## Scoutie (8 March 2011)

Just a thought, you may want more support at the begining whilst owning a horse is new and you are both getting to know each other.  I know when I got my first horse it was shock what I didn't know, I had also been regularly visiting a riding school but this hadn't equipped me for actually owning a horse.  You may be entirely differnt and well prepared but I know I appreciated that my horse was on full livery at the time (not suggesting full livery but possibly more than DIY until you have a routine sorted out).


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## Kat (8 March 2011)

To be honest every yard will offer something slightly different, you simply cannot generalise. 

DIY can mean just rent of a box and use of a field and you supply all bedding feed, and do all the work yourself with no support available, and additional charges for facilities like the school if there are facilities. Or at the other extreme it can mean that you get your stable and field plus all feed, bedding, hay, and that the horse is fed and turned out in the morning for you with you to do the rest and includes use of all onsite facilities. 

Full livery typically means that your horse is full cared for even if you don't turn up, but yards differ as to whether it includes exercise, and extras like clipping. Some you may get charged extra for certain feeds or for using more than a certain amount of bedding or hay. 

Part generally means anything from full livery without the riding to DIY where the Yard owner puts the feed in and turns out in the morning. So it can cost anything from £30 - £100 a week! It can also mean full livery 5 days a week and reduced services at the weekend. 

The best thing to do is contact some yards in your area for details of what they offer before you decide if you can afford a horse. If the only yards near you are expensive it might mean you can't. Bear in mind that DIY will mean going down twice a day so you will need to be in walking/cycling distance unless your parents are very understanding so Part livery may be the only option. 

On the other hand if you find a nice DIY yard close by it could be within reach. 

With your first horse though I really wouldn't go to a yard that is DIY only. You will need to have knowledgeable assistance around at first, even if you don't pay someone to do things for you having a member of staff on hand to keep an eye out and answer questions is invaluable! 

Just think about what you would do if you turned up to the yard all alone and found the horse ill or injured and there was no one to help or advise.


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## L&M (9 March 2011)

DIY - self explanatory
Assisted DIY - mainly diy but with some assistance eg turning out 
Part - horse looked after on your behalf, you just turn up to ride
Full - horse looked after on your behalf and excercised too

Assited DIY would probably work best with your circumstances, although some yards do offer part livery m-f with you resuming responsiblities at the weekend. Obviously a lot will depend on your finances too!


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## little_critter (9 March 2011)

I've just moved my first loan horse off her 'home' to a new yard.
An absolute MUST for me was assisted DIY. I wanted to 'do' her myself (so I could get to know here and for cost reasons) but I needed the reassurance that if I got stuck or was unsure about something there would be someone on hand that I could ask.
I know many yards the liveries pitch in together and help each other out but I wanted the confidence of having someone there whose job it was to do assisted DIY if needed so I didn't come unstuck.


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## JoJo_ (9 March 2011)

Assisted DIY is perfect for me and as part of my DIY costs my horse is turned out for me in the morning.

I think everything else has been said except full livery doesnt necessarily include exercise. Some places full livery is 7 days a week and part livery is only 5 days a week which might suit you well.

Also I would like to stress how important it is to do a stable management course if this is your first time owning a horse. There is so much more to being an owner than just putting tack on and riding your horse. I'm sure most riding schools offer these courses.


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