Livery Yards in South Dublin

Subtly_insane

(Sorry if this has been posted too frequently throughout the forum, all the information I've found has been either posted ages ago, and I'm unsure if things have changed or the creator of the post has been "sent a pm")

Hello, I have been riding for nearly 8 years multiple times a week and am now fortunate enough to have the opportunity to own my own horse. I've leased for nearly 3 years, competed, hunted, showed and after much thought and research, have decided on purchasing my very own equine friend

I have been looking at a lot of livery yards in Dublin and have found a few contenders, namely Coolmine and Pembrooke, but I can't find anything about the prices and would also very much like to look at smaller livery yards in South County Dublin.
I'm looking for an affordable yard with full livery (feeding, mucking out and turn out) with good facilities. Full time turn out is also fine, but would prefer to have the horse stabled in the colder months. I'd like to hopefully be paying a little under €100 per week, as I know there are places that do livery for less but the facilities aren't the best.

I'd appreciate any help or advice and if you have any details about a yard that you can't post in this thread, please pm me.

Thanks!

Kamili

PM Sent!

Ah_Yeah

There are very few yards in South Dublin that will do full livery for €100 a week or under - I think Pembroke do it and maybe one other. You will likely be looking at DIY/Assist DIY or alternatively increasing your budget.

Costs for Full in South Dublin range from €110-€165 a week.

Subtly_insane

Ah_Yeah wrote: »

There are very few yards in South Dublin that will do full livery for €100 a week or under - I think Pembroke do it and maybe one other. You will likely be looking at DIY/Assist DIY or alternatively increasing your budget.

Costs for Full in South Dublin range from €110-€165 a week.

I'd love to do DIY but unfortunately, I don't have the time, so full sounds like the only way to go for now. I've heard of a few places that did full livery for under €100 a week and in most places, I would prefer more facilities. I'm still looking at a few because I want to try and find the right place for me and my horse, and so for now, I am keeping my options open
I'd rather not increase my budget as I don't want to be stuck paying more for the same treatment and facilities I could still have if I paid less, as I found this has happened to me and others before. But if it's worth the bit extra, I wouldn't mind paying a little extra as much.

Cherry Blossom

New Haven is a smaller yard between Saggart and Rathcoole and is very hard to find. I looked at keeping my horse there DIY when I lived in Rathcoole but their opening times didn't suit me (They were closed on my days off). The access to the forest appealed to me but they have no indoor.

http://newhavenequestrian.weebly.com/

Kamili

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

New Haven is a smaller yard between Saggart and Rathcoole and is very hard to find. I looked at keeping my horse there DIY when I lived in Rathcoole but their opening times didn't suit me (They were closed on my days off). The access to the forest appealed to me but they have no indoor.

http://newhavenequestrian.weebly.com/

New Haven has been closed and the yard they were running out of has been taken over by new management under Pembroke stud and Livery and revamped completely.

There is no association between New Haven and Pembroke apart from the location.
Just worth noting also is that Pembroke is open all year round, its not closed on Bank Holidays or closing early on weekends. Only Full livery is offered here at very reasonable rates.

http://pembrokestudandlivery.com/main.html

Cherry Blossom

Ah sorry, I didn't know that. They didn't last long did they!

Subtly_insane

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Ah sorry, I didn't know that. They didn't last long did they!

Apparently not!
Thanks for the help anyways

Kamili

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Ah sorry, I didn't know that. They didn't last long did they!

They were there 5 years

Ah_Yeah

Subtly_insane wrote: »

I'd love to do DIY but unfortunately, I don't have the time, so full sounds like the only way to go for now. I've heard of a few places that did full livery for under €100 a week and in most places, I would prefer more facilities. I'm still looking at a few because I want to try and find the right place for me and my horse, and so for now, I am keeping my options open
I'd rather not increase my budget as I don't want to be stuck paying more for the same treatment and facilities I could still have if I paid less, as I found this has happened to me and others before. But if it's worth the bit extra, I wouldn't mind paying a little extra as much.

Trust me - I spent the better part of 3 or 4 months looking for decent livery in South Dublin, and I visited about 3 yards (including Wicklow) that did it within that price. The yards you will find for less than €100 will either not be in South Dublin (e.g. West Dublin or well into Wicklow) so you'll end up paying more on commuting anyway, or will have poorer facilities and standards of care. If you do happen to find something then that's great but I just wanted to set your expectations as I think what you're looking for is a stretch. Unless you have a pony, in which case you'll find what you're looking for much easier.

It depends where you live and if you can handle the commute to those yards that are a bit further out - for me it's not suitable and so I pay what I consider to be an average cost for a good location.

If the only reason you're not willing to increase the budget is in case you could get it better somewhere else, then my suggestion would be to make a list of what you're looking for, and go visit the yards that meet your criteria. That's the only real way you'll know what you're looking at paying tbh.

Maybe if you shared what facilities you were looking for, people could give you some ideas of what yards matched your needs, and what that might cost? Lots of people on here are liveries or have been on livery in that area so would be able to advise. The above is just my personal experience.

Kamili

I just want to pip in here, I understand where Ah_Yeah is coming from, but not all yards under €100 will have poorer facilities or standard of care, some will fair enough, but I don't think its fair to tar all businesses with the same brush. Particularly as there are already two yards mentioned above already in the OP. By the same measure, I have paid "average" Dublin prices and gotten appalling care so I can understand where the OP is coming from. I too have also trawled through a lot of yards in South Dublin and north Kildare looking for livery, its a tough game out there.

OP, only you know what you need, and where you are located. However I would suggest asking a lot of questions, and visiting the yard before making any sort of decision.

Ah_Yeah

Kamili wrote: »

I just want to pip in here, I understand where Ah_Yeah is coming from, but not all yards under €100 will have poorer facilities or standard of care, some will fair enough, but I don't think its fair to tar all businesses with the same brush. Particularly as there are already two yards mentioned above already in the OP. By the same measure, I have paid "average" Dublin prices and gotten appalling care so I can understand where the OP is coming from. I too have also trawled through a lot of yards in South Dublin and north Kildare looking for livery, its a tough game out there.

OP, only you know what you need, and where you are located. However I would suggest asking a lot of questions, and visiting the yard before making any sort of decision.

I actually referenced three scenarios - they would either not actually be in South Dublin OR lower standards of care OR lack of facilities. In the case of the yards that were referenced above, they are not really in South Dublin, they are (in the example of the yards provided) in West Dublin - no doubt these yards have high standards of care as they were on my list of yards that I checked out, however the commute to these yards from South Dublin is a pain. I would have been looking at c.40 minutes drive to Pembroke from where I live (Dublin 14) which isn't feasible on my time or my pocket.

All the yards that were in a decent commuting distance from South Dublin, with good quality care and decent facilities are coming in around the €120+ a week. I was lucky and managed to get mine for €110.

Kamili I totally agree with you on price not being directly related to care - I've heard a few horror stories! I just think that by sticking to €100 or less they are limiting themselves in what they could potentially find. My suggestion is that the OP make a list of what they want, go visit the yards that tick the boxes and then decide which is best based on meeting their needs and price. Also OP, not all yards are full at the moment - you may find that Yard Owners are willing to haggle a bit on price if they need to fill stables

horsefarm

Having offered livery in the past in South Dublin I soon realised its near impossible to keep prices low if providing good quality hay/feed/bedding while maintaining fencing/muck heap/arena/stables in good condition (never mind rents/mortgages insurance etc being paid for the yard)
When you take the cost of these out of your weekly livery rate and then divide by 7 you will soon see that people looking after your horse are working for a very low daily rate.

Apologies for an extremely pointless post on my behalf but when you do the sums it's hard to keep it under €100pw for full livery. People in South Dublin are usually paying higher rents and mortgages than for equivalent yards further afield. Good luck with your search I hope you prove me wrong

silverfox88

Just a couple of pointers (livery in a number of places in the South Dublin/North Wicklow area over the years)

Agree with most of the above - livery below €100 very hard to find, especially with good facilities. Very few places remaining that do it - 110/120 and above more likely.

DIY/DIY Assist is just not doable unless you are not working or a student. I'm sure there is the exception that proves the rule but I did it in college and even then it was a PITA. Not worth what little you will save (and it generally is very little compared to full prices in Dublin anyway) when you take into account the hassle.

One thing I just want to draw your attention to which is easily forgotten is access roads. If you are competing, travelling on bad roads is stressful, not to mention the wear and tear on your jeep if your are towing. Roads can also become impassable with snow/ice etc.

That last point is a biggie for me - I moved my horse recently and took stock of all of the things I've learned in various yards including that I view access roads as very important. Bear them in mind when you go to see what appears to be the perfect yard perched atop a hill, reached via miniscule, single lane, steep roads. My stress levels and the 3k bill for a new gearbox in my jeep will never let me forget it anyway.

Kamili

I have to agree there Silverfox, one of the things I look out for myself is access and road surfaces, if they are bad/narrow it does tend to put me off a yard. I've too spent thousands on replacing the suspension on my jeep over potholed roads, and I wasn't towing at all at that stage. Its not worth it in the long run!