Essex livery yard hell

Unfortunately there are many livery yard owners in Essex (and probably elsewhere) who do not realise they are running a business with customers.....they believe that you should pay them your hard earned money for leaky stables, substandard bedding and feed and poorly maintained, and at times outright dangerous facilities.. They demand in return for use twelve by twelve bit of box space and some muddy turnout (if you’re lucky) practically the power of life and death over you and your animal, and if there is anything you don’t like about their service....well, you will be expected to ‘get your horse and get out’, usually, with no period of notice.

I’ve seen unsafe sparking electrics...field mud allowed by poor maintenance to get so deep it broke a horse’s leg....I have seen liveries abused, fleeced and exploited....even robbed. I’ve heard twelve year old girls threatened with violence by owners...I’ve seen horses beaten by yard owners when the livery was safely out of the way. Of course their ideal world they would like you to leave your money with them and not bother them with your horse. Yet still people put up with this and live in the sway of these bullies and in some cases criminals.

These are the sorts of yard where you will never get a livery contract, where the most obnoxious liveries survive and even thrive by sycophancy and back stabbing. These yards are hell on earth for decent horse lovers yet in our part of Essex at least, are in the majority. If you don’t like it...get out.
At one of these yards you can pay £400+ a month to be abused, exploited and ripped off. You can pay £7.00 or more for a bale of substandard woodchip bedding that contains dust, cigarette butts, tape and even wire. You can pay £5.50 a bale for low quality poorly stored hay, covered with vermin faeces and reeking of mould....

There is no government regulation of the livery business, riding schools have to have council approval...but any idiot can open a yard.
Teachers and support workers at schools have to have CRB checks...even with the high number of un attended children at yards...anyone can run one...no questions asked.
These are livery yards you could be sending your daughter to!