DIY Livery vs Full Livery

What Livery option's best for
you? Photo: (c) DS Pugh

Like many decisions to be made by Horse owners these days, the choice of Livery option can be a little confusing! But trust us, it's really not that hard to find a suitable option for you and your horse! 

We've compiled some information on the different types of Livery Options available for you and your horse to help you make an informed choice

DIY Stabled Livery

This type of livery provides the horse owner with a stable in which to keep their horse and a field or paddock in which to turn their horse out during the day. The horse owner is responsible for all care including mucking out, turning the horse out to the field and bringing the horse in from the field and feeding of the horse on a daily basis. Bedding and hay are often not included and the horse owner must purchase these separately, although some livery yards may offer DIY stabled livery at a higher price with bedding and hay included. This type of livery requires the horse owner to attend to the horse in the morning and evening of every day.


Grass Livery

This type of livery provides the horse owner with a field in which to keep their horse. The horse owner is responsible for all care and feeding of the horse on a daily basis. This type of livery requires the horse owner to attend to the horse every day even if no feeding is necessary, in order to ascertain that the horse has suffered no injury or illness each day.

Part Livery

This type of livery is similar to DIY Stabled livery but the day to day care of the horse is shared by the owner and livery yard staff and the care routine will vary from yard to yard. Some livery yards may offer staff care during the week, with the horse owner responsible for the care of the horse at weekends, other livery yards may offer staff care in the mornings with the horse owner responsible for care of the horse in the evenings. Some livery yards may include some exercising of the horse within their part livery service. This type of livery is ideal for those horse owners whose work schedule makes it difficult for them to attend to their horse twice a day, 7 days a week.

Full Livery

In addition to providing the horse owner with a stable in which to keep their horse and a field in which to turn their horse out during the day, full livery usually also includes bedding, hay and feed. Livery yard staff are responsible for all care including mucking out, turning out the horse to the field and bringing the horse in from the field and feeding of the horse on a daily basis. Some livery yards may include exercising of the horse within their full livery service. This type of livery is ideal for the horse owner whose busy schedule does not give them the time to care for their horse on a daily basis.

Working Livery

Livery yards that also operate as a riding school sometimes offer a Working Livery. The horse is kept at livery (grass, DIY stabled, part or full livery) but a reduced rate is charged in exchange for the horse owner allowing the livery yard to use their horse in riding lessons.

Tying-Up in Horses

Tying up in horses, also known as azoturia is a muscle metabolism problem. The muscles over the loins and the quarters harden, with cramps and stiffness. The stride becomes shorter and eventually may lead the horse to stagger behind and potentially go lame. The horse may refuse to work or collapse during work. The temperature is usually raised, and there may be sweating. In severe cases the urine may turn dark red or brown.

The many reasons for tying-up or azoturia all have something in common; the normal balance of the horse's metabolic system is subjected to unexpected change. This may be a change of exercise or work routine, of temperature, of diet, of stress, or, in mares in heat, a hormonal change. The horse's system suddenly does not know what is going to happen next and so activates protective measures - it conserves, or holds on to, electrolytes. In tying-up, the cells have taken priority and the horse is in a poor state of improperly functioning muscles and digestion.

Tying-up may be Sporadic, that is occasional and temporary, occurring often but clearing up, or it may become Chronic, making the horse useless for further work. All grades of tying-up or azoturia introduce uncertainty about the performance of the horse in any competitive sport.

For more information, contact your local vet. 

Tic Tac Equestrian

Sarcoids

Sarcoids have been the blight of horses, their owners and vets for generations. On an individual basis they can be a cause of considerable pain and suffering to horses, heartache to their owners and frustration (and embarrassment) to their vets!

What is a Sarcoid?

Known formerly as the equine “wart”, the sarcoid is a skin “lesion” occurring singly or in multiple numbers, usually on the head, groin or the axilla (armpits) of horses. The term “lesion” is used generally here, although the term “skin cancer” is perhaps helpful to emphasise the severity of the disease. They can appear over a variable period of time and in six distinct forms, such that in some cases they can be difficult to diagnose. There are many different types of skin disease in horses and as a general measure, the majority should be checked by your vet, since they can be confusing to identify.

What causes sarcoids?

Despite years of research and investigation, no one is absolutely sure what exactly causes Sarcoids. Some evidence suggests that biting flies may be involved in transmission of the disease. This may explain why patterns of the disease vary in different countries and why in some countries (but not here) the disease is regarded as contagious.

What do they look like?

As mentioned above, there are six distinct forms of the sarcoid, so distinct in appearance that it is often hard to justify the inclusion in the same “disease”.

The Occult Sarcoid: nothing to do with the “Exorcist”, this is a circular patch of hair loss with a grey, scaly surface. this is fairly serious and looks very similar to ringworm or tack rubs or lice infestation.

The Verrucous Sarcoid: looks a little like the above, grey and scaly, but extends deeper into the skin and is more irregular in outline. It can be mistaken for a variety of viral skin diseases and a tumour called squamous cell carcinoma, which is a real nasty!

The Nodular Sarcoid: these are mainly found under the skin, forming round nodules with apparently intact (but often thin and shiny) skin overlying. They are usually found around the eyelids and in the groin and look like a variety of skin tumours, including typical melanomas in greys.

The Fibroblastic Sarcoid: these are nasty and aggressive and look like true ulcerated skin tumours. They can often start after injuries to the skin, especially on the legs or after surgical removal of other forms of sarcoid elsewhere. They look horrific and can be very invasive into the surrounding skin and deeper tissues.

The Mixed Sarcoid: like the pudding trolley of a dubious restaurant, a platter of suspicious-looking but vaguely-familiar nasties (as described above), of different ages, all jostling unattractively for position. May be occult, nodular and fibroblastic sarcoids all in there together.

The Malevolent Sarcoid: a sarcoid behaving like an aggressive tumour by spreading along lymph vessels. These often develop following surgery on fibroblastic sarcoids.

As with most nasty skin troubles, your vet is likely best placed to decide on appropriate treatments. Sarcoids are never good news, and neither are many of the diseases they can get confused with. If your horse has skin disease, and you don’t know what it is (especially if you have tried treatment, eg. for lice, and it has failed) then get it checked by a vet. If you check vigilantly and react quickly, even if it's just a slight suspicion, you can usually find yourself in good stead to locate an appropriate treatment.