Livery yard
Encyclopedia
A livery yard or livery stable (Great Britain
, Ireland
), or boarding stable (Australia
, North America
) is a stable
where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on working livery - see below). Facilities at a livery yard normally include a loose box or stable
and access for the horse to graze on grass.
Historically in North America "livery stable" had a somewhat different meaning: a stable where horses, teams and wagons were for hire, but also where privately-owned horses could be boarded for a short time, often attached to a hotel or boarding house. The C. W. Miller Livery Stable
is an example of a multi-story livery stable located at Buffalo, New York
. The livery stable was a necessary institution of every American town, but it has been generally ignored by historians. In addition to providing vital transportation service, the livery was the source of hay, grain, coal, and wood. Because of the stench, noise, and vermin that surrounded the livery, cities and towns attempted to control their locations and activities. Often the scene of gambling, cockfighting, and stag shows, they were condemned as sources of vice. With the advent of the automobile after 1910, the livery stables quietly disappeared.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
), or boarding stable (Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
) is a stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on working livery - see below). Facilities at a livery yard normally include a loose box or stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
and access for the horse to graze on grass.
History of livery stables in North America
C. W. Miller Livery Stable
C. W. Miller Livery Stable is a historic multi-story livery stable and later parking garage located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is a six story, rectangular masonry building 65 feet wide and 236 feet deep, built between 1892 and 1894. Originally built with long ramps, in the 1920s it...
is an example of a multi-story livery stable located at Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. The livery stable was a necessary institution of every American town, but it has been generally ignored by historians. In addition to providing vital transportation service, the livery was the source of hay, grain, coal, and wood. Because of the stench, noise, and vermin that surrounded the livery, cities and towns attempted to control their locations and activities. Often the scene of gambling, cockfighting, and stag shows, they were condemned as sources of vice. With the advent of the automobile after 1910, the livery stables quietly disappeared.
Types of livery
- Full livery - The staff undertake all care of the horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
and often exercise or even compete the horse on behalf of the owner. This is normally the most expensive option.
- Part livery - The horse is normally fed, watered, and the stall or loose box is mucked out (cleaned) on behalf of the owner. It is not trained or exercised.
- Do it yourself or DIY livery - A field or paddock and a stable are normally provided. The owner undertakes all care of the horse and provides all hay, feed and bedding. This is usually the least expensive option. Sometimes an amount of hayHayHay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
and/or strawStrawStraw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
for bedding is included. Everything else needs to be done by the horse owner who will visit the yard two or more times a day to manage their horse.
- Grass livery or agistment - A form of DIY livery in which a field or paddock is provided, often with a field shelter, but without stabling. Grass livery is often only usable during drier weather or during the grass growing season, with the horses being stabled elsewhere at other times. This arrangement is similar to the owner renting a field or paddock for their horse, but fees are charged per horse rather than by the size of the field; also different owners' animals may be mixed, and the horse owner is not responsible for maintenance of the fences and other facilities.
- Working livery - Working liveries are particularly common at riding schools and it involves the owner paying a discounted livery fee so that the riding school has the right to use the horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
in lessons.
American horse boarding
In the United States, terminology is less defined and varies by region, requiring horse owners to inquire specifically as to services provided, but boarding usually falls into one of the following categories:- Full board: Generally includes all food, water, stabling, stall-cleaning, and, sometimes, daily turnout for exercise. In a few locations, particularly in the eastern US, "full board" may also encompass grooming and riding of the horse, but not a common practice nationally. If a horse is groomed, ridden and taken into competition by someone other than the owner, it is usually referred to as "in training" or "at training," and the owner pays additional fees on top of full boarding costs.
- Part or Partial board: The horse is provided shelter, water, stabling, and twice daily feedings of hayHayHay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
. All other care, including feeding of grain, stall-cleaning, grooming and all exercise, is the responsibility of the owner.
- Self-board: Similar to "DIY livery" in the UK. The stabling is provided, and the owner is responsible for all care. In most cases, hay and stall bedding is available for the use of the boarders. In some places, this is included in the term "partial board."
- Pasture board: Essentially the same as "Grass livery" in the UK. Often used year-round in the United States, particularly in the west. In the winter, if there is insufficient grass, some pasture board situations include hay fed to the horses, in other places, the owner must provide all supplemental feeding.
Further reading
- Houghton-Brown, J. (2001) Horse Business Management: Managing a Successful Yard. Blackwell Science.
- Macdonald, J. M. (1995) Running a Stables as a Business. London: J A Allen.
- Spence, Clark C. "The Livery Stable in the American West," Montana: The Magazine of Western History, June 1986, Vol. 36 Issue 2, pp 36–49
External links
- http://www.horsedata.co.uk/LiveryYards.asp Directory of livery yards in the UK.
- http://www.go-grazing.com/editable/about.php UK Livery yard resource