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Equine Professionals And Your Yard – Managing Visitation

Having horses, whether your own or clients’ horses, comes with responsibility. One of those responsibilities is ensuring the welfare of the animals on your premises. This will often include the timely provision of services undertaken by external businesses, such as vets, dentists and farriers.

Similarly, as a civic responsibility, you need to take steps to ensure that the animals, clients and visitors remain safe while on your premises. This applies to anyone visiting the yard, from clients themselves to their friends and family, vets, farriers, instructors and even your own staff.

But where do your responsibilities lie when it comes to third-party service providers, and how much control can you exert over visitors to your yard?

The level of control you can exert over visitors will be determined, to an extent, by the livery packages you offer. Yard owners offering full livery packages, with full day-to-day care of the animals included, will be able to select, coordinate and oversee visits from farriers, vets and similar professionals.

On the other hand, yards offering DIY packages, or packages where the owner carries out all or some of the day-to-day care, will often find they have numerous different service providers visiting the yard every month, with little control over who they are or when they arrive.

Below, we suggest some practical actions you can take to make sure everyone on the yard remains safe and that communication remains open between all parties.

1. Know Who Is Visiting and Why

The most important factor is to make sure you know who is on the yard and when they will be visiting. It is not unreasonable to expect a livery client to notify you of any forthcoming visits from visitors they have organised independently and, unless agreed otherwise, to attend and oversee the service themselves.

The last thing you want is to see a complete stranger leading one of the horses across the yard!

When taking on a new livery client, it is worth mentioning who your yard farrier, vet and horse dentist are. For convenience, horse owners may choose to change their provider so that visits can be easily coordinated and costs reduced. Others may have preferred providers they have used for a long time.

When a new client arrives, they should complete a horse details form. You should include space on this form for the name and contact details of their preferred farrier, vet, horse dentist and any other equestrian professionals they regularly use, such as an instructor or chiropractor.

2. Check Their Credentials and Insurance

One of the biggest challenges is making sure that service providers are actually competent and able to undertake the work they have been asked to do. It is not unreasonable to request details of service providers’ credentials and registrations and, most importantly, their insurance details.

Links to verification sites for some industry professionals can be found at the bottom of this article.

For service providers such as freelance grooms and instructors, you need to make sure they are competent and insured. Anyone coming onto your yard and handling animals can present a potential risk, particularly when handling unfamiliar horses in an unfamiliar environment.

Anyone coming onto your yard to undertake paid services, such as schooling or stable services, should hold custodial liability insurance, more commonly known as ‘Care, Custody and Control’, as well as industry-specific insurance for the services they undertake.

These insurances should cover them for any loss, injury or damage arising in the course of their work, not only to themselves and the horses they are working with, but also provide a level of protection for your property and other people and animals on your yard in the event of their actions or negligence.

As the main service provider, you are well within your rights to request copies of all associated paperwork and insurance before they visit your yard.

Even if a service provider has all the correct paperwork, you may still have concerns about their work ethic or practices. You should reserve the right to raise concerns with owners or advise them that you no longer want that provider carrying out services on the yard.

As the yard owner, it is in your interests to keep everyone safe, including the animals. If you feel that substandard services or practices, even by accredited professionals, are putting people or animals at risk, action must be taken.

3. Do They Need Supervision?

For livery packages where owners carry out the work themselves, such as DIY, you would expect them to attend appointments with service providers such as farriers and vets, as they will have arranged these appointments themselves.

But what if they cannot be there? Is the farrier or vet capable of locating the right horse or handling it while the service is undertaken? Do you really want strangers wandering around the yard or in your fields?

You can enforce a rule that horse owners must be present for these visits to oversee and supervise them and, most importantly, to make sure the right thing is being done.

If they are unable to attend, they could ask whether you would supervise on their behalf. You could choose to do this, but you are not obliged to.

As an incentive, and particularly useful if you or your staff are already on the yard, you can charge a holding fee per 15 minutes. Alternatively, if no direct supervision is required, you could charge a fee to bring in and turn out the horse before or after the service. This also means the owner knows someone will be in the vicinity for the duration of the appointment.

However, if you are overseeing the appointment, you need to make sure you know the date and time and what the service provider is actually coming to do. Make sure you also have their contact details in case they are late or any other issues arise.

4. Make the Rules Clear from the Start

When a potential client views the yard, let them know if you have any restrictions on visitors, as this may affect their decision about whether they would like to bring their horse to you.

Some yards no longer permit external instructors or trainers because of previous problems or insurance issues, or may enforce the use of just one nominated vet or farrier. If this is something you restrict, make sure potential clients are aware of it before they sign up.

If you have specific visiting times or rules in your livery contract regarding supervision or notification of visitors to the yard, including service providers, make sure you point these out.

If there are any rules you feel particularly strongly about, make sure you include them in your contract. Clarity about the yard rules from the start will ensure everyone knows what is expected of them and make it easier to deal with any problems that may arise in the future.

5. Consider the Biosecurity Risk

Biosecurity is another risk to consider. External service providers will visit many yards and handle numerous equines in the course of their work. This can lead to cross-contamination and the potential spread of disease.

The more service providers you have visiting the yard, the higher the risk. While best practice would be for the service provider to bear this in mind, it is not always something that is prioritised. Some may use the same equipment, clothing and boots that they have used when visiting other yards.

It is very easy for a service provider to have unwittingly come into close contact with a disease-carrying horse and then potentially bring infected materials onto your yard.

If you have a biosecurity agreement in place on the yard, horse owners should be aware of this and notify service providers of the requirements before their visit.

You reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone you feel may compromise the safety or welfare of the animals in your care.

Simple precautions can be taken, such as requesting visits earlier in the day, when service providers will have visited fewer animals, or providing a coverall for them to wear while at your yard.

6. What If You Offer Those Services Too?

If your yard offers assisted services such as mucking out or holiday cover, or provides instruction or schooling, do you want third parties coming onto your yard to undertake those services as well?

Not only does this add to the number of visitors to the yard, but services such as holiday cover and schooling are among the most likely to involve unaccompanied visits in the owner’s absence, potentially posing a higher risk.

In addition, if these are services you offer on-site and clients are choosing external providers in preference to your own services, perhaps because they are cheaper, do you really want to lose that potential income?

Many yards that offer instruction or assisted services no longer allow freelance grooms or instructors on the yard because they can provide these services themselves. This is not an unreasonable step to take.

However, not all instructors and horse owners get along, and it is understandable if this restriction puts off potential clients.

As an alternative, you could permit external instructors but add a supplementary fee for the use of the arena or facilities, helping you recover some of the lost income.

You could also arrange regular clinics with external instructors. You can charge an additional fee and take advantage of the demand for external instructors while receiving some recompense and retaining control over when they visit and use the facilities.

7. Could Their Visits Cost You Money or Cause Inconvenience?

If a livery client is paying an external service provider to come to your yard and carry out a paid service, they may well be using your lighting, water, electricity or other facilities.

Is it your responsibility to foot the bill for these utilities or any additional wear and tear?

While most services will only involve light use, services such as clipping, particularly when several horses or ponies are involved, can continually use power if mains electricity is used. This will add unnecessarily to your electricity bill.

Some yards have introduced a fee for clipping on the yard to cover external freelance grooms, or even owners themselves, using the yard’s electricity for clippers and similar equipment.

A fee of only a couple of pounds per horse for clipping may seem barely worth collecting, but if you have ten horses being clipped on the yard and each one is clipped twice over the course of the winter, that £40 will certainly help towards the electricity bill.

You also need to make sure that visit times and services are not disrupting your yard routine or inconveniencing other livery clients.

The last thing you want is for clients to turn up in the evening intending to ride, only to find a jumping lesson taking place and the arena blocked for the next hour.

The yard routine must also be considered. There is little point turning a horse out if the farrier is arriving ten minutes later. Make sure owners are aware of the yard routine and that they are considerate of this when booking appointments.

It is your yard, and you can certainly dictate set visiting times for service providers, particularly where they need to use facilities such as an arena.

Such services should be arranged for less busy times, avoiding evenings or weekends when possible, as these are often the times when everyone wants to exercise their horse.

You can also specify that other services must be carried out within certain times, for example in the morning, if you know that other staff will be on the yard to oversee them.

Make Sure They Clear Up After Themselves

It is also worth making sure that you are not left clearing up after service providers.

It is not acceptable for a farrier to leave nail ends scattered around the yard, a freelance groom to leave hair blowing about, or an instructor to leave a huge course of jumps in the arena.

Make it very clear that all external service providers must leave the yard and its facilities as they found them.

If they fail to do so, responsibility lies with the owner who appointed them. They should not expect you, your staff or other clients to clear up their mess.

8. Set Up a List of Approved Service Providers

It is not unreasonable to provide clients with a fixed option of a ‘yard’ farrier or vet whom you know and can recommend.

This is the ideal option if you are responsible for the day-to-day care of the animals, as it makes coordinating visits easier.

Another option for larger yards with many owners is to issue an approved list of service providers from which clients can choose.

This could start with a short, basic list of providers whose credentials you have checked and whom you are satisfied are qualified, competent and insured to carry out their services.

You can keep a record of this information and ask each provider to send you renewed accreditation or insurance details each year to maintain their approval for your yard.

If you have a new client who wishes to use a service provider who is not already on the list, you can request their details and add them to it.

If you intend to make using an approved provider compulsory, you need to ensure this is communicated to potential clients when they view your yard.

9. Make Sure Visitors Follow the Yard Rules Too

It is entirely reasonable to expect all visitors to the yard to abide by the same rules you expect your clients and staff to follow.

It should be the responsibility of the owners appointing service providers to make them aware of important information regarding yard policies and rules.

Rules about dogs on the yard, no smoking and closing gates may seem obvious to some, but visitors who are unfamiliar with the yard, or who do not follow these simple courtesies, should be made aware of the requirements from the outset.

You are within your rights to ban any serial offenders from the yard.

10. Offer a Set Day for Group Bookings with Preferred Service Providers

More often than not, service providers will offer preferential rates for multiple horses booked during one visit.

This is advantageous for horse owners who can coordinate vet visits, shoeing or other services so that everything is undertaken at once, saving themselves money.

It is also advantageous for yard owners, who only have one block visit to manage, thereby restricting the number of visitors and retaining control over who is on the yard.

Communication is key when organising these group appointments. Arrange them with the service provider well in advance, trying to ensure the timing is convenient for most clients. Weekends or later afternoons are usually most agreeable.

Make sure you let your clients know who is coming and when they will be there.

Many larger yards have set visit times for farriers (for example, every six weeks) and vets (for example, monthly), so clients know when they are coming and can book appointments between visits if they need anything doing.

11. Consider Other Potential Problems

There are other factors to consider that can affect the safety and security of the yard.

Any external service provider who comes to carry out work without being accompanied or supervised by the owner poses a potential risk. They may need to enter fields, handle unfamiliar animals, use facilities or access secure areas such as tack rooms.

If you take security seriously, you need to ensure that details such as key hiding places or padlock combinations are not readily shared by clients. It should also be clear whether service providers are restricted to certain areas during their visits.

Electrical Equipment and Safety

Any service provider bringing electrical equipment onto the yard also needs to have taken appropriate precautions.

Any items that need to be plugged into your electricity supply, whether clippers, extension leads or massage pads, should be PAT tested so that both they and you can be satisfied that the equipment is safe to use and does not pose a risk to anyone on the yard or to your electrical system.

12. Final Thoughts

Overall, most external service providers are competent and experienced professionals who visit yards day in, day out and should be aware of the risks. However, as the yard owner or manager, it is not unreasonable to seek further details or verification of the people visiting your yard. Considering the points raised above will help put your mind at rest that there are no unnecessary risks to yourself, your staff, the animals or other clients.

Verifying Professional Credentials

Below are some associations that can be used to verify the accreditation and qualifications of certain professional service providers.

While this covers most of the services mentioned above, some providers are not governed by an association (such as freelance grooms), or registration with the appropriate associations is non-compulsory.

If in doubt, request copies of memberships and qualifications from service providers for your own reassurance.