Livery Yard Business: 8 Smart Steps to a Thriving Yard

A livery yard business earns money by renting stables and grazing, then charging for the care you add on top. Before the first horse arrives, check planning permission, business rates, insurance and VAT. Then write a clear livery agreement, price each package from your real costs and make it easy for owners to find you.

Is a livery yard business right for you?

Livery is a seven-day job. Horses need feeding, checking and turning out in every kind of weather, while clients expect a calm, safe yard and quick answers. So start by looking hard at your land, your time and your own skills.

• Land: a common guide is at least one acre of grazing per horse, as Startup Donut notes.
• Stables: the same guide suggests at least 12ft by 12ft for horses and 10ft by 10ft for ponies.
• Facilities: an arena, safe hacking, secure tack storage, water, lighting and space for lorries.
• People: enough skilled help to cover illness, holidays and busy mornings.

Then choose which kinds of livery you will offer, because each one brings a different workload and price:

Planning permission for a livery yard business

Planning catches out many new yards. Law firm Birketts explains that land only counts as agricultural when horses simply graze on it. Once you add hard feed, rugging or exercise, the use becomes equestrian. As a result, livery yards generally need planning permission.

So before you take paying horses, or build new stables, an arena or floodlights, work through these steps:

• Check the current planning use of your land and buildings.
• Ask your council for pre-application advice before you spend money.
• Plan access, parking, muck storage and drainage early, as well as any lighting.
• Keep every approval with your business records, since a future buyer or lender may ask for them.

Business rates, VAT and tax in a livery yard business

Stables used for livery are a business, so they usually attract business rates. The agricultural exemption only helps in narrow cases, such as horses worked on farmland for farming, as rural surveyors Stags explain.

Still, small business rate relief can help a lot. In England, GOV.UK confirms that you pay no business rates on a property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less. Relief then tapers between £12,001 and £15,000.

VAT needs care too. You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months. However, HMRC’s VAT Notice 701/15 treats livery in two ways. Stabling with exclusive use, as in DIY livery, can be an exempt supply of land, while livery that includes care is standard-rated.

Insurance and contracts for your livery yard business

Insurance protects the yard, the horses and you. For example, the British Horse Society’s criteria for approved livery centres ask for commercial public liability cover. They also ask for employers’ insurance where staff or volunteers work. Broker SEIB lists the main covers a yard should consider:

• Public liability: claims for damage, loss or injury to people or animals on your premises.
• Care, custody and control: injury or death of a horse in your care when you are liable.
• Employers’ liability: a legal must once you take on staff, with at least £5 million of cover.
• Buildings and contents: stables, tractors, tack, forage, feed and bedding.
• Business interruption: lost income when a storm, flood or fire closes the yard.

Then put everything in writing. BHS criteria call for a livery contract that clearly sets out the owner’s and the yard’s duties for routine care and exercise. A good agreement also covers:

• The services in each package, as well as any extras and their prices.
• Fees, payment dates and what happens when payment runs late.
• Notice periods on both sides, so nobody leaves without warning.
• Who can call the vet or farrier, and who pays the bill.
• Vaccination, worming and isolation rules for new arrivals.
• Where the passport lives, since the BHS says a yard can reasonably ask to keep it on site.

Pricing each livery yard business package

Copying the yard down the road is the quickest way to lose money. Instead, build each price from your own costs, then compare it with local rates.

1. List your yearly costs: rent or mortgage, rates, insurance, bedding, hay, feed, staff, utilities, repairs and arena upkeep.
2. Split shared costs across the stables you can realistically fill, rather than every stable you own.
3. Add the labour each package needs, because full livery takes far more time than DIY.
4. Add a profit margin, then compare the result with local yards before you publish.

Here is a simple worked example with round, made-up figures. Say shared costs come to £24,000 a year and you expect to fill 10 stables. Then each stable must cover £2,400 a year, or £200 a month, before labour and profit. Full livery then adds daily labour and materials on top, while DIY adds very little.

Review prices once a year, especially when hay, bedding or energy costs move. Also give clients the notice your agreement promises before any change.

Welfare standards and the licence question

In England, the council licence for horses covers hiring them out for riding or riding lessons. So a yard that only looks after owners’ horses does not need it, although lessons on your own horses would. Our guide to the riding school licence explains that side in detail.

Even without a licence, good standards protect your horses and your name. The BHS approval criteria for livery centres give a useful checklist:

• A written fire risk assessment and evacuation plan, with drills on record.
• An isolation plan for new arrivals, as well as wider biosecurity rules.
• An equine first aid kit that holds only in-date items.
• Records for every horse, such as health and vaccination details.
• Safe fencing, secure gates and constant water in every field.

The same criteria say approved yards keep their website and social media accurate and up to date, with current prices and services. So your website is part of good practice, not just marketing.

Running the yard from day to day

Good systems keep a busy yard calm. They also stop small problems, such as a missed feed or a late invoice, from turning into a client leaving.

• Written routine: feed times, turnout and checks on one board, so cover staff follow the same plan.
• One channel for news: a yard noticeboard plus one group chat, rather than ten private threads.
• Fixed invoice date: bill on the same day each month, then chase late payments politely but early.
• Health reminders: track vaccinations, worming and farrier visits for every horse.
• Staff rota: plan holidays and weekends early, especially before the show season.

Hold a short yard meeting a few times a year as well. Liveries feel heard, and you hear about problems before they reach social media.

Marketing your livery yard business online

Moving a horse is a big decision, so owners compare yards carefully before they visit. As a result, your website has to answer their questions first:

• Live vacancies: a clear note of free stables, as well as a waiting list form.
• Packages and prices: what each livery type includes and what it costs.
• Facilities photos: stables, arena, turnout, tack room and parking.
• Yard rules: turnout routine, opening hours and biosecurity rules.
• Directions: a map, how the gate works and where lorries can park.
• Reviews: genuine Google reviews from current liveries.

Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews feed into prominence. So ask happy liveries for a review, then reply to each one. Our Google profile guide walks through the set-up.

For example, we built Paul Cornish Dressage for a trainer who is also a British Dressage judge. Clear service cards lead riders to private coaching, online training and clinics across Essex and Suffolk. A livery site works the same way, because each package gets its own card and one clear next step. You can see more on our equestrian websites page.

If your yard is in west Essex, our local pages for Epping and Chipping Ongar also show how we work nearby.

Livery yard business FAQs

Do I need a licence to run a livery yard business?

Not for livery alone in England, because the council licence covers hiring out horses for riding or lessons. However, you still need the right planning use and insurance, as well as business rates where they apply.

Can I run livery from my own land?

Often, yes, although grazing alone is agricultural while stabling and care count as equestrian use. So speak to your council before you take paying horses.

Do DIY liveries pay VAT?

It depends on whether you are VAT registered and how you supply the stabling. HMRC can treat exclusive use of a stable as an exempt supply of land, while care services are standard-rated. So ask an accountant to check your packages.

How do I fill empty stables quickly?

Show vacancies clearly on your website and Google profile, then ask current liveries for referrals. Also build links with local vets, farriers and feed merchants, since Startup Donut suggests relationships like these for new yards.

How much does a website for a livery yard cost?

Our Starter site costs £499 £424.15 for 3–5 pages, while Premium at £899 £764.15 adds online booking for viewings and lessons. A 15% launch sale is also running at the moment, and you can compare packages in our shop.

Sources

• Startup Donut: How to start up a livery stable
• Birketts: Equine businesses and planning permission
• Stags: Non-domestic rates chargeable on private stables
• Small business rate relief, GOV.UK
• GOV.UK: When to register for VAT
• HMRC VAT Notice 701/15: Animals and animal food
• British Horse Society: Approved livery centre criteria
• SEIB: Getting insurance cover right for your yard
• Employers’ liability insurance, GOV.UK
• BHS: Horse passport FAQs
• Hiring out horses licensing: statutory guidance, GOV.UK
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking