Terms and conditions for a horse livery yard

A livery yard sells stabling, grazing and care, and most of the arguments are about what the monthly fee actually buys: who mucked out, who called the vet, who pays for hay through a hard winter, and how much notice an owner gives before loading up and leaving. I draft your livery terms around your yard and your packages for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Livery yards in England and Wales, from a handful of stables on a farm to a competition yard with an arena and staff, whether you trade as a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company. Most of your clients are consumers keeping a horse for pleasure. Some are businesses: dealers, professional producers, instructors and riding schools. One set of terms has to be written with both in mind.

What matters in livery yard terms

What you are actually selling

DIY, part, full, grass and working livery are different products, and most disputes begin with a client who believed they had bought more care than they were paying for. The terms should set out, package by package, what you do daily, what the owner does, what happens when the owner does not turn up, and what you charge to cover. They should also make clear that the client has a licence to use a stable or grazing rather than exclusive possession, because a business occupier with exclusive possession under a lease may acquire security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

Vets, farriers and decisions at three in the morning

Horses colic at inconvenient hours. Your terms need standing authority to call a vet when the owner cannot be reached, a second contact nominated by the owner, and a clear statement that veterinary, farrier and dental fees belong to the owner even where the yard arranges the visit. Decisions about destruction should sit with the owner or their nominee wherever that is possible, and the terms should say so. For consumers, a term letting you run up unlimited costs on their account with no attempt at contact would be vulnerable under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Fees, extras and notice to leave

Livery is usually charged monthly in advance with a notice period on both sides. The terms should say when fees fall due, what the notice period is, what happens to fees when a horse leaves mid-month, and how you charge extras such as hay, bedding, clipping, holding for the farrier and turning out in bad weather. Business clients such as dealers and professional producers attract interest and fixed compensation on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Against a consumer, a default charge that looks punitive sits on the grey list in the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Consumers, telephone bookings and your advertised rate

A client who signs up standing in your yard is contracting at your premises. A client who agrees everything by phone or email before ever visiting is making a distance contract, with fourteen days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and up to twelve months longer where you never gave the cancellation information. Your advertised monthly rate also has to include every charge the client cannot avoid, because the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans drip pricing. Hay and bedding quietly added later is exactly the practice it is aimed at.

Risk, yard rules and limits on liability

Horses are unpredictable and yards are full of hazards. The terms should incorporate your yard rules on hard hats, riding out alone, children, dogs, visitors, machinery and who may handle which horse, and should make clear the rules form part of the contract rather than being a notice on the tack room door. You cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for consumers and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 for businesses, and I will not draft terms that pretend otherwise. Limits on liability for tack, rugs and trailers are a different matter.

Vaccination, insurance and problem horses

The terms should require every horse on the yard to be vaccinated, wormed or tested to a stated standard, with records produced on arrival and kept current, and should require the owner to hold third party liability cover in their own name. New arrivals may need a period of isolation. You also need a right to refuse a horse, to isolate one, and to require removal on shorter notice where an owner's conduct or a horse's behaviour makes the yard unsafe for staff and other liveries. Yards that lack that right end up tolerating the intolerable.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I refuse to release a horse until the arrears are paid?

Holding on to someone's horse against unpaid fees is legally uncertain and practically dangerous, and I will not build your terms around it. The stronger protection is payment in advance, a defined notice period, a right to suspend discretionary extras while fees are outstanding, and a clear route to pursue the debt. I draft the arrears wording on that footing.

Do I need a different agreement for each livery package?

One set of terms can carry all of them if the services are set out package by package, so a part livery client and a DIY client can each see precisely what they have bought. What causes trouble is a single document that refers to 'livery' in general terms and leaves the daily duties to be inferred from custom on the yard.

What about clients who bring their own instructor or run a business from my yard?

That needs its own wording: evidence of the instructor's insurance and qualifications, a requirement to sign in and follow yard rules, and a decision on whether you charge for arena use. A professional client based with you also raises the question of whether they occupy any part of the yard exclusively, which I deal with in the drafting.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a dog groomer
• Terms and conditions for a personal trainer

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.