UK livery is fragmented: from £80/week DIY in a Welsh hill farm to £900/week full livery in Surrey. Owners cherry-pick services they want; yard managers juggle workflows. Without a clear pricing structure, the “everything is bespoke” approach kills your margins.
The 5 standard livery levels
DIY livery (£70-150/week)
Owner does everything: muck out, feed, turn out, ride. Yard provides stable, hay, sometimes feed at cost. Margin per stable: low (£30-50/week), but volume offsets.
Part livery (£140-250/week)
Yard does morning routine: muck out, feed, turn out. Owner rides and does evening. Margin: medium (£60-100/week).
Assisted livery (£200-300/week)
Like part livery + grooming and tacking up before the owner rides. Common with adult amateurs who arrive after work.
Full livery (£400-700/week)
Yard does everything. Owner just rides (or doesn’t). Margin: highest in absolute terms (£150-300/week), but staff-intensive.
Working livery (£0-150/week net)
Yard uses the horse for lessons in exchange for full livery. Net cost to owner depends on lesson count. Risk: horse wear-and-tear. Margin: zero or negative direct, but improves school horse pool.
Pricing components to model
- Stable rent (fixed): ~£40-100/week
- Hay/forage: 3-4 slices/day = £20-30/week
- Bedding: £10-25/week (straw vs shavings)
- Hard feed: £10-30/week
- Turnout management: £15-30/week
- Mucking out labour: £25-50/week
- Grooming labour: £30-80/week
- Riding/exercise: £20-50/session
A spreadsheet pricing each livery type’s components helps spot loss-makers. Many yards lose money on full livery because labour is under-counted.
Common scaling problems
”Custom livery” without rules
Mary wants morning feed Mon-Wed, owner-feeds Thu-Sun. Tom wants weekend full, weekday DIY. Three months in: nobody knows what each owner pays for. Fix: 5 standard tiers, one extras menu (additional services £X each).
Cash flow mismatch
Quarterly invoicing but weekly costs. Fix: monthly direct debit, mandatory.
Working livery wear
Horse used for 8-10 lessons/week eats and ages faster. Fix: cap working livery at 6 lessons/week and do quarterly soundness checks.
Mix that works
Ideal yard mix for stable margins:
- 30% DIY (low maintenance, attracts skilled owners who help)
- 40% Part / Assisted (predictable margin)
- 20% Full (premium clients, drives revenue)
- 10% Working (school horse rotation)
How Hovera handles this
- Configurable livery types with cost components
- Monthly direct debit setup (UK SEPA / GoCardless)
- Per-stable profitability dashboard
- Working livery: lesson tracking against horse, alerts at threshold
- Owner portal: monthly statement, service log
Try the livery calculator — free, no signup.