Moving your horse to a new yard can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve been at your current yard for a long time. Trust me, I know it. I’ve just taken the plunge myself and moved Beano to a new yard, after being at my old yard for 14 years (six of which were with Beano). But moving yards doesn’t have to be a stressful experience, for you or your horse.
I’ve learned that all it takes is a bit of careful planning. So, here’s a simple checklist that I put together for myself, that will help you when it comes to moving your horse to a new yard.
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Find your horse’s passport
First things first, dig out your horse’s passport and make sure you take it with you on the day you move yards.
Organise transport
If you haven’t got your own trailer or horsebox (I wish I did!), make sure that you organise transport well in advance. Some companies get booked up quite far in advance, so you don’t want to get everything else set-in stone only to find that you can’t get your horse to the new yard on the day you had planned to!
Call your insurance
Most horse insurance companies don’t need to know where your horse is kept, unless their situation is changing (eg. They are now being tethered or you will no longer be the sole rider), but it’s always worth giving them a call to notify them anyway. You can never be too careful!
Organise vets and farriers
If you’re not moving out of the area, hopefully you’ll be able to stay with the same vets and farrier. However, they’ll still need to know your new yard address. If you’re moving further away, it’s always best to organise vets and a farrier before you are due to arrive.
Set up your stable before you get there
If you can, it’s always helpful to set up your horse’s stable at the new yard before you arrive with them. That way they can go straight in once you’ve got them off the trailer and start to get settled while you unpack everything else. If you can’t get it set up in advance, just make sure it’s one of the first things you do on the day.
Get rid of anything unnecessary
While you’re packing everything up, use it as a great opportunity to get rid of any unnecessary clutter that you’ve accumulated over the years. You know as well as I do that you will have items that haven’t seen the light of day in years. We all have that pile of stuff that “might come in useful one day”. I had definitely accumulated a lot that I no longer needed so it was great to have a big clear out, that way I knew I was only travelling with items that I actually needed.
Give everything a clean
Now this definitely isn’t a necessary task, but it’s always nice to arrive somewhere new with everything feeling fresh and clean. I personally gave my tack, rugs, numnahs and brushes a clean. They were all long overdue a wash anyway so it made me feel productive and meant it felt nice to arrive at the new yard with everything sparkling!
