Ad-Lib vs Trickle Feeding - What's Best For Your Horse?
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To run a successful and viable business, yard owners should be constantly looking to develop and evolve their businesses. With fierce competition to fill vacancies and find clients, being able to take additional training for yourself or your staff can allow you to provide dedicated services outside of standard livery packages, and can help you stand out from the crowd.
Over recent years the livery packages available have developed from basic DIY, Part and Full to the huge development and rise in popularity for all manner of tailored and niche packages such as track livery, retirement livery, rehabilitation livery and luxury livery yards. Many yard owners seek to diversify their premises into a different industry when times are hard, but there is nothing easier than improving on what you already offer.
The industry is ever-changing, and even the most experienced yard owner or staff member could do with a ‘top up’ every now and then. Continued professional development is a useful tool in helping to add value not only to your business, but to the industry as a whole, and is becoming more commonplace with best practices and compliance coming more often to the forefront, especially in terms of horse owners looking for a new yard.
Aside from diversification into these types of packages, professional development is a great way for yard owners to ensure they stay up-to-date with the latest trends and research in the industry, and can help in the management of equines on the yard, and guide their clients accordingly.
Additionally, these developmental aspects do not need to be based directly around the equestrian services or skills, but seeking help with developing business skills can in fact help a yard owner improve their own skills in terms of better managing their administration, their clients, or their marketing.
There can be a whole multitude of affordable options for training either available in person or online with many available as short courses, or that you can work through in your own time:
Equine Specialist Courses
Training companies that specialise in equestrian courses, such as Lingfield Equine Distance Learning, provide a range of courses you can work on from home either on basic equestrian care and management or more specialist courses such as nutrition, psychology and behaviour. These types of courses are often split into ‘accredited’ which are industry-recognised courses, or ‘non-accredited’ which are courses that are not formally recognised but are good for CPD and expanding knowledge around a certain aspect.
Whilst many believe that horse care courses are more suited to horse owners, you’d be surprised how many self-learned grooms, or those that have learned on yards with no formal training, may be missing aspects of horse care knowledge. In such cases, to support your staff you could consider enrolling them in basic BHS Stages, or an equivalent level course which is generally based on the same course syllabi. These courses would typically cover topics such as care of the stabled horse and routine care, basic wound or ailment management, parasite control, basic nutrition, safety handling horses, and tack care amongst other topics. For staff who are a little more advanced, the accredited Responsible Groom course could be useful in developing their existing skills, to encourage professional development in terms of reporting, interpersonal skills and legal or moral responsibilities of their employment.
There is also the opportunity to undertake training in specific areas of equine care such as Equine Feeding and Nutrition or Equine Psychology and Behaviour, both of which can help yard owners understand niche aspects of equine management, and use this in the development and provisions of their yard services. There are also courses available in the UK specialising in equine therapies, groundwork and horse handling, equine health management, equine husbandry, equine biosecurity, lameness and rehabilitation, sports nutrition, livestock transportation, many of which are affordable and can be done in your own time, and can help you develop a targeted niche for your yard.
Industry memberships can also offer opportunities for further training. The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) offers a range of courses such as Rider Safety Equipment Fitting, ideal for those with riding school or trekking centres, and also offer courses in lorinery and saddle fitting, ideal for those responsible for schooling or exercising within livery packages, or to be able to provide knowledgeable assistance to your clients. They also offer a handful of free consumer training, which can still be beneficial, in topics such as rug management and bedding management.
If you offer rider training or instruction at your yard, it is not obligatory to have any formal training, but can appear more professional, even if just to help understand the basic psychology and learning methods of your students. Taking a basic Teaching/ Coaching Preparation Course can help you understand the basics, and see if you want to develop your skills further by then progressing to formal coaching qualifications such as those from the BHS or ABRS+.
HR and Staff Training
There is also another training that would be recommended for yard owners or their staff to help ensure employees and clients on the yard safe. If you have children and vulnerable adults on the yard it is always advisable to take safeguarding training such as provided by the BHS, British Equestrian or ABRS+. This gives appropriate training to do with any safeguarding matters and helps you understand risks, roles and responsibilities.
Both human and equine first-aid courses could also be advantageous, whether basic first aid, or a dedicated First Aid at Work course. It should be a standard practice of businesses to always have a qualified first-aider on site, and on a livery yard to have at least one person be trained in equine specific first-aid can be ideal as well. There are various providers, both in person and online, that offer basic or advanced human first aid, or equine first aid courses. 
Health and Safety training should also be a consideration for staff, to enable them to both work safely, and to help identify responsibilities when it comes to health and safety. There are also specific safety courses that may be useful on a yard such as understanding risk assessments and fire risks. Health and safety courses do not need to be equestrian specific and are readily available.
Training to Support Your Business
This does not need to be specific training courses but keeping up to date with recommended best practice for the livery industry, and knowing where to look can help you find the necessary tools and resources to improve your business, and even make your life easier!
There are frequent online webinars held in aspects of horse husbandry and yard management, covering all aspects by LiveryList, Redwings, World Horse Welfare, National Equine Welfare Council and other independent providers. Many of these are free, or only have a small attendance fee, and can be very useful to help pick up tips and guidance from professionals in the industry.
There are often regular one-off courses to help guide you in terms of marketing and social media such as the BETA Digital Marketing and Social Media course, and the availability of dedicated workshops or mentoring schemes in specific or general aspects of running an equestrian business. These can help give an overview of the needs and responsibilities of running a yard, and help yard owners identify areas of their business where they can make changes or improvements to be more sustainable or profitable.
Continued professional development helps ensure that you and your staff are trained accordingly, and can help add value to your business. As well as this, it is something you can promote on your website if this allows you to specialise or offer additional services bearing in mind you must ensure that you are appropriately insured. Whilst there is a cost versus value question, its important to consider if these new skills can help increase the value or range of service you offer, and that once you have fulfilled training to reconsider the cost of your time and skills accordingly. For employee training, to invest in your employees can help retain them, motivate them, and enable you to be more confident in their abilities.
The LiveryList Yard Owner Hub offers a huge amount of information and guidance on all aspects of practical and administrative yard management, and they regularly share details on the website and their Facebook page of available training courses and webinars for professionals within the industry.
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