A written agreement, signed before the horse arrives
Any yard worth boarding at will put the arrangement in writing: a livery or boarding agreement signed by both sides before your horse comes through the gate. Verbal arrangements feel friendly right up to the first disagreement about a hay bill or a damaged rug, at which point nobody can prove what was agreed. If a yard resists a written contract entirely, treat that as information about how problems there get handled.
The agreement should name the horse, the owner, the yard, the start date and the type of livery — full, part, DIY or grass — because everything else in the document hangs off that definition. Keep your signed copy somewhere you can actually find it, not in a lorry glovebox.
The money clauses: what the fee includes and what it does not
The heart of the contract is the fee and its inclusions. It should state the amount, how often it is paid, how it is paid, and any deposit. Then, item by item, what that fee buys: hay and hard feed or neither, bedding type and quantity, turnout hours and field allocation, mucking out, rug changes, bringing in and turning out, use of the arena and other facilities. Anything not included should appear as a priced extra — holding for the farrier, administering feed supplements, extra rugs in winter — so a bill never contains a surprise.
Look for the clauses owners forget to ask about: how fee increases are notified, what happens if you pay late, and who pays when a horse damages fencing, a stable or another horse. None of this is pessimism; it is the document doing its job while everyone is still friends.
Vet, farrier and the emergency clause
A good contract states who books the routine vet and farrier visits, whether the yard may hold your horse for them, and — most importantly — what the yard is authorised to do in an emergency. If your horse is found colicking at dawn and you are on a plane, can the yard call your vet, a duty vet, and authorise treatment up to a stated limit? Spell it out, including which practice, because "we tried your mobile" is not an emergency plan.
The agreement should also cover the yard's routine for illness and injury: isolation arrangements for a horse showing infectious signs, what happens during a yard quarantine, and how quickly you will be informed. Your horse's own details — feed, routine, vices, allergies, current treatments — belong in a schedule attached to the contract, updated whenever something changes.
Notice, liability and yard rules
Both sides need an exit: expect a notice period, commonly a month, that either party can invoke, plus the yard's right to act faster if a horse becomes dangerous. Liability clauses should say who carries risk for injury to the horse, damage to your tack and equipment, and injury your horse causes to others — and you should check your own insurance lines up with it, because the contract cannot insure you by itself.
Finally, the working rules: yard hours, arena etiquette, dog and child policies, worming programme participation, and what happens to the agreement if the yard changes hands. Reading all of it takes twenty minutes. When you are comparing yards, the KinsLe Pet Services Directory is a practical place to find and connect with local boarding yards, so you can ask each of them for their contract terms before you commit your horse.