Lepoulailler

I used to sell ornemental poultry at market, and pitches varied from 1.50 to 3.50 per metre - more at the fairs or on special occasions.  You'll quickly get the hang of it. In the early days, arrive in plenty of time and watch where all the other traders go to meet.  If in doubt ask where you find the 'placier'.  Competition for pitches in peak season is strong - if you start early in the season when the weather is horrid, you will normally manage to build up a relationship with the placier and other stall holders and can often get the edge over casual traders just passing through in the sunny season.  Some days you will do the tour of the market and the spare pitches will be allocated, and quite a few folk end up going home without having found a pitch. I've got a proper market umbrella that I bought from one of the French traders and stand if you can arrange for collection (might still be able to find the table I used too - I'll have to check).  I'm on the Normandy/Britanny border.

Exactly what I was after.  Thanks heaps.

Does anyone know who to contact in France to check your credit history? Is there an online search facility somewhere? Thanks in advance, Peta

Thanks for the steer - unfortunately we are miles from Bergerac in Britanny right on the border with Normandy.  I'd love to take the kids (and me!) to an English style show.  I completely understand those who hanker for a good old British show, and find the French system frustrating to say the least (and for those who hope to convert the French to English style gymkhanas I wish them all the luck in the world - they'll need it!!!). But it is in France we live now, and I just want to get on with it and join in with the French, it's just a matter of not knowing where to look and who to register with.  If it means that to compete we have to have a papered pony, so be it.  If it means shows are different to those I have grown up with then... well, I know lots of great French riders who don't seem to have been too damaged by the experience.  Surely I am missing the obvious - there must be some sort of website with dates, who to contact for entries etc (is it hidden on the FFE site for example, and I just can't find it amongst all the jargon of D1, B2 etc etc?). 

Having only just got my head round (sort of) the French showjumping system for adults, my 9 year old daughter wants to go and have a bit of fun at a few shows.  She currently has an unpapered pony, although we are in the process of finding something with papers so she can have a go at PONAM.  Our local riding club are a bit wrapped up in the adult season, and if we wait for them to help us get things organised we'll have missed another year.  I've looked everywhere on the internet.  Where are the classes advertised? How do we enter? Is there anything available (other than the odd once or twice a year club event) for nonpapered ponies? Richardbk if you are reading this I know your daughter has competed over here - any pointers.  Where do we start? It all seems so much more official than the UK gymkhanas that I started with where you can have a go at anything. Any help would be gratefully received.

Thanks John.  I'll give them a buzz (I can't pop in, as I live in Britanny) - which town did you see them in? Peta

Thanks John.  I'll give them a buzz (I can't pop in, as I live in Britanny) - which town did you see them in? Peta

Not your usual anglophone website topic, but I've been asked to look out for a portacabin (ideally around 30ft), for a client whose got an ambitious build/renovation project near Confolens (will travel to collect if necessary). A mobile home won't do, because we are trying to tackle a disability issue at the same time. Anybody got one, or have an idea as to where I can start looking (I live in Britanny!).  Thanks, Peta

The French seem to have courses or 'stages' for everything, but we set up our ornemental poultry business without any agricultural qualifications (except my BHS exams) whatsoever.  It just means that we are classed as 'sauvage' (wild) farmers and can't claim subsidies etc etc. Peta

Hi Mick, If I ran a livery yard I'd do nothing but worry!  (only joking - not a very funny one at that!) Worry isn't the right word, because it is really not too complicated, but yes I'm sure you would still need to register with the MSA (Mutualité Société Agricole) to whom you would pay your cotisations (ie health, pension etc) as you should still be classed as an agricultural worker.  You will also need public liability insurance of some sort. There are no shortage of successful livery businesses in France, but you may note that they usually run something alongside - be warned that the cost of livery over here is nothing like what you'd get in the UK (for example - my mare is currently away at stud - still (aargh!) and I'm paying 8€ a day for her livery.  She is a big mare and will undoubtedly still be getting hard feed while she is away.  Not sure how profitable that would be for anyone, if it wasn't for the fact that I am also paying (and, in the next couple of weeks, probably about to lose) exorbitant stud fees.  Last year I injured my back whilst I was breaking a youngster and sent them away to continue their education.  I paid 400€ a month full livery, and had the use of an indoor, and two outdoor schools in the yard of a professional rider.  Had I been up to it I would also have been entitled to 2 free lessons a week as well.  From what I have seen that is pretty standard for livery across the board in this region (Northern Britanny). If you want to contact me direct with details of your project, your current qualifications (if any) etc I'd be only too happy to make a few phone calls for you if you don't speak French. Peta http://www.equusproperty.co.uk http://www.lepoulailler.net  

I'll rephrase that.  You don't HAVE to have a licence to ride out, but you do need insurance to ride on the roads.  Unfortunately many insurance companies will use the lack of a licence as a 'get out' when it comes to paying out.  Check what it says in the small print as to whether you require a licence or not.  Your household insurance would probably cover any damage done by the horse, but not necessarily if it was deemed to be your fault.  The FFE licence (you would only need a basic licence, not one for competition) is cheap and easy to get hold of, and then you would be covered in all eventualities. There are loads of people I know who ride for pleasure without a licence. Also, don't be put off by what I wrote above - my reply was in relation to someone wanting to run an equestrian business.  I would say that 5 horses falls very much into the 'pleasure' category... Peta http://www.lepoulailler.net  

Glad to help! I'll try to dig out the article I mentioned and translate it for the group, because they had a whole section on that sort of business and the implications.  Typically I think I pulled it out and put it somewhere safe because I knew (particularly in my line of work) it would be useful, but have tidied it away in my (very untidy) filing system. Sounds like a far safer bet than breeding (says she whose mare is at stud as I write! Silly moo...) - at least you've got a better idea of what you are getting.  Peta

Hi Riggy, Horses are now classed as a farming enterprise so you will technically be classed as a farmer if you are breeding.  You will need to register with the MSA (Mutualite Societe Agricole) in order to pay your 'cotisations' (a bit like your NI stamp - pension, social contributions etc).    We found the CERGIV to be very helpful in terms of advice re setting up an agricultural business when we first started, and if your business is likely to be relatively simple I would recommend them as they are quite cheap in comparison to traditional accountants. (We no longer use them as we put our farm into my husband's name and I have a separate business helping people source their equestrian properties in France and trade sport horses with the French - it got too complicated for the CERGIV as there international transactions and many things that the two businesses shared such as car, computer etc.), They helped advise us of the best tax systems for our particular circumstances etc (TVA and horse sales can be quite complicated, so it is worth getting some advice) and helped us with the copious form filling, getting registered with all the right agencies etc. It certainly helps to be qualified, and you can get any UK qualifications transferred by contacting the FFE - they now have someone dedicated to giving advice on the relevant qualifications and what they are worth.  If you plan to compete your young horses to increase their value you will need to hold at least your Galop 7.  Depending what UK qualifications you have you may just be able to get it granted automatically.  Failing that you may need to sit a test (practical and theory).  While my youngster was being broken I placed her in a yard (with an indoor school and 4 walls instead of schooling on the side of a muddy hill in the middle of winter!) where there was a Galop examiner.  She used to see me ride on a regular basis, and I sometimes helped with the kids when she got called out of a lesson.  I guess I was relatively lucky because she said 'yes, you are at least the standard of a Galop 7' (In any event I have my UK qualifications to fall back on) and signed all the relevant papers and sent them off.  I am sure there are assessors all over that would excuse any lack of french and do similar if your riding was up to the required standard.  Make sure if you intend to work with the public that your First Aid certificates are up to date. You need to hold a licence to compete (best way is either to contact the FFE direct or to join a Club and get them to do it for you - Pro 1 & 2 for the professionals; Am Cat 3 & 4 for those who compete for fun - Pro 1 being the most expensive and Am Cat 4 the cheapest), and you must also hold a licence to have any public liability insurance whilst riding out. You will need to ensure all your horses are correctly registered.  And be warned that to compete in affiliated events (aside for LETREC and endurance) your horse must be fully papered (a great bone of contention to me because I have a super little unpapered mare who would be great for dressage but who I can basically only use for hacking or fun events....) As far as any other insurance you may need, like most things insurance it depends what cover you want.  It can be ridiculously pricey to insure a horse for vets fees for example, but many farm insurances will automatically cover your stock against theft, death etc.  This really is down to checking with the various brokers.  Be warned that they vary widely in cost. What will you be breeding, and where are you likely to be selling? There was an excellent pull out article (in French) in either this month's Grand Prix or L'Eperon magazine, setting out all the new regs very clearly but I can't for the life of me lay my hands on it at the moment. Please feel fre

It's perfectly normal.  At least she's sitting on one egg.  Lot's of ours go broody at this time of the year when we are hatching like mad, and many of them aren't sitting on anything at all.  As said before, you could add some fertile eggs - but the difficulty now is that the chick inside the one egg will be one week into the hatching process if it is fertile (try going in a dark room and holding the egg up with a bright torch - sometimes it makes it easier if you do it via an old toilet or kitchen roll - it channels the light (or you could buy a candler...!).  If it is fertile and you add eggs now she is likely to do one of two things.  Either when the chick is born she will get off the nest and abandon the other fertile eggs, or she will sit tight on her nest, and abandon the chick.  If you decide to go ahead, be ready with an infra-red lamp to keep baby chick warm.... If you want her for the eggs, and don't want her broody you can try putting her in a place with a draft up her bottom end for a couple of days - an old trolley, a wire cage lifted off the floor etc.  Usually cools them down and works a treat.  Much depends upon the breed as silkies will come off the nest for a couple of days and then before you know it they will be back trying to hatch some babies.... Good luck with your hatch if you decide to go ahead. Peta http://www.lepoulailler.net

I agree wholeheartedly with those of you who pointed out that it is not all roses, but the original question was why we moved here in the first place...!  (By the way, we lived in the countryside in England too) I'm not knocking the UK.  I just have to spend a day or two there to know that I really don't miss it at all.  Sure, I miss family.  I still hanker for takeaways, ready meals, British foods, curry & spicy food (I can still cook my own though), internet and Sunday shopping.  Whilst I admire how they patriotic the French are are in terms of buying French and standing up for their rights, I also find many of them(without generalising) are frustratingly blinkered and miss out on many of the wonderful things of other cultures.  French bureaucracy drives me nuts, setting up a business over here is incredibly complicated, (and god forbid you should want to run two businesses at the same time), they like everything to fit into neat boxes, taxes and social charges are high.  I don't find that the cost of living is much (if at all) cheaper than the UK, but I have met few Brits who are financially better off in France than they were in the UK... As for the language, it takes several years and lots of hard work to be able to really communicate in the way that you could do back in the UK.  How many intelligent people that have worked hard all their lives struggle to find jobs out here.  It can be very isolating.  However, when all is said and done when I weigh the pro's and con's my personal set of scales fall heavily on the side of living here in France. Peta www.lepoulailler.net