Anyone know Hargate Equestrian?

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Sammyantha

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Hargate in Hilton, Derby

Went to visit them today as thinking about moving my horse there at the end of the month. Really loved the place. Had a nice laid back friendly feel, although very busy with lots of facilities etc. It's a long way from work and home for me though, and the petrol cost will shoot up. I want to make sure my initial impressions are not too far out compared to anyone who has kept a horse there in the past/ now?

We will mostly hack and school, but i want to train in dressage and do some low level comps too. So not happy hackers, but certainly not competition riders either :D
 
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Glad you liked it! I don't know anybody who has kept a horse there but I know a few people who compete there and rate it!
How long will it take you to get there? I'm lucky as my yard is 4 miles away so very handy!
How much is their DIY out of interest?
 
All seem really nice people, not on livery but I do compete there on a regular basis.........

I believe the grazing isn't amazing but they do get to go out.

Good luck with the move and hopefully see you competing!!
 
Thanks Ali. Yes we really liked it :D It has a lovely, friendly feel. Lots going on, far more than i was anticipating lol, but having seen it, i think it will do me good to be at a place like that. Thing is, 1/2 private lesson is £17, shows are about £8 per class, everything in the cafe is £2 and up... what with that and the petrol i can see the costs mounting up:(

They don't do DIY, only part, working, and full, but no places atm.

I'll be 23 mins from home and 17 mins from work, but as it's down the A38 it may take a lot longer in rush hour traffic after work.

I've been shown a couple of nice little places right on my doorstep, but they are literally field, stable, and a bit of rough grass to school on....

I really love Hargate, but am trying to weigh up which direction to go - stay home to save money (but possibly lose motivation/ no facilities to bring my horse or myself on - we don't have a box either), or move somewhere fab like thayt where we have everything at our fingertips, but may end up being priced out of actually DOING any of it:confused:

That's why i'd like some feedback on what other people think of the place. If you have any bad reviews you can send those to me too (Probably best via pm).
 
We had our horses there for a while, but it was too far away (25 miles).

Very good facilities :). Lovely schools, which are very well looked after :). The other liveries were nice, as were the staff :)

Only you can determine if the cost is prohibitive.
 
How did you find the hacking Mrs. Mozart? Apparently you can ride all the way down to Barleyfields down the disused railway track. Are there other places to go to?
 
We are in Wychnor, near barton under needwood, and i work in burton on trent. Horsepower eq towards lichfield is too expensive, as with eland lodge just off burton, and the only things in between are little local yards with barely any facilities.

Am I really asking too much to want a busy yard with lots going on, good facilities, AND great hacking? lol:D
 
I kept my horse there a few years back and loved it, only left as I relocated elsewhere in the country. People were really nice, facilities fantastic, hacking ok, not amazing, but certainly better than some, yes there is the disused railway that you can get onto straight from the xc track at the centre, the only negative was turnout, in summer they'd have a half day out, mares one side of day, geldings the other. And winter turnout was in the harder standing area, that doesn't get chewed up, they'd only have a few hours out in there. But as a result I was always able to keep my horse at a perfect weight (good doer!) and as the stables are american barn they still get social interaction with other horses when stabled.
 
Turnout:

We were there about eighteen months/two years ago.

Each owner was given an area and that was theirs to do what they wished with. Had to poo pick. If I remember right they had to be in day or night - but don't quote me on that as I can't remember for sure!
 
Hmm the turnout worries me. Y/O told me today that 24/7 t/o in summer is fine though they have to be in overnight in winter (fair enough). But I don't want her out all day if there's nothing to eat:rolleyes:
 
Thanks Mrs. Mozart. Do you have to cross/ go along the road? I should've walked out around the area to have a look really. Might do that next weekend.
 
Sammyantha said:
Hmm the turnout worries me. Y/O told me today that 24/7 t/o in summer is fine though they have to be in overnight in winter (fair enough). But I don't want her out all day if there's nothing to eat:rolleyes:
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I don't remember any of the horses starving :). We had a few horses, were given more land, but not all of ours are very good do-ers so it wasn't quite enough. A number of horses there seemed happy with their lot. Horses for courses I guess ;)
 
Sammyantha said:
Thanks Mrs. Mozart. Do you have to cross/ go along the road? I should've walked out around the area to have a look really. Might do that next weekend.
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Ys, you'd have to cross the road if you were heading right from the yard. It's a long straight though and pleantly of space to see vehicles coming. I don't remember it as being a particularly busy road (as in lots and lots of traffic).
 
Let us know how you go :D

Fond memories of jumping my first horse for the first time there :D. Friend and I had a great session and the memories will last forever :D. The shows are very good as well: if I remember right, they do a mid-week show during the season, but again, don't quote me as it was a while ago and things may have changed.

They were also good about feed, getting in what we wanted for our horses. We used to leave the feeds made up with the horses' names on and they would feed, which being so far away made life easier :D
 
Been again today and looked properly without the rose tinted glasses on. No turnout in winter or very restricted at best. Paddocks are tiny. Will double my hay and bedding bill, and will have to feed hay in paddock all summer too as grass not good. All in all i worked out i was only really attracted to the schools, on-site shows, and the fact that it's a riding school. I can find that elsewhere (granted i only now have 5 days in which to do that:rolleyes:). I'm considering a couple of options, and one of those is a place called Craythorne.. anyone know of it? Concerned that it's only a sand school and they have restricted turnout in winter too, but it's closer to me and cheaper.
 
It was nice to meet you yesterday! Just looked at the craythorne website and it looks nice! However just remember that you may have problems using the sand school if it is a riding school too unless there is separate school for liveries. What is the hacking like there?
 
stroppy said:
What do you mean by 'only a sand school' nothing wrong with that at all.
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OP probably means it is likely to freeze, whereas the schools at Hargate don't (at least not to my knowledge - there's a few of them, they're all big and very well looked after).

We have a sand school and it has stood up pretty well due to very good drainage, but we have had a few days where it's been too hard :(. Luckily we're the only ones that use it and it's well looked after, so is pretty flat and any dips that occur are quickly raked over.
 
Most places will have restricted turnout in winter :(. The only one that I know of that has 24/7 turnout all year round (or used to have, I don't know about now), is Lime Lane, which is north/east of Derby I think - go to the Asda near Spondon, drive up past it, then turn right at the island, along there, right at the next island, straight on at the crossroads, on right just after sharp left bend. Hacking is okay, though lots of road work and gates. I believe there is a school there now, but no idea what it is like.
 
Oh I didn't mean anything bad by only a sand school, just exactly as Mrs. Mozart said (thank you :)), that they freeze or at least most of the ones i know of have. Saying that, every yard I've looked at over the last couple of weeks has one lol.

Craythorne is great, loved the place. Only downside is hacking is all roads.

Ali yes it was good to meet you too, thanks so much for putting me in touch with Sue! I really like the place. I've sent you a text ;)
 
They are a really friendly lot..i compete there..but if you want unlimited turnout etc why not consider asking round local farms? I keep my two on a farm with a few other liveries, absolutely no 'mod-cons' but we have around 5 acres per horse each & stabling and its only £12 pw! Also if you find somewhere near other yards you can always either hack or box up to hire facilities, it works out a lot cheaper and easier :)
 
charge a fortune, dont look after the horse in the way you ask, charge for more than 1 bale of shavings a week and thats on top of the £105 a week livery! Awfull grazing and no staff!! We just gained an ex Hargate Livery who left due to care issues with their horse, so they have a vacancy now!
 
GF - to show the other side of the coin, we didn't have any issues with how our horses were looked after when they were there. Knowledgeable staff. Turnout is an issue, but they don't pretend to have more than one can see (and one can see there aint a lot to be sure). Didn't have any over-charging issues that I remember either.
 
There is an excellent yard in Fradley with a sand 20x40 school and a rubber 20x60 school that never floods or freezes. The horses get year round turnout on good grass in individual paddocks. Care is excellent. Hacking isn't fantastic but it there are a choice of hacks to go on. Majority are on road though. They do have a vacancy at the moment. PM me if you want contact details.
 
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