Best place to live in the UK with horses!

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micra

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I live in Kent, right on the far end - where everything is being built on so yards are closing and I have to travel 30 mins out... buut it's a wonderful yard. I just wish I could ride and drive pony out on bridleways and (non existent) byways without having the constant near misses, I love riding out but now I'm thinking of somewhere I could enjoy my pony more!
Hopefully somewhere where house prices aren't out the roof :P I'm also a trainee equine dentist so hoping some areas don't have tons of competition ;)
I loove the beach and byways for driving on! The new forest looks good !
Would anyone know of any fun places to be as I'm at a point where I can move and start to enjoy my horsey life a little more
:D
 
*waves*

Hello! I now live on the Devon/Dorset border near the sea. It's just so beautiful here! I keep my gelding about 15 mins away on a yard in the middle of acres of forestry land which I can ride on. Some mornings, I may see one or two cars on the nearest lane. Maybe!

I'm not sure how easy it is for driving on some of the tracks as the gates are purposely too narrow for cars but I know the Y/O's brother sometimes brings his ponies down from the West Mids for a driving weekend, so there must be somewhere nice to go with them ...

It's far cheaper here than the New Forest but we are 15 mins from the nearest mainline station into Waterloo (about 2hrs 40).

Oh, and I gave up trying to get an equine dentist to visit mine: one said 'too far', one didn't reply at all and the third said 'Yes, I'll come' then when I asked (twice) if we could put something in the diary which would fit in with her schedule, went completely silent. Used the vet in the end.

Good luck with your search :)
 
I currently live in West Sussex, which is beautiful as you have both the High Weald & the South Downs depending upon which part you are in - but other areas can be hit & miss!

As it is, we are straight out onto miles & miles of off road riding on the Downs, farms, and forests which is fantastic, but like you I would like to be closer to home. It's expensive down here too ... ! No shortage of EDTs, not any other equine related para professionals.

If I could live anywhere, I think it would be either be Wales, Dorset or Yorkshire.

But I'm staying in the South for the forseeable future as OH needs to be close to London for work.
 
I'm West Sussex too, and my hacking is right onto the South Downs. It's glorious for horse riding, but seriously expensive for housing. Can't imagine myself ever being able to buy round here!
 
Hi :) I live in North Manchester. Believe it or not we have some really good off road riding, with Bridleways that go for miles BUT we do have a very busy road to contend with to get to the Bridleways. Im lucky that I live minutes away from the yard. If drivers were a bit more considerate Id say we are in a really good area for horses.
 
I had my horse not far from Canterbury (Kent) for almost a year and I have to say it is one of the areas I have lived in with the worst hacking and nearly no bridleways, I am currently in Aberystwyth (Wales) sadly only for one more week as I'm finishing my final year at uni and the hacking is amazing with fantastic views, I'm moving to Northampton and thats going to have a lot to live up to. I wouldn't have my horse on a yard with shocking hacking ever again its the first thing i do is check the map for bridleways
 
Another one for the New Forest. Don't live close enough to ride there but visit all the time and love it! Also the crab flies in summer are horrible!!

Would also love to be close to a beach.
 
My riding can consist of crossing one road and that's it-open forest. Those crab flies are pesky blighters though! :(

Nothing like cantering across the forest in beautiful sunshine passing my semi-feral ponies!:)

Can't afford the house prices though. I live a couple of miles just outside on the border.
 
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North Lincolnshire cheap housing, affordable houses with own land, lots of competitions and equestiran centers, often has soft sandy soild so less mud than most places, loads of off road hacking, horse friendly beaches and wonderful scenery. Good instructors and lots of venues for almost any discipline not much polo but just about everything else is catered for with in an hour or so. Polo school across the bridge in south yorkshire if it is still functioning. Lower Rainfall than North Africa. Trails for driving. Can you tell I love it here.
Downside it can be bitterly cold and windy out of the shelter of the hills
 
JenTaz said:
I had my horse not far from Canterbury (Kent) for almost a year and I have to say it is one of the areas I have lived in with the worst hacking and nearly no bridleways, I am currently in Aberystwyth (Wales) sadly only for one more week as I'm finishing my final year at uni and the hacking is amazing with fantastic views, I'm moving to Northampton and thats going to have a lot to live up to. I wouldn't have my horse on a yard with shocking hacking ever again its the first thing i do is check the map for bridleways
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Thank you for your replies! I absolutely love the Dorset part of the country, I am originally from London and it all seems so different to what I'm used to. I have never been up North(!) but all these areas look so interesting - I'm hoping to visit the new forest area soon, I was worried that if I ever rode in there my horses would get distracted with the 'wild' ponies around!😅
Prices in Lincolnshire are definitely better though!
It's a shame the area I live in has been pretty much destroyed by houses being built and grazing land being lost - we have to go so far out to allow pony to be turned out as I can't handle keeping her locked up all day :( I'm also very very shy so a friendly horse filled area is great as it's the only thing I open up with - ha!!


JenTaz Canterbury is where I keep my pony - the south though - I do have access to OK hacking but it sadly it is limited and I feel that other places offer so much more!
 
JenTaz said:
I had my horse not far from Canterbury (Kent) for almost a year and I have to say it is one of the areas I have lived in with the worst hacking and nearly no bridleways, I am currently in Aberystwyth (Wales) sadly only for one more week as I'm finishing my final year at uni and the hacking is amazing with fantastic views, I'm moving to Northampton and thats going to have a lot to live up to. I wouldn't have my horse on a yard with shocking hacking ever again its the first thing i do is check the map for bridleways
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Northampton is ok. Very horsey area, lot of shows and clinics on, competition centres all around and lots of livery yards, some terrible, some amazing. Hacking is very dependant on where your yard is.
 
I moved to E Cornwall from Surrey nearly 10 years ago,bought a yard and have never looked back.Reasonable property prices away from the tourist hot spots,great riding (e.g. Bodmin Moor),lovely people,and a very horsey area.Not inundated with yards but lots of small private liveries.Worth a look!.
 
NE Scotland! Far quieter than down south, so roads are much safer generally. Loads of hacking in forestry, beaches etc. and you rarely see anyone else if you dont go to the mainstream places. You can also hack where you want, you have a right to roam so can go anywhere which is great (I do get permission from my local farmers before I ride in their stubble fields though - but Ive had 3 huge stubble fields to canter round for 6 months over the winter!).

Loads of events as there's heaps of horses up here. There's usually a choice of things to go to every single weekend (affililated and non).

Also its cheap up here. Property in the countryside is probably very cheap compared with down south. You can get a smallish house with a few acres for £250k up here. Properties with basic stables and maybe a school as well are about £350k.
 
North Hampshire is lovely, but house prices also a problem for most. One odd benefit is that there is less competition for grazing than in most areas. Many horsey types have their own land, and lots of 'country house' types have land that they don't use, so if you ask the right questions and make the right friends they might prefer to see horses on it rather than sheep...
 
I used to live clsoe enough to ride on Cannock Chase - loads of off-road riding and some fabulous areas for a blast.

Now I live in SE England where every bridle path ends in a road and fields are rapidly being swept up for housing.:(
 
Lake District! Houses aren't the cheapest but not too bad if you stick outside of the national park. Hacking is amazing but lots of tourists and lots of rain! Plus not a lot of flat ground. I second NE Scotland though. Been there for a few holidays and looks like amazing horse country!
 
Im based in Gloucestershire a heaven for an event rider, however its v ££££££ but as soon as you go north of broadway becomes A LOT cheaper
 
Welsh borders! Reasonable house prices, not too busy, horse friendly locals, easy access to competition venues, unspoilt hacking. Yesterday we rode for 27 miles, only 5 of which were on the road (tiny lanes) and we didn't see a single car all day. The rest were on open hill and mountain. Who needs a riding holiday?!
 
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