Grange Farm & Wikefield Farm livery yards, opinions?

[hlb93]

Hi all, I'm hoping to move my pony to the north Leeds area (at some point in the next 6-12 months when I have a job, currently student, but very excited and keen to research yards etc), the two I currently have as favourites are Grange farm at Arthington and Wikefield Farm on Harrogate Road just past the Leeds Grammar School, has anyone liveried at either before? How did you like it? What sort of costs for DIY? Also I read that Grange farm has a solarium and horse walker but didn't see this on their site, do they have these? Thanks so much, all opinions are welcome. And if anyone has suggestions of other yards in the area that would also be useful!

 

[stencilface]

No personal knowledge of Grange farm, but know it's popular. Wikefield farm I think has direct access to hacking on the Harewood estate, but it's been years since I've been there, they used to have lots of comps, but had to remove their arenas I think, so I'm not sure how many they were allowed to keep. They used to have an xc course but I'm not sure if it's still there. Sorry not much help!

 

[Amye]

Hey! I livery at Grange Farm, I've been there for around 10 months with my first horse (so no experience of other liveries really apart from my old loan horse).

Everyone is really friendly. I was a new horse owner with all the nerves of 'am i doing the right thing?' and there was always someone around to answer my questions and help me out. It is a big yard of around 50/55 horses and it is also a working farm so there are cows on the yard (obviously enclosed) over winter - which at first my boy thought was very scary. Also means that there are tractors/large machinery about sometimes. There are a couple of fields that we can ride around that belong to the farm and we can also ride through the field next to the yard to get out onto the roads with access to Harewood estate. It takes around 20-30mins to ride out into Harewood but it is beautiful hacking when you do. Mostly very small and quiet roads (barely ever meet a car there) and 1 busyish road.

No solarium or horse walker unfortunately but we do have 2 outdoor schools (1 has just been rebuilt and is fantastic, lovely surface and very large) and 1 indoor school which you pay extra for on a monthly basis if you want to use. Horses are in herds of 4 split mare/geldings.

I pay £180 per month for DIY (including hay and straw - unlimited). Can't remember how much part/full livery are tbh! You can pay for 'extras' ontop of your DIY so many people pay DIY but will pay for bring in or turn out 5 days a week.

I am happy there, most people at the yard are very friendly and helpful and if you have problems with your horse are happy to help you out. The schools are very nice, especially now we have the redone outdoor and the hacking is good. And if you want a gentle plod in the evening you can ride round the fields for half an hour


Any questions let me know!

 

[hlb93]

Thank you both for replies! Amye, I would also be a first time horse owner (I have mine here but me and Mum keep ours together so its a joint effort at the moment really!), so that is really nice to hear. We are happy hackers really with the odd walk trot test thrown in so the hacking at Wikefield is one of the main attractions, is that 20-30 minutes to Harewood all on roads or is it mixed? (other than the fields to begin with). It sounds like a really lovely friendly yard. I read on the website that many people find a sharer, I thought about this too, do you know any at Wikefield?

 

[Amye]

Thank you both for replies! Amye, I would also be a first time horse owner (I have mine here but me and Mum keep ours together so its a joint effort at the moment really!), so that is really nice to hear. We are happy hackers really with the odd walk trot test thrown in so the hacking at Wikefield is one of the main attractions, is that 20-30 minutes to Harewood all on roads or is it mixed? (other than the fields to begin with). It sounds like a really lovely friendly yard. I read on the website that many people find a sharer, I thought about this too, do you know any at Wikefield?

Alot of people move to the grange with the hacking in mind, I have probably made it sound worse then it is with the roads. There are two ways to get onto the Harewood estate, one is shorter on the roads and one is slightly longer (depending on which way round you wanna go). It depends on how fast your horse walks too!! Both only have a very short period of time on the 'busy' road. You ride through fields at first, then up a track, and up onto a road, this road however is a dead end and only has 2 houses on it. It's small and very quiet, the only traffic you will meet are going to these two houses so it really is nothing!! It runs alongside fields so is very quiet. Then there is a little bit of road work but it is worth it for when you get in the estate

Wikefield may be closer to Harewood - I'm not sure - so you might not have to go on any roads to get in the estate. But it is situated on the A61 which is much busier then any road I have to ride on from the Grange, so if you do have to go on the road it will be busier. (I don't have any experience of that livery though sorry!)

Some people at the Grange do have loaners for their horse so if you decided to do that I can't see it being a problem

 

[hlb93]

Sorry I got confused and asked you about Wikefield instead of Grange.. its only Wednesday! I meant Grange lol. The roads don't sound bad, how busy is the busier one? Harewood estate sounds really good! I saw Wikefield is on the A61, but I think (hopefully) the hacking goes up towards Grange in that sort of countryside triangle and doesn't go over the A61. Thanks! This is really helpful, I am getting so excited to move my pony and be on a yard again! I had thought of finding a sharer for 2-3 days a week but that would be after I'd moved and settled pony.

 

[stencilface]

You can cross the A61 from Wikefield straight onto a bridle path then get easily onto the Leeds country way bridle path pretty easily towards east Keswick and Bardsey. Then if you're really ambitious you can hack across to the Bramham estate lol

 

[hlb93]

Ah wow is it easy to cross the A61? I'd be worried of my stubborn Highland planting somewhere stupid! I've tandem cycled to Bramham, its quite a long way but very pretty!

 

[Amye]

Sorry I got confused and asked you about Wikefield instead of Grange.. its only Wednesday! I meant Grange lol. The roads don't sound bad, how busy is the busier one? Harewood estate sounds really good! I saw Wikefield is on the A61, but I think (hopefully) the hacking goes up towards Grange in that sort of countryside triangle and doesn't go over the A61. Thanks! This is really helpful, I am getting so excited to move my pony and be on a yard again! I had thought of finding a sharer for 2-3 days a week but that would be after I'd moved and settled pony.

Really not that busy. It's still a country lane at the end of the day, on the weekend you get walkers on it and quite a few cyclists. There's never any queued traffic on it or anything. I went out last night at rush hour (half 5) and it was fine, at rush hour you will obviously encounter traffic but it's quiet enough that most of the time the traffic just moves past you and you get quiet stretches still.

 

[stencilface]

Ah wow is it easy to cross the A61? I'd be worried of my stubborn Highland planting somewhere stupid! I've tandem cycled to Bramham, its quite a long way but very pretty!

I did it lots as a kid when we used to hack to their shows, there's a direct crossing the farm gate so its not that hard I don't think. It is a busy road though, you wouldn't want to ride on it.

Everywhere is a long way on a tandem!

 

[hlb93]

Ah great, both places sound great, thank you for answering so many questions. Now all I need is to get a job so I can visit both and move pony!

 

[Amye]

No problem! Good luck!!

 

[JJS]

I keep my horses on another big livery farm in Harewood, and can confirm that the hacking is fantastic!
Although I don't have personal experience of either yard, Wikefield does have a reputation for being quite strict, and turnout is very limited for the majority of the year - both points that you might want to be aware of.

 

[hlb93]

Thanks JJS, where is the yard in Harewood? Do they have a website? Ah the limited turn out would not be ideal, but I was under the impression that many yards have that to keep their grass nice. For me, year round turn out/grass livery would be best because Highlands don't really need a stable.

 

[JJS]

Thanks JJS, where is the yard in Harewood? Do they have a website? Ah the limited turn out would not be ideal, but I was under the impression that many yards have that to keep their grass nice. For me, year round turn out/grass livery would be best because Highlands don't really need a stable.

It's called New Laithe. No website as it's a proper, old-fashioned working farm, but we do have year round turnout.

 

[hlb93]

Ah that sounds great, what facilities do they have? I would only really be looking for a school. What sort of prices? DIY or assisted DIY. And I guess there's not much or any roadwork to get to off road hacking? I had heard of a yard in Harewood but could not find it online. Thanks for your help!

 

[JJS]

Ah that sounds great, what facilities do they have? I would only really be looking for a school. What sort of prices? DIY or assisted DIY. And I guess there's not much or any roadwork to get to off road hacking? I had heard of a yard in Harewood but could not find it online. Thanks for your help!

There's a large outdoor school, a small indoor, and more miles of hacking that you'd know what to do with!

DIY mainly, although there is an elderly man called Bob who takes on some assisted DIY clients alongside full liveries.

Standard DIY costs between £35 and £40 depending on which block you're in. There's also sometimes grass livery available, which I believe is £25 per week.

There is roadwork if you want to reach the Harewood estate. However, not much of it, and although it involves crossing major roads, it really is crossing rather than hacking along them.

 

[hlb93]

JJS, thank you that is really helpful. I found the yard on google maps, is there off road hacking surrounding the yard (not on Harewood) which avoid crossing the major roads? Although I'm sure we would get used to crossing these, I'd like there to be a no roads option to begin with. How do you find crossing the Harrogate road? its always so busy when I go up that way!

Grass livery would be amazing, even if only some of the time. Do you know if the £35/40 for standard DIY includes hay and bedding? Thank you so much.

 

[stencilface]

Just be warned, new laithes stinks though, they plough all kind of crap into their fields, literally!!

 

[JJS]

It does smell a bit, but luckily not overwhelmingly so 😂

Yes, there's off-road hacking too (the farm has about 100 acres to play around with).

Harrogate Road is very busy, so sometimes you do have to wait a while for a clear spot. I don't enjoy crossing it, admittedly, but it's not bad enough to deter me either.

Yes, DIY includes as much hay and bedding as you need.

I should also add that John and his wife, who own the farm, are all lovely, and it's the most drama-free yard that I've ever come across.

 

[hlb93]

I don't mind smells! This yard sounds great, I am so glad you have told me about it. I have had a look on google maps and it looks like theres plenty of hacking around the yard, is it possible to go out of the yard road, across the A659 and then around by the Wharfe? And all of these little tracks around the fields that I can see on google maps, are they hackable? (I will be new to bridleways and English access rights, we had no bridleways where I was before and all fields are fenced so no chance of hacking along the side of them).

 

[JJS]

I don't mind smells! This yard sounds great, I am so glad you have told me about it. I have had a look on google maps and it looks like theres plenty of hacking around the yard, is it possible to go out of the yard road, across the A659 and then around by the Wharfe? And all of these little tracks around the fields that I can see on google maps, are they hackable? (I will be new to bridleways and English access rights, we had no bridleways where I was before and all fields are fenced so no chance of hacking along the side of them).

Yes, the tracks are all hackable. With regards to the River Wharfe, I couldn't say; I've never tried it. Although my geography isn't great, so I may well have gone that way by accident and just not have realised!

 

[LeedsHorseys]

Grange turn out all year which is nice but the fields aren't great, very little grazing. Usually the case as yards that limit grazing in winter generally have better grazing in summer but depends which is most important to you. Extra services are expensive which you might not need but take it into consideration. A lot of time the haylage quality was awful. People are really nice and Hacking is wonderful.

I've heard Wikefield are quite strict and also limit the turnout/small fields but again hacking is lovely.

 

[hlb93]

Hello again, finally in a position where hopefully I can move pony this summer! I have been putting my name down on waiting lists but just spoke to New Laithe Farm (my favourite choice), and will be going to visit in mid March. They said there is grass livery available, and that a big bale of hay or haylage (I didn't catch which) was put into the field during winter. JJS - is the grass livery good? Is it worth getting a stable as well? And are they really muddy in winter or not too bad? I know pony would be happy and do well on grass livery year round, but probably less so if it gets really muddy. Also one more question, is there an undercover area which grass liveries can use to groom/tack up/etc? Thank you in advance!

 

[hhorse0113]

Hello again, finally in a position where hopefully I can move pony this summer! I have been putting my name down on waiting lists but just spoke to New Laithe Farm (my favourite choice), and will be going to visit in mid March. They said there is grass livery available, and that a big bale of hay or haylage (I didn't catch which) was put into the field during winter. JJS - is the grass livery good? Is it worth getting a stable as well? And are they really muddy in winter or not too bad? I know pony would be happy and do well on grass livery year round, but probably less so if it gets really muddy. Also one more question, is there an undercover area which grass liveries can use to groom/tack up/etc? Thank you in advance!

Hi sorry this is an old thread but did you end up going to New Laithe Farm? Im contemplating going there myself! I just wanted to know what its like?