Livery yards near Lymm, altrincham, Warrington, Bowden.

[Basil293]

Hi I'm looking for help in advising a good area for stabling my two horses near the above areas. It must have good hacking, my boys are good in traffic but have a youngster so would prefer plenty of off road hacking options and places good for a blast to let of some steam. We currently do mostly road hacking through busy villages and very little opportunity for canters. This is a move from a completely different area so I have no idea of what the areas have to offer horse wise. Thanks

 

[Ruftysdad]

Where abouts will you be living?

 

[Basil293]

Bowden. X

 

[fatpiggy]

Are you talking DIY or full livery? The problem is that much of the hacking around that sort of area is shared with fancy cars on the country lanes, cycle clubs, and you are never far from a fast road so the lanes are used as a cut-through. There are quite a few yards around but most have more horses than they have the land for. The TPT is nice but you are always going in a straight line and will invariably have to turn around and retrace your footsteps. You also get alot of kiddies learning how to ride their bikes on it, so you have to take that into consideration. Being close to built up areas you also get quite a few people who have bought a horse for £200 from Beeston, haven't got much idea how to care for it properly and the novelty soon wears off anyway. So be prepared to see some interesting examples of horse management.

 

[Basil293]

Hi I don't mind travelling for better places. I'd probably still do myself but may require some livery at times as obviously I won't be bringing the ladies with me whom i share jobs with at current yard. Thanks

 

[fatpiggy]

I think I'd look around the Wilmslow area in that case. Altrincham and Bowden are more or less the same place where horses are concerned. You might find something at Lymm but hacking will always be a bit iffy. I really don't know what the Warrington area is like for horses, but again you will always be bounded by fast roads/railway lines. The High Speed rail line is something to bear in mind too (if it goes ahead).

 

[Ruftysdad]

I agree with the above poster. Wilmslow is a pretty good area for hacking and quite an easy journey from Bowden. Mobberley also has ok hacking.
I will have an ask round and see what is available.
In the meantime if you get chance have a look at the notice board in Chelford Saddlery. There are loads of adverts on there

 

[shadeofshyness]

Have you looked at Matchington in Dunham Massey - I think that's got access to decent hacking?

I have a friend who works as an instructor at Croft Riding Centre in Warrington and I understand that area is quite horsey. Imagine it's less hideously expensive than the Cheshire zone too! And hopefully fewer horses per acre, as round here is usually overcrowded.

 

[fatpiggy]

Have you looked at Matchington in Dunham Massey - I think that's got access to decent hacking?

I have a friend who works as an instructor at Croft Riding Centre in Warrington and I understand that area is quite horsey. Imagine it's less hideously expensive than the Cheshire zone too! And hopefully fewer horses per acre, as round here is usually overcrowded.

Yes, Matchington would probably be the only place I would consider over that way. I suspect the hacking is still pretty limited though - nearly all the lanes around there just arrive a main road after a while. There is what I call the Ice Cream Farm in Dunham too, but when I visited friends there, I was told that swapping favours with friends was forbidden and you had to pay the YO to do it. That could get quite expensive. You used to be able to use private bridleways around some places on the edge of Dunham, but these were almost entirely closed again a few years back.

 

[shadeofshyness]

Yes, Matchington would probably be the only place I would consider over that way. I suspect the hacking is still pretty limited though - nearly all the lanes around there just arrive a main road after a while. There is what I call the Ice Cream Farm in Dunham too, but when I visited friends there, I was told that swapping favours with friends was forbidden and you had to pay the YO to do it. That could get quite expensive. You used to be able to use private bridleways around some places on the edge of Dunham, but these were almost entirely closed again a few years back.

We really don't have many good yards round here do we fatpiggy!

I feel very lucky to have found mine, even if the only hacking is the Middlewood Way, at least we don't have any restrictive rules.

 

[Basil293]

Oh no. What's the restrictive rules? Where I am we are tucked away just 24 horses and we all help each other. I do most of the help as I'm around the most but the owner has no issue with that. I guess we are kind of lucky as we pretty much come and go as we please and we manage the horses fields ourselves ie poo picking and wee picking but means we get less restrictions. It's quite a basic yard with just a floodlit arena and fab grass turnout. Stables are small but manageable. I'd love an indoor school as my youngster can't have any prolonged periods of time off so would be a godsend in winter.

 

[fatpiggy]

We really don't have many good yards round here do we fatpiggy!

I feel very lucky to have found mine, even if the only hacking is the Middlewood Way, at least we don't have any restrictive rules.

No It is the every common problem with keeping horses on the edge of suburbia. There are some places which with a bit of thought and planning could be good, but they invariably just get greedy after a while and try to cram as many horses in as possible. Most places I know are pretty much cash in hand and you do tend to wonder how much the taxman actually knows about it! I know of one place which is tenanted and whenever the landlord comes to the annual check, they chuck all the horses in the field, and as they use gates instead of stable doors, claim they are calf pens which I presume are rated differently!!

 

[Basil293]

Yes keeping cows is very different to keeping horses. I used to be on a farm that kept cows and by keeping just a few they avoided certain tax or got lower tax? It made it cheaper for them anyway.

 

[Ruftysdad]

I have just remembered that there is a good livery yard in Mobberley. Moss House Farm Moss Lane tel 07826520621.They do all shades of livery , have an outdoor manege and a few jumps