Would you take your horse abroad on holiday ? Interested ?

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niagaraduval

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Hi all,

I'm doing a bit of research, I was wondering if any of you lot would take your horse on holiday with you? and what for ? How long etc ?

The reason why I am asking is I am interested in starting up some kind of 'bring your horse' holiday let.

We own a beautiful 17th century castle and have 2 luxury self cantering apartments which we rent out.

We also have 2 stables, with secure tack storage, and a post & rail fenced area attached to said stables for the horses to go in or out. We have room for horsebox to stay on site, just infront of your window.

We would supply all bedding & hay, the stables would obviously be pressure washed and disinfected after each and every stay (We are germo - phobes !). We supply wood shavings or straw (your choice) & excellent quality hay. We also have a river right next to our door which the locals love to ride and bath their horses in. It's a beautiful place for horses.

The stables are just infront of the property that you would stay in. There are numerous hacking & horsey places for miles on end, I would make maps and check out local stop points for each route, this is a hacking/trekking holiday.

Concerning meals, we would be happy to include quality food and local wine, if that's what people would want but the accommodation is self catering. Strictly adults only. The property is beautiful and sits in 9 acres of private woodland. It's in no way in the middle of nowhere and there is lot's to do and quite a few big cities not far away (with the nearest big city just 20 mins away), and 1 hour from Paris & Reims, so great for anyone looking to chill away from horses too.

We are a very easy 2 hour drive from Calais (empty motorway all the way here) so this could appeal as a place thats very accessible and not too far (I am targeting people from England).

I was wondering if people would be interested in what I am offering and possibly the kind of price you would pay for this ?
 
I have taken one of mine to France for an exhibition and a short holiday. It was very enjoyable but I wouldn't do it again because the ferry wouldn't let horses on board until the sea was calmer, so we had to wait all day which was a bit of a downer.

However, your place sounds lovely and if I was mad enough to go over again, I'd check the long range weather forecast first and stay a bit longer.
 
It's not something I would ever think about doing tbh, mainly because of the expense involved and time it would take to get there. There are so many places that I could take my horse to in England so would rather stick with that as it's less upheaval for them.

Your place does sound amazing though and would probably appeal to some people (would certainly appeal to me if I had more time and money - would want to stay for a minimum of a couple of weeks though for it to be worthwhile).
 
it would appeal to me if the cost and paperwork were easy enough. currently looking to take our horses on holiday with us this year in the uk for the first time. that's if we get any time off!!!
 
I wouldn't bring my horses mainly because there are some super places in the UK that I would like to explore first. However, it does sound a fabulous place and I would love to see some photos. I would come with my dog (and OH) and our bikes. In fact I'm leaving right now...
 
happyclappy said:
it would appeal to me if the cost and paperwork were easy enough. currently looking to take our horses on holiday with us this year in the uk for the first time. that's if we get any time off!!!
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Thanks for the reply.

Regarding paperwork, as far as I know as passports are compulsory, no extra costs are involved as long as you have your annual vaccinations up to date all is fine. The extra cost would just involve a horse box on the ferry (which from my memory is around £80).

I thought of this as I often commute from England to France and I see a lot of horse boxes and lorries on the crossing over. :) I also have not found many places that are like mine (I'm not being bias! Honest !)
 
Would it be simpler to offer horse hire, if you have suitable horses yourself or could afford to keep a couple of nice hacking horses for your guests to use? It would probably be more cost-effective for your guests to pay to hire a horse than bring their own, although you could offer it as an option.
 
I wouldn't want tot ravel my horses that far - so no I wouldn't even consider it... (but I am a wuss about travelling - QUalified for RIHS a couple of years back and wouldn't go cos of the journey...
 
Can you take horses on the eurostar?

I would consider it if I lived in Kent or somewhere close by and I didn't have to go on a ferry (sea sickness not a good start to a holiday).

I would imagine it would be closer to get to for those living near the ferry than taking your horse to Wales or Scotland.

Being as I don't intend to move to the South though my answer is a bit pointless, sorry.
 
SuperH said:
Can you take horses on the eurostar?

I would consider it if I lived in Kent or somewhere close by and I didn't have to go on a ferry (sea sickness not a good start to a holiday).

I would imagine it would be closer to get to for those living near the ferry than taking your horse to Wales or Scotland.

Being as I don't intend to move to the South though my answer is a bit pointless, sorry.
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You can if you have a very particular kind of box but there are literally a handful of them around and in the hands of commercial shippers a few well traveled professionals.
 
Your place sounds delightful OP but I would not want to take my horse(s) on holiday abroad - for me it would be rather stressful and defeat the purpose of having a holiday!
 
I sell riding holidays (with horses supplied) but we have had the occasional request for places in France that riders can take their own horses to. It doesn't come up very often but I'm sure you'd get a bit of interest, though I think it's the sort of thing which people like the idea of until it comes to the costs and organisation involved.

I should think you'd be better off providing a few good hacking horses and offering unguided riding holidays with maps and routes provided. People love unguided riding and it's almost impossible to find places that offer it (for the obvious reason that people don't want to let their horses go off with strangers). The best thing is to take people out for a ride with you on the first day and then they can ride without you if you feel it's OK for them to do so.

Being near to Paris is a great bonus. Accessibility makes a huge difference to people. :)

Good luck with it, whatever you decide!
 
This is interesting because we are considering a move to France in the next few years and this is something we have been exploring (alongwith gites) - we thought of several options: riding holidays with bring your own horse, riding holidays (hacking - English or Western) with horses supplied and also riding holidays (with riding lessons - either dressage/jumping/polo for example) - just currently a pipe dream and just kicking ideas around in my own head.

I wouldn't personally take my horse to France on a holiday though as my hubby not particularly horsey and I don't get many days holiday at work. It is something I would have considered when I was single. Sounds like fun.
 
Nope sorry,...the travelling coupled with the cost of sorting the whole journey out horse wise is enough to put me off I'm afraid. A lovely idea in essence, but maybe more suited to folk on your side of the water!

Good Luck with your venture though,...I'm sure you'll get one or two takers!
 
For 'just' a holiday, no, not for me. We've been to Hungary and Austria competing and I would do again but I'm not sure my ponies think of long days travelling as a good start to a holiday!
The vet paper work, issues with tolls/lorry regs, forage/water differences, potential shipping fever = not worth it for me
 
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