About us...
We are a small training and rehabilitation facility, located on the edge of a small village called Compton Verney, in the South Warwickshire countryside. We take a limited number of horses for training each year, with a focus on having high success rates, rather than a high turnover of horses. Alongside the daily training of the horses kept here at Home Farm, we also teach visiting clients from all over the UK, as well as hosting clinics and courses with various other equine professionals.
Barn & Grazing
Our huge American Barn has 16 light and airy Loddon stables, all with external windows, rubber matting and automatic water drinkers. We have a hot wash area and two sets of heat lamps. We have 20 acres of paddocks available, which we subdivide and rotate the horses around frequently, to avoid overgrazing. Natural shelter is only found around the perimeter of the field, so when the weather is particularly bad we tend to bring the horses into the barn at night. For most of the year, the horses live in the paddocks at night and come into the barn during the day. The size of the paddocks varies from large spaces suitable for groups, right down to 5m x 5m corrals. All paddocks are fenced with electric rope at 4ft high with one paddock fenced at 6ft high.
Our approach...
...to keeping horses is perhaps nothing new. We simply try to balance the needs of each horse with the requirements and limitations of modern day horsekeeping. Unfortunately in most areas it is no longer possible to keep horses in a natural way due to a lack of acreage and plant diversity. So, in order to manage our land to keep it healthy we must adapt the way we keep our horses to provide the stimulus they require to keep them healthy and happy, without degrading the land to the point where it becomes unhealthy and of poor quality as over time this will affect the health of the horses in residence here.
Our horses need to move. Lack of movement can lead to a whole range of issues and therefore our horses are kept out in the paddocks overnight as much as the weather allows us to. Small herd turnout is preferred, but we keep new or visiting horses separate from the groups. We believe that for most horses, a short time in the stable does them no harm, and may in fact enable them to rest properly. Some horses will not sleep deeply enough when living in the paddock with other horses.
Arenas & Outriding
The outdoor arena measures 60m x 30m and has almost 20m of full length mirrors on one short side. The surface is of the highest quality sand with a carpet fibre mix. We are aware of the dangers of riding on surfaces which move too much, as well as surfaces which grip and are consequently more 'jarring' on the horse. We believe our surface is the perfect balance. It is firm, without slip or movement, but contains no wax. We have a full set of show jumps and lots of poles for both ridden and ground pole work.
The indoor arena measures 25m x 25m and provides a safe space for groundwork and where needed, turnout. It is well lit, in direct view of the stable barn. Access is via a level concrete walkway, which is also perfect for trot-ups and gait analysis. The surface of the arena is sand and fibre, kept damp and firm, with minimal movement.
The hacking on the farm is a mixture of both stone and tarmac tracks, and grass set-asides around hundreds of acres. When the ground is wet we are limited to the stone tracks and country lanes, which are easily accessible and usually very quiet. Compton Verney house provides a beautiful backdrop. There are good hills easily accessible.
