Exmoor Riding

24/01/2023

A beautiful day just right for grazing - but where has all the grass gone!?? What a difficult winter we have all had this year for our horses and other grazers! The magic of Spring will regenerate our grazing fields we hope!!

22/12/2022

A very Happy Christmas and New Year to all our wonderful Friends, Riders and Followers..... and look forward to seeing you all again in 2023!!

16/12/2022

Christmas is nearly upon us and the weather is leading us into the winter spirit, with the ponies enjoying the crisp morning frost this morning. Thank you Laura Haddow for taking the photos of the ponies early today! 😀

17/07/2022

Hot sunny day - what more could a horse wish for than a delicious home-made apple ice lolly?

Well it took a little time to encourage some of them to eat, but as they thawed, they all devoured their new refreshment!! 😅🥲😀

24/05/2022

You can still book your amazing horse riding holidays with us for the summer holidays - dates available for July and August! Come and escape to some beautiful countryside, connect with horses, and stay in our ancient 15th century farmhouse within the Porlock Vale.

A big thank you to Matt, one of our riders this week, for sharing some lovely photos.

21/05/2022

21/05/2022

Dandy 17.2hh (age 29yrs) enjoying a little 'liberty' training with little Sophie (age 7yrs) in the arena today. Not too sure who was teaching who but they had a great time. 😄

10/04/2022

Blue Blue on his first ride along the lanes around Bossington with young Timber and her mum and dad. What a lovely sight, and well done to them all! Blue is such a gentle soul for a youngster. Congratulations to all of them.

29/03/2022

20/03/2022

Part-time help needed to help with our horses - students, young families, volunteers on a regular basis to 'connect' with our horses, and assist with their day to day management and care, and for taking them for walks in the woods, or down to the sea. Just a few hours once a week or a more regular commitment. A great introduction to a future career with horses or just for having fun!
Please give me a call on 01643 862816. 😊

08/03/2022

At Exmoor Riding, near Porlock, we work with our horses in calmness, relaxation and co-operation. Our guests and riders come from all over the world, to find peace and gentleness with our horses, and in turn to rebalance their lives, hopes and dreams for the future.

You can join this amazing equine team and help with their care and well-being!

Part-time afternoon assistance required for working in the fields and yards, feeding the horses, grooming, general care and taking them out to their fields. A love of horses essential.

Please email [email protected] or call 01643 862816

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09/02/2022

A lovely afternoon for a walk with Rio today, to St Agnes Fountain, with a beautiful view across Porlock Vale. Albi was with us too, with both mischievous boys behaving themselves most of the time !!

21/01/2022

Danny and Flo - love this photo from 2020!!

21/01/2022

Three special boys feeling drowsy and content sharing the same window view of the yard. L to R: Paps, Rio, Albi - all amazing rides over beautiful countryside.

These three lads, Paps on left Rio with Albi on right were not receiving a treatment from but clearly liked her presence from 20 yds away as Theo was getting some hands on!
AG has been coming for over two years now and we Highly recommended Alison for equine human or canine Shiatsu as we have experienced the benefits for ourselves and our animals health vitality and well being. She has great understanding & experience of a range of issues so if your keen to know more pop over to

09/01/2022

🤣 ..... but you will still be doing all the hard work!!!

04/01/2022

Tom enjoying the views on his bitless ride through the wood this morning with Laura Haddow - lovely sun and amazing views!

24/12/2021

Our Girls had a great Christmas Ride today to Porlock, and The Castle pub - All seemed to enjoy the fun and attention......Archie with Jess and Igor with Laura - Happy Christmas to all!

30/10/2021

Flo has been a little poorly recently and is on a strict diet, so to stop her from getting too bored she is having daily exercise with one of her best buddies Papoose, our schoolmaster! I thought I would try a new training technique today! It worked quite well! Papoose is on my inside, and Flo on the outside learning with every step! She was better on the left rein, so more fun to follow! So who is training who here? Music by Ben Sound - .com

https://vimeo.com/640662440

Cathy has started young Flo arena in hand training and it occurred to her an expert like Papoose would be a great way to introduce the subtilise of walk trot circles…

29/08/2021

Preparing for riding out over Exmoor hills - all horses relaxed on their mats to settle them before the ride! From left to right - Flo - 5 year old cob; Rio's 'bum' 8yr old PRE; Igor - 8 yr old Lusitano; Pebbles - 16yr old 'tricky' mare as ride leader with Claire; and Albi - 6yr old Dartmoor/Appaloosa! So proud of our family!!

18/07/2021

Beautiful weather if a little too warm! So many people out enjoying the countryside now which is wonderful and they are all very welcome, and there is plenty of room for all........ however, over recent weeks we have had several unpleasant happenings whilst our horses and staff have been taking rides out over beautiful North Hill -

1. One Saturday in June our horses were on the open moor and a group of runners rushed up behind with colourful banners, and flapping clothes - horses spooked and one member of the group fell off and hurt herself - no-one stopped as it was a 'race' - please bear in mind runners that a large group behind horses is very scary for them and this is not something they encounter every day.

2. Today some cyclists shot down Lynch Coombe and two of our horses were quietly walking up from the bottom of the coombe - the speed and noise on the stone spooked the horses, they spun round and bolted off downhill - this was very frightening for our client and our ride leader; however there might have been a dog, or a young child, or the accident could have been far worse! Please cyclists, just bear in mind that if you are unable to stop then you are going too fast and cycles are very frightening to animals and other path users!

3. On several occasions our ride leaders have been shouted at on North Hill by angry walkers for no apparent reason. Please bear in mind that this wonderful landscape is open moorland and everyone can use it - it belongs to the world - but respect between users needs to be reciprocated. Our staff feel harrassed and pressured when shouted at for no particular reason and it unfairly upsets their day and disturbs our riders.

I ask all users of our wonderful landscape to respect one another, and think before you charge around - accidents are always unavoidable. Thank you to all walkers, runners, cyclists and motorists.

And above all - our horses have been through 'lockdown' too, spent 10 months seeing no-one, and now dozens of people are scaring them, their riders and our staff out on the hills!

All I ask for is RESPECT. Thank you for reading.

21/06/2021

The day we sadly said 'goodbye' to beautiful Juta, we had to find new companions for Paps - who had been caring for Juta over the past year or so. This was the initial 'Meet and Greet' - Paps and Rio have made great friends now, and Rio is very respectful of the 'older guy'!! (from left to right - Albi, Rio, Paps)

25/05/2021

Yesterday was a very sad day around the yard at Exmoor Riding - we had to say 'goodbye' to our wonderful and beautiful Juta, our delightful spotty Appaloosa. she has been suffering with her eyes degrading due to uveitis over the years, and this weekend she went totally blind in her left eye, leaving about 20% vision in her right eye. So we told her we loved her, and wished her joy and freedom over the rainbow bridge. God Bless you Juta - you are amazing.

22/05/2021

Family & Young Persons's 'Adopt-a-Pony' voluntary scheme

As we approach some holiday time and some better weather we invite local families to get more involved with our small ponies.
Parents and their children can come along to our yard and work with, groom, and care for our small ponies on a regular basis under this scheme. This does not include riding. The ponies soon learn to recognise their regular young handlers, and 'connect' with them in a very calm and glentle way – but that does not mean that the ponies can do what they like – you are still 'in charge'!

If you would like to participate we ask that you commit to a 'timeslot' on a regular basis once a week, and if you are unable to come to let us know in advance.

The scheme is to encourage youngsters (and their Mums/Dads) to get outdoors, and to talk to, cuddle, groom and walk with our small ponies in preparation for more serious riding lessons. For these lessons we recommend Red Park Riding School in Williton. We already have a number of young children who have fallen in love with the ponies, and walk for miles through the woods!!

The family involvement may also extend to mucking out and yard duties for those intereseted.

We have available 'slots' for this on a morning 10-11.30 or afternoons 2-3.30pm. There is no charge, and the parents are fully responsible for their children. If you wish to show appreciation for the opportunity then the ponies all love carrots!

The ponies available at any one time are Maya, Gaby, Dula, Blueblue and sometimes Flo. Older children, aged 10yrs and over may also be able to walk the larger horses depending upon availability as these horses are regularly used for more serious riding.

Please let me know if you would like to participate in this scheme and the day/time you would like to come. I can appreciate that school may get in the way of such things, but you can reserve your summer slot now so that you do not miss out!

15/05/2021

Amazing rides. Wonderful horses. Grass is growing (thank goodness!) and all looking positive. Come and join us on our journey of riding over Exmoor National Park - some of the most amazing riding in the world! Wonderful views. Amazing canters, and complete Freedom!!

03/05/2021

We have a few stable rugs for sale @£10 each if anyone would like one! We hardly ever use stable rugs, but I know some of you may do so!

1. Horseware stable rug/liner 6ft3in - blue, no rips, just dirty

2. Masta lightweight turnout 4ft6in - a few small rips

3. Requisite 6ft stable rug - heavy - good condition

4. 5ft6in old lightweight stable rug - old

5. masta pink stable rung, 5ft9in, few rips, med weight

6. Requisite 6ft6in stable rug, heavy weight, brown.

29/03/2021

Where else would you wish to be than far from the madding crowd? Riding to your hearts content!!

Porlock Bay looking beautiful this morning, With a massive spring tide filling the marshland.

14/03/2021

Our Horse Riding will be open from 29th March. Please call us on 01643 862816 to make a booking or visit our website