BarstobrickReviews 

I periodically visited Barstobrick Riding Centre to compete in competitions from 2012 to late 2015. The facilities for visiting riders were very good - it has two indoor arenas, an outdoor arena, a coffee shop, a pond walk, and a large car park with plenty of space for trailers. However the experience was always marred by the apalling track which leads to the Riding Centre. It was badly potholed and severely tested your vehicle's steering and suspension, not to mention your horse's patience as you make your slow way to the car park from the main road.

As well as hosting competitions and other events, the Riding Centre also offered livery. However, from what I was able to see when I wandered round on competition days, I would never recommend it to friends unless they kept their horse stabled at all times. Although the stables themselves are modern (as are the arenas), the fields left a great deal to be desired. In full view of the arena car parks was a steep field which managed to be muddy even in summer. Whilst trying to find grass which has survived the mud, the horses were left to carefully pick their way through gorse bushes and ragwort, and explore the perilous slopes that lead down to a burn.

Many visitors never venture beyond the arenas and the excellent Stickety Lickety Teahouse, but those who do should look out for a field behind the top stables that was so full of rocks that a mountain goat would be challenged. It was bounded by a wooden fence that had shards of wood and nails sticking out of it, and had a wooden bench placed to stop the occupant escaping through a huge gap in the fence! I was surprised that the beautiful bay which was often seen in the field had not damaged itself, and could only wonder at the thoughtlessness of the person who put it there.

If you walk even further, to areas well out of sight to most visitors, you will find fields where horses have to contend with stone walls which have fallen down, long coils of wire lying on the ground ready to trip horses and humans alike, and collapsed fences. Whilst the horses all looked healthy, I never saw anyone poo-picking, and many yard managers would have a fit at the sight of some of the fields.

I was not going to post a review of Barstobrick, but a friend of mine sent a pony there for training, and it came back in a very poor state. I have seen many livery yards over the years, and it really is time to let people know about the bad ones in order to protect the welfare of the horses. I have therefore decided to tell others of my experiences there.

If I could, I would give Barstobrick 4 stars for visitors, but only 1 star for livery. Did I enjoy going there? Yes. Did I enjoy seeing the condition of the fields where the horses graze? Most certainly not.

My pony attended Barstobrick for breaking with [name]. He was there for 6 weeks and appeared to have been treated well and had learned to trot ridden. However.......4 weeks after bringing him home im still treating him for SEVERE MUD RASH. Not just a litte bit on his legs, but ALL OVER! he hadn't been kept warm and dry as he should have been when this condition was noticed. [name] didnt even tell me about this, i had to find out the next morning from bringing him home and seeing all his legs Swollen! He has been lame and had to have the vet for antibiotics! He was also very lean and basically had been starved of any nutrition - adding to the mud rash able to take over his system. I contacted [name] about this and she simply said sorry......i wish i had sent him somewhere more professional and where he could have been looked after properly. The grazing is the worst ive seen for a livery yard and there is simply no shelter for ponies/horses left out.