Thurleigh Equestrian Centre

⛔️ MILL ROAD CLOSURE - 9.30am -3pm - MON 17th AUGUST TO WED 19th AUGUST ⛔️
Mill Road will be closed at the Milton Road end from 9.30am on Monday 17th August for two days, so if you are coming to the yard you will need to come in from Robins Folly or the Ravensden end of Mill Road.

If you are unsure about how to get to us please get in contact and we can let you know the best route in, thanks.

☀️ Summer Project Update! ☀️

We are so excited to kick off our first summer project: building a brand-new turnout area for the horses to make our life easier in the winter!

Even though it’s hard to think about mud during this drought, this will give us a fantastic second all-weather turnout space for the winter. It can also double as an extra summer paddock if needed.

Here’s our progress so far:
🐴 Step 1: Leveled and harrowed the ground.
🐴 Step 2: Laid down 90 Jelka hit top mats (duly overseen and quality-checked by Pepper the yard cat 🐾).
🐴 Step 3: The lovely team at Shetland to Shires Shelters installed our brand-new two-horse field shelter on Thursday.

What’s left to do:
🚜 Spread 5 tonnes of sand over the mats when the delivery gets to us.
🔨 Add sleepers for the edging
🚜 Put up new fencing and link it directly to our existing sand pen

Still plenty of graft to go, but we’re really pleased with how it’s coming together! More progress photos to follow. 🚜🐴✨

What do we do during the summer holidays? It's the perfect time for a deep clean! 🧹
Even with most of our horses only in during the day, it’s amazing how much grime builds up over the winter. Our team has been hard at work scrubbing walls and floors, (our new electric scrubber has helped reduce the strain!) dusting down, and giving everything a fresh coat of paint and varnish.

The stable barn is almost finished, and next up is the main yard to get everything sparkling for the start of the new term! 🐴🧽

We are also working on some exciting new projects over the summer, so keep an eye out for posts about the progress on these too.

We have three spaces left on our summer workshops in August, designed for young people aged 12 years old and above. See details below and please get in touch if you would like more information.

Mini horse logic: If it keeps us cool, it’s a friend. 🦄💨
Big horse logic: That giant spinning metal monster is definitely going to eat us! 🦖😂

Snowball and Pie have loved standing right in front of the yard fan this week, letting it blow their forelocks like a L'Oreal advert! Meanwhile, the big horses are still highly suspicious of the strange whirring thing in the corner and are strictly keeping their distance.
The staff and students have also been making the most of the fan and misting showers to stay cool.
Heatwave survival mode: fully activated! Hopefully not too many more days to go.☀️😎

☀️ How are we keeping the horses cool in this heat? 🐴👇

In order to keep our horses comfortable during this heatwave, we have given them a few days off work.

They come into their stables in the morning for their breakfast and a snooze while we get the poo-picking done before it gets too hot. The horses get turned back out at around 11am; we hose them off and put on wet fly rugs that have been soaked in a water bucket, which works wonders to help keep them cool. 💦

We are incredibly lucky to have lots of shade out in our paddocks from trees, hedging, and field shelters, so the horses are actually more comfortable out than in as the day heats up! We have also fans in the barn and on the yard to help keep the horses and staff cooler while on the yard.

As for the rest of the gang:

🐴 The Minis: They have all had their manes plaited to keep them comfortable, as they have such long, thick hair and they are enjoying the shade of the trees in the Orchard.

🧂 Supplements: All the horses have been having additional electrosalts added to their breakfasts to encourage them to keep drinking and replace any vital salts lost if they sweat.

🦔 Wildlife: We’ve put water bowls out in the garden and across the yard for our local wildlife to use.

🐶🐱 The House Crew: Millie is keeping cool with her icepack necklace! She and the yard cats are spending most of the day inside the house, snoozing somewhere shady, including Millies bed!

A big thank you to the Progressive Strides at Thurleigh Equestrian Centre staff, who have all come in to help the yard staff on the yard in the mornings to get the work finished early while the students are off. We do have the best team!

Stay safe and stay cool, everyone! 🧊🍦

☀️ IMPORTANT WEATHER UPDATE: Keeping Cool This Week! ☀️

With the red weather warning and intense heatwave forecasted for this week, we are making adjustments to our schedule to ensure the safety, comfort, and well-being of our wonderful horses, staff and clients.

Here is what you need to know:

Morning Lessons & Exercise : Weekday riding lessons and horse exercise will only take place during the cooler, early morning hours.

Progressive Strides Programme: Sadly, the daytime heat is just too much for both students and horses, so the Progressive Strides student programme is cancelled for this week.

Saturday Lessons: Unless things change, Saturday sessions will run as scheduled, but we will be taking things a bit easier! Expect less strenuous activity, with a focus on walk work, rider position, and core alignment to keep everyone from overheating. Cold water will also be available.

We will be in touch directly with anyone whose specific lesson booking is affected by these changes. Thank you all so much for your understanding and support in keeping our horses and team safe and happy.

Keep hydrated, wear your sunscreen, and stay cool! 🕶️🐴💦

We are all very proud of little Pie, who went out to his first show at Emberton and District Riding Club yesterday. It was also his first time off the yard and out on his own, so a very big day for him! He was a super star and loved the experience. Thank you to Sarah for looking after him so well and giving him such a good first experience in the show ring.