Equestrian property where you can work and play

If you’re horse mad then you may well have dreamt of giving up the day job to work with your four-legged friends.

The good news is that after a long, fallow period, there are more live/work equestrian properties on the market.

“Banks tightened their lending in the recession but the added issue for this type of property is that it is seen as semi-commercial by the banks,” says Tim Gower, head of Robin Jessop’s Leyburn office.

“Now the banks are a bit more flexible and there is a bit more cash about, so we have seen some good sales recently.”

Prices vary from well over £1m for the best-equipped properties with plenty of land to £350,000 for a house with stables and two to three acres.

There is also a wide range of choice when it comes to live/work options, from the racehorse training yards to riding centres and livery yards.

Their use can be interchangeable and they may also hold more potential. A number of training yards in Yorkshire now include holiday lets, which are popular with both horse racing fans and families. Ann Duffield’s Sun Hill yard in Wensleydale, near Constable Burton, has cottages and timber lodges.

Arthington Barn, in an idyllic spot in Nawton, near Helmsley, certainly has potential for holiday lets. It is a well-known training yard owned by racing enthusiast Roger Fell, who owns a Huddersfield-based haulage firm.

He bought the rundown property in 2008 and spent a fortune renovating and expanding to create an enviable set-up. It includes his own home, staff accommodation, 67 stables and a host of facilities, including a lunging ring, horse walkers and a cold water spa. The gallops are on the doorstep.

His first trainer was the highly successful David O’Meara and the second is David Loughnane, who has made a promising start.

“It was a dream of mine to have a place like this and it has been fantastic. It has produced Group One winners and is the fastest place in history to train 500 winners.

“I’m selling because it’s time to move on and let someone younger take it over,” says Roger, who adds that he is “still in love with sport” and intends to continue as a racehorse owner.

There has been nationwide interest in the yard, which is on the market for £1.45m with Robin Jessop.

Another equestrian property attracting a lot of prospective buyers, is a private yard for barefoot horses in Lumbutts, near Todmorden.

It has five acres and a “Paddock Paradise” track system. It is for sale with Ryburne and Co. for just £160,000. There is no accommodation but there is the option of buying a home nearby. Property prices in nearby Todmorden start at £80,000.

Although it is not a commercial operation, it holds enormous potential.

Owner Liane Rhodes, who runs the Barefoot Horse Owners group on Facebook, says: “It could be used as barefoot livery, to teach barefoot horsemanship and as a rehabilitation facility. The trail riding up here is also incredible.”

The barefoot concept simulates the way horses live in the wild. They are unshod and trained on a variety of surfaces, including grass, sand and stones. They graze on pesticide-free meadow grasses.

Lianne began using the system after her horse got laminitis.

“Two thirds of horses who get laminitis are put to sleep but the barefoot system helps to cure it and it also helps navicular disease. Basically, it’s a back to nature system that makes horses a lot fitter and healthier. It started in America and is really catching on in this country,” says Liane, who is selling to move to France.

Another way of cutting the cost of equestrian property is to buy a small house with land and then apply for planning permission to change the use of it from agricultural to equestrian.

Tim Gower, of Robin Jessop, says: “Planning authorities usually aren’t too worried about the change of use but putting up stables can be more problematic in National Park areas.”