Houston Farm Riding School, West Lothian
Value For Money
Houston Farm Riding School, West Lothian
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User Reviews
Amazing Instructors & Great Lessons!
I go to HFRS and I LOVE it! I have been to other riding schools and altogether I have been riding for about 4 years! I joined Houston about 5 months ago and I have become such a better rider and more experienced and confident when handling horses. I went for a 1/2 hour taster lesson and it was great! I am now in the 45 minute class and I am learning so much! I can canter well and instruct the horse much better now. We had a really fun lesson on teamwork a few weeks ago and even thought it was tricky to stay in line with your partner it helped a lot. The instructors are all so lovely and have great knowledge. I am very pleased with how far I have come over the past 5 months! I couldn't even take a bridle off before I came to Houston and now I could probably do it in my sleep! The horses are all looked after very well and are so friendly! They have great schooling areas and even a small refreshments shop! I would definately reccomend HFRS to any rider or anyone who wants to become a rider!
best riding school ever started of in the half hour lesson with a little bit of expereince and within a month i started going by myself this riding school is perfect all the instructors know what they are doing and they are all very friendly when i came i didnt even know what a girth was now know every part of the tack back to front ll because of the excellent helpers and staff.
after about a year riding there i have learned so much that my head is about to explode! all the horses are fabulous if u handle them in the right way my favourite horse is calypso even though i have never ridden her she gives amazing hugs and i feel i can tell her anything and nobody will ever know.
please ride at this school it is the best school eva and Penny's new foal is soo cute and it was thanks to the extremely kind staff that i got to see her beautifull face! a big thankyou to all the staff!!!
Value For Money
Houston Farm Riding School Uphall - The Very Best
I first went to Houston Farm in the early nineties and found it amazing, there is a knowledge of horses here that is superb, there is a strong work ethic in this school and if like me you have a horse of your own that you are having problems with, this is the place to learn where you as a rider have gone wrong. Just one lesson helped me enormously but I still take lessons today on a regular basis as there is just so much to know about riding horses and here is where I learn it.
regards
Miss Anne Power
West Lothian
Value For Money
Amazing!
Such an amazing riding school! Fantastic instructors, horses and staff.
Half hour lessons are for beginners and the horses used are mostly very steady and calm. The school is very clean, droppings are picked up almost immediately. Lots of fantastic leaders on hand to encourage the riders and offer them advice on riding. Instructors try to add a bit of variety into the lessons with adding small jumps and exercises designed to get the riders and horses listening. Very safe and steady.
45 minute and hour lessons are fantastic. Very rare to have the same lessons twice in a row, they always try and mix it up adding jumping etc into the lessons. Makes readers come out of their shells and really makes them into fantastic riders. Instructors are very encouraging and supportive.
Before i came here, i was very nervous, but now they have me cantering and jumping, something i'd never thought i'd do.
Horses are fantastic, mostly well mannered! Instructors and staff know the horses inside out and therefore can provide excellent advice on how to handle and ride the horses. All the horses are very well looked after, stables are spotless and they are all in very healthy.
Would recommend this to everyone!
Want To Get Dizzy? Come Here!
went there for a couple years.... didn't improve a single bit. Every week doing the same thing. Some steering, trotting for ages then a few silly tiny jumps at the end. They always gave everyone a leader no matter what level you were. I had been to a different riding school previously and i moved to Houston to see what it was like.... big mistake. I rode the very same grumpy pony every week which is never good. The staff were very bad tempered and one girl got really mad at me for holding onto the saddle.... I WAS ONLY LEARNING! The indoor school where lessons were was far too small. 10 horses in one tiny arena. And the actual arena had pillars in it which seems to me to be very dangerous. The horses themselves were lovely but their living conditions were not good. They were forced to stand in dirty stables tacked up all day and they also put their horses in standing stalls (which were also tacked up) which resulted in rubs and sores on their noses. The horses never appeared to ever be turned out. I was never shown how to tack up and i had to put the pony back in his stable by myself and i had to idea what to do. I do not recommend going here at all.
I think you are talking about another riding school. All the horses are looked after extremely well and their stables are spotless! Any droppings are picked up within a minute! They also do not lead you round unless you are very inexperienced or very young! On my first week I was able to walk around myself, trot and no one in that lesson was on a lead rope ( that was the beginners class!) I got moved up and we are learning so much! If anyone else reads this don't believe it! The instructors are fantastic and the horses are NOT always tacked up! They only stay tacked in their stable if they are in the next lesson & they would only be waiting a few minutes! They always loosen the girth for them and they do teach you what to do with tack! It is very clean and a very friendly, happy environment!
Firstly, i don't think you've been to Houston in a while. The arena you are currently describing has since been demolished for several months now and in its place a new larger and more modern school has been built. However i strongly doubt the pillars in the small school were dangerous. Houston has always been BHS and ABRS approved, and i doubt they would have approved if they found any of the facilities dangerous and/or unsatisfactory.
Secondly, the half hour lessons are for complete novices/beginners. Therefore, you do not get to experience more than walk/trot/steering and small jumps for health and safety reasons. I think you will struggle to find any riding school that lets complete novices/beginners simply get on a horse and gallop about the place with no control, it would end in disaster.
Thirdly, as for everyone getting a leader, that is simply not true. Younger riders or less experienced riders will get a leader, for safety. Many riders find this extremely beneficial as it means that they can concentrate on things like rising while in trot and not have to worry about steering. When you get a bit more experienced and can do things like rising trot riders are in fact encouraged to ride without a leader. The only time someone who can ride themselves gets a leader is if they ask for one or if the horse/pony they are on is being particularly excitable that day. And no offence, but if you had to keep your hands on the saddle while trotting you probably needed a leader.
Fourthly, the stables are completely mucked out at least once a day and throughout the day people are constantly checking the horses stables and their water, picking up poo and filling up their water when necessary. They aren't tacked up all day long. They are tacked up at a maximum half an hour before their lesson and untacked immediately before lunch and after their last lesson. The horses aren't tied up in stalls. The horses are turned out over summer once every two days at least. If you ask one of the staff they will be more than happy to show you how to tack up and will accompany you to put the pony back. However if you don't speak up and ask you won't get any help. They are not mind readers.
Your review seems old and outdated, i suggest only writing a review if you have been there in the past couple of months.
Sorry but it seems as if you go to a completly diffrent riding school as the horses stalls/stables are cleaned morning and night!! also the staff are lovley even though they can be strict it is a School so really they have to be. Some horses are Grumpy because well that is them their all different!
the arenas are lovely and clean, the poop is picked as soon as it is down!
If you are new then you must go in half hours and only get moved up after a few years and when your really ready. So Mrs Comrie tests you just to be sure as in the three quarter and hour lessons are very very different as you must be able to canter from walk as we do lots of them.
Value For Money
Went Here 5 Years Ago For Regular Lessons With A F
Went here 5 years ago for regular lessons with a friend. After 2 years of being in the same beginner class doing the same thing every week, it was time to leave. Fourteen riders were in my lesson regularly and the staff were very unfriendly and bad tempered. Horses and ponies were lovely which was surprising due to the poor conditions they were kept in. Horses were almost never turned out, stables are dirty and some are kept in barbaric stalls (resulting in sores on their noses). Horses are worked 'till their death and given no retirement. Will never go back. Waste of money. Waste of time. Go elsewhere.
This is untrue! Total false information! Was three yesterday for my lesson and all the ponies were their usual happy, healthy selves. All the stables are cleaned out daily, the yard is SPOTLESS and all the staff are well trained, experienced and friendly! The horses are not "worked to death" as I have seen many old horses enjoying a happy retirement at Houston. They are all fit and looked after so well! I would ignore this negative comment as this person has clearly not been to Houston Farm Riding School! It's brilliant!
I have only just started going to this yard (as an experienced rider and an ex-groom/instructor I know what to look out for) and the above description is very inaccurate. As always I have a look round the yard before my lesson to judge the condition of the horses and stables and, although not fancy, the conditions were very good, the staff were very friendly and happy to chat with me and answer my questions and my instructor was fantastic. I thouroughly enjoyed my lesson, fell in love with my horse and actually came away feeling like I had learned something. Oh and I met at least 3 of the retired ponies so I hardly think they are worked until their death.
They need to keep you in half an hours until your capable. 45 minute lessons are alot different from the half hour beginner lessons. In half hour lessons your lead and you have people keeping an eye on you. The ponies and horses in the half hour are alot more bomb proof that the ones used to 45 minute or hour lessons. Before you get moved up you need to show you have complete control of the pony/horse and know how to deal with different situations, or else your going to be a danger both to your horse and the other riders in your lesson. I know people who work there, go up myself sometimes and stables get completely mucked out in the morning and evening. People go around at least 3 times a day picking up droppings. Staff are friendly and supportive, although obviously they can be strict at times because it is a riding SCHOOL. Horses turned out nearly every day in nice weather. Some horses go out more than others, depending on their age/fitness. Significant amount of horses enjoying a lovely retirement. Sounds like you went to a complete different riding school or your just bitter it took you two years to grasp the basics.
Well you must of went to a completey differnt riding school than me the staff are friendly and happy to share there knowledge of horses the horses do not work until death because the have 3 horses that are retirement at the moment the stable are muck out 3 times a day how u didn't see that i don't know the helper are always mucking out stable and they even have little kids wanting to help them so that^ is a compelt LIE!!!
i completly disagree. I have been going here for years now and done lots of summer camps here. They are perfect to the horses and so much time and effort is put in to make sure the horses are well cared for. And as for the staff, well they are just the best! so helpful, kind and willing to share there knowledge!!
Value For Money
I Love Going To Houston Farm Riding School Every W
I love going to Houston Farm Riding School every week, I love the horses and ponies, and the staff are kind, I do admit that the half hour is very boring but when you get moved up to the 45 Minuit and then the hour it is really fun, I am in the hour on a Sunday and I enjoy it, I was going to stop going when I was in the half hour but I'm glad I didn't, I know if I did I would of regretted it. If you fall off the instructors are really nice and try their best to make you smile and always make sure your OK. When you go for the first time to talk to Mrs Comrie (Mrs C as most people call her), someone will take you around and introduce you to the horses if you want but only if she can find someone to do so, but most volunteers enjoy taking people around to see the horses. I would of liked to know what to do when a horse takes off, i know what to do now. I would/do recommend going horse riding at Houston Farm Riding School.
Value For Money
I Am Glad I Pestered The Life Out Of The Owners To
I am glad i pestered the life out of the owners to get my girls a slot in the beginner lessons. It is fantastic. Yes, it might be a bit busy some weekends, but surely that is a sign of the demand. It is a business and if you want small lessons then go private. The horses all seem happy and the kids when they come off, they are always smiling. Looking forward to the summer when they will be able to go outside again.
Value For Money
Excellent Place To Learn To Ride For All Levels Of
Excellent place to learn to ride for all levels of rider! The horses are great and cater for all levels and the instructors are very knowledgable. I started riding here as a fairly experienced rider already and have learnt loads in the two years I have been riding here. The owners are very nice and the staff are friendly. Currently a group lesson is £21 an hour which is cheap in relation to most other riding schools in the area but it does mean the group lessons do get very busy so if you don't like a busy arena then book a private but be aware this place is extremely popular so you have to book a private a few weeks in advance to get a slot! The only reason why I have not given 5 out of 5 is because the group lessons do not appear to have capped numbers and to be honest I would be prepared to pay more for my lesson to enable numbers to be capped but as the quality of instruction from Houston is far superior to any of the other yards I've tried then I can put up with the busy arena. All group lessons I have been work in 'open order' so you are not nose to tail like some others on here have suggested, maybe that happens in the beginner classes but not in the more advanced lessons.
Value For Money
I Started At This School When I Was 7 I Am Now 44
I started at this school when i was 7 i am now 44 so yes they have been going for years!! when i was a youngster it was ian comrie who taught us.his kids jane fiona and john were all young ann was just baby.
the horses were well keapt and i learned alot in my first few years of riding but it started to get boring and went else where,over all it was good place to start.
Value For Money
After Riding There For A Number Of Years I Recentl
After riding there for a number of years I recently gave up riding at this school as felt I was not progressing at all. Every week we did the same things over and over again and never tried anything new. Most of the parents complained to each other about the fact that we just went round and round and a lot of people eventually left. The horses are not kept to as high as a standard as they should be and the majority of yard staff are particulary unhelpful and unfriendly. Lessons are usually very overcrowded and honestly quite boring. I personally feel that for the money you are spending you would be better going somewhere else as it took me and the others in my lesson 5 years to argue our way out of the beginners lesson. I was made to sit examinations which were quite expensive despite having already sat them at this school and had all the certificates to prove it. I really wish I had not wasted as much time and money here and that I had gone somewhere else earlier.
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