Bitless Equestrian Centre

*Limited vacancies from Easter 2024* please contact us if you’d like to be added to the waiting list [https://wa.me/441570471541]

Horses living at BEC Livery are iron-free & live as a natural, mixed herd, eating a fibre-based diet, having unrestricted movement and with access to natural and man-made shelter on our 23-acre farm in beautiful and tranquil west Wales. Every effort is made to reduce exposure to chemicals, synthetic substances and man-made stress to an absolute minimum. The first thing visitors say is “isn’t it peaceful here and the horses all seem so contented”.

Domestication will always be a compromise for the horse but we can offer more of a choice than is currently available through conventional yard management. All it takes is the courage to step out of the box and take a look at evolution. Horses require a simple set of essentials. After all if they can look after themselves for all that time, surely, we should be able to meet their needs?

We take your horse’s health and happiness very seriously. All horses are treated as individuals and will be catered for individually. What suits one horse may not suit another. It is fully understood that some will cope with a ‘natural’ lifestyle better than others – each requiring a different level of care. We aim to allow horses to be horses as much as possible – our ongoing work with equines has shown us that this is absolutely the best for them, emotionally & physically. In addition to a lifetime experience of caring for animals, including 15 years running a large-breed specialist boarding kennels, the yard owner obtained 100% pass in the Equine Nutrition course run by the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies and has a CPD Certificate of Attendance from Joe Nasr, medical herbalist for a 2-day seminar on the preparation, properties and uses of aromatic waters, spirituous waters, aromatic tinctures and creams.

In the incredibly soggy winter of 2015/16 we added another dimension to our hybrid track/rotational grazing system by opening a large concrete yard, sheltered by buildings on one side & trees on the other, specifically for winter feeding out of the driving rain which was a feature of that winter. That is an element of the equi-central system and we have found that it works very well in combination with the existing track & herbal grazing paddocks. During the summer we have forage available on that concrete yard too (as well as more on the track); the horses like to take advantage of the cool shade there. The concrete yard is easily accessible from the track at all times.

You can see from the photographs that our land is quite high up – there is always a breeze at this altitude, which makes it ideal for horses prone to sweet-itch. One of our retired ‘ladies’ has never needed her fly sheet since she arrived 10 years ago!

How our 23 acres is apportioned

The main track runs around a 10-acre area, with two further tracks joining the perimeter track.  The area of herbal grazing in the centre is divided into paddocks, all with access from the track, with a further paddock and large lounging area below the 10 acres – access to the herbal grazing paddocks is on a rotation basis and depends on time of year, weather conditions etc.

This main area can be divided and used as two separate adjoining tracks, one about a third the size of the area, the other representing roughly two thirds – this has proved very useful when introducing new arrivals.

We have a further area of about 10 acres, which is our lowest ground and consists of three fields of herbal meadows – this is for our dentally-challenged  oldies, who need access to grazing 24/7 all year round – see photos.

So you can see we are able to cater for all stages of retirement!

If you like our ethos, it is always worth enquiring about the cost of full livery here – even if you are a distance away – our full livery fee is equivalent to DIY in some other areas of the UK.

Full Livery includes
* 24 hr turnout on hybrid track / rotational grazing/ equi-central system with free access to large man-made shelter and natural shelter
* All hay, haylage, Himalayan salt, Redmond Rock (containing minerals), salt granules (additive free), seaweed, brewer’s yeast
* Minimum daily check
* Monthly homeopathic worming
* Homeopathic herd disease protection (instead of vaccinations)
* Use of small indoor manege
* Use of covered area / large, airy stables for grooming etc
* Applied Zoopharmacognosy consultations by appointment

Wholistic Horsemanship – Pioneering a Kinder Way with Horses

Get to know your horse better through body language, observation within the herd and working at liberty. Lessons can be booked with Rosemary Carrington-Rogers BHSAI, our Training Manager, for those wishing to learn more about the horse’s own language of body movement, eye contact, intention and intuition. Rosemary also loves to teach jumping, starting in-hand and gradually building up as far and as high as you / your horse want to go.

NB: We are no longer operating a riding school, so our small indoor school is available now exclusively to livery clients 🙂

Free schooling (working at liberty) increases body awareness, reaction time and safety as the horse learns to balance himself and approach obstacles without the added load of a rider. This can be done individually or in groups for an additional weekly charge.

Access to our ‘herb bar’ on a regular basis where herbs which are not currently growing in the paddocks are available in fresh or dried form – above average intake is invoiced weekly or monthly.

The yard owner & family live on site and Bitless Equestrian Centre is fully insured as a professional livery yard.

We are an ABRS+ Certified Livery Yard and a Non Ridden Equine Friendly Business.