July at the Yard

Sundays · Drawing Club: Painting on the Hoof · 10am–12pm · £35 Wednesdays · Drawing Club: Painting on the Hoof · 7–9pm · £35 Sat 18 July · Guided Nature Walk: Midsummer Meadow · 9.00–10.30am · Free Coming up · Dusk & Owls (Wed 19 Aug) · After Dark: Bat Walk (Wed 16 Sep) Drawing Club → Sundays · Drawing Club: Painting on the Hoof · 10am–12pm · £35 Wednesdays · Drawing Club: Painting on the Hoof · 7–9pm · £35 Sat 18 July · Guided Nature Walk: Midsummer Meadow · 9.00–10.30am · Free Coming up · Dusk & Owls (Wed 19 Aug) · After Dark: Bat Walk (Wed 16 Sep) Drawing Club →

Outwith Horses · Ibthorpe, Hampshire

A place where horses find calm, confidence and a way forward.

Expert racehorse rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming from a quiet yard in the Hampshire Test Valley — under the care of Kate Mieczkowska, BHS qualified and RoR registered retrainer.

Enquire about your horse Kate's approach →

Photo: Riyaz

What we do

Rehabilitation, Retraining & Schooling

Expert care for horses leaving racing — and schooling livery for horses in work that need the same unhurried, individual attention. Herd-based, at the pace the horse sets.

Full services →

Racehorse Spelling

Rest and recuperation between campaigns. Herd decompression, 24-hour turnout and expert monitoring across 35 acres of Test Valley AONB.

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Art & Wellbeing

Painting on the Hoof, Corporate Wellbeing days and the June events programme — art, nature and horses for people as well as horses.

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Kate with a horse at Windmill Hill, Ibthorpe

The approach

Patience over pressure. Always.

When a horse arrives, the first task is to let it just be a horse. Herd company, turnout, grazing, movement. Decompression before anything else.

Kindness, handling and nutrition are not principles we aspire to — they are how we work, every day. There is no production line here.

Kate's philosophy →

How we work

What this yard stands for.

Patience Over Pressure

We work at the pace the horse sets. Rushing undoes the work.

Respect Runs Three Ways

For the horse, for the client, and for the expertise Kate brings. Good outcomes depend on all three being honoured.

Kindness as Method

Kindness isn't softness. It's how we handle, how we feed, how we train, and how we treat everyone who comes through the gate.

Honesty Always

We tell owners what we see, not what they want to hear. Trust is built on truth.

Nature First

Horses need to be horses. Herd companionship, movement, grazing, sky above them. Everything we do is built around what they need, not what is convenient for us.

The yard

Windmill Hill, Ibthorpe.

A quiet, unhurried environment in the Test Valley, Hampshire. Close to Lambourn — first-class veterinary centres, expert farriers, leading chiropractic practitioners all within reach.

The calmness of the location is part of the therapy. One co-worker reported not needing her anxiety medication while working here.

Get in touch

Painting on the Hoof

Art & horses. Together.

Equestrian art sessions combining life drawing with expert insight into equine movement and psychology. Small groups, one-to-one sessions, corporate days. Recognised by the Test Valley Arts Foundation.

Kate Mieczkowska — works on paper. MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art, UAL.

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