Developing Wild Acres

Sunrise at Wild Acres

Nine Acres was converted to an   equestrian establishment by the   Heaton family in 2004, and we’ve   not stopped evolving since!

Settled in the very centre of Norfolk, with owners living on site, we are passionate about taking good care of horses and nature.

From Nine Acres to Wild Acres: In 2021, with a growing number of clients, I began to expand the activities offered and the projects we undertake here, to allow more people to enjoy the opportunities.  One of our junior members suggested Wild Acres as a name that is more representative of what we offer, and it stuck.  We are gradually transitioning from Nine Acres to Wild Acres, although horses will always be a huge part of what is on offer – I believe the equine industry is ready to move forward in it’s approach to managing and training horses, but I also want to incorporate more of nature and the environment in to what is on offer, encouraging people to get involved in protecting the world we live in.

In 2017, following the passing of my Mum Wendy a few years before, I began the task of overhauling much of the centre – upgrading buildings, reroofing, adding a perimeter track system and redesigning the equine management to follow an equicentral approach.
The upgrades undertaken so far have transformed much of the centre and the day to day management. It’s no small to do list, but seeing the progress is incredibly satisfying, and I always look forward to undertaking the next project.

Since 2016, following a week’s trainign course at jersey Conservation centre I have been using reward based training for the horses, ponies and donkeys. This means the horses are trained entirely at liberty and always have free choice on whether or not they wish to take part in sessions. Reward based training (positive reinforcement) is very different to most natural horsemanship approaches – with R+ we do not use escalating pressure to teach the horse what it is meant to do.  Instead, reward based training breaks requirements down in to small steps, sets the animal up for success and then “marks” (clicks) and rewards the correct response.

We hope our website offers an overview to what we offer, so please enjoy browsing. If you’d like to know more feel free to get in touch.