Westgate Carr Farm, Pickering, North Yorkshire

Heavy Horses

Pippa, a huge 6 year old pure Shire horse mare has recently come to Westgate Carr Farm. It is believed there are only 1500 breeding shire mares left in the World & we now have 2. During 2018 we managed to fulfill our long term desire to own/keep heavy horses! We are both delighted and privileged to announce the arrival of Ernie, a huge 18.3 Hands: 8 year old Clydesdale, a perfect gentleman... Read more >

and officially designated a rare breed as numbers of these traditional working horses have dwindled over the years.

Willow, a pure Shire Horse foal. She is a stunner with a huge personality, a real cuddle monster!. At just 12 months old, she already stands at c 15.3 hands

They join Paddy, a vocal & friendly Irish Draught Cross horse, Betsy. an Irish Traditional Cob & Beow, a beautiful grey dappled Irish Sports Horse. Paddy was imported from Ireland by his previous dealer owner and was sadly in a very poor condition when we bought him in December 2016. He is now looking lovely, very majestic and is a real character!

Alpacas

Alpacas make great pets & flock guards. They are alert, curious, calm & generally quite predictable. They are herd animals needing the companionship of other camelids & will huddle together or move en masse when frightened or wary. Read more >

Communication is often made via a soft hum & with body language such as neck posturing, ear & tail postioning, & / or head tilt. They have excellent eyesight & hearing and will alert the herd & their human keepers with a staccato alarm call of perceived danger.

Unlike the llama they rarely spit at people unless frightened or threatened but will spit at each other to register discontent – particularly at feeding time! We are delighted & feel most privileged to be able to feed most of our alpacas by hand & watch / see them come to call

They are a sheer delight to own & watch at play & although relatively expensive to buy in the first instance, they are hardy animals & cost much less to feed than traditional domesticated animals. Alpacas are often kept for guarding chickens & young lambs against dog & foxes etc. Alpaca dung makes great manure & allegedly briquettes for the fire or woodburner!

Ryeland Sheep

We further intend to extend our interest in Rare Breeds but the most recent acquisition has been a couple of pet Ryeland sheep, one of the oldest breeds of sheep in the UK & once designated a Rare Breed. Read more >

The Ryeland is very docile & friendly in nature, heavily wooled giving them a very appealing appearance.