Writtle University College

About us

Writtle University College is located in the Essex countryside on a 220-hectare estate. As well as offering full time equine courses at post-GCSE, degree-level and postgraduate, the University College run a range of BHS short courses for the Stages, Challenge Awards and other equine related subjects.

The well-established Equine Training and Development Centre is a BHS approved training/exam and student livery centre that provides a range of different high quality housing for ridden horses of all types.

The facilities include, 2 large indoor arenas (60m x 24m + 55m x 24m), floodlit outdoor ménage (60m x 20m), 3 therapy barns including a state of the art hydrotherapy water treadmill, solariums, under cover oval horse walker and newly fenced grazing. The yard houses approximately 50 horses at any one time, which includes a range of horses from native ponies types through to show jumpers, eventers and allrounders which are accessed by our students for educational purposes.

In recent years the University College has injected upwards of £2 million into the development of the unit to provide students with access to top class equestrian facilities whilst undertaking their studies.

These top class facilities provide an excellent backdrop for student learning, and are used as an integral part of the teaching at Writtle University College to provides valuable practical and ridden training for students on all HE and FE Equine courses, grassland management teaching, equine therapy and rehabilitation, along with producing realistic economic data used by students studying business management modules. The equine unit is well resourced and regularly used for the purpose of research into a wide range of areas both by undergraduate and postgraduate students, and by outside commercial organisations such as feed companies, bedding manufacturers and stable equipment suppliers.