Shires Equestrian Products Reviews 35

Wish I'd seen the reviews before ordering.

Their website says orders done before 3pm will be despatched that day. I ordered at 2:32pm after being let down by another company. I paid £5.95 for next day delivery.

The order was not despatched.

Their website is misleading and they don't try to fulfill orders to their word.

I've emailed and demanded an immediate refund but I haven't heard.

I received a Christmas gift from Shires and needed to exchange the size of a head collar. Customer service was unhelpful and blunt, and I was told they only offer refunds.

This is frustrating when dealing with a gift, as it requires going back to the purchaser to resolve something that should be straightforward. While it’s clear effort has gone into improving the product range, the experience is undermined by poor customer support.

Based on this experience, I wouldn’t recommend them. The customer service was disappointing.

Sizing is inconsistent so unfortunately a gamble to see if jods fit, p and p £5.95 when purchasing £5.95 to return!! No option to send via your own method. £12 to buy something that cost £38!!! Dreadful customer service. Sadly great products but won't shop with them again.

Just been sent a chocolate tea pot in haynet form. Which cost me a small fortune for 6 of them, only to have to give up and bin them all within one month! Bandits!

Ordered some shires hay nets from redpost, who i used frequently.
One of the hay nets broke within 10 days of me receiving it and the hole got worse by day 13.
i contacted redpost about this hoping for a refund on the one hay net that broke out of the 6 i ordered. and they and shires accused my horse of chewing through the net and said it was my fault it broke. None of my horses have ever chewed through nets before, and have yet to chew through the other 5…. funnily enough.

you’d think they’d just refund the £7 for the faulty product or just send a new one. ridiculous 🤣

Product Review – Shires Equikind Jointed Dutch Gag 6-Inch Bit
I’m very disappointed with the quality of this product. On the first use, the rubber coating on the bit had already started to break apart, with clear damage and tearing visible. By the second use, the rubber had completely broken off, leaving the bit unusable. For a product specifically marketed under the Equikind name — which is supposed to offer a kinder, softer alternative for horses — this level of durability is unacceptable.

Even if a horse mouths or bites at the bit (which is completely normal behavior, especially with softer bits), this level of deterioration should not happen after just one or two uses. That’s exactly why someone would opt for an Equikind version in the first place — to ensure comfort without compromising quality.

This failure not only rendered the bit useless but also raises safety and welfare concerns for the horse. I expected better from Shires, and this experience has seriously damaged my confidence in the brand's Equikind line.

I would appreciate a response or resolution from Shires, as this product clearly did not meet basic expectations of quality or durability.

I had to contact shires customer service regarding a bit I had purchased and after one use the rubber wasn’t coming away. I had no joy with the retailer as my young pony had used his teeth while wearing it but surely one use shouldn’t have caused it to no longer be fit for purpose. Darby was amazing and within days I had a replacement at no extra cost. Brilliant service thankyou

Contacted Shires Customer Service to see if they could help me with a spare part for a Breastplate. The response was immediate and very helpful. Annabel in customer service was amazing, the spare part was found and sent immediately. 5 star customer service I could not fault shires. We have own a lot of shires/arma products and will definitely continue to buy their products 🌟

I bought a new Tempest 100g turnout with detachable neck and it is disappointingly short on a TB who has had 6'6" rugs all his life. When the neck is attached it pulls the rug forwards even more exposing his backside even after chest buckles are let out. Neck rug is also rather short.

In the past couple of weeks I have purchased a lightweight typhoon rug. It fitted my pony well until I tried to do the circingles up, the metal hooks do not fit through properly so can not secure straps, the metal hooks have been made too big which is a manufacturing issue. I filled in contact form and they never responded.

I’ve been buying Shires rugs for 12 years and over that time I’ve been 100% happy with the quality and fit. A few weeks ago I bought 2 new 100gm Typhoon combo rugs. The rugs no longer fit broad horses, ie, Welsh cob x Arab and a 4 year old Warmblood x TB. After wearing them overnight they were so tight around their chest it looked like they had been strangled. The buckle on one rug had come apart. The back leg straps are now higher up and looks uncomfortable on the horse. The Velcro on the necks makes the fitting too tight on their neck. Totally bad design. I won’t be buying Shires again 😢

Couldn’t have been nicer. Super speedy, positive and helpful customer service. Above and beyond. Thank you.

The tassel on one of my Moretta boots had broken so I emailed Shires in the hope of purchasing a new one. Within an hour, I had had a response from Joshua who immediately offered to send me two new tassels completely free. He did tell me that the colour would be a little darker than the original but when they arrived within two days they were absolutely perfect and I couldn’t be more pleased! Brilliant customer service. Would highly recommend.

Good products. Would give 5 stars but they don’t cater for the larger mouthed horse. Which is a shame as their products are good

I hate to be this person but to say I’m disappointed in Shires as a brand is an understatement.

But first, the moral of my story to follow is - DO NOT BUY THE NEW STYLE SHIRES HIGHLANDER SWEET ITCH COMBO RUG! Or to go one step further, if you want any level of customer service, don’t buy anything from Shires at all.

I’ve titled my post ‘Shires Highlander Sweet Itch Combo Rug Review’ in hope that when people Google for reviews this comes up. You’re welcome.

I bought my mare, with sweet itch, in 2021. To curb the sweet itch - I bought, on recommendation, two Shires Highlander Sweet Itch Combo rugs. They were AMAZING. At the beginning of fly season the following year, in May 2022 I bought another two Shires Highlander Sweet Itch Combo rugs as back up’s as my original two were looking tatty. The design of the rugs had changed slightly (Shires are adamant only the colour has changed, I can confirm from a consumers perspective and experience, the quality has also dropped by like 1000%, you may as well wrap your horse in wet toilet roll, it’ll last longer). Anyway, I just threw them in my shed, unopened and still in their little bags that that come in until her first two original rugs came to the end of their life. It turns out that the first two rugs were that good they lasted until 2023! BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL SHIRES HIGHLANDER SWEET ITCH COMBO RUGS! I mean I won’t buy one, but some other innocent person who just wants a fly sheet that’s fit for purpose, for their horse, might.

If you’re wondering how I know the following dates, I take a billion photos of my beautiful girl a day. I cracked open one of my brand new, new style Shires Highlander Sweet Itch Combo rugs on 12/06/2023. By the 22/06/2023 (but probably earlier) the edging had totally came away from the material on the belly flap. So only ten days in (if that) and the rug was falling apart. Then I washed it (as you do) and it fell apart future.

I contacted Shires and to cut a long story short - they couldn’t care less if they tried. Their customer service isn’t even poor. It’s none existent. Invisible. Null and void.

Thankfully, and even more so since a year had passed since I originally purchased the rugs, the retailer issued me a refund (all hail Houghton Country for their amazing customer service - go and buy from them, but nothing manufactured by Shires!).

On the 08/07/2023 I cracked open the second brand new rug that I’d now, annoyingly bought over a year ago. ONLY FOUR DAYS IN and the rug had came away again in the exact same place. I contacted Shires - what a waste of energy that was, again, they couldn’t care less. I contacted the retailer, but unfortunately they were unable to assist for a second time (totally understandable as this is the manufacturers problem, not the retailers problem, the first refund was a gesture of goodwill - good on them for stepping up and caring).

So now I’m left with one old rug that’s on it’s last legs but I’ve had almost two and a half years out of it (aka the old style Highlander). And a four day old rug which is falling apart and I’m £70.00 out of pocket for the pleasure of it (aka the new style Highlander).

Reading through other reviews on Trust Pilot, I’m not alone with my experience. It’s shameful that such a large and successful brand cares so little about their customers.

If you want to throw some money away and you fancy a £70.00 rug that lasts four days, buy from Shires!

Excellent service, ordered on Sunday, delivered on Tuesday… fantastic.
I always buy shires rugs, they are true to size, perfect fit for my horse and very good quality

Easy to find items and purchase, shipping was really quick and the products are really good at good prices.

Super speedy delivery and the rug fits really well!