About Us
“We know that we're caring for a member of your family” – GR
Gil Riley Equine Vets is a venture launched by local vet Gil Riley and his wife, Emma, aiming to deliver the best equine care with a smile, founded on a passion for people and horses alike.
Based at Woodpecker Stables, just five minutes from Junction 25 of the M1 and in the lovely village of Dale Abbey, we run a clinic-based practice from our purpose-built, state-of-the-art clinic, while also operating an ambulatory service in Derby and the surrounding areas.
Our stables include a soft and hard lunge area, trot up track and 20mx40m all weather arena, and combined with our state-of-the-art two storey clinic we offer a broad range of equine services, with a particular focus on vettings, poor performance and lameness investigations, scoping and general medicine.
“When I see a horse it's my case – and we don't like to let go until we've got an answer” – GR
Our strength is preventative healthcare and we believe that the key to achieving this is by communicating clearly with our clients. Sometimes the optimum care options for a horse aren’t realistic for owners or stables. We provide a care plan that maximises the outcome for your horse, tailored to your circumstances.
We run regular events to educate local owners on how they can care for their horses, and tell our clients that if they ever need reassurance or advice, we’re just a phone call away.
We know what we’re good at and we focus on providing the very best first opinion equine care we can.
That’s why, if we believe one of our neighbours offer a service your horse will benefit from, we’ll make the introductions.
Our passion is your horse's welfare, and we want to work with other local practices, many of whom are our friends as well as our colleagues, to keep your horses and ponies as healthy as can be.
We have particularly close links with Pool House Vets, who Gil helped to expand over the last 25 years, and who can provide advanced imaging and surgical options for our patients when necessary.
“My work is my passion, I never plan to retire!” – GR
Gil is a well-known figure in the industry, valued for his knowledge as well as his warm and genuine appreciation for patients, clients and colleagues.
He has the Certificate in Equine Practice, has been voted equine vet of the year by different organisations, writes regularly for Horse and Hound magazine, and has close ties to the farriery industry.
Now with the opportunity to build a practice alongside his wife, based on their ethos of open and honest communication and care, we’re excited to see what the future holds!
Follow our journey on social media, and get in touch to chat with Gil and Emma to find out more.
Out and about in Dale Abbey
We're proud members of our community and enjoy doing our bit to give back to local people and businesses.
We support a number of local charities and community fund raisers and groups.
Every September we offer veterinary cover for The Church Wilne Rotary club, who work very hard raising money for local good causes such as the Air Ambulance and Treetops to mention just two, by putting on a local ride across land not normally open to riders.
We also sponsor a local under-15 football team, Mickleover Country Park United, as well as the under-15 side at Derby Rugby Club.