Richmond Park Shire Horses: Family Guide
Where your children can meet the Shire horses working in Richmond Park
Two enormous Shire horses, Jim and Jerry, spend much of the year quietly maintaining Richmond Park’s ancient landscape in ways machinery cannot. If you have children who light up at the sight of working animals, this is one of the borough’s most rewarding free encounters, and far easier to arrange than you might think.
The Royal Parks has published updated guidance for families hoping to see the Shire horses at work across Richmond Park during 2026.
When the horses work in the park
Jim and Jerry typically work in Richmond Park from late winter through autumn, with the schedule varying by weather and conservation priorities.
The horses are usually visible between Tuesday and Friday, working in different sections of the park depending on what needs doing that week. You will often find them in the grassland restoration areas near Pembroke Lodge or along the quieter western edges of the park, though the Royal Parks occasionally moves them to Isabella Plantation or the Pen Ponds area when bracken clearance is needed. The work is genuine conservation labour: the horses’ weight distributes differently than tractors, protecting fragile soils and the invertebrates that live in them, while their slower pace allows staff to spot and protect ground nests. Children quickly understand this is not a petting zoo but a working partnership, which makes the encounter all the more meaningful.
The horses rest during the coldest months, so plan your visits between March and November for the best chance of a sighting.
How to plan a visit with children
The Royal Parks does not publish daily schedules, but a midweek morning visit gives you the strongest chance of finding the horses at work.
If you arrive at Pembroke Lodge car park and ask the cafe staff or park rangers, they can usually point you in the right direction. The horses work at walking pace, so once you spot them you will have plenty of time to watch from a respectful distance of about ten metres. Children should stay quiet and still, and you should never approach to touch or feed them as they are working animals, not park attractions. Bring binoculars if you have them; even young children enjoy watching the horses’ ears swivel and their breath steam on cooler mornings. The best learning happens when you let your children observe the rhythm of the work: how the handler communicates, how the horses respond, and how much ground they can cover without damaging what grows beneath.
Pack a flask and settle on a nearby bench; twenty minutes of patient watching teaches more about conservation than any interpretation board ever will.
What this means for you
Check the Royal Parks website before you travel, as poor weather or sensitive nesting periods occasionally pause the horses’ work schedule. If you visit during the school holidays and miss them, the Information Centre near Pembroke Lodge keeps a log of recent sightings and can suggest the likeliest areas for the following week. This is a genuinely free family activity that works beautifully for children aged three upwards, and because it happens in a working context rather than a staged encounter, it tends to hold their attention far longer than you would expect.
Richmond Park’s Shire horses offer your family a rare chance to see traditional conservation skills in action, and the park’s size means you can combine a sighting with a longer walk or playground visit. The horses will be back at work this spring, and a little planning makes all the difference between a disappointing search and a morning your children will remember.
The Royal Parks calls it ‘conservation grazing management’, but what your children will see is two patient horses pulling a roller across a meadow or dragging cut bracken into piles, doing the careful work that protects wildflowers and ground-nesting birds.
Frequently asked questions
Can children stroke or feed the Shire horses?
- No. Jim and Jerry are working horses, not park animals for petting. You should watch from at least ten metres away and never offer food, as this disrupts their work and can be unsafe. The handlers occasionally pause to answer brief questions from families, but the horses remain in harness and focused on their task.
Where exactly in Richmond Park will I find the horses?
- The location changes weekly depending on which areas need conservation work. Pembroke Lodge meadows, the grassland near Ham Cross, and the western edges towards Roehampton Gate are the most common sites. Ask at Pembroke Lodge cafe or stop a park ranger for the most current information.
Do the horses work in all weather?
- No. The Royal Parks pauses horse work during heavy rain, very hot weather, and ground frost, as conditions can make the work unsafe or damage the soil. If you arrive and do not see them, it is usually weather-related rather than a day off.
Are there other times to see working horses in Richmond?
- Jim and Jerry occasionally work in Bushy Park as well, and the Royal Parks runs occasional family events where the horses are stationary and handlers give short talks. These are announced on the Royal Parks events calendar, typically during summer holidays.