# MONARCH V LODDON STABLES CHOICE?



## Black Rat (4 June 2012)

I would be grateful for views from forum users as to assist me chosing which company to award a contract to supply and fit my new stables based on readers own experiences of both the companys products.

I have narrowed it down to either Monarch or Loddon as the chosen provider as I like both the companies quality and finishes, however what is the end product in pactical daily use really like?

I will be using either the traditional hardwood supplied by Monarch or a light coloured laminated compressed bamboo now being promoted by Loddon. The style is the lowered Victorian scalloped frontages. I had considered the new plastic materials but this is now ruled out as they do not suit the style of traditional appearance (even if they are more practical).

How often do you have to treat your hardwood and with which product so as not to darken the timber?

Anyone got any experience with the new compressed laminated bamboo? Is it strong enough? 

Both companies are keen to do business but what are they really like once you have signed the contract and paid your money up front?

Do they deliver what they promise or do they come up short?


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## Herts05 (5 June 2012)

Have Loddon boxes at the yard I am on (American Barn type). They were fitted out around 9 plus years ago and are excellent quality and have put up with a lot. I don't have any personal experience of Monarch so can't do a comparison for you, sorry. But if I was buying them for myself I would definitely go for Loddon


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## amandaco2 (6 June 2012)

ive not used loddon, but they are very similar in appearance to monarch?
can they supply you with the exact specs and prices to compare?
ive been a quite a few monarch and they have all been excellent quality, id be very happy to buy them myself.


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## Miss L Toe (6 June 2012)

There were a few posts about Monarch latches and horses escaping, so i would look in to this.


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## Black Rat (7 June 2012)

Thank you for your replies so far.

Interesting the mention of latch problems with Monarch. The Loddon latch is completly different, more a basic old style, but works perfectly well it seems.

Are these to do with the (Monarch) spring loaded flush fitting openings which I understand some horses can master how to open these doors, or is it the  ordinary type opening swing doors with the internal built latch.

I know that some of the roller spring doors can eventually cause problems but I think this is more of a lack of maintenance that causes this?

I have heard some people have had customer care problems? Some customers recently not getting delivery as promised for several weeks after the agreed delivery dates and the worry is are these companies in financial trouble?


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## Always Henesy (7 June 2012)

Hello

We have Monarch stable fronts (we have internal barn stables)

They are lovely quality and stand up to much abuse 

We have the bars that pull down to release the doors and they slide back. My daughters pony managed to suss out how to open them - so we also fitted a door bar across the doorway in all stables as a failsafe precaution. He realised that opening the door was futile as he couldn't get anywhere and quit trying!

I have no experience of Loddon but whatever you choose I doubt you will be disappointed.


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## Mr Horse (16 October 2012)

I have had experience with Monarch and was not happy at all. Firstly they were two weeks late after promising to be there on scheduled and with nothing to say for them self back at the office. After a few weeks of the stables being up there hardwood shrunk so much I could get my hand through it and Monarch refused to do anything about it saying it is a natural product it is to be expected! Really bad customer care and overall poor products. Loddon for me in future.


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## MillionDollar (16 October 2012)

We're just having 20 Loddon stables fitted, have been extremely happy with their customer service. Monarch have been rubbish, I was wanting to order with them but they never got back to me and I also heard of numerous people whose orders were delayed by weeks. Rumour is, is that the company is in trouble. 

Another fab company is IAE, absolutely fantastic.

Another tip.......always go for the plastic. It's an amazing product.


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## Tinks81 (16 October 2012)

I havent used either but can say that Hancox stables are fantasic i have had mine over 10 years and they are still in immaculate condition and they have had many years of abuse i must say !!!


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## applecart14 (16 October 2012)

Please bear in mind the problems our yard have had with the stables doors on the stables which I think are made by Loddon or are very similiar to Loddon.  

My stable door and all the stables on my row have sliding doors.  These are the types where you pull the bar which releases a catch on the top of the door and the door slides on a runner at the top of the door and then a partial runner on the outside of the stable at the side of the door.  The problem with these type of doors is that they often come off on the runner at the bottom of the door.  This is caused in part when the horse rubs his neck on the door frame.  It is also caused (in my stables case) because the floor is not level and runs slightly down hill on the 'closing side' of the door frame compared with the other side of the door frame.  This means that the runner is not conformly at the same height throught the length of the door space.  This means that the door comes off at the bottom and has the effect of swinging like a cat flap from the top of the door.

Obviously this can have huge consequences should the horse try to push his head or foot out between the side of the door and the door frame as it will swing back trapping the head or limb; this will result in the horse panicking and result in a broken neck or leg.

This is sooo very dangerous and I have had no end of problems with my particular door, there are also three or four other doors on my row and the row opposite which are effected in the same way.

My advise would be not to have doors using the slide but instead have doors that open and shut with hinges in the normal way.

My particular door has been found 'hanging' from the top runner on many occassions and it is only luck that has prevented my horse from pushing against the door and putting his foot or head through and getting trapped.

Eventually after many many attempts the door has been 'fixed' by making the  the 'catch runner' higher off the floor and slightly outwards (as the door had warped slightly).

The doors are often slammed and not shut correctly by holding down the bar, and this all adds to the door become loose in its hanging brackets and adding to the increased risk of it coming off the runner.


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## MillionDollar (16 October 2012)

Agree re. sliding doors vs hinged doors. I have 5 stables currently with sliding doors and I hate them, they're so awkward to use, the other 30 are hinged and are much better. The 20 we have ordered are hinged, I will never have sliding doors again. 

Plus, as above, they can be dangerous, we've had a few times were the door has jammed and then I can't get the horse out, and a few times where the door came completely off the bottom runner so was swinging by the top runner....not safe.


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## applecart14 (16 October 2012)

When they jam you need to screw the retaining bolt at the top of the door to make the door lift off the floor.  When they come off the bottom runner you need to lower the door x


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## taraco (8 November 2012)

At the beginning of October we had 10 new Monarch stables installed. However, they were never used as they were nowhere near strong enough nor as per samples we had received. So at the beginning of November we had 10 smart new stables removed and a full refund given.

I can safely say I would not recommend Monarch under any circumstances and if anyone wishes to contact me directly for more information about our experience please feel free.


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## Monarch Equestrian (12 November 2012)

We are sorry that "Taraco" decided to have her "Smart new Monarch Stables" removed. Monarch have an excellent reputation for very high quality stables, we only supply samples of the materials we use straight from stock and in this case there is only one standard size.
We have many happy customers who return to use Monarch Stables time after time and they will testify to their strength. Monarch stables have been used in Studs, Racing Yards and Colleges around the world in environments where their strength is constantly being tested, in fact customers often comment on how sturdy and well built they are!

In the circumstances we were happy to remove the stables and offer a full refund without question, as we make every effort to ensure all our customers are pleased with the service that they receive from Monarch.

We too are happy to discuss this particular situation further with anyone who would like more details.


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## Monarch Equestrian (12 November 2012)

MillionDollar said:



			We're just having 20 Loddon stables fitted, have been extremely happy with their customer service. Monarch have been rubbish, I was wanting to order with them but they never got back to me and I also heard of numerous people whose orders were delayed by weeks. Rumour is, is that the company is in trouble. 

Another fab company is IAE, absolutely fantastic.

Another tip.......always go for the plastic. It's an amazing product.
		
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Just to let you know that Monarch are still going strong and pride ourselves in making a quick response to all our customers, something that our feedback forms confirm. There are times when with our customers busy lives it can be difficult to make contact, but with our modern contact managment system we hope this is rarely the case if we are left with the correct phone or email addresses. We are always looking to improve our service to our customers and our lead times are currently very good, occassionally there will be delays due to unforeseen circumstances ( weather delaying installations for example will effect Horse Exerciser and Barn installations) 
We would advise all customers to refer to Companies House web site (webcheck) where for £1 you can obtain a companies accounts and this will help you decide if a company are trading profitable or not, rather than reply on hearsay.
We are sorry you didn't use Monarch on this occassion and hope that you will consider us again in the future.


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## MillionDollar (12 November 2012)

Monarch Equestrian said:



			Just to let you know that Monarch are still going strong and pride ourselves in making a quick response to all our customers, something that our feedback forms confirm. There are times when with our customers busy lives it can be difficult to make contact, but with our modern contact managment system we hope this is rarely the case if we are left with the correct phone or email addresses. We are always looking to improve our service to our customers and our lead times are currently very good, occassionally there will be delays due to unforeseen circumstances ( weather delaying installations for example will effect Horse Exerciser and Barn installations) 
We would advise all customers to refer to Companies House web site (webcheck) where for £1 you can obtain a companies accounts and this will help you decide if a company are trading profitable or not, rather than reply on hearsay.
We are sorry you didn't use Monarch on this occassion and hope that you will consider us again in the future.
		
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You pride yourselves on a quick response? I sent numerous emails with no response and also phoned to which I was told I would receive a call half an hour later.......I never heard a word.

I'm afraid Taraco isn't the only one I have heard bad reports of your products recently and so I am very glad I went with Loddon.

I also never understand why your quotes are also very high when compared to other companies with like for like products.


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## Monarch Equestrian (12 November 2012)

MillionDollar said:



			You pride yourselves on a quick response? I sent numerous emails with no response and also phoned to which I was told I would receive a call half an hour later.......I never heard a word.

I'm afraid Taraco isn't the only one I have heard bad reports of your products recently and so I am very glad I went with Loddon.

I also never understand why your quotes are also very high when compared to other companies with like for like products.
		
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We are very surprised to hear that is your experience of Monarch, as our records specifically show all our communications to and from you. It would not make sense to treat our customers in the way you have suggested.  Regarding our quotes most of our customers find our quotations very competitive when you get down to the detail of the quotation and we do offer several ranges so care must always be taken in making true comparisons.


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## Twinkley Lights (12 November 2012)

Neither Scotts of Thrapston are cheaper and great quality.

ps: Am I the only one that finds it a tad creepy that Monarch Equestrian are stalking this thread, talking 'bout you not too you


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## Horse logger (12 November 2012)

Hi, Firstly this is my first time on a forum, so be gentle with me.  
However i must say that i have used both stable company's (loddon and monach) and found different things with both of them. i first used loddon back in 2006, for five stables for my Clydesdales and although things started out ok, it soon went to pot, i had paid them as per their terms, they turned up to fit the stables, but with no wood, it soon became clear that they were having difficulties in sourcing there wood.(financial??) 
I was left with no other alternative other than to approach other stable manufactures to see if they would supply me, one other stable company would, and that was monarch, since that i have also had another five monarch stables down the other side of the building, but again that did not go quite right, however monarch made a new post up and were back down here within two days. I found there customer service very good, that was last year though.
My opinion is that both manufactures are very closely matched, however i will now stick with the monarch brand, seems to be a stronger product.
I can only speak as i find.


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## showjump (13 November 2012)

Hi OP, we built our own internal stables. Sourced the plastic tongue and groove from Germany, and our company fabricated the stable fronts, and partitions. We had prices off quite a few stable firms, and in the end decided it made more sense to do it our selves and make they bespoke to what i wanted. I have posted some photos, maybe give you another idea? Also please consider the plastic, its fantastic stuff and the best decision we made.

On another point, ive never seen lodden boxes in the flesh so cant comment. However we worked on a yard who had several new monarch boxes built, tbh i was not impressed. The wood had large gaps in them, and looked abit shoddy so they were going back to sort this out. Also i do not understand why any of the stable firms sell powder coated internals, with the horses and being in general 'use' it will chip off and look a mess!
In proggess pic;





Finished front;


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## Pippin79 (13 November 2012)

I would avoid IAE like the plague - won't go into the details as it will take me all day but it was the worst experience I have ever had of buying something.  Delivery didn't arrive, then went to the wrong address, then was the wrong product.  They even suggested I take a trailer and drive 20 miles to where they had dropped it inadvertently to collect it!!  I calculated I had spend over four hours on the phone trying to sort it out, and I cried with anger more than once.  Customer services were worse than useless and you could never speak to the same person twice.  When we recently obtained quotes for additional stables I found Loddon very prompt and helpful, we actually went with breeze blocks in the end (abnormal sizes made the panelling more expensive / less practical) but the chap that came out to quote was great and I wouldn't hesitate in using them in the future.  We did request a quote from Monarch, they took a few days longer to supply than Loddon and was more expensive for the similar spec so have to say Loddon impressed me most, but no horror experience.  I think most companies have the odd horror experience or two - and on my experience would advise to avoid IAE


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## charlimouse (13 November 2012)

I have Monarch stables in a barn 







They were put up in 2009 and have been brilliant. Have stood up to the horse that kicks the living daylights out of them! I had plastic rather than wood as it is stronger and doesn't rot.


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## Horse logger (13 November 2012)

I would agree with pippin79. A friend of mine had issues earlier in the year, they also had a look at loddon as well, but there accounts made for some interesting reading, so she steered clear from them.
Clydesdales rock !


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## MillionDollar (14 November 2012)

Loddon are owned by a HUGE company so don't think they'll go under, but they do a deposit guarantee where you will not lose your money IF they did go under.


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## Horse logger (14 November 2012)

Well whenever I spend a large amount of money, I like to make sure that the company is safe and sound. So I always like to do a credit check with companies. house. But that's just me. There are such a lot of companies trading with very little credit.


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## Horse logger (14 November 2012)

Black Rat said:



			Thank you for your replies so far.

Interesting the mention of latch problems with Monarch. The Loddon latch is completly different, more a basic old style, but works perfectly well it seems.

Are these to do with the (Monarch) spring loaded flush fitting openings which I understand some horses can master how to open these doors, or is it the  ordinary type opening swing doors with the internal built latch.

I know that some of the roller spring doors can eventually cause problems but I think this is more of a lack of maintenance that causes this?

I have heard some people have had customer care problems? Some customers recently not getting delivery as promised for several weeks after the agreed delivery dates and the worry is are these companies in financial trouble?
		
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Hi black rat. Just wondered if you had chosen a stable company yet ?


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