Introduce yourself

I grew up up in a completely un-horsey family, living in a tenement in Paisley. My mum said I was born neighing and would crawl around pretending to be a horse. My only access to these amazing animals was the weekly visit from the rag & bone man, where I would tear out of the flat and attach myself to his long suffering pony’s legs!

As I grew up I devoured all things equine and as soon as I was old enough did numerous paper rounds 7-days a week to be able to afford fortnightly lessons. All school holidays were spent helping in a riding school and every waking minute was spent reading and daydreaming about horses. Not dreams of glory, just being around them was enough.

When I left school I did my BHS stages whilst working on an Arabian stud in Wiltshire. A break to have my daughter, then back to work with horses at the incredible Turville Valley stud where my love of all things classical and Iberian was born.

Following that have been careers in other areas - bringing me other life skills and allowing me the time and money to buy, bring on and train my own and other people’s horses. All done with other equine work, education and training on the side. Finally, a move to our beautiful holding in a quiet valley in west Wales in 2014 and back to immersing myself in all things equine professionally again.

In my equine career over the last 40 years I’ve worked on stud farms, at riding schools, livery yards, a classical riding centre, with hunters & show ponies, done retirement and youngstock livery, taught and held groups at a bitless riding centre and with individuals for confidence, riding, groundwork, classical dressage and positive reinforcement coaching.

How did Horse Haven start?

Horse Haven was borne from a desire to do better for my own horses and any others that came my way. I had Ziggy, a severely emotionally and physically compromised Lusitano gelding; Chica, another Lusitano, with complex metabolic health issues; and RD, a PRE Fusion, who needed controlled weight management. The move to Wales was with the intention of a healthier lifestyle for all of us and it has organically evolved into the amazing track-based facility it is today. I don’t feel I’ve ever been in charge of the growth or direction, there was no master plan - I just followed my instincts and here we are!

The name hopefully explains my goal of providing a place where horses can truly be their best selves in a way that meets all their needs. It’s about the track based environment making the most of the wonderful and plentiful natural resources we have; the movement, the choice of being where and who they want to be with, the individual care plans for hoof care, diet / gut health, body work & training with positive reinforcement, knowledge and use of allopathic as well as herbal and homeopathic healthcare, and paying close personal attention to their physical, emotional and behavioural needs as individuals as well as within the herd. 

I guess I actually am Horse Haven too – where the horses are concerned it is just me, totally hands on, making decisions on and providing every single aspect of the horse care and management that’s needed. I know the land and oversee its maintenance by my lovely hubby. We grow our own forage, I work out the diet and supplementation plans, I do the hoof trimming, the bodywork, the training, get to have all the smooches and cuddles … and yes I still muck out and do all the yard / track work five days a week too.

How did you want to change the world?

I want every aspect of horses’ welfare needs to be properly met, and sadly in many facets of care, management, training and sport I’m afraid we fall far short; just one look at many social media post responses will show you that. But with every new scandal comes a greater groundswell of support for much needed change.

What’s unique about Horse Haven?

I think I bring a very broad-based life of experience in many facets of horse care and training that’s shown me as much about what isn’t right as what is. I’m a hoof trimmer, body worker, perpetual equine behaviour student, and I’m a proficient and experienced trainer using positive reinforcement / LIMA principles. I think I’m currently the only yard owner with that skill set offering a whole horse health package and residential training in the UK? We most definitely need more for sure!

I’ve also somehow managed to build one of the largest track systems in the UK, with 2 miles of tracks that wind around and loop through 22-acres of meadows, woodland and riverside, with another 13 acres of woodland still to develop!

I offer a fully inclusive service where everything I can think of to be included is included, so no matter how far away owners live they know everything is taken care of. That and my willingness to offer each individual horse or pony what they need rather than a one-size-fits all policy. I’m adept at accommodating and adapting to find solutions for complex cases and unusual requirements.

Who and where are your customers?

The horses in my care here have ranged from much loved family friends both young and old, blue blooded broodmares, right up to international competition horses of all disciplines (one previously trained and competed by an Olympic gold medalist). They come from all corners of the UK, and a couple from Europe. The furthest flung enquiry was from Singapore!

The future - any plans?

For the moment I am sorry to say I am winding things back a little and offering less spaces – from 22 down to just 8. I’d love some more time with my own horses after a very full-on ten years caring for the more than forty horses and ponies I’ve helped here. So, I’m concentrating on rehab track livery moving forwards, and as demand is so great spaces are reserved for the horses living compromised lives due to metabolic dysfunction who really need the specialist care we can offer.
 
I’m hoping to run more training courses from home to share some of the HH magic that way though – watch this space!

Tell us about your horses

Of the horses I moved here with to start my HH journey, sadly I lost Ziggy last year as his numerous issues finally caught up with him. RD lives a wonderful life with friends in Cornwall, and Chica has been on loan to a friend locally for a couple years having the most wonderful time, but is coming home for some targeted rehab.

I’m also owned by the lovely Mr P, aka Pie pony, who is the aforementioned rather grand competition horse. He was a successful last-chance-saloon rehab livery that was so very kindly gifted to me by his owners Katie & Liz, as we clicked in the most amazing way and he thrived away from the demands of competition life. I am eternally grateful for their kindness and generosity. He is super kind but challenging, and as he’s one of the most accomplished horses I’ve ever ridden I’m on a constant journey to be a better person for him.

Recently, after years of dreaming, I was lucky enough to buy Artemis, a stunning Rocky Mountain x PRE filly foal from the wonderful Mistrals Stud. She is everything I love in a horse – kind and loving but bright and feisty - and I hope to have many years of fun learning with her. My wonderful long-suffering hubby Gi joined in with the foal fun, so we also have Hercules, another gorgeous PRE Fusion boy from Mistrals. He’s an absolute darling with a lovely steady nature and sense of humour, perfect for Gi to learn and grow with.

Why do you buy from EquiNatural? 

I absolutely love the quality of the products and the science and knowledge behind them. Customer service is fabulous and Carol is always on hand to offer great advice. I’ve been buying Equivita minerals from Equinatural since 2016 and I feed it to all the horses here. I’ve seen improvements in hoof and general health on every horse, even those arriving fed on far more expensive products.

Is organic/provenance important to you?

Indeed it is! My horses were very badly affected by chemical run off from intensively farmed agricultural crops before moving here, so I try to keep all the horses and the land as chemical free as possible.

How have you seen the horse world change? 

Slowly … too slowly! I love that tracks and ways of looking outside the box for horse care are becoming more commonplace, but do caution against jumping on a bandwagon of a new way of doing things without truly understanding how and why tracks work, whilst conversely wishing there were lots more of them! There’s a good few of us who’ve been doing this a long while and are always up for offering advice and help to anyone starting up – it’s not a competition; we all want a better life for horses.

There is a noticeable shift towards a desire to see more ethical practices in sport and welfare generally too; it’s nice to be joined by so many other voices calling out malpractice on social media – some of us were getting hoarse. 😘

Who’s your favourite equine guru, and why?

Hmmm, I’m not a fan of blind faith in ‘my way is the only right way’ gurus. That leads to us all putting ourselves into little boxes of ignorance and I’m all for being outside the box in every way possible!

There are lots of people I admire and enjoy engaging with though. Alicia Harlov’s Humble Hoof podcast is a great hoof resource, Kate Sandel writes beautiful empathetic training thoughts on her Soft and Sound page that always resonate, and I love Trudi Dempsey of Understand Horses’ Lead a Horse to Water podcast for behavioural insights too. And of course who couldn’t love the Equinatural blogs – always so informative and thought provoking.

What’s your favourite drink – a cuppa or something long and cool?

I’m so boring! It’s sparkling mineral water with a slice of lime, although I am a slave to my coffee in the morning habit too.

Who knew?! Tell us one unusual fact about you 😉

I used to deal with long-tail, multi-million pound international liability claims, my investigation skills are legendary!

Final word?

Be happy! Seriously we only get one go at this mad thing called life so we should enjoy every moment we can. I always try to find a bright side in everything and that keeps me going when times are tough.

Follow the herd:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HorseHavenWales

Instagram: @horsehavenwales

Website: www.horse-haven.co.uk (needs updating terribly, not enough hours!)