02/01/2026
For the new followers to my page... Thank you for being here
WHY DO I DO WHAT I DO??
A question that I often get asked, and many people say to me ‘you must have the dream job’ and yes, I do in my opinion. However, I didn’t go into this just because I wanted to treat horses!
Treating horses is one amazing aspect of my job. The true reason goes much deeper and beyond that reasoning.
Most of you will have heard me talk about my boy Trooper. We first met when I was 14 years old in the rolling Lambourn hills in Berkshire. He is often brought up in conversation about a situation about looking outside the box or going through respectfully discussing end of life for our beloved pets. He is included in many discussions I have with clients, and I vowed that his legacy would always live on in the work that I do.
Apart from being spectacular to look at, Trooper was unique, truly one of a kind. He had many clinical abnormalities going on, which I put down to growing much bigger than his genetics should have made him, and not many people could give me the answers and the support that we needed at the time, not even my vets. (I wish I knew then, what I know now!)
Because not many professionals could give me the answers I needed, or tell me what I needed to do, I had to do a lot of the research and fact finding myself, and take a chance on trying things out to benefit his long-term health. I mean they did the best they could, but as he did not fit into the box of ‘normal’ they drew a blank. Luckily through my extensive work with horses, nutrition and welfare, I had some people that I met along the way that I could trust, discuss things with, and literally support me from afar at the decisions I made for him using the best information I had at the time. These people know who they are and I still very often refer people to them for help with their own horses.
So where am I going with this? I was lost with doing what was best for my horse of a lifetime and no one could give us the support we needed. Its hard when you know something is not right, but no one can give you the answers that you need. So, I decided that I would aim to be that catalyst, the person that will look outside the box and be a voice for those horses that need a little more time and thought process spent on them and to support the owners that may feel lost in a situation out of their control. Those that don’t conform to the ‘normal’ standard but still need us to be an advocate for their long-term well being.
People often pass me aside as not knowing what I am talking about, or looking too hard, because I no longer choose to ride horses or compete. That’s ok if that’s their opinion, and yes, I have done a lot of this prior to my life in Lincolnshire, however I can guarantee that I have more life experience than many people put together. From working in the Emergency Ambulance Service, you hear and see things that you would not want to have in your worst nightmares. The same goes with working in Equine Welfare, I have seen the worst that humans can do to horses and let me tell you, it is beyond hard emotionally to work in both those environments and a big shout to my previous colleagues in both careers, you are amazing!
So, this is why I choose to do what I do, after 35 years working with horses, not just to ‘treat’ them, but to actually try to make a real difference to the horses in an industry that is currently torn between right and wrong.
Well done if you are still reading 😊