About us

equiculture

developing responsible horse ownership

That’s my formal qualifications and experiences. I have been horse mad (obsessed) since first seeing a horse at about the age of eight (we lived in the suburbs of a large industrial city in the north of England). I then set out to wear my parents down and eventually managed to get my first pony at age 11. This first pony was shared with my best friend and we paid for our horse’s upkeep by working at the stables where she was kept.

I was born with a seventy per cent hearing loss and went through school (and eventually university) without hearing aids. I didn’t do very well at school - I only learned to read properly at the age of eight. Throughout school I sat at the back of the class and day-dreamed about horses for pretty much most of the time. By secondary school I had perfected the art of being invisible - pretty good for a very tall uncoordinated adolescent  - and so I was able to carry on with my daydreams about horses uninterrupted. My school did not mind if you did not apply yourself - as long as you did not cause trouble so I managed to attend the final three years without putting pen to paper - literally. Every minute that I was not at school I was with my horse or working to pay for my horse.

I left school at sixteen without a single exam pass result and started my first job with horses. After several years of very hard labour for very little pay I decided that I need some qualifications. I met Stuart when I was sixteen while doing that first job with horses and he (having had a far better education than me) encouraged me to go to college and eventually University. Stuart also needed to obtain a degree as we wanted to emigrate from England where we were both born. Stuart obtained a degree in Community Studies and eventually worked in Youth Services both in England and later in Australia after we emigrated. Finally getting a good education was the best thing I have ever done and I now firmly believe that education is the key to almost everything that is important in life. I believe that anyone can learn more, at any stage in their life, if they have the desire to learn.