All Aboard the Racehorse

Send us Fan Mail Nicola and Frog's retraining journey is nothing short of remarkable, interesting and so relatable. To say they have had an 'interesting' journey' would be a ver big understatement, but what is most important, and interesting is that Nic has not only learnt stuff about her left, but also how Frog, as a horse, responds, and how to find the way forward in all scen...

Send us Fan Mail We, horses and humans are asymmetric. How we deal/train and develop these asymmetries to become the 'best version' of straightness that we can find, is a bit of a minefield.  With our former racehorses they predominantly run in one direction and have their own version of 'in the middle' or 'straight.' How do we approach these asymmetries, and what as...

Send us Fan Mail The Retraining of Racehorses Charity has been established for 25 years. In that 25 years the numbers of members has exploded and grown year after year. I want to make it SUPER CLEAR that this is not an interview as a 'promotional piece.' It's a conversation that I asked to happen to be able to create a better understanding of the depth of work and support that the R...

Send us Fan Mail I do struggle when I hear phrases such as;  "I want to ride at Grand Prix' (whether that is dressage or SJ) 'I am looking to get a former racehorse and I would like to ride at Grand Prix one day' It's not because I don't want people to dream, or aim high, its because of, not only the conformation of our former racehorses, but also their brain and thei...

Send us Fan Mail Stable Recovery is a facility in Lexington Kentucky that is changing peoples lives for the better with the help/use of thoroughbreds. In this episode I talk to Christian Countzler, who is BEYOND passionate about the work they do at Stable Recovery and how, with the Power of the horse, they are able to help change lives At Stable Recovery, their mission is to provide a safe and sta...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we delve into the phrase that is used in a negative way its because they’re a former racehorse’.  I HATE hearing this phrase when people are competing/training as a reason to ‘why’ the horse isn’t able/couldn’t possible do whatever it is that you’re looking to ’ask’ them to do/achieve. So how can we reframe this ? Finding members of your home team can also be a dau...

Send us Fan Mail The term ‘one and low’ is used ALOT, but what exactly does it mean? What does it look like? Should we be doing it with our former racehorses, in all three paces, under saddle and groundwork??  We need to work on; suppleness, stretching core activation, engagement, swing and ‘working uphill’, but how do we achieve this on our downhill former racehorses?  Is there such a thing as ‘t...

Send us Fan Mail King Erik’s racing career was cut short when injury (a slipped tendon off his hock) meant that his days of cantering and jumping on the racetrack was to be no more. Having found his home with the Boyles’ in County Dunham, Erik is a fully fledged member of the household, who has not only been Pauls best man at their wedding, but is also now a park Ranger, who patrols a 135acre park...

Send us Fan Mail I had the pleasure of meeting Muireann through Instagram a few years back now as she reached out and asked about retraining former racehorses and if I would ever consider coming over to Ireland to teach. I joined her for an Instagram Live where we talked all about retraining racehorses, and I knew straight away that she was nothing bar brilliant.  Fast forward 6 months and we met...

Send us Fan Mail One of the most common questions I get asked/I see across social media channels is: Which Bit would you Recommend?  In this episode I look into different approaches and understanding to improving and developing the contact in our former racehorses. Please do listen, share and enjoy and if you'd like to learn more we have a webinar coming up on Thursday 15th April about findin...

Send us Fan Mail I first heard about Lesley and Second Brook, better known as Seb, when they were nominated for the RoR Horse of the Year 2025. I was BLOWN AWAY by their story and their journey together.  Registered as a blind rider, Lesley and Seb have competed and won at RDA level and their journey together and the highs and lows are not only relatable, but inspirational . Lesley is so honest in...

Send us Fan Mail So what does ‘pressure’ look like to your ex racehorse? The word ‘pressure’ can seem to have a negative connotation surrounding it. Pressure can come in the form of pressure from the leg, pressure from the seat, pressure from one side, pressure from the bit, pressure of the environment they are in. In their first career your ex racehorse isnt used to the ‘pressures’ of the rider b...

Send us Fan Mail Sam Dracott is one of the ‘original’ farriers of social media. Having now 4 million followers on Tiktok with 61.5million likes, along with  296k followers on Instagram, but who exactly is he?  Sam works closely with Great British Racing and was recently at the RoR awards held at Cheltenham Racecourse earlier this year, but what is his connection to racehorses/former racehorses? Th...

Send us Fan Mail Pam and Kevin Atkinson formed New Beginnings Retraining Centre in 2010. Based in the North of the UK, they started off with the main focus of retraining and rehoming former racehorses, but as they’ve grown they still continue their fabulous work in retraining and rehoming, but have expanded to working within the community and are due to open their new Education Centre later this y...

Send us Fan Mail If you haven’t heard of Minella Rebellion before, where have you been? Known as Rebel to his friends has become one of the VERY few (and by that I mean one other possible) horses to win, pretty much everything going in the showing world of RoR. Not only that, but he has won against horses bred for showing and taken the Champion Title of Riding Horse at Horse of the Year Show in 20...

Send us Fan Mail "Finding relaxation' with our ex racehorses can be tough and challenging and make us feel like we are eternally searching for it. It can also become frustrating when it feels like no matter what we do makes little /no difference and what worked once before doesn't work now So how about we take a slightly different approach and consider being able to focus on their h...

Send us Fan Mail Annabelle is a Veterinary Physiotherapist and runs her own business; AG Veterinary Physiotherapy, which is an experienced and professional team dedicated to providing a bespoke service to improve animal performance, recovery from injury, reduce pain and improve mobility. AG Veterinary Physiotherapy focus in equine and canine patients and provide mobile work and also have awell-equ...

Send us Fan Mail Lucy is best known as an influencer across social media channels as Footluce Eventing. In this episode we talk about how Lucy first feel in love with the Thoroughbred breed and where her current ex racehorse, Ember has taken her to, where her hopes and future plans are and what she has learnt along the way. We also look into how Lucy has navigated and continues to navigate the hig...

Send us Fan Mail The contact and the former racehorse can pose all sorts of questions, problems, headaches and heartaches. What is too much? What is too little? Should I just give the rein away? Is it the bit? Is it the noseband? What are our former stars of the track used to in their first career and how can de develop that forward?  Louise instagram: @thoroughbred_dressage Facebook: Thoroughbred...

Send us Fan Mail Based in the heart of racehorse country, Lambourn UK, Sophie Conway is a mum of two young children, works for Horse and Country TV, has ex racehorses and wants to open a pre training yard. (Phew!)  Sophie’s passion for racing and racehorses shines through in this episode and it was such a joy to speak to Sophie and I truly appreciate her time and how brilliant she was in this conv...

Send us Fan Mail How to start 2025! Kissing Spine is talked about ALOT within the ex racehorse world, but it's talked about behind closed doors.  What is Kissing Spine? How do we diagnose it? How do we move forward if we know our horse has it? What does the 'long term life' look like if they have it? In this episode we delve into the various routes we can take if our horse does have...

Send us Fan Mail The 31st December/1st January brings around ‘all things shiny’ as people reflect and share their highlights of 2024. Don’t get me wrong, reflection is a great tool for us, but using one point in the year to create a ‘finite point of assessment’ gives me the ick! How can we we use this time of years and plenty of other times throughout the year to learn more about ourselves and our...

Send us Fan Mail Adam McNamara rode 138 winners on the flat, the highlights of which were the Ebor in 2016 and the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes in 2020. He retired at the age of 25 and now works for the PJA (professional Jockeys Association) as a Senior Racing Executive.  Some may consider Adam’s career short-but is it?  What does it take to become not only a jockey, but a successful jockey. What are th...

Send us Fan Mail Amanda and Matt Mills run one of the most prominent retraining yards in the UK. Having both worked in racing previously, they now have two yards that are dedicated to retraining, rehoming and rehabbing racehorses.  What does it take to take on a former racehorse? What should people consider when taking on a former racehorse? How much does it cost to actually retrain a racehorse? ...

Send us Fan Mail “You cant understand someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes”   So how does it feel for our former racehorses with their natural balance? Are you willing to 'give it a go?'  In this episode I talk through how your ex racehorse is 'built for speed' and how you train the horse you have in front of you, not the one you want. All horses, regardless o...