At 30, I had a mid-life crisis – an early one! I was the classic horsey teenager, who loved the idea of working with horses but wasn’t creative about knowing what was out there, and my parents said, “You need a proper job”, with horses as a hobby.
So I did a normal person’s degree, and ended up working in human health research. I had a great job, and loved it. But I wished I was working with horses. So I spent my Christmas bonus on degrees, in equine science and advanced animal behaviour, and when I was 30, said, “I’ve either got to change this year or stop moaning.”
I looked at animal-related research and because I had skills from human health, and the animal stuff, I qualified for a PhD at Liverpool University. I started working on that, to do with horses, and it was like a dream come true.
I haven’t looked back.
Liverpool was looking for someone to research equine obesity and I had the skills from human research; it was a gift. I had a fat Welsh cob, so I had the experience too! That finished in 2019, the year we did the Weigh to Win body condition showing awards, which went really well.
This story is from the April 04, 2024 edition of Horse & Hound.
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This story is from the April 04, 2024 edition of Horse & Hound.
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