Sandy Hills Equine Livery

Hi everyone, my name is Josephine. 

Growing up, I always knew, one day I'll have my own pony paradise. I was 4 years old when I first sat on a horse, a Shagya Arabian called Shiraz. That was back in South Africa where my parents and I had lived at the time. Since then, horses have always been my safe haven. 

I was never the best rider, instead I obsessively made sure that the stables were spotless, water filled up and that the horses had plenty of hay for the night. 

My first horse Missy taught me the importance of having a plan B,C and D if A didn't work out. She's a very emotional horse and good at expressing her feelings. She gave me no other choice than to observe, listen and learn.

Along came my second horse, Jasper and the purchase of 10acres of poor growing land on a steep hill in beautiful Tinnaberna Co.Wexford, Ireland. How wonderful, we thought, let's give our horses all the freedom they deserve. My family and I were naive enough to believe, that large grass fields were the ideal environment for any horse. We simply didn't know better. Soon, they proved us wrong. Jasper became more and more metabolic. He developed Laminitis. I was devestated, felt so guilty and knew, we had to change how we managed our horses! 

I expanded my knowledge about horses and studied Equine at the University of Guelph, Canada, receiving my Diploma in Equine Studies in 2022. During my studies, I was introduced to Jamie Jackson's work about the wild horses of the US Great Basin and it all began to make sense, like a big puzzle finally coming together. Green fields turned into paddocks, which turned into tracks. By reducing access to grass and increasing movement, within less than a year, I observed huge changes in my horses health and behaviour. Clearly, they were in better shape, but most importantly, they were finally content. They didn't wait impatiently for the next hay or meal. Instead they happily exercised themselves following the tracks travelling back and forth between forage, water and shelter. I had never seen them so busy and independent before. It almost seemed as if they didn't need me anymore and Jasper fully bounced back to life, which I didn't dream to be possible at the time.  

Couple years later, I now more than ever, stand by it when I say, Paddock Paradise / Track Systems are the future of equine husbandry. Traditional horse keeping benefits the owner/rider, but it doesn't meet our horses needs further than the basics. It keeps them alive but it doesn't fulfill them. Only a herd and the freedom of choice can do that. 

I saw a great need for horses like mine, who don't thrive on a grass diet. There are only very few places in Ireland that offer turnout for metabolic horses. So when those horses retire, where do they go?

Sandy Hills Equine Livery is a safe haven, a paradise, for retired and non-ridden horses and ponies. I am fully qualified, trained and experienced to provide the best welfare practices and I thank you for trusting me with your beloved friend and companion, who I will look after like one of my own. 

Horses owe us nothing, but we truly owe them everything.

Big thank you to my family and my boyfriend who got dragged into this willingly accepting their fate. Without their endless support, none of this would've been achievable.