Curious Equestrian

Lucy Katan MBE spent more than eight years as a horse groom, including time at the top of international dressage. She loved the horses, but she was also bullied on the yard and, after a dangerous 24-hour drive home from the 2002 World Equestrian Games, decided enough was enough. She wrote one letter to the British Equestrian Federation, and it became the British Grooms Association.
In this episode, Anna Louise and Lucy talk honestly about why so many grooms struggle: illegal hours, pay below the minimum wage, bullying that gets excused as "just the way it is with horses", and the 2017 survey in which 83% of grooms reported poor mental health and more than 70% reported bullying at work. Lucy also shares practical advice for anyone in a difficult yard, and where to find help.
An honest conversation about welfare, work and worth in the equestrian industry.
Find help and support:British Grooms Association: https://britishgrooms.org.ukGrooms Minds: https://britishgrooms.org.uk/member-services/grooms-minds/grooms-mindsEquestrian Employers Association: https://equestrianemployers.org.ukRiders Minds, 24/7 helpline: https://ridersminds.org

What does it mean to fight for horse welfare when being visible would cost you your livelihood?
Riverstown Farm Stables — an anonymous Irish equestrian with over 37,000 followers and no public face (we've altered her voice to protect her identity) — joins Anna Louise at Curious Equestrian to talk honestly about the equine welfare conversations the industry keeps sweeping under the carpet.
Drawing on years of working in professional yards across Europe, Riverstown argues that the equestrian world is still hiding from some basic truths: about turnout, about where horses end up when we sell them, and about what it actually takes to put the horse before the sport, the tradition, or the convenience.
In this episode:→ Why a welfare campaigner with 37,000 followers chooses to stay anonymous→ What working at a stallion station in Germany taught Riverstown about horses living behind bars with no turnout and no social contact→ Why paddock gardens are a genuine step forward — but can also be abused to replace real turnout→ The uncomfortable reality of horse slaughter in the UK and Ireland, and the passport loopholes that make it invisible→ Why horses still don't have the same traceability system as cattle — and what it would take to change that→ What the bitless dressage movement signals about where equestrian sport could be heading→ How traditional farming families are starting to question practices they have accepted for generations

About Riverstown Farm StablesAn anonymous welfare-first Facebook page with over 37,000 followers. Based in rural Ireland, the person behind the page is a riding instructor and equine welfare advocate who created the page to give horse people a space for honest, unfiltered discussion without the politics of personal identity.www.facebook.com/RiverstownStablesNorthTipp

About Curious EquestrianA horse-first podcast about welfare, behaviour, and the messy realities of ownership. Subscribe to the free newsletter for after-hours Q&As and bonus content: www.curiousequestrian.co.uk

👇 INSIDE THE EPISODE, WE DISCUSS:• Theresa Demarest's 5-year journey making the film and why she centered the horses' perspectives.• Katherine Gregory (CEO of Colorado Horse Rescue) on the hidden realities of the rescue economy.• The truth about "kill pens" and why buying horses from them often funds the next truckload.• Why there is currently no minimum standard of care for horses in the US.
Note: Throwaway Horses won two Winnie Awards at the 2025 Equus Film and Arts Festival, including Best Director.

🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED:• Watch the film / Book a screening: https://www.throwawayhorses.com (Streaming on Amazon Prime US & Vimeo worldwide)• Colorado Horse Rescue: https://chr.org

📣 JOIN THE HERD:Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter for horse owners who have started questioning the received wisdom: https://curiousequestrian.co.uk

"People have this romantic idea of animal rescue. It's not like that at all."
Billy Thompson has been jailed, physically attacked and throttled unconscious saving animals. He'd do it again tomorrow. This is what running a horse rescue sanctuary actually looks like.
At The Retreat Animal Sanctuary, over 30 horses, donkeys and more have each arrived broken in some way — dumped in fields, abandoned on village greens, rescued from roundups. Anna Louise spends a day with Billy and trustee Lil to find out what it really takes: financially, emotionally, and physically.

Meet Octavia — a blind horse who lost both eyes to uveitis and now has a guide horse of her own.
Andrew — a foal the size of a border collie, given 12 hours to live when he was found collapsed.
Pip — 37 years old and proof that a rescued horse can have a long, calm life.
And a family of donkeys Billy refuses to split up, no matter how hard it makes rehoming.

This animal rescue documentary doesn't shy away from the difficult parts. Some horses don't make it. Some names Billy still can't say out loud. But the majority do recover — and that, he says, is what makes it possible to keep going.

Learn more about the work of The Retreat Animal Sanctuary: https://www.retreatanimalrescue.org.uk/

Horse riding has a cost problem the industry rarely addresses directly. Lessons most families can't afford. Schools closing at a rate that suggests something structural is breaking down. A sport quietly narrowing its own audience.
Chloe is doing something the industry says isn't viable: offering riding lessons for free, funded by a social media following and a community that believes access matters. This episode is about how she built it, what it actually costs to run, and whether a free lessons model can survive long term.
Anna Louise asks the questions that often get avoided: who is horse riding actually for? And if the traditional riding school model keeps failing, what comes next?
Chloe is honest about the financial reality, clear-eyed about the pressures of daily content creation, and not interested in making it sound simpler than it is.
📧: info.chloeincornwall@gmail.comwww.paypal.me/Chloeincornwall

www.youtube.com/@chloeincornwallSubscribe to the Curious Equestrian newsletter at https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk