LOUISE Robson of Britain’s Thoroughbred Dressage, retrains for amongst others, King Charles III. Speaking at Monday’s Equine Assisted Services Partnership (EASP) conference at Hartpury University, she made a passionate presentation on why former racehorses make some of the best horses for equine assisted services.

Robson works closely with Godolphin on their Lifetime Care programme and is an advocate for thoroughbreds across disciplines once their track career is completed. Robson said: “Sometimes people think, why would I want to use thoroughbred? Why would I want to use them in EAS? What is the point? Surely, we’re just all going to be pulling our hair out?

Phenomenal horses

“I want you to think of thoroughbreds in a different way - that their sensitivity is actually their superpower. And what exactly does that mean? The best way I can describe it is if you think of an onion.

“The vast majority of horses are your bog-standard onions sat in front of you. Simply put, the thoroughbred is missing the first two layers. So, when you peel back those first two layers of an onion, it reacts to the air and the environment around it, and that is your thoroughbred. It doesn’t mean they’re mad. It doesn’t mean they’re crazy. It just means they are sensitive to everything that you do. This is what makes them phenomenal horses to work with. You should use that as a positive to work with these horses and the possibilities that they can provide for people.”

The EASP Human Equine Interaction Register aims to bring together people involved in the field of equine assisted services in Britain and Northern Ireland, to ensure high quality, friendly service provision, and to create a greater awareness of their work.

Other speakers at the busy event included representatives from the National Equine Welfare Council, Hartpury University, Reach Equine, Horserenity prison project and the award-winning Heros who were recipients of the 2024 Retraining of Racehorses Community Impact Award in association with the Peter O’Sullevan Trust.