About Us
A Potted History and Summary Curriculum Vitae
(Equine Industry) by Elaine Allan
Having ridden as a child my interest and love of horses was rekindled when my daughter, Lara expressed an interest in going horse riding when she was about 10. Then in 1997 when the Riding School we attended was closing down we bought the Highland pony we had both ridden in lessons and had then taken on loan. The owner of the riding school not only taught riding but also involved the ‘girls’ in the care of the horses and taught Pony Club. This woman gave us what I believe was a good foundation in horse care, handling and management - for this I thank her!
On leaving the sanctuary of her yard and for the next two years we embarked on a steep learning curve as we cared for our horse at various local DIY yards without a yard manager on whom we could rely on or call upon for support and advise. I did a lot of reading and listening to other more experienced and knowledgeable horse owners. I also learned to listen to our horse and trust my own judgement during this time. I realised I would have to develop a holistic knowledge base of the horse from hoof to tail and everything in between!
By 1999 we owned two horses having purchased a 14’2” Coloured Cob, we also managed to find land and stables close to where we lived and purchased a further two horses a Clydesdale and a Shetland! We were soon approached by another local horse owner regarding livery for her horses and a little later by another and then another and yet another!
One of whom was owner of a horse displaying some difficult to manage behaviour, was clearly unhappy, was causing major problems for their current yard owner and had got himself labelled as a dangerous horse. Turned out he was not such a problem – he was just a horse behaving like horses can and do especially when they are stabled and fed high concentrates of feed! With some changes to management and a lot of listening to his needs he turned out to be opinionated yes (aren't horses allowed to have opinions and communicate them to us?) but not half as dangerous as he had been once he was listened to and didn't feel he had to shout all the time! I mention all of this because I feel it is relevant that I did not set out to run a livery yard or work in the equine industry but people seemed to like what we did, how we cared for our own horses and approached us along the way.
In 2002 I attended the Intelligent Horsemanship 5 Day Foundation Course and the two day Horse Psychology Course run by Kelly Marks, Monty Roberts' teacher in the UK, and her team at Witney Oxfordshire. I was becoming increasingly interested in horse behaviour and how to understand and overcome difficult behaviours through sensitive management and handling, working with the horses and not against them. The same year I took on a ‘project’ horse. The foundation course with Kelly had taught enough for me to realise that much of her difficult behaviour was pain related. She was seen by vet, farrier, dentist, physiotherapist, chiropractor – you name it! To cut a long story short we ended up buying this horse as we fell in love with her hence I didn’t really think retraining of horses would be a very profitable career for us! This horse is still my project horse – providing me with a lifetime of learning - she has taught me more on our journey together so far than all the horsepeople I have seen, read or listened to! My first book will definately have to be about how I have survived all the advise I have exposed myself to at clinics, workshops, in books, on video, DVD, CD – you name it! I have the T Shirt!
In 2004 we established Dun Darich Stables as a livery yard with 15 horses and in 2005 I went part time from my full time employment. Many of our clients at the yard have been young girls without horsey parents. We learnt a lot from this! and had to establish yard rules regarding aspects of health and safety both of the people and the horses and I would like to think we were passing on the good foundation that was once granted to myself and my daughter all those years ago. We now have written livery agreements, health policies , risk assessments - you name it!
Another development of the business has been the approach of local horse owners who keep their horses at home or on small holdings elsewhere but choose to leave their horses with us on full livery while they are away on holiday or business.
Due to our remote rural location and the fact that the nearest equine vet is some distance from us it was suggested I attend the veterinary clinic for some basic ‘training’ which would enable me to take heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate etc and administer medication under his supervision if necessary in an emergency. We have had our share of ups and downs dealt with colic , laminitis, and nursed one horse successfully through grass sickness as well as the usual variety of lamenesses, abscesses, bumps and cuts.
Although we have always used the expert services of a farrier we have also attended and hosted barefoot trimming workshops by Peter Laidely (Australia) supported by my vet in order that we could nurse one badly cracked hoof back to health and trim the feet of another horse with collapsed pedal bones back to soundness. Most of our horses are barefoot - as farriers will tell you "if the horse doesn't need shoes don't put them on." Our extensive sand and gravel areas have been of huge value not only in providing mud free winter turnout but also in the transition from shod to unshod, in the managment of laminitis and much more.
Via the Intelligent Horsemanship organisation in 2002 I met Morag Higgins who at that time was their only Recommended Associate in Scotland. Morag has developed and delivered her own course programme, of these I have attended; Micronutrients and their Impact on Equine Health, Round Pen Techniques, Ground Work and Handling as well as a Balanced Riding Course and currently both Lara and I are Trainee Instructors of her Equido Course. Morag visits Dun Daraich to give lessons or horse help on a monthly basis throughout the summer. Use our Links Page to visit Morag's website (Scottish Horse Help - Ross Dhu) if you are interested in finding out more about her courses.
In addition to my interest in equine behaviour I have an interest in the human – equine relationship and equine assisted learning and therapies and have attended various workshops and conferences on the subject. This is something I am keen to develop at Dun Daraich and I would invite anyone with a similar interest to contact me.
Dun Daraich has hosted clinics by Perry Wood and Marthe Kiley-Worthington and although hard work they are great fun and we are open to suggestions for future events! We have attended many demonstrations and clinics, among my favourites are those by Perry Wood, Monty Roberts, Mark Rashid, Lesley Desmond, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Sara Wych and Steve Halfpenny.
During 2007 Lara and I studied the Warwickshire College Health and Safety with Horses Course and achieved our City & Guilds NPTC Certificates in Health and Safety for those Working in the Equine Industry (unfortunately we couldn't get away to go down for the presentation of said certificates by Tim Stockdale but I have said if he's ever in Argyll he is welcome to drop in!)
At the end of 2007 all our effort, hard work and belief that we were creating an environment that was good for horses was rewarded when Dun Daraich Stables was recommended and awarded British Horse Society Livery Yard Approval.
I hope this gives some insight into who we are at Dun Daraich, what we believe and what we might be able to offer or share should the paths of our equine journeys cross!