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So today, 16^th April 2026 my business Right Horse Right Home has its official TEN YEAR BIRTHDAY!  I feel quite proud to have built a bespoke website and interface that has weathered the test of time.  From small acorns oak trees grow and Right Horse Right Home I believe has now become an oak tree in the horse world, maybe not an especially large one but the roots of the tree have certainly grown and embedded themselves in the equestrian sector.

It takes tenacity, determination, a solution focused mind and a wheelbarrow full of resilience to build a successful business.  Just like falling off a horse, when the challenge comes along and you fall off the horse you brush yourself down and get back on! When the pandemic hit and no one could travel the country to view horses, this was definitely a difficult time.  When our Facebook Ads account was hacked, this was a huge challenge, getting the account back and circumnavigating that issue was really tough. This year someone tried to impersonate our business FB page but with a calm approach we overcame that problem surprisingly quickly.  There are always new challenges to overcome and you grown accustomed to problem solving and keeping a calm head.

The equine industry is a tough arena to succeed in so today I am going to sit back and take a little pride in what I, and my small dependable, talented team, have accomplished. The sweat and tears have been worth it! I am blessed to have 2 amazing colleagues in Joel and Robyn who have both been by my side for over 5 yrs and are utterly dependable and bring much needed expertise to the table.

Joel is my website developer who does all the tricky IT stuff and has helped over the years to improve our user experience and keep the site safe and operational.  Robyn is my right-hand woman who helps get the adverts marketed through our socials and picks up so much slack during the busy months and when I’m on holiday. I couldn’t be without either of them.

Right Horse Right Home is now known by 1000s of equestrians in the UK and is the “go-to” place to buy, sell or loan a horse for so many of you which is just fantastic. Many of you recommending us to your fellow horse owning friends and claiming you will not ever use another platform again to sell or buy a horse, which is such a compliment.

We have helped to find amazing homes for thousands of horses over the past ten years, and I’m pleased to say that so many of these horses remain in those new homes today. I know of many of you who purchased horses through the site in our early years who’ve stayed in touch and still have those same horses.  Sadly, some horses have naturally passed away but those owners have then come back to us to look for their next partner.

Having worked in the equine charity sector for over 10yrs before I built Right Horse Right Home, I wanted to find a unique solution to a problem and perhaps fill a gap in the marketplace.  At the same time the business would give myself an income and a flexible life where I could work as well as look after my own family, horses and dogs!

Little did I realise at the time that my work would be so all consuming, naïve really, we all know horses are a 24/7 hobby and supporting owners and buyers is no different.   I am often up at all hours responding to messages, uploading videos, sorting new ads or helping owners to better write and describe their horse adverts. But it is all worth it, and I do have the advantage of being able to pretty much work from anywhere.

The appreciation and thanks I receive from so many of you make the hard work so worthwhile, the lovely reviews that you write are so incredibly kind and humbling. Over 180 5* reviews on google!  I genuinely care about where our much loved horses end up and want to make a difference to owners who share this common goal, it’s not easy when we have an ever increasing number of horses on the site to find homes for but anyone who reaches out for support I hope receives the assistance from us that they need.

I built the website in the hope that offering something different would result in a better outcome for both parties and ultimately the horse, who rather than being moved from pillar to post due to unsuccessful matching is found their right home. Having a website that insists on detailed and accountable horse adverts where buyers can make informed decisions on suitability was a really important.  Adverts which are current and up to date is equally important, we do our level best here and are as “on it” as we possibly can be but do also need owners to keep us updated.

Our adverts all get scrutinized prior to publication and any reports of concern get robustly investigated. Some adverts never reach the published stage if they don’t comply with our strict standards. Some sellers who are found to be dishonest will have their ads removed and are banned from using us in the future.  A lot goes on behind the scenes to better protect buyers from unscrupulous sellers.

Sellers who are found to be dishonest, flexible with the truth and fail to prioritise the “match” over the “money” are banned.  They are not welcome in our club!  Horses which are described as safe and sensible, appealing to your novice and beginner riders, need to be exactly that and anyone describing a young horse in this manner is held to account and pulled up as surely a young horse, even with a sensible head on their shoulders, is better placed with an experienced owner and rider in their first years under saddle and not with an unbalanced, nervous, inexperienced rider?

Buyers through the online application and membership structure are encouraged to specify their “wants” as well as information about what indeed they could offer the horse in terms of their riding ability, experience and home available.  A rider’s ability really is such an important aspect of the matching process and more and more we are finding buyers who perhaps innocently or ignorantly, are inflating their riding capabilities to secure a “dream horse” which sadly is out of their grasp ability wise even if it may be affordable.  In these situations it is so important to think of the horse, if you can’t match its riding need you are doing it a disservice, you are also putting yourself at risk trying a horse that has more buttons than you know how to control. People need to be realistic about what behaviours they can manage but also remember and appreciate horses are not machines, they are sentient beings and always have the potential to be scared, confused, exhilarated, excited or in discomfort and can react in a variety of different ways.

I would also encourage riders not to discount the older more experienced horse, even if it is in its late teens or early 20s this does not mean it can’t do a useful job, especially if it’s been well cared for. Older horses can be amazing partners, giving confidence and having “been there and done it all” often makes for very enjoyable, stress-free riding. The image here is of fabulous pony Dolly, 17yrs old and still going strong, seeking a new home.

We have found amazing homes for so many older horses and they are actually more popular than most horse owners would think.  The majority of owners selling or loaning older horses do so not because they want to, they do it because they have little choice.  A change in their personal circumstances, often ill health, (sometimes terminal), a marriage break up, caring for an ill partner, livery yard closure; all reasonable and very justifiable reasons.

They advertise their horses responsibly through us to seek out the best of new homes for their much-loved horse.  All too often their promoted advert is met with very judgemental and cruel comments by self-righteous individuals who have given no thought whatsoever to the reasons that could be behind the decision.  They have given no thought to the fact that instead of just putting the ad on Facebook for any type of unscrupulous buyer to get in touch they have used a much safer, more robust, responsible platform that helps to ensure their much-loved horse finds the best possible new home. You can probably tell this makes me cross as I usually know the reason for the sale. The last thing this vulnerable, devastated owner, (who is utterly bereft in the knowledge of having to part with their horse), needs is someone criticising their decision and citing that it is a heartless one. People really need to try and be kinder to one another!

So, what of the next ten years you may ask! Will we get bigger? Will we expand? Will I sell the business? As I have boys that don’t ride and recently celebrated my 50^th birthday I don’t see myself doing this job forever so yes at some point I will probably sell the business. I may expand if I can find the energy…. But that too will require more time, more staff, more investment and is not without risk which would then pull me away from what I love and where my real expertise lies which is in helping the owners, help the horses, find their perfect homes.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the business and supported me personally in this journey. I feel quite proud today. If anyone told me ten or 20 years ago that I would be running my own business in years to come that is well known throughout the equine industry, built from the ground up by myself, to make a difference to horse welfare I would not believe them.  It is amazing what you can achieve with hard work and effort and having such a supportive group of friends and family.