‘Ilovehorses.’ I heaved myself up to my feet. ‘I was raised on a farm which my parents owned…’
As we walked towards Big Field, I told Willow about my background, being raised on a farm, my riding experience, and how my mam was now my business partner.
‘Have you used heavy horses for your therapy?’ Willow asked.
‘Yes. There was a Shire and a Clydesdale where I worked and they’re perfect because of their gentle nature, friendliness and patience. I’m not an expert on all breeds of heavy horses, but I’m a quick learner.’
We’d reached Big Field and the five heavy horse mares.
‘I recognise the Clydesdale so she must be Athena,’ I said, ‘and I recognise the two Shires but don’t know which is which.’
‘The brown one is Hera and the grey one is Demeter, who’s a rescue. The dapple grey one is a Percheron called Duchess and the smaller chestnut-coloured one is a Norman Cob – also a rescue – called Gladys. Duchess and Gladys are besties.’
Any remaining worries about Willow’s shock revelations drifted away as I stroked the horses. I loved how gentle andaffectionate heavy horses were – something that had always surprised my clients considering their size. I didn’t know what Gladys’s and Demeter’s circumstances had been but I was so glad they’d been rescued and brought here where they’d so clearly been loved and cared for.
We moved into Tall Stone next where the three male heavy horses were kept.
‘With them all being different breeds, I’ve managed to work out who’s who,’ I told Willow. ‘The black one’s a Shire called Samson, the black roan’s a Clydesdale called Apollo and the chestnut one is Maverick – a Suffolk Punch.’
‘Spot on,’ Willow said, opening the gate so I could meet them properly. ‘Samson and Maverick were both rescues.’
After I’d spent some time with Samson, Apollo and Maverick, we moved onto Lane End.
‘You’ve probably worked out that the pony’s Ziggy,’ Willow said. ‘Icarus and Scout are brothers. Icarus has the white diamond and he’s a year older than Scout. Shelley had originally only wanted heavy horses here but Ziggy came up as a rescue and she couldn’t say no. A few months later, she heard about Icarus and Scout needing a home so she brought them here too. She hated not being able to take more, especially when there’s the space for them, but there was only so much she could do without staff and money.’
I stroked Scout’s neck and my heart melted as he nuzzled closer. It would be a privilege to look after the eleven horses at Hazelwick Farm and especially the seven who’d been rescued. Mam and I would make the farm a financial success so that we could say yes to other rescue opportunities, opening our hearts and our home to animals in need.
16
When I returned to the farmhouse, Mam was in the kitchen grilling bacon with the dogs sitting nearby, staring longingly towards the oven.
‘Morning, Mam,’ I said, my voice overly bright. ‘Stop drooling, you two.’
‘Morning, sunshine!’ Mam said, smiling at me. ‘You’ve timed that well. The bacon will be ready shortly if you want to wash your hands.’
While Mam prepared bacon butties, I made a pot of tea and we were soon settled at the table, tucking in.
‘Did you manage to catch Willow this morning?’ Mam asked between bites.
‘I did and she’s lovely – hard-working, competent, knowledgeable and passionate about horses. My thoughts are that she’s an asset and we’d definitely want to keep her on beyond the transition fortnight, but obviously I’d want you to meet her too as it has to be a joint decision.’
‘I would like to meet her but I trust you on this. If you think she’s good, I’m happy for you to let her know she can stay on. No point in a young lass like that fretting about it.’
‘Okay. Which brings me onto paying her. She knew from the start that there were no paid positions and she begged to be allowed to volunteer so, while it doesn’t sound like the Garstangs were taking advantage, that doesn’t sit comfortably with me.’
‘Me neither and I still think the Garstangs should have paid her. It’s not right to run a profitable business and not pay your staff.’
‘Funny you should mentionprofitable business. I found out a few things this morning and it seems the Garstangs weren’t exactly honest with us…’
‘We always knew we needed to do more advertising to increase visitor numbers,’ Mam said after I’d brought her up to speed. ‘We weren’t expecting that to be from a standing start but I agree with Jude that it’s an opportunity for a total refresh. We don’t need to be influenced by anything the Garstangs did. We can be completely, unapologetically us.’
‘I love that!’ I smiled at her, feeling inspired by her optimism. ‘It sounds like they didn’t properly invest in the farm – not enough staff, insufficient advertising, lack of passion to make it work. We won’t make the same mistakes as them.’
* * *
After breakfast, Mam and I took the dogs and set off on a walkabout with my iPad. After our offer was accepted, we’d created a list of things we’d need to do before we opened for business and, over the past few months, had completed as much as we could remotely including arranging for various tradespeople to do repairs. There were bound to be things we’d missed so this was a chance to add them to the list.
When we returned to the farmhouse for lunch, Maddie had emerged from her bedroom although she was still in her pyjamas and clearly in a foul mood. As we ate, I tried to engageher in conversation but every question elicited a one-word answer or a shrug while she scrolled on her phone. Laurie and I had agreed on a phone-free rule for mealtimes and Maddie had respected that until the big personality change. The repeated battles to try and stop her had worn me down to the point where I’d stopped saying anything. Once we were settled in, we’d need to establish some new ground rules – especially now that we were living with my mam – and phone-free meals would be one of them.
