Meet some of our often-unsung heroes on Groom Appreciation Day – Abi at Belwade Farm 

Today we celebrate our inaugural World Horse Welfare Groom Appreciation Day!

Following our Stamp Out Suffering appeal, we have received an overwhelming amount of wonderful messages from our supporters to our grooms, thanking them for their hard work and dedication to the horses in our care.

We would like to join our supporters in thanking all of our wonderful grooms for the incredibly special and difficult work they do – particularly as we approach winter when they work even harder to care for our horses in the dark and cold. We couldn’t rescue and rehabilitate abused and neglected horses without their passionate dedication and commitment to the cause.

Across our four rescue and rehoming centres, our fabulous team of 46 grooms changes the lives of horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and foals every single day. On Groom Appreciation Day we put them firmly in the spotlight to celebrate their invaluable and inspiring work.

Our diverse team of highly skilled grooms have joined the World Horse Welfare family from a broad range of backgrounds within the industry, some coming from high-level competition and racing yards, and some with experience in other rescue and rehoming organisations, veterinary hospitals, and riding schools.

Our grooms work methodically, often having to deal with some very challenging cases which they approach with compassion and patience working closely with vets, farriers and physiotherapists to implement treatment plans, administer medication, provide round-the-clock care, and retrain horses using science-based, welfare-friendly methods. As a charity, we take great pride in being realistic, compassionate and forward-thinking and our team shares these values.

Work in rescue and rehabilitation is often tough and emotionally draining, and each and every one of our grooms has spent countless hours nursing a sick animal that might not have recovered, and yet they continue their work with dignity and courage. They work outside in all weathers, contending with endless amounts of mud with professionalism and humour.

They are our often-unsung heroes, literally changing horses’ lives for the better every day.

We caught up with Abi, a Senior Groom at our Belwade Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre, to find out more about what life as a groom is really like here at World Horse Welfare.

---

Please tell us a bit about yourself…

Okay, here we go…Hi, I’m Abi Tuckwell and I am a Senior Groom at World Horse Welfare Belwade Farm. I came to the farm as a Groom in July 2015, I must love the place as I have been here nearly 10 years!

How did horses first come into your life? 

I originally just did riding lessons when I was younger, but when you get bitten by the horse bug it never leaves. I began volunteering at my local riding stables and then worked there through school. I went to university to complete a BSc (Hons) degree in Equine Therapy and Rehabilitation, as I knew I wanted to work within the therapy and rehabilitation side of the equine industry. When the time came to look for a job, I found the advert for a Groom’s position at Belwade Farm, and whilst many of my friends thought I was mad at the time for looking at a position in Aberdeenshire (I am originally from Bedfordshire), I think it has been the best thing I could have done as it was literally the perfect job for me, and the location is stunning!

Can you tell us a bit about life as groom at Belwade Farm?

Every day is different here, from the weather through to what the ponies decide to throw at you. At the beginning of every day the first job is to head to the feed room and make up any feeds and medications that are needed, this also allows all of us on the yard to get together and have a quick daily meeting about any key things that are happening that day.

The rest of the day is left up to the individuals as to what they do. This is because each member of the yard staff has their own list of horses that they are directly responsible for and they see those horses and ponies through their entire journey, from start to finish. Since starting at Belwade, I have been directly responsible for 130 horses and ponies! Obviously, we all still help each other and, as a team, we look after the whole yard as each member of staff has their own strengths that they excel in and that allows us to give each horse and pony here the best we can.

The majority of the time my day consists of working my two ‘workers’, Artie and Cookie, and spending time handling my unhandled horse, Argo. The rest of the day is spent grooming and handling my youngsters, Aelin and Iskra, and my companions, Syrio, Groot, and Pierre. My two workers are both currently going through rehabilitation due to lameness, which includes a variety of pole work, long reining and lunging. Although Artie is a pro at removing his shoes (even when wearing over-reach boots!) which also means quite a bit of time is generally spent trying to find the lost shoe.

There are also a fair few other jobs that need to be done around the yard, including ragwort pulling, cleaning and tidying, and sorting, cleaning and labelling donated tack for sale. These usually get done at the end of the day when I have put out my final horse of the day. And whilst these might not be exciting jobs, they are needed, and you get a really good sense of satisfaction when you have finished cleaning an area or pulling a load of ragwort and view what you have achieved.

At the moment which horses are you looking after and what are their stories?

Argo came into the farm in May 2024 as a completely unhandled stallion, whose only interactions with people had been through them trying to herd and corner him onto a horse box with the use of quad bikes. He hadn’t had any real positive interactions with people before coming to Belwade Farm, so it has taken a lot of calm consistency to get him to realise that none of us are scary people. I have managed to get to a point where he willingly will come over to me and allow me to scratch and brush his shoulders and middle, along with following me – which I hope will carry on nicely to the point where I will be able to lead him. A positive of this is that all interactions that I have with Argo, whether it be grooming or following work, are all done with him being content and happy as he has complete free will to leave if he doesn’t want to do it.

Aelin and Iskra were both born on the farm in 2023 from two mares who came in as part of a welfare case – and have both grown quite a bit since then. They are both on the loan scheme waiting for the person who thinks they are amazing (like I already do!) but in the meantime I am trying to get them to learn about as many things as possible, which includes going on a trailer and getting used to clippers, as they both have quite thick coats and put on weight quite well. Clipping allows us to control their weight a bit more as we come up to winter.

Syrio, Groot and Pierre all come in a couple of times a week to keep on top of any handling work that still needs improvement and just to have a pamper and cuddle. Syrio is still working on being happy to have his hind feet picked out, but is improving with every groom. Groot is a sweet-itch pony who needs regular lotions and potions put on to keep her skin happy and not itchy, although with winter coming, she should hopefully feel less itchy as the amount of bugs about reduces. And Pierre is a sensitive soul, who has recently come back from loan, and is just getting used to the way the farm runs again. Coming in for a groom goes a long way to helping the settling in process (but what Pierre really doesn’t like are the donkeys that we currently have!).

What is the most rewarding thing about being a groom? 

The main sense of achievement comes from the moment you realise how far a horse or pony that you have been working with has come, and I don’t even mean that they have been rehomed. When an unhandled horse finally begins to trust you and wants to be with you, or when the pony you are working understands what you are asking of them, that is when you really feel good and realise that what we are doing is making a difference. All of us love the horses that we care for and when things go wrong, we really feel it, as this isn’t just a job for us. If we didn’t love them all, we wouldn’t be working here to try and make a difference.

What is your most challenging day-to-day experience as a groom? 

Every day I have to remind myself that even the smallest win is a win some days, as it can be really hard when a horse you have been working with, and making loads of progress with, has a major setback. One of the things I do when I am going through a tough spell at work, is think of five good things that have happened during the day. These can range from being able to pick out all four feet of a pony and having a successful long rein, to the horse that came over to my personal bubble of their own choice.

As we head into winter, what are your top tips for caring for horses in these colder, wetter months? How do you cope with the winter and working outside in all weathers? 

With winter coming fast now, I am having to monitor the ponies that I am responsible for to make sure that they are coping with the level of grazing they are on as the temperatures drops overnight. Artie, being a thoroughbred, is having to have a turnout sheet on overnight now as he doesn’t cope well when he is cold and wet, he drops his weight quickly and now that he is in work we want him to maintain a good weight over winter.

The rest of them I have to monitor for gaining too much weight, I can counteract the weight they will gain when hay bales are out in the fields, through the use of trace clipping where necessary.

For myself, I make sure I have plenty of coats and jackets to see me through winter so that I can swap and change them depending on how wet and damp the day is! Luckily keeping warm is quite simple when you have horses to work and groom, as you are constantly moving.

Can you sum up what it’s like to be a groom in three words?

Challenging, emotional, rewarding (and fun!).

---

Without our grooms, we wouldn’t be able to rescue more than 300 horses a year. If you would like to join the hundreds of supporters who have already sent a message of support to our grooms, you can email us via [email protected]   

If you have enjoyed reading Abi’s blog and would like to hear about what life as a groom is like at our other farms, please click the links below to find out more.

Emily, Yard Supervisor at Penny Farm

Kathryn, Groom at Hall Farm

Nicole, Rehabilitation Groom at Glenda Spooner Farm