Laura's Story
Laura’s life and career has been devoted to horses, and included studying to become a qualified vet at Cambridge University in order to make her a better trainer. Ever since her first job at 13, she has been known as someone who could handle horses others found difficult or impossible. Her skill comes from a keen interest in them, a talent for observing body language and silent forms of communication, and a willingness to devote her time and energy entirely to the animals she works with.
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Her career has included a placement with Hascombe and Valiant studs of Newmarket and the Royal Studs at Sandringham; work with two different Juddmonte farms in Wargrave and Banstead Manor; sales prep at Meon Valley; and managing a yard for a successful eventer who imported and produced Connemaras.
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She now runs her own business training horses for clients up and down the country, from her base in East Anglia. She has learned from each and every role, and has applied her understanding of the biology, behaviour and psychology of animals to her work. It is this that has been the basis for her success, allowing her to work with animals who have long been considered difficult or unmanageable.
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She loves her work, and is living the life she has always wanted for herself. It is her pleasure to bring some of that joy to the animals she works with.
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Early Life
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Growing up on the edge of the Scottish countryside, surrounded by nature, it was almost inevitable that Laura would develop a deep love for living things. She was fascinated by all of them, from the birds that built nests and hatched their young in her garden to the tadpoles that appeared in the nearby canal every spring. With a voracious appetite for knowledge, she wanted to learn everything she could about all of them.
While most of her friends were watching cartoons and playing video games, Laura was engrossed in nature documentaries, or building puzzles for the resident squirrels to solve in return for some tasty peanuts. She would also spend hours hidden in the undergrowth, quietly watching as the creatures went about their lives, undisturbed by her presence.
Her family home sported its own diverse cast of animal characters throughout her childhood. Shortly before she was born, her parents purchased a golden retriever called Max. The two of them grew up together, and became inseparable. Daily walks with Max became an opportunity to watch more wildlife.
The first pet she had that was purely hers was a hamster, imaginatively named "Hamsty", who - as is typical of his species - was not the most sociable of creatures. He lived to the grand old age of three and a half and was much missed. After Hamsty, she kept rats, having read that they make fantastic pets and finding it to be true. And later, her family bought a new German shepherd puppy named Diva, who Laura decided she would train.
Career Beginnings
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It was at eleven that Laura first discovered her love of horses when she began riding lessons at a local school. Like many born riders, she quickly became an addict, and spent increasing time at the stables. This turned into her first job, at thirteen, and even from the first, it felt like a total pleasure rather than hard work.
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As the new kid on the block at the riding school, Laura started off almost entirely schooling ex-driving cobs. But it turned out she had a bit of a knack with them, getting results where other riders struggled. As time went on, she was offered trickier horses to ride and helped out with the youngsters that needed education.
It was here that she met a four-year-old Connemara x Welsh called Jumble, who would become her first pony. He was a bit of a character, clever in the way that ponies are, and quick as you liked when it came to dropping the shoulder. Laura became his default rider when everyone else was fed up of falling off. As they came to understand each other, the relationship between Laura and Jumble grew, and they became a successful pairing at local show-jumping events. The same turns that could put you on the ground if you weren't paying attention were extremely useful in jump offs.
She continued to spend most of her time at the yard throughout her time at school, and became absolutely certain that she wanted to continue working with horses. At 18 she was accepted onto the National Stud's NVQ course, studying racehorse care and breeding as a working student. She requested The Royal Studs at Sandringham for her placement and was successful, the following January she moved from Scotland to start work there.
Being part of a small team meant being given the chance to take part in all aspects of the job. Laura assisted with foalings, helped in the covering barn, and drove tractors. She even stood in as manager of the mare and foal yard when the regular manager was on holiday.
In her free time, she liked to watch the mares and foals out in the paddocks. Foals were especially interesting to her because they were blank canvasses in terms of behaviour. She watched how they interacted with their mothers and, as they got older, other mares and foals. She learned how they talked to each other with body language and applied it to her interactions with them. It was a very successful method that led to her gaining a great deal of respect at the yard. If there was a horse that no one else could catch, they began sending Laura out to the paddock in the knowledge that she would bring them back.
For the second half of her placement, she chose Hascombe and Valiant Stud in Newmarket, where she focused on sales preparation of mares and yearlings. She enjoyed the challenge of working with the yearlings, and especially the colts. She quickly understood that though they were almost fully grown physically, they very much still babies in their minds. The combination made for interesting moments that she learned from and enjoyed.
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With a year’s industry experience and her NVQ under her belt, Laura went on to work for Juddmonte Farms at Bansted Manor, recently home to the famous Frankel. She continued to learn what she could from working with so many different mares and foals on the larger stud as well as being trusted with handling the teaser stallion when needed. She once again found herself a trusted pair of hands. The farriers who regularly attended the stud began to request her as a handler when it was time for the foals to have their feet trimmed thanks to her ability to keep them calm. She understood the foals’ instinct to kick out under forced immobilisation, and was able to soothe and relax them throughout the process.
Later in the season, when there was little to be done on the stud, Laura took the opportunity to do a second stint of yearling sales prep, this time at Meon Valley stud in Southampton. This yard was known for producing quality young stock. It sold the highest priced yearling at the sales that year, topping out at 1.1 million guineas.
Getting to spend time with the horses one-on-one was Laura’s favourite part of the job at the stud. She was allocated her own filly to prep, an opportunity she took great pride in. She found talking away to the filly a fantastic way of soothing her, much to the amusement of the other grooms. But all of them commented on how well-mannered and easy to handle the filly was compared to the other youngsters, proof that the laughter was worth it.
Always on the hunt for more experience, Laura then transferred to Juddmonte Farms in Wargrave, near Henley-on-Thames. While she enjoyed the work, it was during this time that she came to feel that she wanted to do more for the welfare of all the horses she worked with.
Throughout her childhood, Laura had been asked whether she wanted to be a vet, as someone who loved animals and had excellent grades. She realised that qualifying as a vet would give her a huge amount of medical knowledge that would make her a far better trainer.
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So Laura went back to college. She worked nights while sitting her A Levels, took extra classes and joined various clubs to add to her application. It was a busy time, but she had her goal in sight, and after two years of hard work, she was accepted into Cambridge University to study Veterinary Medicine.
The Cambridge veterinary course includes a "sandwich" year in which students can study a subject of their choosing. Laura thought that Biological Anthropology, the study of humans as animals, sounded interesting, even though she was much more interested in animals than humans as a rule. She was able to tailor the course by choosing modules that focused on comparative studies, such as animal culture and tool use. It was during this year, while learning about cooperation among elephants, hunting techniques among orca and tool manufacture by chimpanzees, that she realised that her true calling in life was to study animal behaviour, rather than biology. She wanted to make animals happy, not just healthy, and so it was with this knowledge that she returned to working with horses.
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The Next Stage
Laura’s first job after qualifying with her veterinary MA was managing a yard for an eventer who also imported Connemaras to produce as eventing ponies. She helped school and exercise the horses, taking them show-jumping, dressage and cross country schooling, as well as the odd trip to the beach.
From there, she took on management of a yard for an international dressage rider, where she schooled horses and had the luxury of receiving training on her own horse. She is a firm believer in continuing to educate herself, looking to become a more intelligent and sympathetic rider through continuing training.
She stayed with dressage for her next two roles. In the first, she managed a private dressage yard, where she assisted with backing horses. She began some of her own, private work whilst here, teaching and schooling horses for other clients. And from there, she moved to a dressage stud, where she helped with exercising horses, and backing a livery's youngster.
Laura decided she would like to broaden her experience in two different directions from there. She spent time managing a string of polo ponies, resolving problems with catching and napping. She was also very happy to help with a cold-backed horse. She was able to combine her biological and behavioural knowledge to check for underlying conditions or causes, look at saddle fit, and to work with the owner to manage the condition. Finding a good outcome was satisfying knowing that the horse could now enjoy its work.
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From there, she chose to move on to Rossdales, the largest equine hospital in Europe. Attention to detail was very important in this new role. Any slight change in behaviour amongst sick horses could signal potentially deadly problems. Laura became one of the first people to work in the newly built ICU and was trained in biosecurity. She was highly valued both for her ability to spot issues and for skill with horses. And whilst working there, she didn’t forget her own riding. She competed in local shows with a friend’s horse, and became a member of a riding club dressage team. She enjoyed numerous successes, including placing second at regionals.
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Eager to return to yard management, she moved on from Rossdales to a managing 40 horses for racehorse trainer William Haggas. As well as the 40 horses, she had several staff under her care, and it was great to be able to practice people management as well as animal. She added to her portfolio of skills by training to use a horse treadmill, spa and other treatments. Whilst here she also trained as first aider, and helped to train new members of staff. As in all her previous roles, she was the first person to be asked to help with difficult horses. With all of her experience and interest in them, she made it look easy.
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In 2019, she eventually decided that it was time to formally open her own company. She knew that she wanted to help as many horses and owners as possible, and that going freelance was the best way to do this.
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And so, Bits & Behaviour was born.
