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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Danielle Hay
 
“ Danielle Hay is one of those rare professionals who combines an enquiring academic mind with a practical "hands - on " application of her knowledge. This synapse of knowledge and application had enabled Danielle to bring together ideas and theories that would have otherwise been left unused, untried and untested and of no benefit to equines. This unique blending of knowledge gained from sources as varied as her girl hood observations in Kenya, to formal education at Universities in the Uk , to courses run by a range of practitioners in various treatments in the USA to me ! I was contacted by Danielle as she embarked on her journey through Large Animal Physiotherapy.
Patrick MacNee

It was suggested to Danielle that it would be an idea to spend some a little time with other professionals in the Equine Industry. In true Danielle style she completely immersed herself in this and worked alongside me for over a year. her dedication to detail was amazing! Farriery is a physically demanding occupation but this never deterred Danielle in her quest for perfection and never resting until the job was complete. In normal circumstances this would have been far more than necessary, but it never ended there ! The post mortem continued when driving to the next client ! where the whole scenario was again played out; Observation, questions, exchange of ideas, performing the work and then again the post mortem ! There was a relentlessness to the continual process of not just consistent high standard of work but a uniquely masochistic approach to continually improving on the work just completed. I hope Danielle gained an insight into farriery whilst with me, I know that I benefited greatly from working alongside a highly motivated and questioning student."

"Dani is an exceptionally skilled "hands-on" practitioner with a large range of hands on assessment and treatment skills. I would not hesitate to have her on my team and her quiet determination is a real plus when working with animals!"
Barbara Houlding (Cat A Veterinary Physiotherapist).
 

 

A 27-year-old cross country winner,bare-foot national water-skiing champion, air hostess, Disneyland horse handler, Territorial Army soldier who can shoot an SA8O rifle and hit a target at 300 yards, advanced diving enthusiast who can dive from the height of a six-storey building and bare foot farrier who can handle horses up to 18 hh will shortly qualify as one of the very few veterinary physiotherapists in the country. Amazingly, she is just 5’ 3” tall and weighs a tiny 45 kilos/ 7 1/2 stone.

Oh, yes. Another thing . She can ride an ostrich as well.

She is Danielle Hay, who was born in Mombasa, Kenya but now lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Danielle Hay
 
Danielle Hay

“I started riding, “ she says, “when I was a nine-year-old. The first pony I rode was a tiny, little grey Shetland called Snowy. I was very keen on riding. I can remember as a child we used to go water skiing every weekend. I used to go off by myself to the stables at the hotel we skied from.

“After Snowy , I used to ride Betsy, another fat, little Shetland. In fact, she was too fat for a saddle. Everybody used to fall off her.

I then joined the Pony Club in Kenya.
“My first pony at Pony Club was a naughty, little thing called Baby Bear. He always used to bomb off all over the place. My mother was quite happy about it. But I can’t remember ever falling off.“ After Baby Bear, I rode June. She was a really stubborn, stroppy mare who preferred bucking to jumping!
“My next pony was Rafiki. He was a lovely, old gentleman.
“After Rafiki, I used to ride Sophie, who was fantastic.“

 

I finally got my own pony when I was 12. She was Ruai , She was a beautiful chestnut. About three/four years old. She was lovely. She was so sensible and trustworthy. I can remember all the other horses would play up and freak out. She would just stand still. She was so calm. So sensible. I trusted her completely.

“At the time, we were both quite green. We learnt from each other.
The first show we went to, she was obviously not very well. So we didn’t do very well. The next show, we won the cross-country and we came in fifth overall out of around 30 horses. I was so proud of her.”

So proud, in fact, that even today Ruai‘s name forms part of Danielle’s e-mail address.

“I then had to come back to England to do my A-levels so we had to sell her. A few years later I heard that she had been killed by a hippopotamus.
Since then I’ve lost my respect for hippo’s.”

Danielle Hay
 
Danielle Hay -  water skiing

After two-years at Steyning Technology College, West Sussex, Danielle got her A-levels.
“I went out with an equine vet in West Sussex on a week’s work experience. It was him, who recommended I should become a vet-physio if I wanted a career with animals. Vet-physio is a young profession. There aren’t many of us in the country.

I thought, Cool. I got into Brighton University studying human physio with a view to specialising in veterinary physio. I then had to get some work experience with a vet physio. Kate Peckham suggested I went out with some equine professionals. I called a number of farriers. They weren’t interested.

I then called Jeff Newnham. He was very enthusiastic. He said, Yes. Cool. Brilliant idea. Fantastic. He suggested I became a bare foot trimmer.

 
I thought , That’s a good idea. Which I did for a year. I looked after tiny, little Shetlands and big 18 hh hunters. The smallest are the hardest. They are so small, you can’t get the rasp in. Their belly keeps getting in the way. The big ones are tough too.
 

“Being small didn’t make any difference. It’s all about leverage. I did get huge callouses on my hands though. It was also back-breaking work. I was very fit though at the end of it.”
While working with Jeff, Danielle was accepted by the Royal Veterinary College to study for a Masters in Veterinary Physiotherapy. She took her exams last December. Early in January, she heard she had passed.

In April this year she will complete her Masters. She will then be one of the few fully-qualified “Vet Physios” in the country.

Danielle Hay barefoot trimming
 
Danielle Hay - farrier

So what’s with all the action-woman stuff?

Cross-country?
“When I was in the Pony Club in Kenya, I used to go to all kinds of shows and events. At Timau. At Lake Naivasha . Ruai and I did well together.”

Bare- foot water ski-ing ?
“Again, it was in Kenya. I was the first girl to try it. I was 16. I was also the youngest. It was great fun. I used to beat all the boys.”

Air hostess?
“During my gap year, I worked as an air hostess with African Safari Airways. I enjoyed it. But it wasn’t a career move.”

Disneyland horse handler?
“In the summer of ’99 I worked with the Wild West Show at Disneyland in Paris. It was very exciting at the time. But, long term, it wasn’t for me.”

 

Territorial Army?
“I needed to do some physio on humans. But there was all kinds of problems with the National Health Service so I looked into physio in the army and decided to join the TA.

I’m a member of Eastbourne’s 56 Signals Squadron, 31 Regiment. There’s about 100 of us in Eastbourne. Eighty men and about 20 girls. I joined up in 2006. I completed my training September 2008. Now I’m fully trained, I could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. I did my training at Aldershot and Winchester and various other parts of the country. I think I’ll stay in the TA.
It’s exciting and challenging. It also keeps you fit.”

Danielle Hay -diving in Egypt
 
Danielle Hay - riding an ostrich in SA

Diving?
“I’ve always enjoyed swimming and diving. I’ve just qualified in Advanced Open Water and Night Diving. I can dive to 40 metres, about the height of a six-storey building.”

Having achieved so much in such a short time, does she have any ambitions left?

“Yes,” she says. “I want to drive across Africa. But it must be in a Land Rover Defender 110.”

Oh yes and the ostrich?
“I did that while I was on holiday in South Africa. It was cool.
But I still prefer horses.”