An Update to my Update:

Yesterday morning we were driving to the station: the same dark windy country lane we travel every day to work... there was a runner on the other side of the road (the correct side since there's no pavement, he was quite rightly in the road).

Obviously a healthy type jogging at 6.30am, the irony of his lack of attention to being seen and therefore being safe at all clearly lost on him.  Sure the paramedics would comment on his great muscle tone as they dragged him in to the ambulance!

The point to this? for heavens sake, wear hi-viz, be seen, be safe.

Riders, even if it's not dark, if a car can see you even a few seconds earlier, it could save your life, and that of your horse too since in all likelihood the car would see him before you.

Trakehner UK Newsletter

Hello fellow Trakehner lovers!


I have just written my first Tom & Henry story for the TRAKEHNER UK Newsletter.  I have started with a little background, and if I am asked to write one every issue (thrice anually), I will endevour to write the amusing stories as they happen, and they happen all the time here at chez Rand.


Anyone familiar with the Holme Grove website will know that Susan publishes letters, stories and photos of her herd progeny, and you can tell by reading them how proud we are sharing our lives with these incredible creatures, and how proud, and justly so, Susan and Barbara are to share the stories with us.


Here is  my first go:

Story for Trakehner UK newsletter

 Hello all fellow Trakehner lovers!

I work in a very creative, high octane, office environment in London.  A Design Room at M&S. My colleagues mostly live locally and so they have cats, which is great because I have 5 of my own and cat stories are very funny!

So it was I was at my desk when I received an email from someone I didn’t know in Kidswear, inviting me to an M&S Horse owners Club Lunch!!! Well you can imagine!!? It's great working here but it just got so much better.  We endeavour to meet every month and all we do – whilst we eat – is talk about our horses and share pictures and stories, its brilliant!

Our members have a variety of equines from thoroughbreds to Irish sport horses, I am alone in my Trakehner ownership.  And while many beloved pictures of coiffure’d horses are passed under my nose, of course I am suitably complimentary, but I can’t help feeling sorry for them for not having Trakehners in their lives – they have such great bums and personalities!

Did I mention Tom and Henry have incredibly gorgeous arses, suspect all Trakehners are built this way, pretty heads, great necks and oh so amazing rear ends!?

Tom & Henry of course, take fame in their strides now so any news from me that more people at work are hearing about them goes by without so much as a sniff.  They recently had their photos taken for HORSE magazine for a safety feature I worked on with them and that was an interesting morning. Plus they star in my blog, which is where it all began with my writing about them.

HORSE magazine interviewed me for a safety feature; the Editor Jo Browne had read my blog and thought my work for road safety was inspiring.  And it only started because I will go above and beyond to protect my boys from anything that might ruffle their manes; I wasn't aiming to be a campaigner. Then she asked me if she could send a photographer to my cottage to take shots of me riding my boys around the village to support the story of safety. Well I jumped at the chance for my boys to star in a three page spread!!!

I took the day off work, my boss didn't really understand but she humoured me. I got my farrier Steve out of his sick bed to come a check their shoes (thank you Steve), I brushed the boys to within an inch of their lives and even cleaned their tack, and I surprised even myself when I remembered how to put it all back together again!

The photographer took some great shots.  My husband John on his bike (because it all started with cycle safety), my friends and neighbours and their son on his bike, all drove and cycled past me.  I was a glowing beacon of illumination head to hoof in hi-viz, so the message was clear, safety. They are the funniest horses, they took everything in their beautiful floaty strides, that Trakehner stride we are all familiar with, and anyone who has seen the November issue will agree they looked gorgeous; well they are sons of Solomon and Prokofiev!

A quick Trakehner question though:

Not sure whether it’s a Trakehner thing, but they eat out of the bin instead of the freshly filled haybars, they bob for apples, they chase the cats around the land, they stand still with no headcollar to get groomed and tacked up, they turn their bottoms to me for a scratch and I know what they want, they’ve trained me!. this seems perfectly normal to me....but I’m getting comments that perhaps Trakehners are just a bit too clever...well we'd all agree with that I’m sure?

Tune in boys and girls next time for 'What Tom & Henry did next'.

Shelley Rand

Thank You Bob Brayshaw

Thank you also to Sheila Hardy, Wonderful news!  Though wouldn't it be great if those people using our villages would post a notice in those villages prior to tearing through en-masse, they could send a quick email to the parish clerk and get the notice published in the Parish Newsletter so everyone knows?  Should it really be the job of the individual horse rider to check the website every week? hmm, just a thought.

further to my update:

I passed a runner on the road last night coming home from the station.  I was in the Landy, it was dark, he was on my side of the road, a dark unlit twisty road not unusual in this rural part of Essex.  I saw him from a long way away, and was able to pass him safely.  The reason?? he was glowing in hi-viz from head to toe.  no doubt there would be those who think dressing this way is very un trendy, but I would suggest a hospital gown is even worse!

PLEASE: wear as much as you can.  it undoubtedly saved this runner from a close call with me speeding by in the Landy rocking to Slipnot!!

The November Issue:

HI-VIZ CLOTHING, BE SAFE: if you can't get what you need from the regular horse gear places look at cycling shops and sites for running too:  John kitted me out from a variety of places:

We don't leave the yard without hi-viz and a good attitude, Tom has benefitted from this strategy as he has on more than one occasion left me out hacking and made his way home, safe and seen!

John bought these arm/leg straps from a website used by runners, you push click the button and little LED's flash red

This phone holder, and you really can't leave the yard without a phone, has light catching silver strips and a watch battery powered flashing LED.

John fitted another flashing silver gadget to the front of Tom & Henry's hi-viz breast strap.

my hat has a hi-viz strap, easy to fit

again, these hi-viz leg straps are designed for runners, they just stayed put better than those designed for horses I found.

If anyone is worried about riding on the roads, there are lots of things we can all do to make it safer out there, and wearing hi-viz clothing on you and your horse, must be job one!

No longer just the uniform of motorway maintenance, but now cleverly designed to fit horses, and be easy to wear over your normal riding gear - and in my case over a bulky body protector too!  if I were asked to help design some, I'd add pockets for a phone and some treats, and add the message to pass slow and wide to the front too.

you're not on-trend unless you are seen, don't leave the hi-viz at the yard, take that extra few minutes to put it all on, it might save you form a nasty incident.


HORSE Magazine have taken road safety to the next level: read the November issue for all the top tips and handy info.

Take action in your own area to make riding on the roads safer.

Some well-placed warning signs would be helpful if you can get your local authorities to agree, it's just a reminder for people to look out for horses.

Lets all work together to make our roads safer.

Be courteous to drivers, remember driving isn't nearly as nice as riding a horse, pretty much behind the wheel you're trying to get from a to b, probably as quickly as you can.  Cyclists travelling in large groups, have an emergency STOP strategy, it seems very unsafe to me that anything that can't slow down or stop quickly are allowed to share our roads with us, but since they are, lets try to go slower and be nicer to each other.

The October Update:

October Parish News:

Thank you again, to all the villagers who helped with this shoot:

John on his bike riding alongside Tom

Jeffrey meets Tom

Henry keeps a look out, you'll notice his ear is paying attention to the photographer in the road!