It’s a return to a more natural way of life for horses at Gawsworth Track Livery. By Janet Reeder

To say that horses have played a major role in the lives of Bethan and Dan Thornicroft is something of an understatement.

Bethan admits she’s been crazy about equines ever since she was seven years old when she had her first riding lesson. She even met her future husband through their shared love of steeds and two years ago they got married at their track livery farm surrounded by…you guessed it…horses.

Their love of these magnificent creatures is evident in the care they lavish on those whose owners are savvy enough to bring them to Gawsworth.

Here horses are surrounded by 34 acres of beautiful Cheshire countryside but more than that, they receive a special kind of treatment designed to replicate as much as possible how they might live in a wilder, more natural state. The couple want them to blossom and thrive in a nurturing environment designed for them and not just their owners’ convenience.

The track system works by having fields and an internal fence within each field with a track around the edge. At Gawsworth the track is 1,000 metres and six metres wide. There’s also a shelter with a big barn. Everything is created to encourage the horses to behave as they would in the wild.

Those animals fortunate enough to find themselves at Gawsworth Track Livery will stay for a few weeks to months and even years depending upon what they are there for. They range from those which need treatment for diseases like laminitis to others who will live out their days being looked after by Bethan, Dan and their very capable team.

How does Gawsworth Track Livery differ from other stables?

“Very, very different,” is Bethan’s response.

“Lowland grass isn’t good for horses, and you see many getting metabolic conditions such as laminitis. Equine Cushing’s disease and EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) and this is all from incorrect diet and management.

“Laminitis is the equivalent to diabetes in humans for example and it is all down to the wrong type of living. If horses are kept in a stable being put into a tiny square patch of grass, being fed too much sugar, are overfed, underworked over rugged and over stabled then their wellbeing will suffer.

“The horses here live on the surface track they don’t graze the grass, instead, we grow our own especially for hay. This is because grass fluctuates in sugar content throughout the day as it grows, and it’s not got as much fibre as hay. So, we leave the grass to grow until it has gone to seed, and it is at its most fibrous then and that’s when we cut it and bail it to be fed to the horses.”

It’s not only ensuring that the horses get the correct feed that takes priority, but the right amount of exercise.

Says Bethan: “Horses in the wild would naturally move up to 30 miles a day but in a lot of places in the UK they are likely to be kept in stables with only a few hours of outdoor activity daily and it is just not enough for these animals.

“Here they are naturally made to walk their 30 miles a day. The food sources i.e. the hay is at the furthest point away from the water, so they have to walk back and forth while the track is made up of lots of different surfaces which in turn encourages healthy hoof growth. We also do a lot of barefoot rehab which is based on the wild hoof model. Basically, horses in the wild would not be shod but would wear their hooves down naturally so we take the shoes off and the horses have their feet trimmed every six weeks to take them back to the hard sole plane which keeps them healthy and strong.”

Other livery businesses tend to keep their horses in their own small patch of stable when they are in residence, but socialisation is another way Bethan and Dan are bucking the trend.

They believe the importance of socialising their animals cannot be underestimated so they ensure that they have companionship for as long as they want it, not just from other equines but from their two adorably friendly dogs Sally and Peter and five chickens.

Explains Bethan: “It’s very important for horses to socialise. They are herd animals. If you went to a zoo and saw a zebra (which is another kind of equine) on its own, you’d think that doesn’t look right. Imagine going to a zoo and seeing zebras in individual boxes even someone who knows nothing about horses would know that doesn’t look right. Well, the horse is no different, they are meant to be together in groups and move together in groups and they feel safe in groups that is how they are genetically programmed to be. So, they are healthier and happier. They should not be locked into individual little cells.”

At the time of our visit, Bethan and the team were looking after 27 horses from all over the UK and beyond.

She explains: “A lot of them are from down south. We have some horses whose owners are in Dubai. They’ll learn how to be track horses here and then they get flown over and go to the track in Dubai which is modelled on the exact same thing we do. That track has a lot of competition horses living on it and they are all competed bitless and barefoot. Over in Dubai keeping them in air-conditioned stables is pretty much the standard and they don’t really get any time out so the track method is really quite a different proposition.

“Over here track systems are becoming more and more popular because we’ve got a big following. People are seeing that horses shouldn’t be locked in stables.”

Bethan hasn’t always worked with horses; in fact she trained as a make-up artist, a skill which she put to good use when a Scare Maze was created for Halloween in 2023. They had set designers come down to ramp up the fear factor and Bethan did special effects make-up – “and we had teenagers come and we scared the living daylights out of them,” she laughs.

To diversify the business and make ends meet they grow pumpkins at Libby’s Patch (which is the actual Sat Nav reference you need to get there) in the autumn and strawberries in summer and during the festive season, they sell Christmas trees.

“We have a little horse trailer that is converted into a café and people come from all over for pizzas and cake and we have all the trees on stands so that they are out and create a Christmas tree ‘forest’ in the car park,” explains Bethan.

“We have Christmas music playing, and there’s a lovely festive atmosphere.”

Looking across the fields with horses ambling happily on the track, it’s easy to see why the couple have made this such a special place for themselves, their animal guests and three boys, Cyrus, 13, Heathcliffe, nine and Rupert, four.

It’s a place of happy memories, none more special than their own wedding which took place there two years last July.

“We met through horses,” says Bethan.

“I took my horse to another livery yard and Dan was there. So that’s where we met, and the rest is history. It was only natural that we had our wedding here. I had an aisle through the trees, and we blocked the track off so the horses couldn’t come over here during the wedding but yes they were here for the occasion.