Rachael Barnett

Ambassador Rachael Barnett

Following the announcement of the winners of our exciting new Brand Ambassador program, we have asked them to take some time out of their busy schedules to answer a few questions.

We welcome Rachael to our team, and she has to take the Bed-down quiz!

Find out what she enjoys doing, and how Bed-Down helps with her horses asthma diagnosis.

What do you like to be called? Do you have a nickname?
I like being called Ray, some of my close friends affectionately call me Ray-Ray.

What or who inspired you to start riding?
When I was four years old, I went on a family holiday to South Africa and they had a horse riding facility there. I had a few rides, and when we went home I couldn’t stop talking about horses and horse riding lessons. Eventually, when I was about seven I did start lessons. It was an instant connection with horses from a very young age that got me into riding.

Which discipline is your favorite (to watch and/or participate)?
Dressage is my favourite discipline to ride, I really enjoy learning about horse and rider bio-mechanics and working on my effectiveness as a rider. I do love watching dressage too, but you can’t beat the thrill of watching cross country, it’s such a buzz!

Tell us about your current horse(s)
I own a gorgeous dark bay show cob mare called Pepper (show name is ‘Coblet Of Fire’) She is my first horse and not at all what I was searching for when I was looking to buy. I wanted a schoolmaster, a gelding and something usual in colour. I tried a horse that matched this description and he was incredibly stubborn, we didn’t click at all. I rode Pepper at the same place, she was only the second horse I tried out, and although she was green she was so willing to please! We also went out on a little hack and she was so chilled out. I fell for her straight away and even my mum said ‘she’s the one”! I am very proud of Peps, I have produced her myself, with a lot of help from professionals, as I was just as green as she was when we started. She is my horse of a lifetime who turns her hoof ro anything and we have had many fabulous adventured together.

What daily routine do you follow to ensure your horse is always on top form?
With Peppers asthma diagnosis earlier this year, the main way to keep her on form is to make sure her environment is safe from anything that may trigger an asthma attack. Bed-Down plays a huge part in this! I moved Pepper onto Bed-Down Lavender Shavings shortly after her diagnosis. The EASY BREATHE dust extraction process combined with the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties of the lavender oil were perfect to get her asthma under control. Alongside this, her hay is soaked daily, she is turned out as much as possible and I have her on supplements too.

There has been a huge improvement in her performance since changing her bedding over. She is less lethargic and hasn’t actually had an asthma attack for months. I feel confident that even though we are now heading into winter and the likelihood of her having to stay in more is high, her Bed-Down bed will continue to support her respiratory health as well as offering joint support and general comfort as she is stabled for longer periods.

Can you tell us a funny story from when you have been competing?
Oh boy do I have a good one! So I went to a show based near Epping Forest and there was a class for “best hacking horse”. I decided to enter Pepper into this class and show off how well suited she was for hacking. I did a great individual show, there was really no need to do anything else, but we were told to be creative with our show so I decided to do ‘around the world’ to show how safe she is…well as I got one leg over her bum and was sitting on her backwards, she decided to run forward and I literally slipped off of her bum! Have you ever seen the film Black Beauty? You know the scene where the drunk guy gets on black beauty and says “where’s you’re damned head?”….yeah it went a little like that! As I hit the floor Pepper decided to show off a half pass across the school and abandoned me. By some miracle we still managed to win the class! 

What is the best advice you have been given to help you prepare before an event?
The best advice I’ve ever received is to aim to get a good photo and nothing else. This has really helped my mindset, as long as I walk away with a nice photo of us I’m happy!

What Bed-Down bedding do you use and why?
I started using Lavender Shavings at the beginning of the year when my mare Pepper was diagnosed with asthma and she was struggling with her breathing. She’s a very sensitive mare so finding a bedding that had a great dust extraction process and anti-bacterial properties was essential. I also wanted something unpalatable as Peps can be prone to colic.

Since moving her onto Lavender Shavings and moving her to an outdoor stable (as recommended by Emily at Bed-Down) she has had very few flare ups from either her allergies or her asthma. I love the smell of the lavender, not to mention purple is my favourite colour!

Keep up to date with Rachael’s journey as a new Bed-Down Ambassador, and find out more about her by following us on Facebook and Instagram.