uk

“I've always used my intuition on new ventures and directions. I remember sitting in
a cold tack room on a winter's night a few years back and hearing about going bare-
foot, and feeling my internal radar click.”
Eamonn Wilmott, Managing Director, Equine Health Centre, Ltd. Ysabelle Dean: How long have you been work- ing with racehorses and what got you started?
Eamonn Wilmott: My first experience with horses was at age four, back in Ireland on holiday at
my mother’s family farm. They were yet to buy a tractor, and were still using a horse and cart to bring in the hay. We would sit on the back of the cart on bright summer days that were magical. The mare was huge and very scary to us, but I somehow picked up how important it was to the family that the horse was well.
My lifelong love affair with racing started as a teenager at Windsor races in England, continued
while I lived in California in my twenties, and I made the life-change to be involved in it full-time
in 2002. Over the previous ten years, I’d become more and more passionate about healing and a
holistic approach to health, due to my own battles with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Bringing alternative thinking on health, diet, and training to racehorses made perfect sense.
Back in the real world, I started off in publishing, and launched “Supercomputing Review” while living in San Diego. I later launched the world’s first commercial Internet service, and most recently developed the leading web development company in Europe. So I did a fair bit of pioneering—and I think the experience of doing something not many people have heard of or believed in has been useful as we have brought holistic care and barefoot into racing.
YD: What do the English rules stipulate for racing horses barefooted? EW: So far there is no specific rule, we have been in touch with the Jockey Club and have been informed the horse must simply “be sound.” YD: Did you (or do you still) have your horses shod for training and/or racing, and what made you decide to try the barefoot approach? EW: We have two businesses running side by side: the Equine Health Centre that focuses on getting horses well again, and
Simon Earle Racing, which takes horses directly from outside owners, and also trains horses that have come through the Equine Health Centre. Both businesses run under holistic principles, and horses are turned out all the time whenever possible, and kept chemical-free whenever possible. Right now, about half of Simon’s horses are shod, and the rest are barefoot.
We are going barefoot for a number of reasons, and the main one is that our company motto is “Horses First”—and I think it’s clear that barefoot’s better for the horses (although obvious-
ly many people still disagree with that). Commercially, we are going barefoot because we
are convinced it will reduce tendon and leg injuries, and we are seeing this confirmed already. In
the UK, we race mainly on grass, and being able to race horses on all types of going especially firm—is potentially hugely beneficial.
YD: What is the conventional life style set-up for racehorses in the UK?
EW: 23 hours a day stabled, with one hour exercise is pretty standard. Some horses swim or do
other work in the afternoon. Some are turned out for a few hours. When they are turned out, rugs are normally used. Feed is often high-sugar, processed type. Sadly, most racehorses—esti-
mates are 90%+—suffer with ulcers. YD: Do you still follow the conventions with regard to equine lifestyle, or have you implemented a more natural approach? Does your training
regime differ?
EW: We are committed to natural boarding for all our horses, including those that are shod. Even before we started on the barefoot route, our trainer and business partner, Simon Earle, was keeping all his horses out as much as possible. We feel it’s the best way to keep them healthy and happy. Part of our ethos is balancing science and nature. Thus, along with natural boarding, organic or biodynamic feed and supplements, and holistic treatments, we also use thermography, regular blood tests, ultrasound, equine weighing scales, and we use heart rate.