Name; Tadhg (IRE)

Sire; Brian Boru

Dam; Catherine The Great

Born; 2006

Runs; 16

Wins; 2

Nervous breakdowns; countless

How did a wee girl from a cul-de-sac in East Kilbride, Glasgow end up owning an ex-racehorse with a nervous disposition? By the age of 44 most people have had a ‘journey’, be it a slow one, sad one, fast or trouble free, everyone reaches a stage in life when it has become impossible to avoid the endless amount that life throws at us.

So, when the opportunity to start re-training an ex-hurdler came up, all I saw was a new challenge and wasted no time in going to see him and suss out whether I was able for the job of re-training him, or not. Realising how racing had taken its toll on his already shaky character, it became clear that the re-training was going to involve a certain amount of therapy to get him on-side and trusting anyone again.

Little did I appreciate that therapy is not a 2-dimensional situation, and one cannot give therapy without also receiving the benefit of it. The following summarises the ride of my life so far and a horse that would come to mean more to me than I ever imagined.

I originally meant to document my journey with Tadhg from very shaky beginnings to where he is now, but when I started writing, I quickly realised that no event is isolated and everything that I have experienced throughout my ‘horsey’ life has all been intertwined and ultimately has led me to this point. I know my story will appeal to some and not others, everyone has their own tale to tell and sometimes it is hard to imagine how reading about someone else’s could be of any relevance.

But sometimes it just is. It’s good to talk, it’s good to listen and it’s good to read.

The story so far is detailed in the ‘Chapters’ section of the website and up to date posts are on the home page, but you can also catch up with what Tag is up to on my facebook and instagram pages @therapyofathoroughbred 🙂

Chapter One;
In the beginning