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Would you like to pay a tribute to Danielle
?
Send
us your stories and memories.
And photographs, if you have any.
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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
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“
Danielle Hay is one of those rare professionals who combines
an enquiring academic mind with a practical "hands
- on " application of her knowledge. This synapse
of knowledge and application had enabled Danielle to
bring together ideas and theories that would have otherwise
been left unused, untried and untested and of no benefit
to equines. This unique blending of knowledge gained
from sources as varied as her girl hood observations
in Kenya, to formal education at Universities in the
Uk , to courses run by a range of practitioners in
various treatments in the USA to me ! I was contacted
by Danielle as she embarked on her journey through
Large Animal Physiotherapy.
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It was suggested to Danielle that it would be an idea
to spend some a little time with other professionals
in the Equine Industry. In true Danielle style she completely
immersed herself in this and worked alongside me for
over a year. her dedication to detail was amazing! Farriery
is a physically demanding occupation but this never deterred
Danielle in her quest for perfection and never resting
until the job was complete. In normal circumstances this
would have been far more than necessary, but it never
ended there ! The post mortem continued when driving
to the next client ! where the whole scenario was again
played out; Observation, questions, exchange of ideas,
performing the work and then again the post mortem !
There was a relentlessness to the continual process of
not just consistent high standard of work but a uniquely
masochistic approach to continually improving on the
work just completed. I hope Danielle gained an insight
into farriery whilst with me, I know that I benefited
greatly from working alongside a highly motivated and
questioning student."
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"Dani
is an exceptionally skilled "hands-on" practitioner
with a large range of hands on assessment and treatment
skills. I would not hesitate to have her on my team
and her quiet determination is a real plus when working
with animals!"
Barbara Houlding
(Cat A Veterinary Physiotherapist).
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A 27-year-old cross country winner,bare-foot national water-skiing
champion, air hostess, Disneyland horse handler, Territorial
Army soldier who can shoot an SA8O rifle and hit a target
at 300 yards, advanced diving enthusiast who can dive from
the height of a six-storey building and bare foot farrier
who can handle horses up to 18 hh will shortly qualify as
one of the very few veterinary physiotherapists in the country.
Amazingly, she is just 5’ 3” tall and weighs
a tiny 45 kilos/ 7 1/2 stone.
Oh, yes. Another thing . She can ride an
ostrich as well.
She is Danielle Hay, who
was born in Mombasa, Kenya but now lives in Eastbourne, East
Sussex.
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“I started riding, “ she says, “when I
was a nine-year-old. The first pony I rode was a tiny, little
grey Shetland called Snowy. I was very keen on riding. I
can remember as a child we used to go water skiing every
weekend. I used to go off by myself to the stables at the
hotel we skied from.
“After Snowy , I used to ride Betsy, another fat,
little Shetland. In fact, she was too fat for a saddle. Everybody
used to fall off her.
“I then joined the Pony Club
in Kenya.
“My first pony at Pony Club was a naughty, little thing
called Baby Bear. He always used to bomb off all over the
place. My mother was quite happy about it. But I can’t
remember ever falling off.“ After Baby Bear, I rode
June. She was a really stubborn, stroppy mare who preferred
bucking to jumping!
“My next pony was Rafiki. He was a lovely, old gentleman.
“After Rafiki, I used to ride Sophie, who was fantastic.“
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I finally got my own pony when I was 12. She was Ruai ,
She was a beautiful chestnut. About three/four years old.
She was lovely. She was so sensible and trustworthy.
I can remember all the other horses would play up and
freak out. She would just stand still. She was so calm. So
sensible. I trusted her completely.
“At the time, we were both quite green. We learnt
from each other.
The first show we went to, she was obviously not very
well. So we didn’t do very well. The next show,
we won the cross-country and we came in fifth overall out
of around 30 horses. I was so proud of her.”
So proud, in fact, that even today Ruai‘s
name forms part of Danielle’s e-mail address.
“I then had to come back to England to do my A-levels
so we had to sell her. A few years later I heard
that she had been killed by a hippopotamus.
Since then I’ve lost my respect for hippo’s.”
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After two-years at Steyning Technology College, West Sussex,
Danielle got her A-levels.
“I went out with an equine vet in West Sussex on
a week’s work experience. It was him, who recommended
I should become a vet-physio if I wanted a career with
animals. Vet-physio is a young profession. There aren’t
many of us in the country.
“I thought, Cool. I
got into Brighton University studying human physio with
a view to specialising in veterinary physio. I then had
to get some work experience with a vet physio. Kate Peckham
suggested I went out with some equine professionals. I
called a number of farriers. They weren’t interested.
I then called Jeff
Newnham. He was very enthusiastic. He said,
Yes. Cool. Brilliant idea. Fantastic. He suggested
I became a bare foot trimmer.
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I thought , That’s
a good idea. Which I did for a year. I looked after tiny,
little Shetlands and big 18 hh hunters. The smallest are
the hardest. They are so small, you can’t get the rasp
in. Their belly keeps getting in the way. The big ones are
tough too. |
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“Being small didn’t make any difference. It’s
all about leverage. I did get huge callouses on my hands
though. It was also back-breaking work. I was very fit though
at the end of it.”
While working with Jeff, Danielle was accepted by the Royal
Veterinary College to study for a Masters in Veterinary Physiotherapy.
She took her exams last December. Early in January, she heard
she had passed.
In April this year she will complete her Masters. She will
then be one of the few fully-qualified “Vet Physios” in
the country.
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So what’s with all the action-woman
stuff?
Cross-country?
“When I was in the Pony Club in Kenya, I used to go
to all kinds of shows and events. At Timau. At Lake Naivasha
. Ruai and I did well together.”
Bare- foot water ski-ing ?
“Again, it was in Kenya. I was the first girl to try
it. I was 16. I was also the youngest. It was great
fun. I used to beat all the boys.”
Air hostess?
“During my gap year, I worked as an air hostess
with African Safari Airways. I enjoyed it. But it wasn’t
a career move.”
Disneyland horse handler?
“In the summer of ’99 I worked with the Wild
West Show at Disneyland in Paris. It was very exciting at
the time. But, long term, it wasn’t for me.”
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Territorial Army?
“I needed to do some physio on humans. But there was
all kinds of problems with the National Health Service so
I looked into physio in the army and decided to join the
TA.
I’m a member of Eastbourne’s 56 Signals Squadron,
31 Regiment. There’s about 100 of us in Eastbourne.
Eighty men and about 20 girls. I joined up in 2006. I completed
my training September 2008. Now I’m fully trained,
I could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. I did my training
at Aldershot and Winchester and various other parts of the
country. I think I’ll stay in the TA.
It’s exciting and challenging.
It also keeps you fit.”
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Diving?
“I’ve always enjoyed swimming and diving. I’ve
just qualified in Advanced Open Water and Night Diving. I
can dive to 40 metres, about the height of a six-storey building.”
Having achieved so much in such a short time, does she have
any ambitions left?
“Yes,” she says. “I want to drive across
Africa. But it must be in a Land Rover Defender 110.”
Oh yes and the ostrich?
“I did that while I was on holiday in South Africa.
It was cool.
But I still prefer horses.”
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