Rain didn’t have the best start in life, and when we first saw him at Hollys Horse Rescue in Louth, shortly after he had been rescued, he was a sorry sight. His transformation over the last four years has been remarkable, and he has turned out to be a truly multi purpose cob. First he tried his hoof at showjumping with Nicki, and loved it, taking the travel and venues in his stride. Then he went off to John to begin his draft horse career, and now he’s able to work around the farm, as well as be ridden.

After 9 months off, this was our first time back in proper work – the land has just been too wet to get onto before now, but after a couple of days, we got all the harness properly adjusted, and fell into a rhythm. It is one of those jobs that requires a surprising level of concentration but is utterly absorbing, and to my surprise, completely enjoyable.

Using horses to work and manage the land means that we can eliminate compaction by machinery, get onto bits of ground that are just inaccessible to machines, and also as you are walking behind the horse, you get to know the land really intimately, and spot things that you could never notice when driving a tractor. Plus of course you are producing no pollution and noise.