Mrs Equidance on why she quit wood pellets

We spoke to Kelly Jewell, co-founder of Equidance, and now a Gower Granary Ambassador.

What does your typical day look like?

As co-founder of Equidance, one of the most important things I have to manage is my time.  I am literally go, go, go from 5.30am until the kids are finally in bed at 9.30pm, and that includes a full working day, training two horses and keeping two children alive. 

My winter day looks like this…

5.30am: First alarm...5.38am second alarm.....5.44am third alarm and Tony kicks me out at this point.

6.30am: Arrive at yard with first coffee in hand - either bring horses in if it’s been dry or muck out if it’s not.

7.15am: Exercise first horse.

8.15am: Exercise second horse.

9.30am:Home to start work - dealing with client enquiries, music choosing, clinic/demo booking, and floorplan design. I do everything aside from the music editing.

3.05am: Leave home to collect smallest child from school.

3.30am: Organise all posting before 4.30pm.

4.45am: Evening yards.

6pm: Dinner (usually Tony cooks).

7-9pm: Mad mix of finishing work (I prefer to design floorplans at night) and getting small child ready for bed.

So whatever I bed my horses on has to be super quick to deal with, quick to muck out, and quick to bed down and as I come home straight from the yard and start work I can’t be smelling of pee either!

Tell us about your horses?

Avalon, my 15.3, 8 year old homebred mare and is competing at PSG.  She is beastly in the stable and likes to kick it around so needs something absorbent and also not too 'fluffy'. She kicks shavings about as she walks through them so I prefer a bed for her that she has to actually flex her joints and walk over if that makes sense. It just improves the whole mucking out experience no end.  I never deep litter as I don’t want the ammonia, so a good bedding for her has to sit well in the stable and stay where it’s put as much as possible. Boris is 7 years old and competing AdvMed, working towards PSG.  He is super clean in the stable - like 'American Psycho' levels of tidiness  - but he is extremely dust sensitive - I even wet his haylage.  Shavings and wood pellets make him cough and so far the Gower Granary chopped wheat straw is the only bedding I have tried where I have seen an improvement.

What has been the highlight of your equine career so far?

I have only been riding dressage since 2019 so right now, every time we step up a level it’s a highlight. My best moments to date are riding a jointly presented freestyle demo with Becky Moody and the legendary Jaegerbomb at BD Presents last year, and again in July this year.

Why do you recommend Gower Granary bedding?

I discovered Gower Granary bedding whilst training down at Anna Ross' in Devon. I noticed Boris wasn’t coughing as he usually would when bedded on traditional straw. Gower Granary made an immediate, positive difference to him so I decided to make the switch from wood pellets which I was on at the time.

Is it as quick to muck out? In all honesty no, but it’s not hugely different, and its MUCH quicker than shavings for me. It is also much quicker to add fresh bedding as there isn’t the need to soak. The bales are a very good size and density, and are easy to break open and use.  What I like most about it is that my barn is no longer covered in a layer of dust and I don’t have to muck out wearing a mask!