Help Health of Horses, Employment & Sustainability

Aim

We need to buy a machine so we can make 100% of our equine welfare products to the UK to reduce our carbon footprint & create more jobs

My Love For Horses.......

I have been riding since I was 3, and always had a love for horses! In fact my ballet teacher told me that if I could perform ballet on a horse then I would be the best ballet dancer that she had ever seen! I exchanged posters of film stars for horses all over my bedroom wall, I dreamt of horses when I woke up in the morning and before I went to bed at night!  The other part of me has always been entrepreneurial, and a solution finder. Having worked for pharmaceuticals, I worked my way up the ladder to creating marketing strategies and solutions for countries all over the world, which satisfied my creative, solution orientated side. Although my mind was always searching for more solutions to find and create!

My horse Tia was a sensitive thoroughbred, she couldn't wear leg protection due to reacting to her own sweat, causing her to scar. Coming from a scientific background I enjoyed reading about medical research, and read many clinical papers that spoke of the dangers of over heating horse tendons and muscles. With both in mind, I refrained from using leg protection on my horse in fear of over heating, and searched unsuccessfully for a boot that offered protection without over heating. I also searched for a product that had been tested to prove any breathable, cooling claims that were made, and again felt unsuccessful.

How HUSK Began ..........

I then had two children, and I found that I was away from them for too many hours, and with one being quite sick as a baby, I wanted to be with them more and more. I also dreamt of creating a business that I could offer opportunity for my children to learn and benefit from. As well as a business that was built on our family morals, rather than those of often many ruthless corporations that I had been associated with in the past. This is why HUSK was formed!

Whilst I was pregnant with my second child, I had come across a 3D material that boasted of being thermoregulating, and investigated into whether this material could be used to make leg protection for horses in the form of exercise boots to prevent over heating. After much discussion with professional riders and vets, and producing and rejection of samples, the first boot was made – the HUSK schooling boot. This boot has been the foundation of our portfolio, which extends now from boots to saddle cloths and rugs.  HUSK was built on a dream to innovate and challenge the status quo, as well as a love for horses and the desire to help improve their well-being.  We are all involved in the family, based at our small holding in Devon, and we keep the family ethic alive in all that we do.

Why We Are Passionate About Creating An Eco Company

Having attended BETA, Horse of the Year Show, and Olympia, one of the lasting memories was the smell and abundance of plastic, in all shapes and colours!  Grooming products, leg protection, packaging, it was everywhere! 

How Much Do Consumers Question How Products are Made vs Price?

The questions we began to ask ourselves about products, particularly in the equine market (as this was our passion) was are they ethically made?  Many factories abroad still use child labour, and working conditions and pay are horrendous, and why?  To ensure that the products are made cheap so that the end user receives their product at what is classed as an affordable price.  The problem with this is that we live in an age where people are used to wanting and receiving instantly, and in order to achieve this we need to keep prices low to offer the opportunity for spontaneous purchasing.  What happened to saving the money to purchase items, and waiting?

How Do We At HUSK Work To Be Kinder To The Planet Currently?

Firstly we do not have excess packaging!  All HUSK items come in a reusable bag, our breathable horse boots in a wash bag,  and our horse and pony breathable saddle pads and rugs come in a re usable handle bag, and that's it!

Our parcels are all sent in recyclable and recycled plastic bags.  With regard to our manufacturers, we re use our boxes and our bags to send items between us.

With regard to the people, we know everyone by name, and we work with family businesses.  We pay fair prices for the production of our products as we know this turns to fair pay for the our stitchers, cutters and designers. 

Our air flow horse boots are all made by hand in the Devon, UK near to where we live, and are not subjected to lines of factory machinery, just hands, sewing machines, cutting knives and scissors!  And we do this to play our part in reducing our carbon footprint and helping the future of our planet.  

How Can We Be Better?

Our Saddle Pads are still made in Pakistan as we struggled initially to find anyone in UK to produce our designs.  We needed to bring out these pads as they were scientifically proven to improve the welfare of ridden horses, so we needed to make a choice at the time.  However the time has come and we have found someone to produce here in the UK to make our100% commitment to the planet and in reduce our carbon foot print further.

In order to do so we need to purchase a specific machine as our fabrics are not easy to stitch together using a usual industrial sewing machine.  Once we raise the money to purchase this it will be the final piece in the jigsaw to bringing our production to the UK.  And not only will we be helping the planet and producing high quality products for horse health, we will be using British Up Cycled fabrics, and creating more jobs for the British people, particularly in the West Country where future opportunities for people are lower than average.

So in future when you are thinking of buying a product, please remember this pitch, if this is all you do, and ask yourself these questions, as it is the choices that we make now that will determine the future of our planet for our children and grand children, as well as the plants and animals that we love, and how did you help toward this future?

Thank you for your time..........

Louise (Founder)

This project closed unsuccessfully on 3rd October 2023