Our Team

“We have created a tranquil retirement home for horses without the compromise”

In 2013 Amy Frost set out to find a retirement home for her injured horse, but couldn’t find it. So she made it her mission to create a retirement home that truly cared for the injured horses needs too.

Amy is founder and host of the UK’s No. 1 Equestrian Podcast, HorseHour. We are honoured to have many of the expert guests as part of our incredible network within Cross Trees Livery. Industry leaders such as Professor Sue Dyson, Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and Specialist in Equine Orthopaedics, International Riders such as Jessica Burke (IRL), World Horse Welfare, British Horse Society, Stallion AI and many more, who Amy has had the pleasure of working with since 2015.

The day to day care of the horses that retire with us are cared for by our professional team of caring, passionate, kind, educated and experienced grooms.

At Cross Trees Livery caring for a horse is about getting to know their personality as well as their injury or their feeding regime. Our grooms can spot if a horse is simply having an off day, and will spend more time with that horse even if it’s just for a cuddle.

The ethos is Horses Come First. Whether that is in the middle of the day, or in the middle of the night, I am grateful for the lengths our team go to in order to care for our horses.

Toni-Lee Smith: Head Girl

Toni has a wonderful kind and gentle nature and the horses gravitate to her. She is super experienced in caring for, and riding, all types of horses and bringing the best out in them. Her patience sees great results in fearful horses and she is a blessing to have at Cross Trees Livery.

Toni has a gorgeous mare called Hippo and they love to have adventures together. #SoulMates

Naomi Albrecht

Naomi’s passion is caring for elderly horses. She has her own herd of beautiful ponies and is training one to ride and drive. Her kind nature and gentle presence relaxes the horses and they look forward to her cuddles each morning.

Natalie Dyka

Natalie connects incredibly well with all the horses. Her attention to detail is essential to the quality of care she provides and she is meticulous with her regimes and care for each horse. Amy has known Natalie since she was a keen 13 year old and we have watched her grow into a fabulous horsewoman so we are thrilled to have Natalie as part of the Cross Trees Team.

Natalie has her own beautiful mare called Betty, (who certainly helps Natalie’s experience dealing with slightly challenging horses!) and they enjoy a special relationship doing dressage together.

The Barn Equine Surgery

Established in the 1950s, The Barn Equine Surgery has a long and well-established reputation for providing high-quality specialist equine care in West Hampshire, South Wiltshire and East Dorset.

Committed to providing the finest equine health care and support to your horse or pony, our highly-qualified and specialised equine practitioners combine a mobile visiting service with the added benefits of a state-of-the-art central facility where more complex medical and surgical diagnostics and procedures can be performed. This also means we can closely monitor such cases as inpatients.

All the Vets at The Barn Equine Surgery are leaders in their field and we feel lucky to be able to work so closely with them. The team have been wonderful supporters of Cross Trees Livery and continue to lead in horse health.

barnequine.co.uk

Nicky Castle is a fully independent, qualified Equine Nutritionist with a BSc (Hons) in Equine Science from Hartpury College and a Professional Diploma in Equine Nutrition, whilst currently undertaking a further Professional Diploma looking into advances in Equine Nutrition to ensure her knowledge is a current as possible. The combination of these courses has helped her establish a thorough insight into the power of effective nutritional management, and how to apply this practically into your horse’s daily routine to ensure optimum health and performance. 

Nicki is an essential part of our team and has worked on a variety of yards, managing different feeding regimes along with owning various horses, which has given her many years practical experience. Whether your horse is a companion, competition horse or a trusted partner for pleasure rides, nutrition has a huge impact on the well-being and performance of our animals.

Nicki is fully insured and a member of the Nutrition Society, which brings together those in the nutrition field and acts to ensure we are kept up to date with advances in nutritional research and continue with our professional development.

https://ncequinenutritionist.co.uk

Equi-poise Farrier

Equi+Poise Farrier Limited is a friendly, professional and reliable farriery business that undertakes all types of shoeing and trimming, particularly specialising in remedial and therapeutic.  They also offer assistance with the diagnosis and treatment of conformational issues through corrective shoeing. All horses, ponies and donkeys of all ages, breeds and temperaments can be catered for.

Equi+Poise Biomechanics is a relatively new venture, with the gait analysis prototype being built for the end of the year.

The prototype that is being built is a moving camera system that analyses the gait of your horse in slow motion. Its designed to look at and diagnose conformational issues your horse may have and how they can be resolves through corrective shoeing, exercise and veterinary treatments.

Toby and his team are highly professional and excellent remedial farriers. Alongside his farrier work, Toby has an incredible eye for the barefoot horse and as most of our liveries are barefoot, he advises on hoof health, laminitis and trimming regimes.

equi-poise.co.uk