ALL THANKS TO HORSES

‘I say, I say, I say. How do you make a small fortune out of horses?’‘I don’t know. How do you make a small fortune out of horses?’

‘Start with a big one.’Boom boom.

Most horseowners who hear the old gag will smile ruefully, recognising the truth of the punchline. But not Michael Wood. His profound love of horses has given him a highly successful and pro� table business. When he says he owes everything to horses - he really means it.

He didn’t do it in any of the obvious ways. He didn’t buy or sell a Desert Orchid. He didn’t leave bookies sobbing on the racecourse. He didn’t stand a prize-winning stallion at stud or produce the latest must-have equestrian accessory.

No. Michael did it all - through radiators. Intrigued? Stick with me. It’s a fascinating tale.

Michael was born in the steel town of Consett. As a youngster he desperately wanted to learn to � y, so he went to Saudi Arabia to earn enough money to get his pilot’s license. During his � ve years there, he played a major role in turning round the fortunes of an ailing UK company selling reinforced concrete. It was perhaps an early indication of his Midas Touch.

Over the next few years, he worked for a variety of companies in sales and managerial roles, both in the UK and USA. � en, just short of his 40th birthday, things seemed to turn sour. In his own words, he ‘fell out of love with the world, decided life wasn’t worth living and felt physically sick going to work.’

It may have been a midlife crisis - the symptoms aren’t uncommon, but they can trigger emotional turmoil - and upheaval. Michael dealt with them by becoming an entrepreneur. Over the next few years, he set up three businesses.

� en he chanced upon the book which would change his life. It was ‘� e Man Who Listens to Horses’ by Monty Roberts. Michael hadn’t been in the saddle since he was eight years old, yet the book spoke straight to his heart.

It wasn’t just Monty’s skill with horses that inspired Michael - nor even his incredible success rate with animals written o� as by others as di� cult or even downright dangerous. It was the psychology and methodology Monty had developed over years of watching horses, observing their behaviour, letting them teach him about herd structure, relationships, dynamics and hierarchy.

‘It had a profound e� ect on the way I look at the world and live my life,’ he says. ‘Quite simply, the book made me fall in love with horses.’

Michael Wood has never been afraid to walk his own path but even those closest to him must have been amazed at what he did next.

‘� e business I was running at the time was highly successful but unsatisfying. I needed more. So I told my partner I had decided I wanted a life with horses. I told him he could buy me out or I’d simply wind everything up that very day. Fortunately - he bought me out.’

It was also during that rather turbulent time - that Michael bought his � rst horse. He’d fallen in love with Clydesdales a� er a lovely mare looked a� er him well during a lesson.

‘I was in the middle of the arena when a low � ying jet all but parted my hair. I was actually helpless as I watched it approach knowing I could do nothing. Well, the mare just shu� ed her feet and did a little dance, then shrugged it all o� .’

However the Clydesdale mare he bought was a very di� erent character and far from an easy ride.

‘Rosie was very sweet but incredibly troubled, with enough behavioural problems to help us learn together. She wouldn’t accept the bit and played merry hell if you actually tried to get on her back.’

Once again, Monty Roberts showed the way.

‘We used Monty’s Join-Up methods and that gave us the breakthrough. We were able to resolve her problems and saw an incredible transformation in her. � e whole experience formed a massive bond between us and the e� ects have proved lasting. Rosie’s retired now but she still seeks me out in the � eld and follows me round.’

� e decision to sell up the business may have been hard for the business partner who suddenly found himself going it alone - but must have been immeasurably tougher on Michael’s wife Ena who also had to move out of house and home - and into a garage!

‘Without the business I had no income, so I rented out my house to pay my mortgage and converted a double garage into a bungalow. Ena has always trusted me and my judgement and will follow me through thick and thin. As yet I have never let her down - nor vice versa.’

While he was working on the conversion, Michael was horri� ed when he was quoted a ‘whopping sum’ for an oil-� red heating system. Rather than spend time hunting around for a cheaper alternative - he simply decided to create one himself.

And so - � e Economy Radiator Company was born. Five years on, the company has a four million pound turnover.

Michael and Ena now live in Yorkshire with their two dogs Oscar and Harvey and their ever-growing equine family.

‘� en there’s Avalon. He’s a black and white schoolmaster cob who is coming to us to live out his retirement as a happy hacker.And we’re hoping that Gypsy - one of Lady Emma’s chums from the Cumbria Heavy Horse Centre - will come to us for the winter.’

Michael and Ena now live in a Grade 2 listed home complete with 5.5 furlong gallops, stable complex and access to wonderful riding country on the North Yorkshire moors. � ey clearly love their happy, horsey life, but they don’t take their good fortune for granted - and they know exactly who to thank.

‘� e opportunities here are massive,’ says Michael, ‘and the riding is beyond your wildest dreams. I literally owe all I have to Monty Roberts - and of course, to the horses themselves.’

� e Clydesdale contingent has doubled with the addition of Lady Emma, a strikingly beautiful mare bought from the Cumbrian Heavy Horse Centre near Millom. And there’s more…

‘We were gi� ed Mr MacGregor - a 20 year old Holsteiner. He was infamous for being impossible to catch and wasn’t

expected to last much longer because of his joints. He’s been with us for three years and has never once gone lame and is a lamb to catch even from the biggest � eld. I recently spent four thousand pounds on an eye operation for him and he is absolutely the most amazing horse I’ve ever known.

‘Our latest is a � ve year old Belgian Warmblood called Diola. We brought her home from France a� er a riding holiday last year - and we’re going back to the same place this year. I’ve already got my eye on another of their horses!

Written and Produced by: Gilly Frasergillyfraser.com