Alan Davies on top horses’ personalities and why it’s so important to know their quirks

How well do you know your horses’ personalities? When it comes to horse management advice, there’s few people more knowledgeable than Alan Davies, long-time groom to Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, and he puts a lot of emphasis on learning about horses’ personalities, and getting to know their individual character traits.

“It’s been a really important part of my job, to get to know every individual horse inside out and learn their characteristics,” explains Alan, who recently announced his plans to step back from his full-time role.

“It is a huge part of horse management and it means you can tell if they’re on form, or not quite themselves, or if something is wrong.

“I have always made sure I am the one who mucks out the competition horses who I take away to shows, as I think it’s a really good opportunity to spend time with them. You can really watch them, and get to know their quirks and facial expressions,” adds Alan, on episode 41 of The Horse & Hound Podcast.

“I like to watch them in the field too, from a distance. It is fascinating, and endlessly entertaining too.”

So what are some of the individual characteristics of the top dressage horses Alan has cared for over the years working with Carl and Charlotte?

“Valegro, aka Blueberry, is a huge character but he always liked his own space. Every now and again he just wanted to go to his stable, dunk his hay in his water, make a mess and be a horse,” says Alan. “I used to have to make sure that he got that time on his own when we went away. He loved the crowds, the performing, the attention, but I had to let him have space to muck about in his stable and just do his own thing.”

Mount St John Freestyle, the mare who followed Valegro as Charlotte Dujardin’s next top grand prix horse, was very different, according to Alan.

“Freestyle is this feisty lady who is always busy and nosy and into everyone else’s business,” he laughs. “She loved attention and she’d put her own headcollar and tack on if she could.”

On his many years travelling with top horses around the world, Alan has had the chance to see how certain horses’ personalities and character traits are passed down through lines. He explained that Charlotte’s Tokyo Olympics double medallist Gio (Pumpkin), who was sold to the Pidgley family in 2021, shared a certain habit with his sire, the late stallion Apache.

“Pumpkin was always quiet in his stable, but in the cross ties he would paw at the ground and stamp his feet if he thought he wasn’t getting enough attention, and could be a bit bratty,” recalls Alan. “His dad Apache was on the plane with us to the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018, and I noticed that he pawed and banged his feet in exactly the same way his son does.”

Carl Hester’s top horse, his Olympic and European medallist En Vogue, has a very different personality again.

“Vogue is quite shy, and when he comes in from the field in the morning, he likes to go straight into his stable without any fuss or bother,” reveals Alan. “His stable is in the courtyard without a huge amount of traffic going past, which suits him. He likes to have his breakfast, then have some peace and quiet and a snooze. When you go in to get him ready to ride, you’ll always find him at the back of the stable, or at the side, not at the door,”

What are your horse’s unique characteristics and personality traits, and how do you recognise them? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com

You may also be interested in…

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Alan Davies on hacking Valegro and Uthopia – and why he doesn’t like Carl and Charlotte riding them

‘She comes up to my knee’: meet Alan Davies’ adorable home-bred Shetland foal

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‘I sobbed all the way up the centre line’: Alan Davies’ highlights from his time as Valegro’s super-groom

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