Cheeky horse steals the limelight from Martin Clunes
British Horse Society (BHS) president Martin Clunes found himself fighting for his place in front of the camera on Wednesday morning (8 February).
The Men Behaving Badly star was appearing on ITV’s Lorraine to speak about the charity’s new Changing Lives Through Horses programme.
However, the old TV rule of never work with animals rang true as the cheeky skewbald did all he could to put Martin off.
Despite having his pockets, hands and general person searched for treats, Martin managed to carry on with the interview unperturbed.
Even when Martin moved off to give viewers at home a tour of his Dorset yard, the horse managed to grab another moment in the limelight.
“Horses may occasionally bite you, but they will never lie to you!” Martin laughed as the skewbald vies for attention.
About the programme
Changing Lives Through Horses is aimed at tackling the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
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Nearly 10% of 16 to 18 year olds fall into this category, and one in four young people also struggles with low self-esteem, well-being and mental health problems.
The programme puts young people in an equestrian environment to give them a chance to find a sense of structure and responsibility.
“It is an attempt to scoop up kids that have fallen through the cracks — kids who are not necessarily excelling in normal schools, not engaging with education or employment and just to try and scoop them up and get them near a horse and see if that works for them,” Martin explains.
“We know that horses are great healers and they give people a lot of confidence — especially people with trust issues or who have been let down by people, horses never lie to you.”
He added he has seen the results in “all sorts of shapes and sizes”.
“[Horses] touch people’s hearts — I don’t know why that is, it is just a thing that happens,” said Martin.
“People shouldn’t think [being around a horse] is necessarily out of their grasp.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.