Haygain's relatively new presence in the U.S. may partially explain that. "The company is growing and exploding in a good way. There's more people out there who are curious about the products and who haven't seen a steamer or ComfortStall themselves." She was in the same position herself not so long ago.
“I began looking at all the research on Haygain’s benefits for removing dust, mold, fungi and bacteria from hay, and how it improves digestion by adding water to the horse’s diet,” Katie explains. The only thing that didn’t make sense to her was, “Why haven’t I heard of this before?”
Katie brings a wealth of equestrian expertise and customer service experience. She came to Haygain from County Saddlery, where she was a sales representative and a Master Saddlers Association-certified saddle fitter. Her prior experience includes being an equine specialist, barn manager and trainer at the Newport Academy and working at the highly regarded Fairfield Equine Associates veterinary practice.
Katie earned a BSc in Equine Studies from Post University, specializing in equine veterinary assistance and coaching.
She is a lifelong horse person who had planned to start competing her 8-year-old Saddlebred mare, Lilo, in eventing competition this year. Lilo began her life at Beach Brook Rescue in Connecticut, which had taken in her dam not knowing she was pregnant.
“Her mom ended up with a friend of mine,” Katie recounts. “For the first few years of Lilo’s life, no one knew who could take her on, but when she turned about 3, it just happened that I was casually looking for my next horse and that was that!” As fall colors grace the the region, Katie and Lilo are prepping for a few Hunter Pace events before winter sets in.
Like most experienced horse people, Katie recognized the benefits of Haygain’s horse health equipment immediately. Her first encounter with Haygain Hay Steaming came while working with top Grand Prix jumping rider, Margie Engle. Like many professional equestrians, Margie relies on steamed hay to keep her horses' hay consistent, no matter where she is competing.
Gaining familiarity with horse keeping habits beyond the New England area is an upside of working primarily by phone and Zoom since March, Katie says. "I have clients in Virginia, Arkansas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Oregon, etc. Living in New England, I kind of know what the practices are here, and now that I'm talking to people all over the country. I'm learning there are totally different concerns and different ways of keeping and enjoying our horses. It's been really interesting."
Wherever they live, horses benefit from clean hay and a clean, comfortable and safe barn environment. That explains why Katie has been busy, busy, busy since joining the Haygain team.
