The actress Jenny Seagrove tells Victoria Lambert about her latest role at a horse sanctuary where rescue is just part of the story
Jenny Seagrove with her favourite Shetland pony Photo: Andrew Crowley
12:23PM BST 25 Jul 2015
Daisy was found wandering the streets of Chessington, in Surrey. Gwen and Phyllis were both abandoned while pregnant on nearby Send Common. Ocean is frightened of women. Ernie had bitten a man’s face and was full of anger. ''I shouldn’t have a favourite,’’ says actress Jenny Seagrove, pointing out some of the 24 horses grazing in the shelter of the surrounding Surrey Hills. ''But, ahh, Grimbo,’’ she says, gently stroking a skewbald miniature Shetland with an adorable quiff, ''you are my main man.’’
Grimbo, rescued from a dealer’s yard, is far too cool to acknowledge such fawning – even if it is by Seagrove, 57, one of Britain’s best-loved actresses, who made her name in Local Hero, but is perhaps more familiar from her long-standing role in the television series Judge John Deed. Grimbo stands peaceably, as do the other horses, treating Seagrove as an equal part of the herd at the Mane Chance Sanctuary, outside Guildford.
Seagrove set up this centre on borrowed farmland four years ago – with help from philanthropist Simrin Choudhrie – to rescue abandoned horses, but quickly realised that the animals could develop a reciprocal role as what she calls a ''healing herd’’.
The actress Jenny Seagrove (Geoff Pugh)
''The sanctuary came about in desperate circumstances in 2011 when a friend rang to say she couldn’t afford to feed her large collection of animals, many of which she had rescued,’’ says Seagrove.
''It was one of those life-changing moments when you find a real purpose. Setting up a charity – a massive adventure.
''I called a friend who found Monkshatch Garden Farm, where the owner let us rent the 47 acres we needed. A year later, we were offered it for sale.’’ She agrees it was a big decision. ''I had to sell my flat in London and ask Simrin, who has been amazing, to chip in.’’ Her partner, theatre impresario Bill Kenwright, has been hugely supportive.
The Mane Chance herd is luckier than it knows. Recent figures show that about 7,000 horses are abandoned each year – due to cost, negligence or ignorance – and the RSPCA has said it is struggling to cope, as are all Britain’s horse rescue centres. One of the last pieces of legislation passed by the coalition government – the Control of Horses Act 2015 – was designed to give local councils more power to take responsibility for the welfare of horses left on public land, in an attempt to ease the problem.
A scene from the 1983 film Local Hero, in which Jenny Seagrove made her name (20TH CENTURY FOX)
The World Horse Welfare charity has warned that Britain is facing a crisis, with thousands of horses at risk of abandonment and neglect, or needing new homes, because of factors including the recession, reduced grazing and overbreeding.
The Princess Royal has even suggested that the country’s attitude to horsemeat might have to change if we are to end the neglect.
Seagrove, who learnt to ride on an ''old racing pony’’ in Malaysia, where she grew up, says she can understand the Princess’s views but does not support them.
This is partly because of her belief in animal rights (and vegetarianism), but mostly because she believes a programme being developed at Mane Chance could offer an alternative purpose for man’s noblest friend.
''When all this began, I knew the horses would need therapy,” she says. “I asked James French, who I had known through his work as a reiki master for 20 years, and who is a renowned animal communicator, to help out.’’
French, who has developed a programme called the trust technique, agreed to take over management of the sanctuary with his partner, Shelley Slingo, and began treating the horses with his gentle therapy, which has similarities to mindfulness.
Grimbo, Seagrove's favourite Shetland pony (Andrew Crowley)
The technique involves quiet sessions in which a practitioner sits in a field (or just outside if necessary), emptying their mind and quietly contemplating the horse until it gradually calms and lies down nearby, often going to sleep. ''It’s about getting the limbic system – the part of the brain associated with emotions and memories – of horse and human in sync,’’ says Seagrove.
With some of the horses, French had to be especially patient. Gwen, one of the mares abandoned when in foal, had been badly beaten and was so nervous it took him nine months to get a tether off her neck. (The tether is now framed in the sanctuary’s office-cum-kitchen.)
Meanwhile, Seagrove noticed that the animals weren’t the only ones responding to French and his patient kindness.
''We had groups of children and volunteers here, some of whom had their own issues, and a rapport and trust was building up between some of the horses with the humans who seemed to need them most.’’
She cites the example of a young girl who had been the subject of violence at home being approached – quite unusually – by Gwen, the mare that had been beaten by her owners.
The sanctuary now has regular visits from children with special needs and with disabilities, plus some from the nearby Shooting Star Chase hospice. A special programme, Chance 4 Trust, supports young people aged eight and over who have social, emotional or mental health needs for a minimum of three months.
The sanctuary has open days, and French teaches the trust technique to would-be practitioners, so the horses are beginning to earn their keep now. Seagrove is delighted at the idea; she would like to see ''healing herds’’ set up across the UK – ''mini Mane Chances that can offer this sort of deep therapy’’.
''I’ve seen some extraordinary moments with the horses,’’ she says. ''A teenage girl was asked to lead Brandy, one of the Shetlands, which had been a bit ostracised by the herd, past the other horses. As they went past, the horse froze. James said to her: 'OK, just get present with him,’ meaning for her to be mindful and calm, and Brandy responded to her, and walked at her instruction past the other Shetlands.
''Afterwards, Brandy – and he doesn’t like people – came and stood quietly, with his head next to her, as though saying thank you.’’
There have been tough moments, too. ''We’ve had to put down six horses – one after an accident in the field and five due to old age. But we do that very carefully. The horse has reiki for a few days first and then a sedative before a lethal injection. The other horses are allowed to smell them before they wander off and we are left to do the grieving.’’
And there have been dark nights when Seagrove, who is preparing to make a new film, Another Mother’s Son, in the autumn, wondered how she could carry on working and fundraising. ''My job is to make sure the money is in the bank – it costs £200,000 a year to run – and to make sure the policies and governance are in place,” she says.
''I can’t walk away and, anyway, this country is hugely charitable.’’ Last week, a ball raised £40,000.
The RSPCA has said it's struggling to cope with the number of abandoned horses (Frank Naylor/Alamy)
Seagrove is aware that celebrity goodwill, and anecdotes of children and horses both benefiting, are not enough, and some will not begin to understand what the sanctuary is trying to do. So she is also gathering information with a view to publishing scientifically verified research.
Equine therapy is far from unknown, however – so how does hers differ? ''We don’t just use the horses – they benefit, too,” she says, smiling. “It is mutual.
''We’re at the start of a very big journey to see a new purpose for horses in society as healers, but you have to start somewhere, says Seagrove’’
Grimbo would certainly agree.
