All in a day’s work: Jay Johnson – helping ‘last-chance’ horses find a future *H&H Plus*

Jay Johnson on learning from his time behind bars and how he’s repaying horses for saving his life by helping to saving theirs...

Never in a million years did I imagine as a child I’d be doing this; backing horses and working with difficult ones. I was in a children’s home and, in five years, had nearly 20 foster homes; my brother and I went through a lot. Then, my last foster parents came along with horses. Everything we had was unbacked or difficult and that’s how it started.

Horses saved my life – I owe everything to them and my parents. I used to self-harm, took overdoses, but I would go and cry to the horses, and that’s what saved me. That’s why I’m so passionate about what I do.

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Eleanor Jones

H&H news editor

Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.