Happy Horse races ahead
A LANCASHIRE entrepreneur who invented a hay steamer for horse owners is galloping ahead on the international markets.
Peter Broderick, managing director of Westby-based Happy Horse Products, invented the machine which steams hay before feeding.
The steam removes dust and fungal spores that can irritate a horse’s airways and removes the need to soak the hay for hours in freezing water and then carry it around in cold, wet heavy nets.
Since launching last year, Peter has been inundated with enquiries from Europe and the Middle East. To help him tap into the potential, he enrolled Happy Horse on UKTI Passport to Export programme.
And with help from international trade adviser Sandra Thornber, Peter was able to use funding available from UKTI to attend a trade mission to Dubai and to have his brochures translated for the Dubai International Horse Fair.
Peter has since attended numerous shows including Spoga Horse in Cologne – for which he received funding under UKTI’s tradeshow access programme (TAP) – and the Al Fares International Equine Trade Fair in Dubai. As a result, Happy Horse now employs six different distributors in Europe and one in the Middle East. It has a turnover of £150,000 – half of which is through exports.
Famous customers include Matt Ryan, triple Olympic gold medallist, and Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the current ruler of Dubai who owns over 200 racehorses.
Peter says: “I was very sceptical when I enrolled on the Passport to Export Programme as I’m not keen on workshops, but I found it to be the most valuable course I have ever attended.
“The training was very business focused and specific to what I was trying to achieve. UKTI helped me to put together a strategy and identify the company’s weak spots and strengths. However the biggest help was in directing me toward the best markets for the product.
“As a result Happy Horse is now selling steamers in Germany, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and Norway as well as Dubai, and we are confident of continued expansion.”
