About us

Karen Bourdon

Karen is the owner of Horsehay Farm and is a director of Healthy Beast. Karen trained in Essential Oil Therapy for Animals in 1998 and also trained with the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy (Kurt Schnaubelt). Karen has gained much experience working with animals over the years and successfully treated hundreds of animals using Essential Oil Therapy.   She has completed the foundation course at the Academy of Systematic Kinesiology.   Karen founded GEOTA (the Guild of Essential Oil Therapy for Animals) in January 2000 and gives various lectures on Essential Oil therapy throughout the UK and Ireland and teaches on the GEOTA Diploma course.   Her love of animals over the years, especially horses and indeed racehorses, has led to her setting up the Rehabilitation centre offering conventional and complementary therapies.  Karen had her amateur flat racing licence and rode out for trainer Terry Mills for over 10 years. She has bred racehorses, owned racehorses and ridden them and now her passion lies in treating them through the Therapy centre.   Whilst brought up in London and living there most of her life, she exercised the horses for the Household Cavalry at Knightsbridge barracks, early morning before work, as a civilian rider for many years. She exercised the black horses for the Blues & Royals (1 troop) and the Queen's horses in the Household division.   Always a country girl at heart she now lives at Horsehay Farm with many horses and a variety of other animals.

Carole Jackson

Carole has been involved with animals all her life, especially horses. She has worked with hunters, polo ponies, competition horses and point-to-pointers gaining vast experience over the years. Carole is the Centre Manager for the Rehabilitation centre and runs a smooth operation with a skilled and caring team.   She qualified in Essential Oil Therapy for Animals with GEOTA in 2002 and is fully trained in Laser Therapy.  On arrival and depending on the condition, she will discuss the various treatment options on offer with the owner/trainer.

Lorretta Perrella

Lorretta is a qualified and experienced Essential Oil Therapist for Animals.   She is co-founder and director of The Guild of Essential Oil Therapy for Animals (established in January 2000) and teaches on the GEOTA Diploma Course. She is also a qualified human aromatherapist and has completed several post-graduate courses including aromatic medicine and systematic kinesiology.    Lorretta graduated from Hartpury College in 1997 with a HND in Equine Science and has been working with horses for many years. She also gained experience compounding herbal and essential oil products for a well-known natural cosmetic company and is involved in the research and development of the new Healthy Beast range of natural remedies for animals.

Nick Thompson MRCVS

Nick Thompson is our resident consultant in Veterinary Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Nutrition. He has a passion for the treatment of sports horses and leisure horses alike.

He is a trained vet, having gained two degrees from Edinburgh University. Gradusting in 1992 with an Honours degree in Pathological Sciences (his dissertation was in Immunology) and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery, he spent three years in Yorkshire in mixed practice, then helped develop a mixed equine, small animal practice in West Sussex for four years. In 1998 he completed studies in homeopathy and acupuncture, gaining Veterinary Membership of the Faculty of Homeopathy and completing the very first International Veterinary Acupuncture Society course at Exeter University that year.

In 1999 Nick established Holisticvet Ltd., his own consultancy in equine and small animal homeopathy, acupuncture and nutrition. It was the first consultancy of its kind in the UK offering a dedicated service for horses, dogs and cats.

Nick is based in Bath, but consults on horses and equine matters in England , Scotland and Wales, the Channel Islands and, indeed, many countries all over the world, frequently talking to clients in France, Lanzarote, Belgium and the USA .

Equine back pain and lameness, poor performance, post-viral fatigue, chronic disease, immunological and digestive problems are his particular passions.

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