A rider in Aberdeenshire turned losing her job during the pandemic into a positive, launching her own horsey business with her mother.
Lee-Anne Simpson has since secured a new job as a project coordinator, but is still pursuing her venture, which promises benefits for horses and other wildlife.
The rider creates field ‘herb bombs’, seed balls designed to be thrown into pasture and left to bloom into a nutritious plants for your horse. The herbs also promise to promote biodiversity, with plants attracting bees and other wildlife.
Her mother, Melanie, assists by creating beautiful cards and packaging to house the products.
Lee-Anne has three horses, Twiglet (pictured), Toby and Hero, who have enjoyed sampling the prototypes planted in their fields.
The see balls contain a variety of herbs, including sainfoin, fenugreek and calendula. They are bound together with clay and compost.
Lee-Anne told Your Horse the seed balls require no gardening skill to take hold, and can also be used by owners of other animals, such as rabbits and alpacas.
She added that it is best to throw the seed balls in fields that are being rested, or along the fence line of an electric fence, so they are given time to germinate before being sampled.