REGINA — Taylor Douglas is well known in the horse world, but these days you might find him on a reality TV show or advocating for mental health.
It’s all because of a three-month-old business that started with a horse mineral.
Earlier this fall, he and his partner, Jayne Trimble, started Happy Horses, a company to sell equine products.
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The minerals are custom blends, made in Alberta, that use different products such as kelp, hemp and Himalayan salt.
However, they said the real mission of Happy Horses is to draw attention to mental health in the equine sector.
From each bag sold, $2 goes toward a foundation they established called Caring for Cowboys and Cowgirls and will help pay for equine assisted therapy.
In a recent interview, Douglas said the business took off much faster than they imagined.
“We’ve got distribution from B.C. to Nova Scotia,” he said.
“We’ve got distribution in California.”
The products, which nutritionists have helped develop, are available only through an online store or company ambassadors who buy at wholesale and sell retail.
Douglas said the mineral is designed with the Canadian Prairies in mind: low iron and higher copper. It is blended at Nutrition Partners and contains probiotane.
He said he has contacts in Europe and Australia and is hoping to sell formulations there, too. Happy Horses also sells hand-made bits from a Milestone, Sask., company.
The company is designed to allow Douglas time to makes his own mental health a priority and give him time with his children.
“I went through my own stuff, a low period where I needed help,” said the award winning horse trainer and clinician.
So low in fact that he contemplated ending it all before seeking that help.
And he sees the same when he looks at others at rodeos and other horse events.
“The more I talk about it, the more I see in the farming community,” he said.
Douglas and Trimble are working to establish a partnership with Eagala, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, to make equine psychotherapy and its network of certified practitioners more accessible and affordable to Canadians.
Trimble, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, but now living in California, owns a record label. She said she came to Canada to grieve a loss when she met Douglas.
“Happy horses need happy riders,” she said of their venture.
The connection between horse and human is well known, and while Douglas said he spent 20 years working 12 hours a day with or on a horse, it’s time to look at life a little differently.
The reality TV show is a YouTube series shot by Trimble and featuring Douglas talking about various aspects of his career and the company.
Trimble said she is confident Happy Horses will be successful and help Douglas give back to his community.
