Young Derbyshire entrepreneur launching world’s first 'soft drink for horses'

Isobel Hadfield, who is aged 20 and comes from Ashover, is about to launch H2PRO FOCUS, a naturally-flavoured drink in a can that is intended to be added to a bucket of fresh water for horses to drink. Isobel said her goal is to make sure the saying dating back hundreds of years that 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can make it drink' no longer applies.

She said: “Every year hundreds of thousands of UK horse owners travel their horses out to trail rides and equestrian events. At these events, especially in summer, horses often become stressed and refuse to drink. As you can imagine this is just as frustrating as it is dangerous, but luckily now, horses with drinking problems have H2PRO!”

In 2019 Isobel found herself time and time again at an event or training session with a sweaty or tired horse that hadn't had a drink for several hours and which was slowly loosing performance, but was still turning down water.

She said that research had found that seven out of ten owners said they find it an impossible task to get their horses to drink when at a show.

Isobel added: “H2PRO is a female-led and founded brand that will be campaigning for further inclusivity within the industry. We believe strongly that there can be more done to encourage and offer opportunity to those who didn't grow up with horses or have faced road blocks in their childhood that made riding feel like an Impossible or unachievable task. As well as this, sustainability will be an upmost priority, we have a net zerocarbon target by the end of 2024 and a consumer promise to never produce in plastic.”

H2PRO will be launched publicly on June 17 via social media and will be attending its first trade stand event on July 5. Products will be available on a handful of retailers’ shelves from July 2, while the product is also being sold throughout summer at international events.

To find out more about the business and the ‘soft drink for horses’, visit the website at: www.H2PROEQUINE.co.uk