Abigail Johnson
Core Team
As a child I would always be found in the garden, lifting rocks to look at bugs, hunt for frogs and watching the snails emerge as it rained. This desire to be outdoors immersed in nature has never left me, and the day that my parents made the financial mistake of allowing me to visit my neighbours’ horses only strengthened it.
As many people growing up around horses would have experienced; it became very apparent that not everyone had the same level of empathy towards them as I did, and I couldn’t understand how that could possibly be. Why certain actions towards horses were deemed acceptable, yet you wouldn’t see people treat their dogs in that way. From all my observations, I had so many questions and so little answers.
After a stint of volunteering at a local horse sanctuary and seeing so many horses and ponies abandoned or mistreated due to behavioural problems, I signed up for and completed a BSc (Hons) in Equine Behavioural Science – determined to understand the intricacies of behaviour and make a difference to some of these horses’ lives as an equine behaviour consultant.
I quickly realised that working with the horses themselves is only a very small part of the job. Realistically I work closer with the people, and in order to make a difference in the horses’ behaviour and ultimately their welfare, it was actually the human’s behaviour that needing changing. Although human behaviour change science was a component of my degree, it was only a small one, and I’ve come to realise that it is a huge component in the machine that keeps things running in harmony.
Through trying to navigate various challenges in my field of work, I tapped into that curiosity to learn and desire to ask questions again. I began delving deeper into the world of human behaviour change, in an attempt to truly make a difference to the animal’s life.
I’m thrilled to be part of the HBCL team – working with a team of people who are passionate to change things for the better, coming not only from a scientific background but also a place of deep empathy. Even in my roles as administrative support, course design and support, and HBC Fest organisation, I have learnt so much and it’s an area I am excited to delve deeper into.