Barbara Cucchi is manager of the Isle of Man Home of Rest for Old Horses, looking after the wellbeing of 62 horses and 13 donkeys as well as dealing with the home’s administration and helping out in their cafe.

Here she shares with us a typical working day.

She says: ‘Every job I’ve ever had with horses, they are your life. It’s not nine to five, you don’t get up and go out and then at five o’clock you clock off, no such thing. You’re there for what they need.

‘There’s been some I’ve sat up with all night because they’re ill, it’s the nature of the beast: it’s a passion, it’s a lifestyle.’

Barbara took over as manager of the horses’ home on October 1. She previously worked for the late Trevor Hemmings at Ballaseyr, looking after more than 50 of his horses including retired Grand National winners, Hedghunter and Ballabriggs.

‘He was so passionate about his horses. I absolutely adored working for him. What an absolutely incredible gentleman,’ she says.

When she applied for the job at the horses’ home it was clear that it would be a multi-skilled role.

‘It’s not just horses here it’s also the coffee shop and the shop. My background is hospitality which was my family’s business. I was brought up the traditional Italian way, in the family business. I was ironing napkins when I was seven for pocket money, and washing dishes.’

When her father, Elio Cucchi, came to the island in the 1960s he worked at the then legendary Manx restaurants, Fort Anne and the Crow’s Nest. He later owned The Barn in Port St Mary where all the family joined in and helped.

Despite having the ideal qualifications and experience for running the horses’ home, Barbara says: ‘Jill [Moore], my predecessor, had a phenomenal job to do here. I’ve been here three months and I’m still a bit blown away by how much there still is to do – your head is spinning.’

Barbara’s day always starts early, around 6am at this time of the year but earlier still as the mornings get lighter, in order to get the feeds ready and check the horses.

She says: ‘With an average horse it takes you about a minute to do a feed but a lot of our residents have no teeth left so I have to make sure that the feeds are pre-soaked for a couple of hours.

‘“The team”, Martin Townend, Jess Clague and Tony Callow, come in at quarter to eight and put all the feed buckets out.

‘At about 8.30, or when it’s light enough, I go out and check the horses. I go across the road and walk the winter pasture.

‘We’ve got 29 horses over there: they’re out with free access to 10 fields and full access to a barn if they need shelter. It’s fully stocked with hay and the horses can wander in and out as they please.

‘It takes a good couple of hours because I go on foot and check the fields and the perimeters and all the horses and then I walk down the valley to check the horses in the fields there. When I’ve finished I’ve averaged about 8,000 steps so I’m getting my steps in.’

The Home of Rest for Old Working Horses, as it was then called, was started in 1950 by Mildred Royston and her sister May Kermode.

They had seen the way many of the old working horses around the island, having come to the end of their working lives, had nowhere to go.

The owners just could not afford to keep the animal if it could not be worked, so they were shipped off the island to a fate unknown. Mrs Royston and Miss Kermode, both animal lovers, decided this had to stop.

Setting up with rented paddocks and two stables at Abbeylands, the first pony they saved was called Trixie.

She was soon followed by Bess and Sheila and then Prince, who had collapsed in the street while pulling a cart. In 1955, a legacy of £6,000 allowed the sisters to buy the home’s current site at Bulrhenny on Richmond Hill.

Their work became even more relevant when Douglas Corporation decided to ban the sale of horses no longer fit to work and allow them a safe and happy retirement. Bulrhenny has offered the perfect place ever since.

‘This place has got incredible Manx heritage and history and we want to promote that,’ says Barbara.

And she goes on to explain that, over the years, the profile of the horses at the home has changed: ‘We don’t just have old horses, it’s no longer just the ex-trammers and the milk cart ponies that come to live there.

‘We get horses where their owners have fallen on hard times. They absolutely adore these horses but a lot of people don’t have their own land and livery is not cheap

‘They are broken when they come to us, they are so upset, but they know that when their horses come here, they will be cared for.’

Around 10 of the horses are permanently on the yard because they’ve got conditions that need managing. They include some of the horses that were the subject of a recent serious neglect case.

After the horses are fed and checked Barbara is in the office, answering emails and dealing with administration. Then she will be helping out in the cafe.

‘I do the till, I do the coffees, I do the hot drinks, I clean the tables, I hoover the floor in between and I take the orders and it’s just manic,’ she says.

The recent arrival of Kati Kinley in the cafe has seen its popularity grow. Her wonderful home-baked cakes and freshly made quiches and sausage rolls have seen its business booming, even through the winter when there aren’t so many horses for visitors to see. Barbara believes that it can be developed further in the future.

This is important because, as she points out, the horses’ home does not receive any government support. It is a charity which is kept running through legacies, donations from the many visitors who have flocked to Bulrhenny over the years, and the proceeds of the cafe and shop.

She says: ‘Because we get ex-trammers here people think the government back us but they don’t. And times are tough, we know this, bills are going up – people who could afford to give you a tenner a couple of years ago can’t afford to give you a tenner now.’

She is hoping to find ways of encouraging corporate sponsorship to help with the running costs and with projects that are being planned, including an inclusive playground for children and a complete refurbishment of the cafe.

Barbara’s working day is a long one and a busy one, as she says: ‘There’s lots of juggling every day and it’s a seven days a week job.’

There is also the responsibility that comes with knowing how much the horses’ home is part of the island’s heritage.

She says: ‘We need to safeguard this place for generations to come and this is the vision. I’m not here for just a few years. This is me till retirement.’