Kate Havord, 47, is not your regular woman. She’s lived as a horse from six until she clocked 13 having been taken over by a a ‘horse spirit’. She would gallop on all fours and even wear a bridle. It didn’t just end at that as she would then proceed to eat grass.
According to Kate who now lives in Chippenham, Wilts, a ‘horse spirit’ entered her between the ages of six and 13. She recalls having 32 distinct horse personalities she could call upon at any given moment.
Kate who grew up on a farm in Scotland, also said she used to try to eat her meals like a horse. She said:
‘It was like the spirit of the horse entered me – I felt so free and powerful and this euphoria was intensified by the fact that I won the race by a long shot.
‘From that moment on there was always more of a pull to get down on all fours and gallop that to walk along on two legs – I would pretend to be a horse at every opportunity.
‘I remember going to my mum and dad’s vegetable patch and nibbling on broccoli flowers, a fennel bush or even a bit of grass – although that was a bit of a struggle to eat.
‘I created horse shoes out of old cork tiles and stuck them on to create horse shoe patterns, and I used to use my mum’s empty face cream pots as hooves.’
According to Kate, her father the late renowned television actor, Conrad Phillips, brought to an end her days as a horse. He said to her in his Shakespearean actor’s voice:
‘there comes a time, my darling, when every young lady has to put away her hooves.
‘It was then I remember that I suddenly felt a switch go off. That was a really strange moment. That day my childhood was over – I stopped doing it after that.’
During Kate’s days living as a horse, she was joined by her younger sister, Sarah, 44, and together, the pair eventually cultivated the personalities of 32 different horses.
