If you are interested in taking things further, we begin with an informal talk on the telephone; this allows me to start to have an understanding of your specific requirements and the chance to explain the day to day life of the herd here. We aim to be able to provide a very similar environment to that which they have been born into. We also have a very specific education for them that – although they are not generally ‘started’ for work purposes until the age of five years – commences the day they are born. Continuity to a certain degree is paramount: they are horses, not a piece of wood, and it is our duty of care to you and the horse that the potential future home will be suitable for both horse and owner.

Following that conversation, we will invite you to the farm. We generally like you to visit us for a period of two days: I can organise transport, accommodation etc. When you arrive at the farm you will be asked to spend the first hour or so in discussion with Franck and/or myself. It is important to remember that we know the horses’ individual personalities, but we don’t yet know yours. Therefore, it is imperative that we have the opportunity to make a thorough assessment of you. It all sounds a bit daunting I know, but really it isn’t: it is done in his family home and over coffee and biscuits. It is also a time when you can ask questions. Generally speaking and after this period we will already have in mind the horse(or horses) that we believe will be suited to you.

The rest of the day is our secret formula, but rest assured, by the end of the day, you will have gained much knowledge about the breed and genuine horsemanship, you will have met the private and modest Jouvin family (they have had no internet presence before I arrived), you will have met many Normandy Cobs, and finally – thanks to Marie Rose Jouvin, who lives to please – we will all be highly well fed and watered. There is not one thin beast on this farm, and so it is with the humans!

At the close of the first day, both seller and buyer have much to consider, so we leave it there and head for a relaxing evening. The following day if there are any decisions to be made, we reconvene around the farmhouse table and take it from there.

It would be fair to say, that whilst we are in the business of selling horses, our reputation, the horses and your future happiness are of far greater importance than merely ‘making a sale’. If you leave the farm with your new partner and a forwards plan found, then that is wonderful; if not, as a bare minimum, you will be able to say that they are great horses, what a wonderful experience, and finally, what genuine people are the Jouvins and the team: a rare commodity in the horse world.

As Georges Jouvin used to say himself : “It must be about the seller and buyer working together, in total honesty and on the same page…It is the ONLY way”.