To make life better, you have to challenge what is not good enough
Many of us believe that studs are a ‘necessary evil’. NECESSARY because they can improve performance and safety, by giving horses better grip, security and confidence on some terrain. One hopes this allows us to go faster, jump higher, turn tighter and in theory, perform better. Studs can also be EVIL, for a number of reasons.
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Firstly, the application process is a largely unpleasant and laborious process, which can also be dangerous when you are holding the leg of a sizeable and often unpredictable animal. Applying studs is hardly the best mental or physical preparation for either horse or rider, just before they are about to compete.
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Secondly, do you ever wonder whilst you are spending a considerable time applying studs and doing your best to avoid cross-threading, why in fact you have attached a large chunk of sharp metal to your highly regarded and perhaps spirited horse or pony?
Welcome to StudFast where we challenge conformity to make life (and horsemanship) better, safer and easier.
Our
Story
Our principal founder Eleanore Kelly evented up to 4*, before becoming a sports journalist. As well as reporting on equestrian and racing, she covered elite mainstream sport such as football, cricket, rugby and golf, which served to highlight to her, just how far equine sport lagged behind human sport, in terms of the equipment, materials and technology used. Whilst the anatomy is obviously different, many of the challenges and objectives were the same in humans as they were in the equine world, especially when it comes to reducing injury and improving performance. After discovering that metal studs were very rarely used in football (and in some cases banned altogether)- from grassroots to professional level and that this was for reasons of safety and to prevent injury both from laceration and jarring, studs seemed like a good place to start. After several years and countless failed prototypes, the primary innovation we brought to the table and a totally unique concept in the equine market was StudFast: the very first polymer stud.
Working closely with farriers and vets, we knew we were on to something on the welfare and safety front, but we had a pleasant surprise when we first tried to use the studs, and realised how much easier and quicker they were to apply than the traditional studs. Additionally, there was no chance of rusting, the need for oiling stud holes and zero risk of cross threading your stud hole and therefore potentially needing a farrier to remove, rethread and reapply your horses’ shoe. That’s when we got really excited about StudFast: a safer product to horse and human, not only in use but in application, and a unique innovation that made the studding process a lot less unbearable.
Furthermore, it was not only us who were excited by StudFast, after applying for a prestigious business accelerator programme, our founder secured grant funding to further develop and invest in the brand, protecting the intellectual property and developing other products, which we hope to be able to launch next year. StudFast HQ is now based in the Southampton Science Park where we benefit from a community of scientists, technical experts and innovators.
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The future is bright, the future is
