Dr Deborah Carley BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, PhD Biological & Nutritional Sciences, is the founder and Managing Director of Thunderbrook Equestrian Limited. Her specialist areas are equine nutrition, feeding the metabolic syndrome horse, feeding horses with ulcers or compromised digestion.
Professional Track Record
Dr Carley gained a first-class degree in Biochemistry from Sheffield University. She then went on to study for a PhD and post-doctoral research at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on ‘Molecular Analysis of Plant Cell Wall Hydrolases of Bacterial Origin’. This work involved the detailed genetics, molecular and cell biology of enzymes which break down cellulose and xylan -components of the grasses and grains that horses eat. Dr Carley then widened her research perspective working for a medical research charity, running the facilities to support genomics research and facilitating many high level international biomedical research conferences, training courses and workshops on areas such as diabetes, other metabolic diseases, plant genomics and genomics of common diseases.
Throughout most of this time, Dr Carley has kept a stable herd of a dozen or so horses, with little change in ownership. Applying her research principles to the practical and day-to-day care and maintenance of these horses has led to a new way of feeding –a programme designed to follow the way nature intended, but taking into account the changing environment of the 21st century.
Quality Assurance
Thunderbrook manufacture all their feeds according to strict quality controls and rigorous feed safety codes. Their horse feeds are manufactured in UFAS approved mills. UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme) is based on HACCP principles, a system originally pioneered by space agency NASA, but now forming the bedrock of EU Food and Feed legislation. HACCP is an internationally recognised system for reducing the risk of safety hazards in food.
The scheme is audited and certified by an independent certification body, in accordance with the internationally recognised standard EN45011 (also known as ISO Guide 65).
This means that the certification body is itself independently assessed every year to ensure that the standard is implemented and administered consistently and fairly. Partly as a result of this independence of inspection, local authorities now include participation in UFAS in their risk assessments of Feed businesses.
What this means for you, our customers, is that you have assurance that all our products are manufactured to the highest standards and only using approved ingredients.
Their range of feeds and straights are organic and certified by The Soil Association. Certified products must legally comply with the EU Organic Regulations. They must also meet additional higher standards set in place by The Soil Association.
