A STABLES owner is battling to “save her horses” after losing thousands of pounds in business.

Summer is usually the busiest time of year for Kailzie Equestrian Centre, near Peebles, due to the common riding festivals in the Borders.

But the coronavirus outbreak has caused those events to be cancelled, putting Susanne McIntosh’s business in jeopardy.

She said: “Right now it’s hard to see how we’ll survive.”

Susanne, who has run the equestrian centre for more than 20 years, transports her horses across the Borders, Lothians and Dumfriesshire for common ridings.

“These ride-outs are my income – it’s thousands of pounds’ worth of business lost,” she said, adding: "I could never survive on lessons and hacks alone."

Peeblesshire News:

Susanne received a government business grant but she says it is not enough to cover her overheads.

“We’ve got tough times ahead, there’s no doubt about that, and we are really anxious,” she said.

“I care about the horses and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they’re fed and looked after – I’ll not let them suffer.”

Asked what the future holds, Susanne said: “We’ll hopefully reopen and try anything to keep our heads above water.

“At this moment in time the future is unknown.

“Hopefully the people that do ride and use us will think about us when things start moving again.”

She added: “If they don’t use us they’ll lose us, and that goes for every riding school.”

As for staff and their jobs, she said: “The girls will still be here hopefully, but if there’s no tourists we’re going to have to do something to turn things around – I just don’t know what.”