By Danny Power
There is not much that Mike Lawrence doesn’t know about the equine athlete after 50 years of working with horses of all types. Although Lawrence, now in his 60s, has travelled the world and worked with some of the best minds to learn more about equine physiology, he has found his “happy place” on a small piece of dirt at Anakie, near Geelong. Lawrence and his wife Leila have developed a boutique breaking-in, pre-training, and rehabilitation business they call Equus Nexus.
“Horses have been part of life on both sides of my family,” Lawrence said. “I grew up on a cattle property in the Yarra Valley, where horses were an essential part of livestock management. The local hunt club worked with farmers to build jump panels in fences. The polo field attracted royalty and farmers, who arrived on game day with horses standing on an open tray truck. Our neighbour was a racehorse trainer whom I rode for on the side of the hill known as the ‘neck break,’ and I rode 12 miles and swam the river to get to Pony Club. It was paradise for a boy.”
