About Us

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Factum Equine is lovingly named for Chelsea's horse Jack (JC: I'm a Factum). Jack is a 2012 off-track thoroughbred who raced nearly 40 times, winning over $90,000. When he sustained a sesamoid fracture that prevented him from being competitive racing, Jack's connections-through Turning for Home- retired him to New Beginnings Thoroughbreds . Chelsea saw Jack online and was immediately smitten. She adopted him in March of 2020 with 6 post-track rides under his belt and the intention of making him her dressage partner. Jack had other plans. 

Almost immediately, Jack had explosive and dangerous behaviors on the ground and under saddle. Chelsea and her committed team of professionals applied every therapeutic modality known to them and did extensive diagnostic work to elucidate a viable source of pain. Though Chelsea intended to continue "training" Jack, she was disenchanted by advice from horse people that simply encouraged her to be more firm and set clearer boundaries. On multiple occasions, by individuals with more training experience than her, it was directly suggested that Jack needed to be "put in his place" and "shown who was boss" with application of positive punishment. Regrettably, Chelsea ignored her gut feelings and attempted to apply their feedback, only to be met with an increasingly frustrated Jack who displayed no positive change in behavior whatsoever. In desperation, Chelsea searched the depths of google and ultimately stumbled upon Warwick Schiller who began her upward and continuous spiral into compassionate, species appropriate horse care and training. 

 Dr. Susan Fay says "I often hear horse owners or trainers tell stories of their 'once in a lifetime horse'. Now you know that every horse has the potential to be a once-in-a-lifetime horse. What we should strive to be is our horses once in a lifetime human...becoming better humans can be our gift to them". Jack deserves the world for demanding his person be better. He'll have to settle for this namesake. 

Chelsea began riding at the young age of six and basically never stopped.  As a certified barn rat, she began cleaning stalls to pay for lessons at eleven- there are many lessons to be learned in the barn, too, which Chelsea continues to rely on today.   Though she showed in the hunters as a teen, she never quite knew what she was doing in the show ring and thus was not incredibly successful. 

In college, she learned of a discipline that did not involve jumping over things (dressage), and promptly shifted her attention there entirely. She rode intermittently during her undergraduate career,  primarily focusing on her studies, graduating from Salve Regina in 2011 with a degree in Psychology and Special Education. During that time, she completed several internships that focused on experiential learning with horses. Though her ambition was to run inclusive summer camps with horses year round, she was made to believe that was not a "real job" and continued onto graduate school at the University of Connecticut where she studied Human Development with a focus on intervention and prevention. She got back into riding seriously during graduate school and fell in love with an OTTB for the first time in 2012. 

Chelsea has worked for several large non-profit organizations  and has extensive experience working with people who have endured extraordinary life circumstances. She promotes self-care, mindfulness, and authenticity as foundational to her clients and as a police wife, feels strongly about caring for carers.  In addition to certification as an Equine Sports Massage Therapist, Chelsea has been a PATH, International Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning since 2014 and a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor since 2020. Outside of managing Factum Equine, Chelsea works part-time at The Brian Dagle Foundation and as an Adjunct Faculty in the Psychology department at CT State- Tunxis. She could not explore all her passions without her non-horsey husband Erich who is a more supportive partner than anyone could ask for.