Come explore our Equestrian & Large Animal Alternative Learning Activities
Stress &
Anxiety relief
Animals have senses that pick up on human interactions. Therapy with horses has proven to be practically effective to help with stress & anxiety. Horses are naturally gentle and calm creatures and can mirror and respond to human behaviour. Spending time with horses and animals can positively effect moods, anxiety, and stress.
Communication & Interaction
Working with horses and animals means you get to learn a new way to communicate and interact. Horses and animals don’t judge humans, so it creates a space young people can feel comfortable communicating, with the aim of growing confidence in their communication & interaction skills in different social settings.
Self Esteem & Independence
Animals need to be cared for, so having some responsibility for animals welfare naturally gives people a sense of self-esteem and independence. Working and caring for animals also creates bonds which has positive effects on people’s self-esteem. Caring for animals involves some form of physical work, with health benefits of moving and exercise.
Fun
All activities are designed to be fun and social, whether you want to take part in the everyday day care of an animals or make new friends, our goal is to make everyday a fun day.
Grooming is an important part of everyday care for a horse. Young people can use grooming to understand about the horses body parts and general care. They also get the added benefit of quality time to interact with the animal. Time spent grooming is a great way to understand more about a horse close-up as well as creating bonds and trust with the animal.
Horses will be lead from their stables to their paddocks in the mornings and lead back from their paddock to their stables in the evenings. Young people are supported by staff when leading horses, util they are confident enough to lead horses individually. Handling and leading horses is a great way to build confidence, trust, and a bond with a horse. The confidence gained from these experiences can be taken into everyday life.
As well as the horses, moving the goats and pigs around the farm from paddock to stables and from can also lead to lots more daily fun.
There is a variety of horse welfare activities from washing horses, cleaning stables, general care for the surrounding stables, rugging up horses depending on the time of day and year an understanding how to look after a horse. Most of the activities are active / hands on.
Horses, Goats, Pigs and Alpacas all have their different feeds and feeding times. Young people understand the types of feed each animal needs and the times of days they get feed. They will make feeds, fill hay nets, help feed animals in the fields as well as in their stables. It’s a great opportunity to understand but also connect and care for the animals.
We can support AQA certification aligned with equine and large animal certifications. We use the unit award scheme which is a much more practical way of showing what you have achieved.
Daily Routine
Meet the animals
Wilbur
Pig
Simba
Horse
Tom
Horse
Norman
Pig
Big Dory
Horse
Percy
Pig
Paradise
Shetland Pony
Fancy
Shetland Pony
Pickles
Goat
Blizzard
Goat
Channel
Alpaca
Mary Poppings
Alpaca
AQA certifications
The AQA Unit Award Scheme (UAS) allows young people to acquire work experience and document this experience with a certificate. It enables them to amass a portfolio of certificates that can attest to their skills, knowledge, and experience. This scheme bolsters their confidence, escalates their engagement, and enhances their motivation, helping young people progress on their lifelong journey
Celebration Stories
If you would like to know more information about our alternative service, what we do or how we could help. Please feel free to give us a call or send over an email. We would be more than happy to help or answer your questions.
