For Mental Health Awareness Week, we're highlighting how horses help us heal. Eat Sleep Ride is a rural charity in Berwickshire, using equine-assisted coaching to support young people, families, and adults facing barriers to wellbeing. Through connection with horses, we help people build emotional resilience, confidence, and life skills in a safe, nature-based setting.

In 2023, we completed our first carbon audit with the support of SRUC. Our total emissions were 14,836 kg CO2e, mainly from horse digestion (methane) and necessary energy use on-site. Though we're not a typical farm, this audit helps us take real steps to reduce emissions, including expanding renewable energy with more solar panels, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing biodiversity in our grasslands to store more carbon.

Empower Her is a trauma-informed leadership and wellbeing programme for women. Rooted in nature, horses, and lived experience, it helps women reconnect with their inner voice, build self-worth, and lead with presence.

As part of Refugee Festival Scotland 2025, Eat Sleep Ride hosted a special event at our off-grid farm in Lamberton, welcoming refugee families and local community members for a day of connection, culture, and healing through horses. Activities included grooming, garden play, cultural food, henna, and shared stories.

Amrita Mojumder is a medical graduate from Bangladesh and a current Master of Public Health student at the University of Aberdeen. As part of her extended work-based placement, she is evaluating the social impact of Eat Sleep Ride's equine-assisted programmes. Passionate about inclusive health and nature-based interventions, Sadia is helping to build evidence that supports the wellbeing of diverse communities.

We're now partnered with HORSED, the UK's leading equestrian marketplace app. It's like Vinted or Etsy — but just for horse lovers! Buy and sell second-hand tack, clothing, boots, and more. Discover small brands and shop items from top riders. Download the app through our link and help us earn rewards for the stables.

We're excited to share a new article by our founder in Brainz Magazine, reflecting on the power of equine-assisted learning and shared leadership. In "The Gate Was Never Locked — They Just Needed to Know They Could Walk Through It," we explore how horses model emotional intelligence, and how Eat Sleep Ride supports young people, women, and communities to step into leadership with confidence and compassion.

Eat Sleep Ride hosted a powerful digital safety workshop exploring Snapchat and online wellbeing. Led by 7 brilliant young leaders who came together with adult staff and volunteers to unpack social pressures, disappearing messages, location sharing, and ghosting. With real-life scenarios and breakout groups, we built confidence around safety, communication, and reporting concerns. Supported by Youth Scotland, the session helped strengthen our trauma-informed safeguarding across rural youth programmes.

In 2025, Amrita Mojumder, a Master of Public Health student at the University of Aberdeen, produced the first independent Social Impact Measurement Report on Eat Sleep Ride. Her research found that equine-assisted learning helps young people and families facing disadvantage to build confidence, resilience, and wellbeing. Volunteers gain real skills, pathways into mentoring, and employment opportunities. Our site promotes sustainability through rewilding, food growing, solar power, and ethical equine care.

We were delighted to host the lads from Andy's Man Club for an evening of mindfulness, horses and connection. They explored our gardens, pond and herd, before working with Ben and Frazzel to reflect on grounding, intention and boundaries. One participant said: "If someone told me I would learn something about myself from horses, I would have laughed - but I did!" The evening ended with a BBQ, fresh vegetables and plenty of conversation.