Social & Community

Social and community background left
Social and community background right

Clients typically come to us with severe self-esteem issues, a product of the difficult challenges they face, and of the way their lives have evolved as consequence: giving up on school, unemployment, emotional withdrawal, etc. Interacting with and being present with the horses takes the individual to another place, away from the feelings of judgement and stigma. The effects can be transformational in enabling them to take control of their lives. Our goal is to enable the individual to recognise their own skills and talents.

Our social framework sits under the banner of Eat, Sleep, Achieve and has 4 main pillars to support and develop social and emotional competancies;

Health and Wellbeing

Community

Animals

Carbon Neutral and Sustainability


Our Social Framework

We offer employability and training programs, volunteering opportunities and alternative education provision, designed to support you to learn, communicate or become more confident thanks to our natural environment, professional team and the range of skills they bring such as work-based assessments, outdoor activities, and construction.

We believe you cannot build life skills without building confidence and self-belief. We have a selection of non-ridden offerings that can be tailored to all ages including;

Animal Assisted Intervention involves working on the ground, with the patience of our horses and team to guide you to use mindfulness, sensory and self-care techniques to develop your inner calm, stay present and manage your day-to-day.

Our skills workshops are run by professionals from a wide range of non-equine industries, leading to a range of skills-building sessions in various subjects ranging from politics in our life, budgeting and business architecture to gardening and bushcraft skills.

We also offer youth accreditation through Youth Scotland that acts as a framework to record and recognise young people’s achievements from ages 5+; the Hi5, Dynamic Youth, and Youth Achievement Awards.

Work experience is available for those wishing to expand their options and who also may be struggling in full-time or mainstream education. We can also offer support with completing National 5 English and Maths qualifications if supplied with content and can provide evidence from any work done onsite. We are also happy to supply observational notes to teachers and health and social care professionals.


Rein or Shine is our in-house volunteering program, applicable to all ages, with no previous equine experience needed. In fact, there are opportunities for volunteering that don’t require you to work with horses - you can also work on other practical tasks with building, fencing, gardening, growing and painting.

We greatly appreciate volunteers and the support they offer us, so in return, we can provide opportunities, peer mentoring and training such as first aid, PVGs, and skills building.

We hold a monthly free Youth Club titled ‘You and Your Future’, which is aimed towards ages 8-18 and encourages them to think about our environment, politics, self-care and social and peer interactions. This runs on the first Saturday of every month from 1-3 pm and includes the opportunity to expand into volunteering.

For third sector and public organisations, we can use our wonderful team and site to develop team-building and communication skills, whilst trying something new and more exciting than the traditional ice breakers. Our activity days include blended elements of teamwork, recognition, empathy, communication and reward. Learn how your body language communicates to the horse, play games as a team and have fun in the fresh air. Lunch options can also be provided by local small businesses.

Animal welfare is the driving force behind every interaction between horse and human in our yard - we strive to keep them mentally and physically thriving, and educate all our clients on all aspects of horse husbandry and their importance for a well-rounded experience. There would be no horse to ride without this all-important care. We believe every horse has value and a right to be heard, and we aim to share their stories.

We provide education about holistic approaches with the horses at the forefront.

Our new site is an accessible, sustainable community facility, designed to encourage the community to thrive both physically and emotionally. We seek to inspire and educate all who attend on decisions they can make to benefit the planet and their futures.

All our electricity is produced by solar panels, and we have our own sewage treatment system.

We aim to recycle, reuse, and make the conscious choice to purchase from smaller, more sustainable companies that share our aims in environmental sustainability.

Over our recent volunteering project ‘It’s All Happening Outdoors’, volunteers and staff clocked up over 900 collective hours, based at our new site and worked on the build and construction with reclaimed wood, recycled planets, and natural insulation. Over 2000 trees and plants were planted in the fields and around the rest of the site and boundaries to both provide natural screening and fencing.

The newest project in the pipeline works towards the expansion of our kitchen garden, with the aim to not only allow people the chance to get out and learn some new skills but to provide fresh and seasonal produce to those in the community who may not always have that chance. Our Youth Club has started our new nature pond, to increase the biodiversity of the area and outdoor educational opportunities.

It is impossible to consume ethically under capitalism, however, we can all take steps to work towards a sustainable environment that will benefit generations to come.

Theory of Change

Our theory of change model - how we make a difference to our community and our benefactors

Click here to view the PDF


Depending on the funding available, we offer a range of free spaces for training and courses for children, young people, families and volunteers. Referrals from parents, schools, local councils, social workers and NHS can be taken, please contact us via email or phone.

“There’s something very peaceful about being present with kids, with no pressures or expectations on anyone. Just facilitating them being themselves, which in this world must be very difficult.”