Horserenity Community Interest Company

Horserenity CIC is an equine facilitated learning centre. We are based in Blandford Forum in Dorset, we have 16 acres of paddocks that we run as a track system, and work alongside a mixed herd of 12 horses. We have two facilitators, who are full time and a number of freelance facilitators including trauma informed counsellors and a clinical psychologist. We spend time working with children, young people and adults who are struggling with their mental well-being and day to day equilibrium. We create a safe environment for our learners and clients to spend time with the horses. Horses are non-judgmental beings, who live in the moment and close to their fight, flight or freeze mechanisms a place that many of our clients find themselves all too often. A horse can hear your heartbeat from 4 feet away and will start to assess your emotional congruency and emotional clarity as soon as you approach. Clients might spend time doing herd observations, grooming, working with their energy and a horse, leading a horse, learning breathing techniques, doing mindfulness exercises, reflecting on both their feelings and the horses' behaviours. We work individually with every client and learner to build a programme that will meet their needs and agree individual goals before we proceed as it is important for them to see their own progress and find intrinsic reward in this. We are now also qualified to train the trainer and we design and offer OCNLR accredited qualification from level 1 to level 4 for those who want to move on to facilitate their own therapeutic interactions with horses. We have also launched into team and leadership coaching with corporate teams and are running group work with NHS front line workers, care givers and other groups who need support from us and the horses. Over the last 18 months we have also started to work with the Armed Forces Equine Charity (AFEC) to bring the guidance of the horses to veterans behind the wire and have invited ex-servicemen and women in the prison service to attend group day sessions at Kites Farm. We have introduced an arts-based therapy complementing the work with the horses and encourage the group to openly express themselves via the medium of their choice. We also now have a Maker Group that completes projects around the farm to promote their group working skills and softer skills needed for life. We have a number of volunteers that have joined us this year and are contributing to the healing space that is Kites Farm.