equine

Stability | Building skills through equine-assisted learning

Updated November 2025

We worked with The Heart Centre to offer a specialist equine-assisted learning programme for displaced young people in Surrey.

Having seen first-hand, through our previous programmes, the positive impact that working with horses has on the young people and thanks to funding from the Community Foundation for Surrey, we were able to run several programmes over a four year period that helped young people build self-esteem and supported wellbeing.

Our Stability programme gave young people the chance to spend time with horses – developing skills in communication, coaching, horsemanship and English language. Horses can play a significant role in mental wellbeing and at the heart of this programme was a therapeutic focus on self-esteem and coping mechanisms for responding to trauma and distress.

Over the six sessions, participants learnt to develop relationships with their horses, through activities like grooming, mucking out and learning how to communicate instructions and understand the horse’s response. The focus then moved to trust and undertaking challenges with their partners (horse and human) where trust is essential, including moving around an obstacle course blindfolded and trekking around the beautiful local bridle paths.

“They loved the equine programme… I have noticed a big change in their emotional wellbeing, they appear more content, are sleeping better, feeling less anxious and looking forward to their future. It’s wonderful.”
Tracy, Key worker

“It was my best days. The horses were my friends and they understand my language.”
Stability participant.

We're not running any equine programmes at the moment. But we can connect support workers directly with the stables. If you have a young person you think would benefit from this kind of programme please email [email protected]