The idea
We are an independent charity, founded in 2016. Our evidence-based ReStart program delivers specialised, action-based sessions utilising equine therapy to teach essential psycho-social skills.
These sessions provide support for individuals facing significant disengagement, even to the point that they are unable to participate in conventional therapy. Many of these individuals encounter difficulties venturing outside their homes, let alone engaging with society.
In May 22, we were able to relocate to a new facility exclusively dedicated to our operations, complete with a small undercover area. This enabled us to operate year-round which is particularly vital during the winter months when many experience heightened mental health challenges.
As many are sadly aware, the demand for supporting young people facing mental health challenges is greater now than ever before.
To address this increased need and expand our capacity, we need to increase the space we have to work in.
What we'll deliver
- Increased capacity to serve more children, young people and families within our area.
Why it's a great idea
We offer a very unique behavioural change programme. Our service helps individuals learn how to manage their mental health challenges through learning to play games with horses.
Our specially trained horses are able to safely react to individuals' energy & they really can sense what's going on inside even when things look very calm on the outside.
The young people learn that to get Merlin to kick a huge ball or stand on a pedestal they must firstly bring up their energy and be assertive and then be able to reward him and tell him to stay there by being calm.
Everything starts with being calm and we always go back to calm when things often don't go to plan, by day 3 they have had to be calm about 200 times! They do this by choice and then feel so happy about how good that feels for them.
We work on 8 core skills centred on emotional regulation, cognitive skills, and communication which are assessed pre & post course and have extensive evidence on our website.
Steps to get it done
- Doubling the size of our teaching area
In the dryer months of 2023 we were able to use the field to run a project supported by the National Lottery working with entire family units. The outcomes of this project were as follows:
An average improvement of 64% across 8 core areas: calmness, assertiveness, focus, empathy, planning, learning, communication, and responsibility. These gains have been observed to translate effectively into real-life situations.
We tracked daily observations using a behaviour chart, noting shifts towards playful, experimental, and exploratory behaviour indicative of engagement and confidence as learners. Participants consistently showed increases in this with marked decreases in anxious behaviours that hinder learning.
Finally, we conducted a 2-month post-course review with the original referrer to assess skill retention and improvements in four intermediate outcomes:
- Reduction in Problem Behaviours + 95%
- Positive Changes in Identity + 95%
- Increased engagement in education + 89%
