news The Power of Thoroughbreds

During the next four weeks Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) will be highlighting The Power of Thoroughbreds and exploring the many roles that they can play in optimising physical and mental well-being in all of us. During the four weeks, we will be highlighting the work of four charities through our social media platforms that use former racehorses within their programmes; Greatwood Charity, Peopleton Brook, Horseback UK and HEROS.

Equine therapy, also known as Equine-Assisted Intervention, is a treatment that includes equine activities or an equine environment in order to promote physical, occupational and emotional growth in a person. Therapy can help individuals build confidence, self-efficacy, social skills and learn boundaries.

Established in 1993, Greatwood was the first charity to use former racehorses to educate disadvantaged children and has been delivering alternative provision education programmes since 2006. Emotional wellbeing, mindfulness and inclusion are at the heart of all of Greatwood's educational programmes. For further information visit https://www.greatwoodcharity.org/

Peopleton Brook is an inclusive, family run Care Farm which is home to horses, alpaca, goats and a number of other farm animals set in eighteen acres of the beautiful Cotswolds countryside. They welcome young people, adults and students with a range of additional needs, to come and care for these animals and benefit from the relaxed and therapeutic atmosphere. For further information visit https://www.peopletonbrookfarm.co.uk/

HorseBack UK is a charity set up to empower service personnel and veterans suffering from life-changing injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress and to aid them on their road to recovery. The charity aims to inspire recovery, regain self-esteem and promote positive change in an individual. Using horsemanship and outdoor activities, they deliver nationally recognised and accredited personal development programmes that encourage our participants to acquire new coping strategies, life skills and build lasting resilience. For further information visit https://horseback.org.uk/

HEROS Charity has been operating since 2006 and began with a focus on ex-racehorse re-training and re-homing. Now, in addition they offer a range of programmes associated with horses from birth to old age, HEROS provides a range of education and training including alternative to school placements and offers a variety of courses from age 11 onwards. For further information visit https://www.facebook.com/heroscharity/