"The Value of Horses"
By Peter Parkinson
As I look out of my office window I can see the Dales Ponies and Shires grazing very peacefully, and beyond them part of our flock of White Faced Woodland sheep grazing beyond the equestrian paddocks.
The equestrian paddocks are divided up with electric fencing, a relatively cheap and effective way to keep the horses in order.
The sheep respect the fencing, at least most do, but their fleeces do protect them from the
shock, so it is always likely that some will squeeze under. Ironically it is always the same characters that break the rules and graze where they ought not to do, and every morning I see a line of four sheep, who after squeezing under the electric fence, walk through one of the paddocks then out the other side, to graze in the richer and more lush grass in the field immediately outside my office.
I guess there are always the ones who have to do it differently, and I am sure there are a few potential illustrations for sermons in there somewhere!
Last Sunday evening, 22nd August, a two-part series began featuring Martyn Clunes called ‘Horsepower’. It demonstrated some of the issues which we are discovering regarding the value of using horses in a pastoral and therapeutic setting to help all manner of people. The care of our horses, grooming, driving and riding is a therapy of incalculable value that we are seeing more and more people benefit from.
Our recent registration with RDA (Riding For the Disabled) has brought us into a new sphere of service and ministry, and we are hoping to see this develop in the future.
Not only are our horses able to provide huge therapeutic value for those in our care, they also enable a very valuable means to future promoting of our meat, eggs and our Granary Coffee shop as well as our farm shop, uniquely blending a project of therapeutic value with a means of advertising and promoting our produce.
