Equestrian Project
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There have been horses at Crag House farm for centuries, and at Caring For Life we see them not just as work animals but believe they can help in mending the lives of some of the people we care for. Just being around horses and stroking them can reduce stress levels and increase a sense of wellbeing. People who struggle to cope with relationships will engage on a non-verbal level with a horse. Horses are non judgemental, they have no motives or expectations and working alongside them can be a wonderful confidence building experience.

Top; Joe & Henry Middle; Joe & Holly Bottom; Kelly & Vanity

We have a range of different breeds but all our horses have been chosen particularly for their placid nature. Henry is a five year old bay Shire gelding who has been with us almost a year. He is currently being long reined and driven from the ground in readiness for pulling a cart. He is broken to ride, but still needs schooling, and is lunged regularly.
He is extremely gentle and loves being groomed, his favourite thing is to be given a really good rub at the top of his shoulders.

Recently we acquired another Shire to work alongside Henry, a two year old black filly, who we have named Grace. She is the baby of the family, but has taken to being handled and is learning to pick her feet up and get used to being groomed. She too is very placid, and after she has been broken in we are intending to breed some foals from her.

Holly and Lady are Dales Ponies, both black mares, very hardy and strong, they are trained to ride and drive. Holly had a filly foal in 2005 and Lady is due to foal this April.
They are very similar to look at, but Lady has one white sock!

We also have a little white Welsh pony mare, Vanity, who was a show pony in her earlier days. ‘Vanny’ has perfect manners and is very sweet tempered, anyone who is nervous about first approaching horses quickly feels safe handling her.

The daily routine varies according to the time of year and weather, but most days, all the horses are brought in to the stables to be fed, groomed, checked over and then worked, with the people we care for helping at every stage. Because some people need more assistance with tasks than others, we are always looking out for volunteers to be “Buddies” which would help us extend the project and offer places to more people.

We are about to build a new tack room, which will be a base to run the project from ( at the moment some of the bridles are in an office) As I write this it is January, the horses are rather shaggy and muddy, and the best way of warming up is to muck out the stables enthusiastically! Caring for, and working with horses offers all sorts of rewards, I am sure that as this project develops we will be amazed by the therapeutic outcome in the lives of some of the very damaged people we are trying to help.