The aim of an adult course is to provide a safe, calm and welcoming place where individuals can come to develop new skill sets and begin to focus on emotional and mental insecurities; we do this by utilising horse and land-based activities. Using a combination of direct work with our rescue ponies and working through a stable management syllabus participants feel a sense of achievement. Many of our horses and ponies have a history of physical and mental neglect/abuse before they found their home at Stable Lives. We share their stories to help adults navigate processing emotional and mental issues and insecurities within their own lives.
Who is the course for?
In our experience, course participants arrive with a variety of mental and emotional challenges. These challenges can be either home or work related – or in some cases both. We work with a range of adults referred to us for a variety of reasons from lack of confidence, low self-esteem and feelings of low self-worth to complex cases of PTSD, self-harm, depression and suicidal thoughts. Our unique programmes mean bespoke support is available to each participant in a group setting. Our team have completed additional training to support neurodiverse participants, but it is relevant to note that we are primarily a mental health intervention.
Holistically we will focus on:
- Building trust and developing empathy with others.
- Recognising mental trauma in horses and understanding how to rehabilitate them and reintroduce them into a calm environment (this is then discussed and related to human behaviour).
- Building confidence to learn new skills.
- Developing the ability to read equine body language and then to relate it to human body language.
- Developing improved feelings of self-worth and self-esteem.
- Develop a personal strategy to recognise and the deal with feelings of depression, anxiety and stress.
- Empower participants to look out of their own lives into the community to see how they can support and educate others.
Adult Courses
Adult courses run regularly throughout the year. Courses are structured: one day a week for four hours (total: 20 hours).
Regardless of the challenges being faced our Adult Course aims to support all in creating space and time whilst providing a positive outlook in times of difficulty.
During the sessions we use equine and land-based activities to build confidence, self- esteem and resilience. Within the equine work we use our rescue horses who have experienced trauma themselves. Participants don’t need any previous experience with horses but a liking of the outdoors is beneficial!
A typical timetable for a day would be as follows:
10am – Meet, Brew and Mental Health Input
10:30 – 12 – Equestrian Activities
12 – 12:45 – Lunch
12:45 – 2 – Community or Land Based Project
Adult Respite Days
Adult respite days are designed for anyone who may be struggling with mental health challenges or finding work/ family life difficult.
We provide bespoke support groups for corporate/ teams requiring support.
These are very relaxed days in small groups learning equestrian and rural craft skills. All food and equipment are included and the course is free to attend.
Perfect for members of blue light teams who need team building days/ down time.
2 Hour Session – Meet, Mental Heath Input, Equestrian Activities
4 Hour Session – Meet and a Brew + Equestrian Activities + Lunch + Community or Land Based Project (Bespoke)