Fur and feather’s feelgood factor

Kate Chapman visits Happy Hooves Lincs CIC, which works with children and adults, helping them form bonds with a variety of animals to boost self-esteem and overcome disabilities.

“Spending time with our animals can positively and permanently change your life,” says Louise Johnson, who runs a therapy centre where young and old are forming bonds with a variety of creatures to build their confidence, make friends and learn new skills.

Happy Hooves Lincs CIC, near Market Rasen, is a not-for profit organisation run by volunteers, who work with people with a wide range of needs including those with autism, mental health problems, physical disabilities and learning difficulties.

Founder and director Louise says the centre provides enjoyable and educational sessions with its animals – horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, owls and more – to help people increase their self-esteem, improve physical abilities as well as have fun.

“The goals and results vary from person to person, it depends on what they want to get out of it,” explains Louise.

“For some people with autism, just getting out of the house and sitting with people they do not know can be really difficult. A lot of people come to us for one-to-ones, as they really struggle with going to public places, meeting new people, so it’s all about building confidence and increasing social skills.

“Some people who have undergone trauma can find it hard to talk about their experience, but having the animals there can break down that barrier. Talking to a therapist can be quite difficult for some, but if they’re able to do it while grooming a horse, it can really help.”

Wellbeing boost
The idea for Happy Hooves was born out of Louise’s role as a house parent at a boarding school. She was working alongside youngsters, some of whom were being bullied while others were homesick, had English as a second language, or only saw their families once a year.

“I often used to bring these children who were struggling to spend time with my own horses,” she recalls.

“Then my wonderful boss, Stephen Bunney, paid for me to complete some additional training to develop these skills and it just went from there. The activities we did boosted their self-esteem, things like team-building for those youngsters who found it difficult to make new friends or lacked self-confidence and other ways of boosting their emotional wellbeing.

“I started the project with my horses, Stephen invested again to help cover things like insurance and licences and I ran it alongside my day job, before deciding to take the step and give up my schoolwork completely. That was in 2015.”

Louise soon brought in more animals after acknowledging that not everyone is able to work safely with or around horses or connect with them. The centre is now also home to birds of prey, donkeys, goats, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, a tortoise, as well as Louise’s two Clydesdale horses and two ponies.

“We’ve also moved to bigger premises, on an old dairy farm, which has a bigger car park. We’re more like a therapy farm now,” she says.

Amazing volunteers
Those who use the service include people who have self-referred, or those who have been referred by their GP or social services. Some attend one-to-ones, while others take part in group sessions. Happy Hooves also hosts home education and adult social groups and runs a children’s session at the weekend.

Thanks to grant funding from West Lindsey District Council Community Fund, Happy Hooves is currently running an outreach service, so volunteers can take some of the smaller animals into the community to visit day centres, care homes and schools, to help more people.

“For some people, what we do really is life-changing,” says Louise. “We have one guy who has been coming for years. He had a nervous breakdown, and couldn’t leave the house, but he started attending, at first with his mum and now he comes alone. His confidence has grown so much. It’s amazing to see.”

Louise says Happy Hooves is always looking to deliver more, but it needs to train additional volunteers to be able to fit in more client sessions: “Unfortunately, it’s always a struggle to find the time and money to complete the training.”

The centre has recently received grant funding from Shine (Lincolnshire County Council and NHS) but relies on open days and other events and support to help cover its costs.

“We rely very heavily on donations and fundraising to cover our running costs, so we can keep on offering this unique service to all the wonderful people we work with,” says Louise.

“I’ve got to thank our volunteers, they’re amazing. We couldn’t do it without them.”

Happy Hooves is open 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday and on Sunday for a children’s session. To find out more about the services on offer and to get in touch, visit www.happyhooves.org.uk

Photographs: Happy Hooves Lincs CIC

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