EQUINE ENCOUNTER

A gentle one-off experience with one of our beautiful horses or ponies – bringing calm, connection, and joy to people experiencing isolation or distress.

The Equine Encounter was created for people who need it most – those experiencing isolation, distress/disengagement, anxiety, chronic illness or those with limited access to nature-based and animal-assisted wellbeing supports.

Time in the quiet presence of a horse can calm the nervous system, lift the spirits, provide an immediate reprieve from life’s challenges and remind us what connection feels like.
Subsidised and fully funded encounters are available.

You will learn:

  • about horse personalities

  • how horses communicate with us

  • some basic horse care

We will teach you how to safely be with a horse. Depending on age or confidence levels this can include:

  • quietly brushing a horse

  • walking with a horse on a ‘grazing tour’

  • playing with a ball together

  • enjoying the horse proudly standing on a pedestal beside you

  • sitting on the horse and being led around

  • standing on the other side of the fence to talk with a pony!

It is about getting close to one of our herd and getting to know them. It can be a reprieve from daily life, or a relaxed introduction to horses for those who are curious about an ongoing pursuit.

A woman and a boy holding a white pony's reins and smiling in an outdoor setting with trees in the background.
A young girl in a pink jacket brushes a white pony as a woman smiles in the background, with another white pony behind her in a stable or farm setting.
Two children, a girl in a pink sweater and a boy in a striped jacket, are Petting two small ponies, one brown and the other white, standing on a sandy area at Horses for Causes.
An adult woman helping two young girls put on helmets at an outdoor arena, with a wooden fence and green trees in the background.
Two young girls and an adult woman with hats and casual clothing pet a brown horse at Horses for Causes, with a white barn and water wheel in the background.
A young girl riding a small horse with a woman walking alongside, while another woman walks nearby on a sunny day at Horses for Causes.
Two children, a girl in a pink sweater and a boy in a striped jacket, petting two ponies, one brown and one white, at Horses for Causes with trees in the background.
A young girl with a sunhat smiling and hugging a white pony on a sunny day at Horses for Causes.
A woman and a girl grooming a white horse in a stable at Horses for Causes.