Pony Therapy Sessions

Throughout the summer, starting in July, The Magpie Centre ran several sessions of Pony Therapy especially for our young carers. The therapy helps to calm and also give confidence in a safe environment. A perfect example of pony therapy being a success involved one particular young carer who was especially anxious of the ponies. But, with the help of the Magpie staff and the very well-behaved pony, the young carer was up close and grooming the pony within twenty minutes. The young carer even lead the pony back to his field.

It’s been valuable for the children to grow in confidence when being around the ponies. With the added bonus of strengthening their self-confidence in knowing that they can take care of the larger animals.

This type of therapy involving activities of grooming the animal, feeding and leading, has been shown to have a positive difference with an individuals emotional regulation, with taking responsibility and with improving self-confidence.

Children can often find it difficult to open up and process painful emotions and experiences, so pony therapy offers the perfect environment for them to feel safe in talking, sharing and feeling.

All those who attended the sessions had a great time and we recieved wonderful feedback from parents and guardians about how much the activity had been enjoyed.