Horses Helping Humans
Horse Time is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) that facilitates the delivery of non-ridden equine led educational life skills and well-being programmes.
Why do we use horses?
Horses are able to give immediate, honest and non-judgmental feedback on how our behaviour is interpreted by others. Unlike humans, horses are unable to ‘fake it’ to avoid negative feelings or socially awkward interactions.
How does Horse Time create change?
This authentic feedback on how we are perceived by others, combined with the application of appropriate tools and strategies, increases our awareness and provides us with the necessary insights we need to change our behaviour.
We have the right skills to make a difference
Our unique blend of expertise caters for a wide variety of needs, ensuring the best possible outcomes for our beneficiaries, in a safe and supportive environment.
But it's all about funding
The biggest challenge Horse Time faces is to fund the ever-increasing number of beneficiaries desperately trying to access the transformational solutions we can offer.
And we need your help to do our work
The more funding we can raise, the more people we will be able to help. We need your help to ensure that we can expand our programmes to help transform the lives of many more people. Please donate now
Who we are and what we do
Our programmes
Horses for Forces, Horse ChAT and Horse Time Bespoke all initiate positive change in people by harnessing the psychological and emotional benefits of working in partnership with horses.
In short, all of our programmes create the opportunity for personal, emotional and relational learning insights that ultimately enable people to reach their full unique potential and interact more successfully with society.
Horses for Forces
Focused on veterans, first responders and their families
A series of three equine facilitated life skills and well-being residential workshops specifically designed to meet the needs of veterans, first responders and emergency service personnel struggling to transition successfully into civilian life.
On completion of this programme, participants can continue their journey with Horse Time by choosing to enrol in individual psychological trauma therapy if necessary.
Horse Chat
Engaging with young people
This programme can be delivered individually or in small groups. It is designed to help children and adolescents transition through challenging periods of life.
Horse ChAT also delivers a schools programme via the Dream Team that develops awareness and provides essential coping strategies for children facing challenging transitional periods in their school lives. The individual or small group programmes are usually delivered weekly over approximately 12 sessions.
Horse Time Bespoke
Flexible sessions, whatever the requirement
These programmes are tailor-made and designed to support and meet the specific needs of carers, people with mental health difficulties, disabilities and other additional needs.
Horse Time Bespoke programmes can be delivered individually or to small groups with similar requirements. We can also provide weekly individual psychological trauma therapy sessions for those significantly affected by trauma and PTSD.
Workshop 1 provides a safe environment for veterans and first responders to learn how to self regulate more effectively. Workshop 2 is a trauma-focused workshop, which builds on the information, tools and strategies taught in Workshop 1. And workshop 3 builds on the information and skills acquired in the previous workshops.
Each workshop is delivered over three days and creates opportunities for up to nine veterans to work in partnership with our horses. We also deliver The Horses for Forces Plus 1 Programme to support families and loved ones.
The Horse ChAT Schools programme is delivered in schools over three sessions and is facilitated by our mobile unit, the Dream Team.
One of the biggest barriers when working with this age group is engaging young people in a process that they feel has meaning and relevance to the problems they are encountering. Horse ChAT breaks down this barrier by facilitating sessions with the horses that enable the participants to safely experiment with new ways of behaving in a non-judgmental, non-threatening environment.
Some beneficiaries require a more flexible, adaptable or opportunistic approach. In these cases bespoke programmes are designed to meet a more specific set of needs or circumstances.
Our mobile unit can deliver our services in local centres for people with mental health difficulties, disabilities and additional needs over a series of six sessions. Bespoke sessions with the Dream Team are facilitated in various local centres to support the specific needs of the adults and young people the centres provide for.
For more information about our programmes see our Annual Review.
“As soon as I started working with Horses the effect was immediate. For the first time in years I felt like I could breathe again…”
Vince, King’s Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) veteran with PTSD
Our team
The success of our team lies in the individual skill set and experience each member brings to the delivery of our programmes. This combined with our value-based approach enables us to provide the best possible experience and outcomes for each beneficiary.
“Horse Time has given me a better understanding of the human condition. I have learnt a new script about how to ‘be’ in social situations.”
Maia, Aspergic
Find out why our work at Horses for Forces is so important
Find out how our horses gave one ex-serviceman a new lease of life
How to get in touch
Phone
01890 860280
Address
Horse Time SCIO, The Steading, Little Swinton, Coldstream, Berwickshire TD12 4HH
We are located on a farm called Little Swinton in
the Scottish Borders, approximately 12 miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed.