Do you have your own horse, and can you spare two or three hours per week to support individuals to spend time with your horse?

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust – the mental health trust for the county – is on the lookout for horse owners who would be interested in working with the Trust as a volunteer/befriender to provide a beneficial activity for local individuals.

Working with and being around horses has been proven to benefit those suffering with mental ill-health and associated problems.

The individuals looking for this opportunity have recently completed a 12-week programme called Equine Assisted Recovery (EAR). EAR is a task-focused activity that uses the horse and its environment to enhance and develop service users’ life skills such as communication, confidence, problem solving, self-esteem and decision-making.

It also allows them to learn a range of new skills connected with horsemanship such as grooming, mucking out, cleaning tack, and tacking up. They also had the opportunity to spend time watching horse behaviour patterns and to simply spend time with the animals, which had a relaxing effect on both horses and humans.

Penny Blythe, community support worker, said: “Some of the individuals who completed the course are eager to continue their contact with horses because of the enjoyment and benefits to both themselves and the horses.

“It is difficult to emphasise how much pleasure the service users gain from this experience, but those people who have their own horse will recognise the benefits of being around horses.

“It would be great if people could find time to support individuals to spend time with their horse. As part of this process those who volunteer their horse and their services will be offered support from a staff member who co-facilitated the Equine Assisted Recovery Programme.”

The Trust is carrying out ongoing work to try and pinpoint more precisely why this type of contact with horses can be so beneficial.

If you are interested in becoming an equine volunteer, or would like more information, then please contact Penny Blythe on 01427 610844 or penny.blythe@lpt.nhs.uk.