Shire company goes from strength to strength

A WIGTOWNSHIRE interest company continues to go from strength to strength, working with over 500 individuals since it began.
Horses4Help CIC has been offering therapeutic equine learning and nature-based wellbeing services for adults and children within Dumfries and Galloway for three years.
Director Julie Irvine ran a similar service up in Fife before moving to Wigtown and believes that engaging in non-ridden activities can help
individuals with poor concentration can improve focus and goals and the social and emotional interaction, as well as boost confidence and self-esteem and reduce stress and anxiety.
She said: “They say that horses mirror emotion. So, a horse is obviously part of a herd animal, and they rely on body language.
“So it can be really good because it’s good for people that are non-verbal or people that are masking emotions or have shut down.”
Horses4help’s see their ‘purely therapeutic’ encourages participants to look beyond their perceived limitations, Julie continued: “We’re not here to fix anyone, we’re purely therapeutic.
“Rightly or wrongly, there is a huge amount of emphasis on labels at the moment, and I get emails from family members saying, ‘My child has ABC, and D, and we’re not interested in that because, horses don’t see the labels, they just see people.
“Whilst labels can be necessary for getting help and support, they can also limit people, because some people think, well, I can’t do that because I’ve got so and so.
“But the animals don’t see those labels, they just see people, and they’ll just work along with a person.”
As the service continues to grow in popularity Julie and the team have been recognised with multiple awards, most recently the Awarding Wigtownshire Special Recognition Award, and are hoping to expand and work more with schools and people not in education, employment or training.
Julie added: “It’s really rewarding work, and we’re offering a unique service in the area.
“What we really want to help with is catching those individuals, that aren’t in any education, employment or training, and that’s a big problem all over the country, but trying to help people not fall into that path, you know, is something that’s really important to us.”