Connected Equine
The Connected Equine Programme
Connected Equine teaches individuals of all ages and backgrounds how to have relationships with horses which are ethical, reflective, and connected. We utilise a programme of reward-based groundwork and ridden exercises. This means that our clients are shown how to give the horses choice and autonomy in their work through an applied understanding of learning theory.
Not all sessions involve riding, and early work in particular may involve spending some sessions working from the ground in order to feel settled and ready to build a relationship with the horse before mounting. We are not a riding school, and we are happy to make recommendations locally if you would prefer traditional lessons.
These sessions balance:
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Skill - we will help you learn how to work with, and ride, horses competently
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Wellbeing - we want you to feel safe, content, and confident in our therapeutic environment
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Equine Welfare - we want our horses to feel happy and comfortable in their work
The first step is to book a visit or an initial assessment. If you're unsure or would like to talk to us about what to expect, please do just get in touch with us.
The Details
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Sessions are 1:1 and last 50 mins
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You will have the same instructor every time, unless they are on leave or unwell
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We offer both short term and long term bookings, most people come weekly or fortnightly
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Sessions are always adapted to your needs, including neurodivergence or mental health difficulties
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No prior horse experience required
Connected Equine Team
Feel free to explore our team's full profiles by clicking on their picture.
We uphold high standards, so our staff have undertaken extensive training, receive regular supervision and engage in CPD. They are first aid trained, safeguarding trained, and DBS clear.
Hope meadows Ethical Statement
Our horses mean the world to us. They make such a huge difference to our staff and our clients wellbeing. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that our handling is based around trust, respect and kindness.
In teaching more traditional approaches, we at times used punishment-based techniques such as whips and excessive leg pressure, in our training or handling practices. We acknowledge that such methods - where something the horse finds negative is applied in response to a behaviour - are used widely in the equestrian world but we are becoming increasingly aware that these methods can cause unnecessary stress, fear, and potential harm to horses. We have decided to phase this out of our work over the coming weeks and we have committed to retraining ourselves, and our horses, to work only with kind approaches going forwards.
Hope Meadows aims to build trust between horses and our clients, and any techniques based on punishment can undermine this trust.
As part of our new programme, we will be prioritising evidence-based, and ethical, approaches including:
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Positive reinforcement, where appropriate behaviours are rewarded using treats and scratches to encourage repetition.
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A focus on clear communication, consistency, and patience in all interactions with our horses.
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Continue our management practices that support the horse’s physical and psychological wellbeing. This includes ad-lib appropriate forage, herd living and the freedom to move around 24/7.
Our goal is to build trusting partnerships that respect our horse as sentient being, leading rich emotional lives, with individual needs and responses. We hope you will join us and support us on this journey.