Real Horse Link

About Real Horse Link

Real Horse Link is a Community Interest Company delivering TheHorseCourse, a horse assisted intervention, in Wiltshire and Swindon. Facilitators are trained and approved by TheHorseCourse, a registered charity based in Dorset.

TheHorseCourse is aimed at those who are suffering social exclusion due to poor emotional or thinking skills. This might manifest as offending, isolation, reliance on mental health or social services, drug and alcohol use, disengagement from school, training and work, or a host of other difficulties.

Services Provided:

Our flagship course is The ReStart over five consecutive days, 2 hours per day:

We do very little talking – the course is action-based, designed to interrupt participants’ usual thinking and emotional responses, whilst responsive to their pace and needs. Participants get one-to-one support from expert facilitators to learn and rehearse the eight skills shown on the THC Star. Positive habits are rewarded with success in an urgent context with clear feedback from unbiased, sensitive and expressive horses.

70%* of all participants improve across four outcomes:

1. Relationships with peers, family and professionals
2. Problem behaviours
3. Engagement with school, training or work
4. Identity, self-belief and hope

*Based on referrer follow-up two months post intervention

Supports:

Ages 8 years to adults

Areas Covered:

Wiltshire & Swindon

How are services accessed?

Participants are referred through professional services such as: Schools PRUs, social workers, mental health teams, offending teams, specialist agencies e.g. drug and alcohol, domestic violence.