That the Parliament commends Horses4Help CIC, which is based near Wigtown in the South Scotland region and led by Julie and Frank Irvine and their dedicated team, for delivering an Equine Facilitated Learning programme, which is unique to the area and designed for schools, home-educated children, individuals who are not in education, employment or training and neurodivergent people of all ages; notes that the programme, which is delivered either through one-to-one sessions or in small groups through non-riding experiential sessions with horses, also offers mindfulness and nature-based activities that promote curiosity, engagement, emotional and social wellbeing and align with the curriculum for excellence; believes that those familiar with horses will appreciate their remarkable power to influence people and the therapeutic benefits of interaction with them; recognises the recent practice of therapeutic horsemanship, which uses groundwork techniques to contribute positively to social, cognitive, emotional and physical wellbeing, and which, it understands, is increasingly recognised in the UK for its benefits across health, education, sport, recreation and leisure; celebrates the programme’s role in fostering skills such as communication, empathy, teamwork, literacy and numeracy, while enhancing confidence, self-belief and relationships; acknowledges the valuable funding support received from both the Holywood Trust and Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway, which has helped strengthen and expand the organisation’s work, and congratulates Julie, Frank and the Horses4Help CIC team on their contribution to inclusive education, outdoor learning and personal development near Wigtown in the South Scotland region.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Colin Beattie, Stephanie Callaghan, Jackie Dunbar, Annabelle Ewing, Kenneth Gibson, Clare Haughey, Jamie Hepburn, Bill Kidd, Fulton MacGregor, Stuart McMillan, Audrey Nicoll, Kevin Stewart, Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Evelyn Tweed