Invisible Disabilities & Equine Therapy

• We are a non profit club that raises awareness of invisible disabilities and health conditions, promoting the benefits that horses, riding and carriage driving can bring to our community 

• Our “disabilities “ are referred to as “special abilities “ our club encourages a positive view to keep away from negative stereotypes

• Based at Plumtree School of Equitation and Carriage Driving we access to an excellent selection of horses and Knowledgeable, kind staff
  
  Why are we crowdfunding?

The club was actually developed just before lockdown, due to Covid restrictions we only fully launched in January 2023.

. This year financially has been incredibly difficult as all our cost have drastically increased, but also , we are based in a lower demographic area , making increasing the price of tuition not a viable solution. Our hay & haylage prices have increased twice this year already along with the farrier and vets fees.

Due to my disabilities the British Horse Society concluded that I couldn’t teach without an assistant. They insisted that I informed our insurance company of my disabilities and use of a mobility scooter to teach from. As a consequence, this year my insurance fees have doubled, along with the financial cost of employing a “Support worker “ Thankfully “Access to work “ have agreed to financially support the costs of a support worker. 

Our experience of lockdown only demonstrated how essential access to the horses is for our community. Many of our members have chronic pain conditions and carriage driving or horse riding are they only time they have any relief from pain. Some have Autism and being away from the horses had a deeply emotional impact. To the point that a few members expressed the isolation made them feel suicidal.

Horses are natural healers. Being around them is a truly magical experience. They are my passion and my life. 

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How we’ll spend the money raised

The money raised will go towards the vets fees incurred for routine vaccinations, dental work and extra cost of annual inspections ( they were every 3 years ) 

Community impact

Lockdown gave us a glimpse as the the effect of our club being closed had on our community. It was heartbreaking to see clients suffer without their access to the horses and the environment at Plumtree. It’s a sanctuary away from the chaos of everyday life.

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How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!