BLUEBERRY

“Blue” is a confident, gregarious soul and specialises in looking after our smaller cerebral palsy riders. He is versatile -he also helps children with a variety of other special needs like ADHD, as well as teaching our young able bodied riders. He takes his work seriously, but loves jumping and frolicking with the herd in his free time.

BO

Bo came from the Society for Animals in Distress (SAID) in Vorna Valley. He needed a change of career from being a coal yard pony in Tembisa, and became an equine therapist at our centre, thus beginning his journey to helping people in different ways. He has proved to be a self-assured and steadfast pony, being an enormous support when working with outreach programmes especially. He tends to be a little skeptical at first but when he decides to commit, he does so wholeheartedly.

COSMOS

“Cozzie” is a quiet, gentle old lady who is deeply engaged with her work. She transmits a great comfort and understanding through her own stillness and her many years of experience of being with humans and doing therapeutic work. She is very much loved by our little kids, and she is a safe haven for very anxious children or adults.
KINDLY SPONSORED BY THE FLORAL AFFAIRS CLUB

DIAMOND DIEGO

Diego, the newest and also youngest member of the herd, is a fiery chestnut with a gentle heart. He is currently being rehabilitated by the herd to find his place as a horse, and educated by Natalie to be able to do the therapeutic riding work within our human context. He will be perfectly suited to carry and teach our small, younger riders in the years to come!

HERCULES

This elegant grey relates to his disabled charges with great sensitivity and intellect. His slim build and long rhythmic stride make him an ideal mount for our di-plegic and hemi-plegic riders. We can rely on him to hold some of our most disabled riders, despite the difficulty of the task. He has bonded closely with Spirit and Sheba, and when our lovely Friesian mare Melodie comes into season, he is a gallant partner for her too.

LADY WONDER

Wonder is a spirited young lady with much potential- while she is taking part in much of the varied work we do, she is still set back by some injuries to her body from the long gone past. She shows a strong character which is tempered by gentleness and generosity. Rather than doing outreach programmes, she has shown a keen interest in teaching all our varied riders.

MELODIE FAIR

Mel brings a new dynamic to the herd through her elegance and vivacious nature. Along with Spirit and Sheba, she is the other apple of Hercule's eye. Melodie is steadfast in her gentle mothering behaviour, both within the herd and with humans. She shows a quiet curiosity towards people in general, and a deep understanding in particular to our disabled children. She carries our larger, more sensitive children.

PEAT

Peat’s main hobby is food, and his second favourite hobby is also food. Outside of this particular love, he works mostly with our mentally challenged and autistic riders. His broad build and steady stride also make him very suitable for riders with ataxia and balance issues. He is one of our most educated horses in the sense of a classical dressage foundation, and teaches this to some of our children.

SPIRIT

Spirit shows the wonderful free forward movement, that her name suggests. She is a good all-rounder, although she does not like being in situations with high sensory stimulation; this overwhelms her. She is very supportive of her riders, and since she is so responsive to subtleties, she is ideal for riders without much muscle power. She holds a very matriarchal energy within the herd, aware and concerned of the overall situation and safety of all the herd members. Her lifelong mate is Hercules, who is often by her side when they are in the paddock.

PEPPER

Our young Pepper is a lovely roan gelding. He is a handsome 7-year old with a very open, gentle and curious nature. He has had a good education from his uncles Blue and Peat, and Natalie has also had some input – he is now regularly taking part in therapy riding lessons, alongside our other equine facilitated work, which he has been a part of for much longer. After lessons, he seeks out his good friend Melodie, who is always a source of comfort to him.

SHEBA

Sheba is the ultimate lady and is always ready to pose for the camera. She is pretty and of a more refined-and sometimes very fiery- character, bringing warmth and support to her riders. She has some serious physical issues from the past, which we are still trying to get to the bottom of, and so her therapy riding work is somewhat limited. Instead, she shows up for our outreach groups and equine facilitated work, where she shares her lovely feminine energy with all of us.

SHERRY

This older mare works with our smaller riders with cerebral palsy, but also has a wonderful rapport with those who do not or cannot ride. She is extremely patient with children who just want to touch or talk to her and enjoys their efforts at grooming her. She is actually quite shy, but is firm friends with Sunny and they spend most of their free time together. This duo also takes on the challenges of travelling to the odd expo or indoor exhibition, to show the work that we do.

THANDI AND UNATHI

Although they are diminutive in size, they have huge personalities and they love people. They are the main therapists in our interactive Chat and Pat programme and work with those who are unable to ride i.e. the severely disabled, the frail and the elderly. They are also EARTH Centre “ice breakers” for new groups that come to work with the horses -the little donkeys give confidence to many, who at first feel overwhelmed by all the horses and ponies. The donkeys are unbelievably cute, but they also show incredible courage and tenacity, never ever giving away their personal power and “donkey essence”.