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If your child loves horses, your first thought might be to find them a riding school, and for plenty of children that will be exactly the right thing. But there are also children and adults who desperately want to be around horses and ride but find the traditional riding-school environment difficult to access. That is where therapeutic and wellbeing riding can offer something different. What is the difference between therapeutic riding and riding lessons? The main purpose of

We have woodland, open fields and plenty of ways to work with somebody outdoors without involving a pony, so why do we use horses? There are plenty of claims made about horses and mental health and I think we have to be careful with some of them. Horses aren't magical. We don't need to pretend they are to recognise that working alongside them can give us something very different to work with. Equine-Assisted Learning and SEND Horses are constantly paying attention to what is

I don't particularly like the term “school refusal”. Refusal makes it sound like a choice. For some children and teenagers, that isn't what is happening at all. They may want to go to school. They may want to learn. They may be worried about missing lessons, falling behind or losing their friends. And they still can't get through the door. Look at what is happening underneath attendance not at 'School Refusal' There are lots of reasons why a child might struggle to access sch

If your child isn't attending school, you can very quickly find yourself hearing a whole new language. Section 19. Alternative Provision. EOTAS. EHCP. They are often talked about as though they are all the same thing. They aren't. What does Section 19 actually mean? Section 19 comes from the Education Act 1996. It places a duty on local authorities to arrange suitable education for compulsory-school-age children who, because of illness, exclusion or other reasons, would not o

If your child has an EHCP and you think they would benefit from equine-based or outdoor provision, the important question isn't really whether you can get “equine therapy” written into their EHCP. The question is what does your child need, and what provision is needed to meet those needs? That is what Section F is about. What is Section F of the EHCP? Section F of an EHCP sets out the special educational provision a child or young person needs because of their SEND. This is t

One of the things I hear most often from parents is, "Can outdoor learning be included in an EHCP?" The short answer is yes. Not all children learn best sitting in a classroom, and there is nothing wrong with that. Every child deserves an education, but what that education looks like should depend on the child receiving it. For some children, a busy classroom is exactly where they thrive. For others, anxiety, sensory differences, emotional regulation difficulties, autism, or

The Wild Mane Project offers challenge badges and certificates to children, teens, and young adults in Alternative Provision or EOTAS in Tameside, Stockport, and Manchester. Not all children cope in a classroom, and Section 19 exists to protect those who cannot attend school for a variety of reasons. Every child and young person deserves an education, but what that education looks like should depend on the individual receiving it. For some, a mainstream classroom works well.

The law around dogs and livestock hasn’t changed for more than seventy years, and to be honest, it has never matched the countryside we live in now. But this winter, the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act has finally been updated. It has passed through Parliament and is now waiting for Royal Assent.

Emotional intelligence isn’t a term for being calm or good with people. It’s simply the ability to notice what’s going on inside you, make sense of it, and respond in a way that doesn’t hurt you or anyone else. It’s about understanding your emotions instead of being ruled by them, and learning that every feeling has something to say if you give it space. Most of us were never really taught this. We were told to calm down, to stop crying, to get on with it. But that’s where we

We had the farrier out at Wild Mane this week, which is a normal part of caring for hotses and ponies. But for many people who follow our work, the word farrier might be completely new. Here’s a straightforward look at what a farrier does and why their work matters. A farrier is a trained professional who looks after a horse’s hooves. Think of them as the hoof (a horses foot) specialist. Just like people need foot care, horses need it even more because their entire body weig

People often ask why our ponies live out all year. It’s a fair question, especially when the rain moves sideways across Werneth Low and the mud clings to your boots before you even reach the gate. But if you stand there for a while, watch how they move, how they choose where to stand, how they lean into each other when the wind changes, you begin to see why.

We don’t try to silence emotions here, we listen to them. We ask what they’re trying to say. Sometimes they show up as anger, withdrawal, humour, or tears. Sometimes they hide altogether. Our work is to bring them gently back into awareness, not to hide them away, but to translate them into understanding. That’s emotional fluency, and it’s far more powerful than learning how to suppress your emotions.

When people ask why I started Wild Mane, I never know where to begin. It’s not one single moment, it’s been a lifetime of small moments that led me here.