The site at Pony Pals Wrekin is fundamental to the work we do to promote learning and wellbeing in a range of conditions including autism. We are in a calm natural setting, secure and secluded. We have the benefit of running water in the form of a stream which allows for water play in many forms. Natural slopes and trees also create movement from the setting itself.
The site is full of natural resources, supplemented by natural play equipment, offering learning and fun opportunities.
Outdoor adventures
Our beautiful surroundings offer many opportunities for outdoor activities and adventures. The Wrekin and The Ercall are on our doorstep and we often organise walks and treasure hunts throughout the year and picnic trails in the summer. This allows us to engage children with geology, biology, ecology, and develop and encourage tracking and map reading skills.
Schools can make use of our learning and wellbeing facilities
Schools using Pony Pals Wrekin can make further use of the setting, for no additional charge, for school-led activities with the children whilst one-to-one learning and wellbeing sessions with the ponies take place. School are also able to use our outdoor cooking facilities to encourage the children to participate in the cooking process.
Find out more about how schools can use our facilities.
Personal Experience
I am Wendy Garratt and I am the proprietor of Pony Pals Wrekin. I have been riding since I was 6 years old. These relationships with my ponies and horses have helped me to cope with the many challenges that life has thrown at me.
I have dyslexia, and have struggled at times to achieve academic and professional successes due to this. My ponies have at all times been my coping mechanism.
I am also a parent to three children, all of whom have dyslexia, and in addition one also lives with the experience of autism. One day, on my way to a hospital appointment, I was looking for material to read at the train station when I cam across Ruper Isaacson's book on the Horse Boy Method.
The science and the story behind the book hit a strong note with me. Having seen how riding regularly changed my child’s mood, I could see the process working in front of me!
Since I first read this book, I moved the family to our current home. This is now also the site for Pony Pals Wrekin, although the buildings and the fields where the therapy takes place are totally separate from our home.
I have taken various levels of Movement Method and Horse Boy training, and this knowledge, coupled with my experience of autism as a parent and being an experienced rider, allows me to offer bespoke sessions to children and partner schools by creating the correct physical and human environment at Pony Pals Wrekin.
Want to make a booking?
