The spiritual healing which can come from equine therapy is not simply an American innovation. Although we’ve covered a number of facilities in the United States that offer therapeutic activities with horses here on the Deer Creek f blog, many people overseas are working diligently to offer the same services in foreign lands. By doing God’s work in caring for horses and humans, these individuals are able to help a large number of people achieve better emotional, physical and spiritual health.
In England, the Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre has operated since 1989 as an equine therapy service that caters mainly to inner city children as well as kids who have special needs. This center was created by a nun, Sister Mary-Joy Langdon, a woman renowned for becoming Britain’s first female firefighter during the 1970s.
The Wormwood Scrubs center currently caters to about 300 children with a wide range of needs and concerns. A lot of hard work and dedicated sacrifice goes into keeping a facility like this running. As this article published by Horse & Country reports, Sister Langdon and her team of volunteers must raise £180,000 every year to keep the center operational. “Equine therapy is so beneficial to these youngsters,” Sister Langdon was quoted as saying in the article. “They become one with the horse enabling them to leave their difficulties and troubles behind.”
Currently, Sister Langdon and the Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre is seeking charitable help for the construction of new stables on their property. The entire project, which is planned to cost about £10,000 total, will build the structures needed to shelter four new Camargue ponies. Once these ponies have arrived, the center’s entire roster of horses will be increased to 19.
We here at Deer Creek Structures will be keeping the Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre in our thoughts and prayers as they work to touch even more young lives than ever before. We believe that promoting spiritual health in people by putting them in touch with horses and nature is a much needed service.
Video courtesy of SutsiSutsi