For all of us at Tower House Horses it was another year to remember in so many ways.
The pandemic’s determined grip meant demand for help to deal with its adverse effects on mental health and wellbeing has increased dramatically. New enquiries through our website were double that of last year and we began working with new beneficiary groups, impacted by greatly increased levels of anxiety, depression and feelings of isolation in our communities.
10th Anniversary celebration
Despite the continuing uncertainty, at THH we had good reason to celebrate as we reached our 10th Anniversary last year. A look back over the previous decade gave us cause for pride in what has been achieved, with steady growth in the diversity of beneficiary groups and numbers of individuals we have provided our services for over the years. We marked the occasion with a get-together in September, where we welcomed Phillip Sykes, High Sheriff of Hampshire and one of our Patrons, the Countess of Portsmouth. We took the opportunity to thank around fifty previous clients, commissioners, partner organisations, supporters, donors, trustees and friends of THH for their continuing support, and Knight Frank for their sponsorship of the event. We also gave credit to our wonderful herd, whose collective wisdom has made THH’s first decade possible. Take a look at our Anniversary leaflet.
New Hardstanding Area
The anniversary party gave us the opportunity to showcase our new area of hardstanding, where both horses and humans will be saved from relentless winter mud. The addition of a third field shelter adds an extra creature comfort. The funds for this project, seeded by a donation from the National Lottery, received two major boosts from donors Dan & Krystyna Houser and an anonymous businessman who donated a large proportion of the aggregate required for free. We are already making good use of our mud-free zone this winter.
Old and New Partnerships
We have enjoyed strengthening our relationships with existing partner organisations and have welcomed the opportunity to forge new partnerships.
Our work with survivors of domestic abuse, with referrals from Trinity Winchester continued during 2021, with funding from Comic Relief. Their team spent a day with us, photographing and interviewing previous beneficiaries of our Herd Wisdom programme to provide a snapshot for Comic Relief donors to show them how their money was spent. Our grateful thanks to all those who took part and bravely shared their stories with the Comic Relief team.
Groups from Francis House treatment centre (part of the Streetscene group) have been experiencing the benefits of time spent with our herd since 2015. We recently welcomed our 17th Francis House group to THH.
Fledge is a charity which supports vulnerable and homeless young adults in hostels in Eastleigh. Their residents need support to become independent, often following years in the care system. Funding from The Henry Smith Charity enabled us to offer a confidence-building programme to two groups of Fledge residents during 2021, to equip them with the emotional resilience and transferrable skills with which to move forward with their lives.
Horses Change Minds - Linking up with Social Prescribing
An exciting development for 2021 was the addition of a new beneficiary group, referred by GPs through their social prescribing link worker network. This has enabled us to reach some of the large numbers in our society who struggle with mild to moderate anxiety and depression, for whom a pharmaceutical solution might not be the best answer. It’s early days, as our first group arrived in October, however indications are that our Horses Change Minds programme is doing just that – helping to reduce the negative impact of this ever-growing problem by providing a much-needed boost to confidence, self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. Feedback from participants has been heartening:
“I’ve been given the time, space and permission to stop the roller coaster of life. I have felt very safe.”
“When feeling overwhelmed I can take myself back to the time spent with the horses and remind myself of the peace I’ve felt alongside them.”
”This is the beginning of a bright, less anxious future.”
“Thank You” Days for NHS frontline staff
A highlight of 2021 was being able to deliver four wellbeing days for NHS staff, following our 2020 crowdfunding campaign, who leapt at the chance to spend time away from the stress of their day jobs. The days were emotional and inspiring, providing doctors, nurses and ambulance workers with an opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved, peaceful day with the herd. One nurse’s comment:
“I'm so grateful to all those who chose to donate ... it's very humbling as I will never know who all those kind and generous people are who gave from their hearts to help tired and weary NHS workers.”
We are delighted that we will have the opportunity to offer more days during 2022, thanks to a generous grant from Simply Health.
Image left: A peaceful moment with Woody
Grateful for support from ………..
We have been fortunate enough to secure a number of additional grants to support our work during 2021, which will carry us forward into 2022. We are grateful to:
Anton Jurgens Charitable Trust, Barratt Foundation, Comic Relief, Dan & Krystyna Houser, The Henry Smith Charity and The National Lottery.
Pictured is local MP Steve Brine, who is a long-time supporter of THH, who came along to acknowledge our grant from The National Lottery Awards for All funding stream, towards our Horses Change Minds programme.
Tower House Horses Trustees
Our Trustees continue to be a constant source of support and encouragement to Jo and Susie. We were sad to say goodbye to Jane Armstrong who has been associated with THH for 10 years and gave us the benefit of her knowledge of both education and horses. She has moved on to new challenges and we wish her well. We welcomed two new Trustees this year – Pippy de Winton and Erin McMurtry – who each bring their experience and enthusiasm to the Board.
Our wonderful volunteer
Paula has been an invaluable addition to life at THH. She has years of experience with horses and handles them all with the empathy and calmness of a true horsewoman. It means Susie can have a day off once in a while and be totally relaxed about leaving the herd in Paula’s care.
And speaking of “The Boys”
No update would be complete without a thank you to our wonderful four-legged partners, who are all in good health and continue to inspire and amaze Jo and Susie with their wisdom and empathy.
Rumour has it there may be another addition quite soon. Watch this space…………….
