Personal Development through horsemanship
HorseBack UK inspires positive change, encourages confidence and self-esteem, and promotes recovery in an individual. Using horsemanship and outdoor activities, we deliver nationally accredited personal development and wellbeing programmes which offer our participants new coping strategies, life skills and the tools to build resilience.
HorseBack UK is a charity set up to empower service personnel and veterans suffering from life-changing injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and to aid them on their road to recovery.
The success of the first five years of courses for military personnel has allowed HorseBack UK to extend its remit and is now able to focus on the wider community.
Teenagers participate in a 15-day SQA Level 4 Certificate in Personal Development Through Horsemanship.
Over the past three years HorseBack UK has established a unique leadership and team building experience.
In the late summer of 2020 whilst chaos and fear reigned due to the COVID 19 pandemic Jock wanted to help those who had specifically been affected by it within the NHS and Care Home Systems.
We deliver the Team Programme, a twelve week course for young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five.
Our Patron
"I am delighted to be Patron of HorseBack UK, whose work clearly demonstrates the extraordinary physical, emotional and mental support that horses can offer to us all."
Our Supporting Partners
🫡 25 years of service
Comrades remembered. Sacrifice never forgotten.
Today, HorseBack UK’s Course Director, Jason Hare, attended Crathie Kirk for the laying up of the old Colours of 45 Commando Royal Marines.
For Jay, a former Royal Marines Commando who served with 45, this was deeply personal. He stood on parade on Plymouth Hoe in 2001 when these very Colours were presented alongside those of 40 and 42 Commando by HRH Prince Philip, then Captain General Royal Marines, on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Twenty-five years later, they have reached their resting place.
Crathie Kirk, just outside Balmoral, is where the Royal Family worship when staying at the estate. With its foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1893, it provides a fitting setting for this moment of remembrance.
Colours are consecrated ceremonial flags representing a unit’s history, honour and loyalty to the Crown. Once rallying points in battle, they embody the service and sacrifice of generations of Royal Marines.
Today, above all, was about the people who served beneath them. Those who fell in battle and never returned to their families. Those who came home with severe, life-changing physical injuries. Those carrying psychological wounds, often unseen, whose struggles continue long after operations have ended. And the families who have borne so much alongside them.
For Jay and many others present, these memories have names and faces. The passing of 25 years does nothing to diminish their significance.
The Royal Marines Colour Party, as one would expect, looked exceptionally smart, as did members of the Royal Marines Association’s East of Scotland, Highland and Grampian branches. Their bearing, turnout and pride did the Corps, the veteran community, and the occasion proud.
Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie, alongside 45 Commando’s Padre, made the service poignant, thought provoking and special. With the Commanding Officer’s and Regimental Sergeant Major‘s stirring words adding to a deeply moving occasion.
With new Colours presented in June by His Majesty King Charles III, the current Captain General Royal Marines, the old Colours are now entrusted to Crathie Kirk. The duty to remember those who served beneath them remains with us all.
Per Mare, Per Terram.
Lest we forget.
#HorseBackUK #45Commando #RoyalMarines #CrathieKirk #RoyalMarinesAssociation #LestWeForget ...
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🐎 🇬🇧 Another fantastic wellbeing course at Tedworth Equestrian Centre! 🏴
The HorseBack UK Outreach Team were delighted to deliver another successful course in partnership with the Armed Forces Equine Charity, welcoming eight serving military personnel from the Personnel Recovery Centre at Tedworth House.
Working alongside their learning partners, the horses, attendees explored communication, trust and the importance of recognising their own emotions. Through groundwork, they practised being clear, calm and consistent, noticing how changes in their body language and approach influenced their connection with the horse.
Breathwork sessions gave attendees time to slow down, recognise tension and practise breathing techniques to help manage stress and regain a sense of calm; practical tools to take into everyday life.
Alongside these sessions, archery offered time to focus, breathe and concentrate on the present. Wellbeing walks and photography encouraged everyone to appreciate their surroundings and find a little space away from everyday pressures. 🌿📸🎯
These experiences create opportunities to build confidence, share a laugh, support one another and take away practical tools to use beyond the course.
A huge thank you to the Armed Forces Equine Charity, team at Tedworth Equestrian Centre and Tedworth House for their hospitality and support, and to all eight attendees for getting involved and supporting each other throughout.
#HorseBackUK #armedforcesequinecharity #MilitaryWellbeing #equineassistedservices #teamwork ...
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🐎 🇬🇧 SOME FRIENDLY FACES NEVER LEAVE THE HORSEBACK FAMILY!
Back in 2021, Alan Nelson joined us on one of our very first Equine Wellbeing Courses at Tedworth Equestrian Centre, delivered in partnership with the Armed Forces Equine Charity (AFEC). 🏴
Fast forward five years, and Alan is still getting his horsey fix! 🐎
Every Monday, during his holidays, or whenever he gets the chance, Alan returns to the yard to volunteer, lend a hand and share his skills. A fantastic example of how the connection with horses, people and a supportive community can continue long after a course finishes.
Today, while delivering another wellbeing course this time for serving military personnel from the Personnel Recovery Centre at Tidworth House, it was brilliant to catch up with Alan again.
And he came bearing gifts! 🎁
As a lovely gesture of thanks, Alan presented Emma with a plaque of his beloved Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). A gift that means a great deal and will be heading back to Scotland to take pride of place on our office wall.
Thank you, Alan! Not just for the thoughtful gift, but for continuing to give your time, skills and enthusiasm to the horses and the people around you.
At HorseBack UK, we say that the end of a course isn’t the end of the journey. Alan is living proof of that.
Once part of the HorseBack family, always part of the HorseBack family. ❤️
#HorseBackUK #ArmedForcesEquineCharity #VeteransWellbeing #RoyalArmyMedicalCorps #EquineWellbeing #MilitaryCommunity #Volunteering #HorsesHelpingPeople #Tidworth ...
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