Leg-Up Trust #CC32010

The seeds of Leg-Up were sown when Ros Rowe set up a small horse trekking business in 1999 to help a suicidal young woman get back on her feet by giving her a job. The trekking business did well but the casual way in which clients rode the horses didn’t sit well with the operators, and inspired the term ‘hairy bicycle syndrome’. To address this concern half day Horse Sense sessions were offered in which participants learned about the nature of horses which transcended merely riding them and these became very successful.

When the young woman finally found her feet and was ready to face life again, Ros felt the aim of the trekking business had been fulfilled and therefore prepared to close the business. However, there was an outcry from groups of at-risk youth and mental health clients who had found the Horse Sense sessions beneficial, so Ros closed the business and set up the Leg-Up Trust to meet the expressed needs of these people.

The point of difference in Leg-Up’s approach which succeeds where all else has failed lies in the use of horses as teachers. Where human beings may be suspect in the view of abused and neglected children, the horses pose no such risk to damaged souls. They keep their own counsel, offer what is perceived as unconditional love and do not judge. The students learn the basics of a relationship which has to supersede the predator/prey barrier, and through this become aware of how their actions influence those around them