Behind the scenes

Several people have asked me about the training myself and the donkeys have so here is a behind the scenes look at what goes into training an Educator and a therapy donkey.

I have a Psychology degree and Post Graduate Certificate in Education with Qualified Teacher Status. I also hold an Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner Diploma and Equine Behaviour Diploma and further qualifications in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Autism. I have 30 years teaching experience with SEND from working with emotional and behavioural difficulties in Wolverhampton to advising SENCos across Stafford and South Staffs District for settings with Early Years SEND pupils on how to personalise the curriculum to meet individual need and maximise potential. I have a particular interest in autism due to having family experience of ASD. Currently I support people with EHCPs up to 25yo. But first and foremost I have a belief that life is too short to not make the most of every moment and a passion to try to help achieve their potential and feel good about themselves.

What goes into training a therapy donkey?

Now the donkeys....a therapy donkey is selected based on temperament. They must be of a calm and friendly nature with no tendency to kick or nibble. We do not hand feed the donkeys as this may lead to them mistaking fingers for carrots! Most of our donkeys are elderly and have many years of experience of doing beach rides, fetes and children's parties so are used to noise and unexpected happenings. They are happy to be touched all over. We drive around them to get them used to motorised vehicles and use wheelchairs and crutches around them so that they are used to these. They are trained to follow a leader and when they are happy to follow a known person over different surfaces and obstacles they are then taught to do so with different people as donkeys are discerning and need to trust people before they will move! They need to be able to lead and follow and walk in pairs close together. We take them indoors to prepare them for care home visits and they are fed whilst wearing new boots or donkey diapers to get them to have a positive association with wearing them and when they are relaxed we do all the activities whilst wearing these. I keep a close eye on donkey body language so that I can tell if a donkey becomes unsettled or uneasy and do not undertake indoor activity until a donkey is completely relaxed in the environment as their welfare is important just as the humans safety and welfare is.