Mental Wellness Program

Our mental wellness program was created for the sisters and brothers of youngsters with disabilities. Through no fault of their own, their situation can bring chaos and anxiety to the family. Continual visits to doctors, hospitals, and the ER; on-going searches for the right schools, programs and playmates; financial worries; and general worry about the child’s possibility of having a fulfilling life can contribute extraordinary stress on everyone.

The well-being of a child with challenges often dominates family life. Siblings may have mixed emotions about their disabled brother or sister. They love them and feel their pain but may miss the time and attention they receive from the adults. The neurotypical sibling’s straight “A’s” may not get the same applause as a disabled child does, after learning his alphabet.

Coming to Pepper Tree Farm to join with other siblings will give kids a chance to feel less alone in their thoughts. Being in nature and in the moment, enjoying the quiet, can calm siblings down. And, working with horses can fill a young person with hope and a sense of confidence that makes a meaningful impact to their mental well-being. 

At its heart, this is a horsemanship-based program — designed to calm the nervous system, ease overthinking, build emotional safety, and give young people a place where they can simply feel okay.

What a day at Pepper Tree Farm looks like

Siblings come in small groups, two to four at a time, so the experience feels safe, personal, and unhurried. A typical day in our program:

  • On their first visit, children meet the animals and learn basic farm and horse safety. From that moment on, they are not just visitors; they are part of the farm!

  • Mucking stalls, cleaning water buckets, and sweeping is real work. Repetitive physical tasks have a quiet power that moves kids out of their heads and into their hands. This gives them the satisfaction of doing something that matters.

  • Each child spends individual time with a horse, grooming, brushing, cleaning hooves, feeding and simply hanging out. Horses require presence and in offering that presence, a child feels important and generous.

  • Our minis are charismatic, cosy and caring. Every session ends in their turn-out, where Chocolate, Popcorn, Eeore, Herman, Penny and Poppy encircle guests with sniffs and rubs. The donkey arena exudes love and is the perfect place to end a visit and dream of another.

“Kids heal when they are taken out of their heads and brought into the present moment.”