(written on 18th March)

My first week at the Brae was fascinating. I really enjoyed learning all about the horses and the organisation. My first week flew in as we were given lots to do and every minute of the day there was a task needing to be done.
Even though I have always liked horses and horse riding I did not have any experience of working alongside horses. My week started by having a quick training session on some basic necessities that you need to know at The Brae including putting a head collar on a horse. Once I knew the basics for keeping myself and a horse safe I got stuck in to the typical Brae life. On a Monday morning there are no lessons at the Brae so this time is about exercising and grooming the horses as well as do any other cleaning and maintenance jobs that need completed. After lunch this is when the first lessons of the week are. I found the lessons to be really fascinating. Seeing how a horse can help someone as well as seeing the enjoyment that the rider has on the horse was amazing. I took part in two lessons that afternoon and the riders were very different. One rider was an adult who could control the horse herself without any lead reigns and thoroughly enjoyed the sound of the horse. This week she enjoyed it even more as she was out on the track around the school. She said that she felt like she was really horse riding as she could hear the sounds, that many people associate with horses, of the horses’ hooves on the road. My second lesson that day was with a child on a smaller pony. This child had the same look of enjoyment on her face when she was on the horse. The little girl needed a lot more support at the side of the horse than the previous lesson had. In spite of this, she showed me how important The Brae is for developing a child’s communication skills. She knew how to tell the horse to move “walk on” and stop “woah” and would be able to say these things to the horse and then enjoyed when the horse responded to her commands.
The Brae has letters and pictures all around the perimeter of their indoor and outdoor school. They also have obstacles. This means that the riders are not just walking round in circles when they are in the schools but they are moving around comes, objects and stepping over poles. As well as this the instructor of the lesson will tell the rider to look for the king, apple, horse picture or a certain letter. This means that the child is looking for the picture or letter and they know where the horse will be going. The young girl loved looking around her and talking to me and the other side helper. She had to be reminded to look ahead a lot. This just showed how much she was enjoying herself and how comfortable she was with communicating with everyone at The Brae. Not all of the riders were able to communicate with words but some would tell the horse to move forward by showing that they were looking straight ahead or using a hand signal. This meant that the riders were still learning new communication skills but ones that were suited to them.
After this first day I took part in several different tasks within Brae. A lot of my day was taken up by shadowing a leader in lessons (so that I could see how to lead on my own) or side supporting riders while they were on the horse. Side helping could be quite challenging as your sole responsibility was the rider. I found this role to be quite pressurised and stressful as one of the lessons I was involved in the rider had had a seizure the night before. This meant that she could fall asleep on the horse at any time. My role, alongside another volunteer, was to make sure that the rider stayed awake and sitting up straight on the horse throughout her lesson.
Outside of lessons my day was spent doing the necessary things for the horses. Whether that was getting them ready for lessons, taking their tack off after lessons, grooming, putting on their rugs, filling up their hay bags, bringing them in from the field and taking them out to the field every morning and evening.
My first week at The Brae was very interesting and I learned a lot. Unfortunately, I developed an allergy to something within the indoor and outdoor schools during my first week and I had a severe reaction. I have learned so much in a short period of time with The Brae and I know that I will take this on with me. I was looking forward to continuing my role at Brae for many reasons. One of these reasons was that no two days would be the same. There were different volunteers, different riders and different tasks to focus on every day. Another reason was that I am sure I would have learned even more about horses and what they can do for disabled people. I am really sad that I have had to leave this placement but hopefully I will find something that I can use the skills I have learned here.