A break from the beat with Yorkshire donkeys

The introduction came from former police officer Kate Edwards, who after joining the team at the Leeds sanctuary as an equine assistant earlier this year, saw the positive benefit the donkeys could have on the welfare of her former police colleagues.

Kate was a police officer for nearly 20 years and found that like many of her colleagues, had sometimes disregarded the importance of her wellbeing and self-care.

Kate explained: “From my time in the police, I had first-hand experience of how pressured and mentally draining daily life can become.

“In the dictionary, wellbeing is defined as being comfortable, healthy and happy, and far too often we neglect our mental wellbeing. We can often overlook and fail to recognise our thoughts and feelings, making us miss opportunities to manage the pressures of daily life.

“Now in my new role, I am lucky enough to be able to champion donkeys and the beneficial Donkey Assisted Activity programmes available at our Leeds sanctuary.”

The visitors attended in two groups of six, to allow individuals time and space to focus on themselves and develop skills for their everyday wellbeing needs.

The sessions involved a showcase presentation, followed by everyone meeting the donkey herd. The groups then went on to prepare and take part in elements of a donkey-assisted activity session, followed by some donkey enrichment, allowing everyone to gain an understanding of how valuable a good mental state is to both donkeys and humans.

The morning concluded with each participant taking a donkey on a group mindful walk around the sanctuary’s sensory track. One of the participants remarked: “The highlight for me was our walk around the sensory track, it was peaceful and allowed me to take in the moment.”

Despite police officers having a strong understanding of empathy and an ability to communicate with others, the donkeys were able to help the participants regulate their own thoughts and emotions – giving them a chance to spend some time in the moment and reflect upon their own wellbeing. A member of the group described how his day left him feeling ‘calm and relaxed.’

The participants recognised the emotional intelligence of the donkeys and were energised by how humble they are, with one of the officers saying: “I was quite nervous and sceptical about our visit, though I quickly realised that donkeys are not the animals I believed them to be. They are so intelligent and emotive.”

One officer stated: “The feelings of contentment and calm were a surprise to me,” while another explained: “I have never experienced anything like it, it was a delight and it left me feeling uplifted.”

Kate said: “The Donkey Sanctuary is just that – a sanctuary – a safe welcoming place for discovery, learning and empowerment. In a high stress job like the police, it can be very difficult for officers to regulate their own mental health, often pouring all their time into helping others and forgetting to look after themselves."

She added: “My friends at West Yorkshire Police gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about how visiting the donkeys helped them find some well-needed relaxation, and I’m so pleased we were able to offer them the opportunity to take time out from their busy frontline roles.”