The Donkey Sanctuary recently welcomed equine assisted service organisations and practitioners from across the UK to their international headquarters in Devon, for the Spring Forum of HETI UK (Horses in Education and Therapy International AISBL).
Held at the charity’s Donkey-Assisted Activities centre in Sidmouth, the event offered like-minded organisations the opportunity to network and help create a better understanding of the equine perspective within equine-assisted interactions.
The day, which also included members from the Southwest Equine Assisted Services Practitioners Network meeting, was a chance to highlight the importance of knowledge sharing the ever-evolving practices we encompass, and how to be proactive and work collectively as an industry.
Topics of the day included social licensing, and human and equine research. Following presentations, these subjects were explored further during discussion sessions.
Victoria Banfield, The Donkey Sanctuary’s DAA Development Lead, said, “It was wonderful to be able to welcome so many organisations to our Donkey-Assisted activity centre at the weekend.
“As a federation member of HETI, we are part of the steering committee that oversees decision making for the UK, so we jumped at the chance to showcase our achievements when asked to host the event.”
The Donkey Sanctuary which provides services to external clients through its six Donkey-Assisted Activity centres across the UK, became a federation member of HETI in 2021, further establishing links with other organisations in the field of equine-assisted activities and therapies.
Victoria added: “We would like to give thanks to everyone involved with making this event successful, in particular Dr Jo Hockenhull and Sarah Worth from our research department, who alongside Sarah Urwin and Harriet Laurie MBE delivered engaging presentations, exploring topics that are incredibly relevant to current challenges we are facing.”
“But the stars for us are our donkeys, being one of only a few places across the world where donkeys are involved with this kind of practice really allows us to be able to create attitudinal change towards them, whilst maintaining high levels of welfare and wellbeing as documented within our recent pilot study."
“It was a great opportunity for us to be able to host the HETI UK Spring Forum to raise the status of donkeys within the EAS industry further and to demonstrate our practices with transparency, as sharing knowledge between practitioners is key to the implementation of practice standards, meaning better care and welfare for the equines involved” added Nicky French, Head of Donkey-Assisted Activities.
“Key discussions were held around social licence and the importance of accountability for all organisations both HETI members and beyond, looking at how they need to ensure they support their own equine welfare and wellbeing within Equine Assisted Services.”
The next forum will be hosted by Harriet Laurie of The Horse Course in October this year.
For interviews, images and information please contact The Donkey Sanctuary press office on 01395 573124 or 07870 849563 (including out of hours) or send an email.
The Donkey Sanctuary is an international animal welfare charity dedicated to improving the lives of donkeys and mules worldwide. Headquartered in Devon, UK, we provide lifelong care to over 7,000 donkeys across the UK and Europe, through our ten sanctuaries and guardian homes, and we reach many more globally thanks to our international programmes and partnerships. Our colleagues are based all over the world and we work with a global network of partners, NGOs and governments, who share our vision of a world where every donkey has a good quality of life.
Our flagship donkey hospital, located in Devon, is a world-leading facility for treating sick donkeys while providing training for veterinarians, both locally and internationally. Additionally, our innovative donkey-facilitated learning program aids vulnerable individuals in developing vital life skills through meaningful emotional and physical interactions with donkeys.
Please note that the name ‘The Donkey Sanctuary’ should not be abbreviated to ‘Donkey Sanctuary’, and the word ‘The’ should always appear with a capital ‘T’ as above.