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DRIVING down lanes narrowed by frothing billows of cow parsley, through quiet countryside lush in the verdancy of late spring, time really does seem to slow imperceptibly when you enter the Bere Peninsula.
Here, hidden away in the rolling fields of the Tamar Valley of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lies a gem beginning to make waves in the world of alternative therapy.
Mother and daughter duo Alyson and Chamine Blamey are combining peace with pony power, using their impossibly cute miniature Shetlands to help shape and change lives affected by trauma.
Alyson and Chamaine have been breeding miniature Shetland ponies at Collytown Stud on the Bere Peninsula for more than 20 years. They hit on the idea of using the little equines, who stand at a maximum of 34-inches high, as therapy ponies when they were asked to take them to visit a local care home.
The reactions they had from the residents, many of them suffering with dementia was so powerful, they realised the gentle and friendly little animals could really help enrich and in some cases, transform lives by their visits into care homes and schools. Since then, the sensory stimulation provided by touch, social interaction, non-judgemental encounters and reminiscing have proved of huge value to the elderly and people suffering with autism and behavioural issues.
Now, Alyson and Chamaine are taking their work further and have just qualified as equine assisted therapists. Chamaine said: ‘Whereas before we were just taking the ponies out and the therapy side was just seeing the ponies, stroking them, touching them, now we are able to run fully structured sessions and try to really help people with their issues and problems.
‘It can help so many people and touch people on such a different level — people who have tried regular methods of counselling and found they haven’t worked find this is a very different form of therapy. A lot of it is because it’s so different — it’s a complete release from peoples’ ordinary everyday lives.’
Chamaine explains that equine assisted therapy offers an alternative to conventional counselling and psychotherapy, which can sometimes be experienced as being too intense. ‘Horses don’t criticise, they are non-judgemental, sensitive, honest and responsive. They detect our inner emotions and provide immediate feedback.’
Collytown, nestled amongst rolling lush countryside, miles from traffic, hustle and bustle, provides an almost instant head-start setting for therapy, with ponies cropping peacefully in the fields while buzzards wheel high overhead. Therapy sessions take place in these quiet fields amongst the herd.
Charmaine explains: ‘The herd will be a mixture of male and female ponies. With these one-to-one sessions we just sit there and talk and the emotions start to come out. The ponies pick up on it. They are fight or flight animals and they are extremely sensitive to what’s going on around them. Sometimes people say things and try to hide what they are feeling — when you are in the field with the ponies, you can’t hide it — they know exactly what’s really going on and they react to it.’
Alyson: ‘It’s amazing sometimes the speed that things can happen. You sit there in the middle of a field and ask someone some questions and people just start to let go. There’s nothing around, it’s completely peaceful, and they begin to start talking and you are reading the herd and seeing what’s happening.
‘I know you will get people who will be dismissive of equine assisted therapy, but I say, unless you’ve tried it, don’t knock it. It can be quite magical seeing things unfolding — I certainly ought to be getting shares in Kleenex!
‘The woman we were assessed by said the herd of ponies we use is the most sensitive she had ever worked with — she was amazed really by it all, not just the ponies but the set-up we have here — she said it was pretty much unique in the country in that it’s so beautiful, so calm, so peaceful.’
With Alyson or Chamaine watching how the ponies react to what is happening, a session with a client may move on to interacting with the ponies, perhaps then working on exercises such as leading them, overcoming obstacles or playing following games. By physically working through issues with the ponies, clients begin to positively connect with the animals and work towards a point of positive change.
Chamaine and Alyson said their clients, who may have low self esteem, depression, anxiety issues, addictions or PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), can leave sessions feeling empowered, calmer and more confident.
‘Being with our ponies can provide many healing benefits and has something to offer anyone who wants to learn more about themselves.
Our ponies offer affection and connection through touch and stroking, both of which are therapeutic in the treatment of anxiety and depression.’
Certainly the combination of beautiful, gentle animals, an empathetic and positive duo and the tranquillity of some of the most fabulous countryside in Devon could well prove a winning formula in the field of alternative therapy.
For more information about Collytown Therapy Ponies, go to www.therapyponies.co.uk or call Chamaine and Alyson Blamey on 01822 840066/07890 023063.