The Hinchinbrook Farm Society in Blockhouse, NS is the only Canadian recipient of a 2020 grant from the Latham Foundation for the Promotion of Humane Education. The Foundation received almost 200 applications and awarded 35 grants. The Latham Foundation mission is stated as: “To foster a deeper understanding of and sympathy with animals, who cannot speak for themselves; to inculcate the higher principles of humaneness upon which the unity and happiness of the world depend; to emphasize the spiritual fundamentals that lead to world friendship; and to promote the child’s character through an understanding of universal kinship”.
The Hinchinbrook Farm Society is a non-profit registered charity whose prime objective is to provide a therapeutic horse back riding program and other outdoor recreational activities to support the physical, mental and emotional well-being of persons with disabilities. Its main clients are families with autism. Its main programs include individual therapeutic riding and group/family Ther-A-Playdates.
The gist of the Hinchinbrook application for the Latham grant was that both the horses and the clients are shown how to treat each other with respect and love for both their abilities and their challenges. The Hinchinbrook methodology includes the “theory of YES”, which means that we allow the children, as part of their therapy, to self-direct within the range of activities they make available and within the boundaries of safety. Each child has a volunteer shadow who ensures that the experience is always fun — more of a game than therapy — and always safe. When on the horses, there is a trained person leading and a trained person side-walking. The child not only helps to prepare the horse for its lesson by grooming and tacking up whenever it is physically possible, he or she also is encouraged to praise the horse and provide post-lesson treats. This is actually part of the therapy, since it encourages speech where often that is a challenge for the child, it pushes them to test their physical limits when for some even grooming is difficult and it also demonstrates that we need to respect and care for the animals that help us in our daily lives.
Hinchinbrook Farm has been described by some parents as their “fantasy island” where they can watch their children enjoy their time while the parent gets well-needed rest from the constant high-level care that some of the children require. It is an oasis of peace with which the Latham Foundation is likely very proud to be affiliated.
Thanks to a generous grant from 
Due to the very dry summer, we could not use our wood-burning fire pit, so we purchased a propane fire pit, which also increased our cost. It was very useful and will hopefully serve our purposes for many years to come. All three camps enjoyed sitting around the fire in the evening, roasting marshmallows, chatting and re-living the activities of the past day. As you can see from this photo, we had three picnic tables around the fire pit so that we could promote social distancing while at the same time having a social gathering.
All three families (and the volunteers, too) had a great time. And let’s not forget the Ther-a-Playdate families that joined us on the Saturday afternoons. The hot weather had us leaning towards pond activities on every day of each camp, although horse play was still a central part of the program. An important part of our programming is helping older teenagers who may still be coming as clients, but are also volunteers. Four young adults who began as clients were very active at this year’s camps.
The 
There were times when we had so much fun on the zipline, that it looked like we would miss lunch! We had zippers from the age of 3 to 43 who all took their turns flying down to the sure hands of our “catchers”. It was a way to stay cool under the leaves of the forest, and of course it helped our participants with sensory processing, which is the goal of this activity.
Every time we work with our horses, grooming is an important part of the activity. It benefits both horse and rider and demonstrates a respect and love for the animals who work hard to help us. “Thanks, Sugarfoot, for being such a good friend to Skyla and Soraya.” As always, activities are closely supervised by one or more volunteers, who either watch without seeming to be there, or in some cases, they join in with the play and work.
One of the main benefits of our Sensory Camp and Ther-A-Playdates is that parents, who are often isolated due to the time commitment they have looking after their kids, can exchange stories and experiences, share tips and recipes and get a chance to relax with each other while the volunteers look after their children. This picture of relaxation at its best is repeated so often at Hinchinbrook Farm that it is an important unwritten objective.
I was forced by an injury to retired from therapeutic riding instructing in Quebec and relocated to Nova Scotia in mid 2006 with Silver Bell and Dandy. I then started working at First Steps Early Intervention in the fall. Before I got the job, when I was just two weeks here in the province, I was contacted about therapeutic riding by a parent with an autistic child who was visiting the area. I met with them where Silver Bell and Dandy were stabled in Lilydale. They brought their incontinent, non-verbal 5 year old son Colin who was on the autism spectrum.
I bought Sugarfoot at 10 months old in December 2019 and she is a “house horse” able to jump in the back seat of my pick-up truck and go visiting. We will be able to use her as a remote ambassador and/or therapy visiting horse in the future.
The training had to be spread over two sessions due to the restriction to each of 10 people at a gathering. Social distancing and masks and face shields were all used as required to meet the new guidelines. Here is an overview of the training sessions.
Arrivals: From now until the relaxing of rules as determined by the Province, all people arriving at Hinchinbrook will have to report to the trampoline paddock before doing anything else. There, they will have their temperature taken with a non-contact thermometer and answer a series of questions similar to 
The training session began with a review of the rules about masks and how to don them. Clients and volunteers will be asked to bring their own masks and gloves, but there will be spares at the farm in case. Also, Patty has some designer masks (horse motif), made by a grandmother of a client, for sale at $10. Although most volunteers wore masks for the whole training session, everyone also practiced keeping their distance, using two protection methods simultaneously.
Face shields are also available and will be needed when grooming, side-walking and leading horses. In some cases, the comfort of the volunteer will dictate what is needed, and in others it will be the reaction of the client. Developing social skills often requires seeing a persons face, smile and comforting looks, which may be difficult with the mask but easier with a face shield.
The volunteers were shown the various play areas and new equipment was pointed out, including how each would have to be disinfected after each session. There is the new swing area, which may soon also have a gravel mound to play on. The hammocks will be put through a hot dryer cycle after each time they are used. All swings except the leather saddle will have to be wiped down with disinfectant. It is therefore going to be important for volunteers to record which toys and swings are used so that they can make sure they clean them afterwards with alcohol wipes. The same holds true for any toys or games that are used.
Now that Patty has found insurance once again for the zip line and pond, these two areas are open for activities. The volunteers were shown the zip line protocols and reminded of the importance of safety in this activity. Those planning to be “launchers” or “catchers” have to ask for training before they do this job. Only adults (18+) are permitted too do the two jobs. Teenage volunteers can help get the kids into the harnesses, can return the zip line wheels back to the platform, escort kids to the platform and remove the carabiner from their harness at the end of each ride. The pond is open for fishing; and swimming, weather permitting, will likely start July 1. Standard swimming rules apply. The kids will not be able to wear masks when swimming, but volunteers can still use their mask, since they are not actually “swimming” but supervising.
Grooming, side walking and leading are done exactly the same as before. We are getting the horses used to masks and shields so that either can be worn when working with them.
We all celebrated the 8th birthday of Sydney L. on June 30. She invited several of her school friends and neighbours to an afternoon of riding Dandy, cart-riding Andy, painting Jazzmin , decorating Buddy, zip-lining and eating lots of junk food (and some veggies and cheese, too). There was a unicorn themed cake to top it off. And the rain cooperated with us, waiting until everyone had their rides to really pour down and then stopping long enough for the zip-line in the woods. When the rain returned, it was time for food in the tack room. So, everyone stayed dry and everyone stayed smiley, all afternoon. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SYDNEY!
The following description is edited from information provided by Eliane Trempe, current President of the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA). She also helped to found la Fédération Québecoise d’Équitation Thérapeutique.