A message from Megan…I didn’t grow up in one town or community, I like to say I grew up in Lunenburg County. I have been around horses my whole life, they are apart of me, they are in my blood. My first bareback “lesson” was when I was 1 year old, on a 1600 lb work horse.
Growing up with horses, they were always my passion and I was constantly being told I should do something with them, like be a vet, but I liked them being my hobby. I didn’t want to “work” with them all day and end up resenting them like I did my other jobs. I felt this way until almost 8 years ago (2014) when I started volunteering at HFS. I loved it and could not get enough of it.
In 2017 I resigned from my full-time position as a CCA in Long-term Care to work casual so I could gain other volunteer hours to start my certification as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor. In doing so I also have my English Rider Level 1 & 2 and my Western Rider Level 1 which I intend to continue to complete. I started my certification through CanTRA but am transitioning over to PATH Int.
In my time volunteering for HFS I took a trip to Horse Boy in Elgin, Texas. I’ve taken a 2 day Movement Method Course. I’ve done many trainings with Olga Comeau doing TTouch and TTeam Lead.
I am married to a wonderful guy and we have a son who is almost 4 years old. We have some 4-legged children too, a dog, a cat, 2 goats and 2 horses (for now, Lol!). I enjoy competing with my horse occasionally, who I’ve had for 15 years, we mostly did Gymkhana, but thoroughly enjoyed a trail class as well. But I have been more into attending clinics with him, especially ones that will help better my connection with my 4 legged friends.
Megan Daniels
We are excited to share that Hinchinbrook Farm has been selected by @CTJumpstart to receive a grant from their #SportReliefFund. The fund helps community sport organizations like ours continue to provide access to sport and play for Canadian kids. This grant will go a long way towards helping us to invite 3-4 families for a Weekend Sensory Experience based on our family-centred equine and recreational therapy programs.
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.
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.
