Retired farmers in a number of nursing units in community hospitals in West Cork have enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with animals, thanks to an initiative by Hairy Henry care farm.
Sandra Schmid, a German native who is a qualified social worker, left her job in Tusla after training as a therapeutic horseriding coach, and started her small care farm in 2013 in Ballylickey.
“At first, I only offered therapeutic riding, then also therapeutic activities with the other animals. We now have sheep; donkeys; goats; hen; a goose; rabbits; guinea pigs; dogs and of course, horses.
“I took the animals to visits in hospitals and schools and care centres occasionally prior to Covid, but it was during Covid that an organisation called Elderwell set me up with the HSE to do regular visits to the nursing units in the community hospitals in west, north and east Cork.
“A lot of residents used to live in rural settings, some with their own farms. Most people just adore the animals. A lot of them would have had a donkey, a pony or sheep on their farm and when they meet our animals, their faces light up.
“A lot of residents would have lost their verbal skills, but it is evident how the presence of my animals stimulates them and makes them happy.
“Then there are some residents who love to tell me about their farms, some like to ask all about how I keep my animals, some love to give advice to me,” Sandra said.
Sandra was born and raised in Germany in an urban setting: “My family has no background in agriculture, and we never owned a pet when I was growing up, but I always loved animals and really wanted them in my life.
“I dreamt of having a small farm as a child. I took riding lessons from the age-of-nine in a riding centre near the city. That was my small escape from city life. I adored all animals as a child but especially horses and dogs,” Sandra recalled.
“So, I took a year out after finishing school and came to Ireland to work on farms through an organisation called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). That was in the mid-90s. I worked on a farm near Durrus where I met my now husband, Tim.
“He was mending the roof of an old pig sty and I was delegated to help him. It was just wonderful to work in rural Ireland. It was a small farm and we did a lot of manual jobs, like digging the potato field by hand.
“I had already signed up for college to study social work back in Germany, so I went back to Germany for three years to do my college course, but I came back to Ireland throughout those years to Tim, and when I had graduated, I moved here in 1998,” Sandra said.
The couple lived in Bantry town for a number of years until they could afford a mortgage to buy a small piece of land nearby. That was the start of Hairy Henry’s care farm.
“I had started working for the Southern Health Board, the HSE and then Tusla for about 14 years, during which time we moved to our land, built a house and got married.
“We owned only 5ac initially, but then were able to buy another 7ac so we have a small neat farm of 12ac now. It’s typical West Cork land with lots of rocks and lots of wet patches, but good enough for grazing for my very first own horse.”
Sessions are booked with Hairy Henry care farm privately: “I also get referrals from Tusla, the HSE and CAMHS and they would fund some sessions. I also run educational programmes for children summer funded by the Department of Education.
The purpose of care farming, she explained, is to get people active on the farm with a therapeutic goal in mind so the point is not to get the job done necessarily, but to find activities that benefit the person.
“This could be to get fitter physically, to get out of the house and active outdoors, to socialise and learn social skills, especially for younger children,” she said.
Hairy Henry’s care farm works with early childhood development issues such as communication; motor skills; balance; cognitive skills, and supports positive mental health and emotional well-being.
“We choose the activity to suit the person’s needs and ability level. It can be a great achievement for a person who has a physical disability to hold a broom and help sweep the yard, or for someone with communication difficulties to help bring the sheep in. We use the task on hand to help the person overcome their challenges.”
Sandra currently has six horses, four of which are used for therapeutic horseriding. “Hairy Henry is one of them. He is a 20-year-old Irish cob gelding, a very hairy patient horse who is now semi-retired, but he still loves to carry small children around on his back, and he adores being brushed.”
Sandra underwent training as a ‘horse boy’ practitioner, a method where the movement of the horse and the sensory input from the horse and the natural environment are used to help people on the autism spectrum.
Contact with horses can be very beneficial, according to Sandra. “The main benefit is the empowerment for people – to be carried by a strong big horse – and the relaxation that comes from the movement of the horse.
“My approach does not work for everybody. Some people just require something else but 99% of the people who come here benefit hugely from the relaxed environment, my person-centred approach and the range of therapeutic activities,” said Sandra.
Sandra runs Hairy Henry’s care farm with occasional paid help and volunteers. She said: “I am always looking for volunteers, so anyone interested should get in touch with me.
“I currently run my business as a social enterprise, so all profits go back into the farm, but I hope to set up a trust to raise funds and receive donations for financing a future school term programme for children who are struggling in school, to offer them a different way of learning and open up career options for them.”