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Bray Mates

Verity Sharp meets Louise Peeters, who runs a 'therapy herd' of donkeys on her smallholding near Machynlleth in mid Wales. She learns how the donkeys help with mental health.

Donkeys tend to get the short straw, often seen as stubborn and indifferent. But on her smallholding in North Wales, with her twelve strong ‘therapy herd’, Louise Peeters is proving just how far from the truth that is. For her, donkeys aren’t so much indifferent as intuitive - and, at Dyfi Donkey Woods, she’s channelling their innate ability to connect and empathise with humans to help many people in her community cope with issues around mental health.

Qualified in Equine Assisted Learning, Louise explains the thinking behind her work and introduces presenter Verity Sharp to one of her long established wellbeing groups, the Bray Mates. The participants share stories about why they’re there, the kind of challenges they're facing, such as anxiety and ADHD, and how time with donkeys is proving invaluable.

Produced and presented by Verity Sharp

Available now

22 minutes

Last on

Sun 11 Aug 2024 06:35

Broadcast

  • Sun 11 Aug 2024 06:35