Hairy Henry

Hairy Henry Hairy Henry offers Therapeutic Riding, Care Farming and Animal-assisted Therapy to children and adul All have been trained specifically for this job.

We offer Therapeutic Riding sessions and Care Farm activities on our small farm in West Cork. Our team consists of Sandra, a fully qualified Therapeutic Riding Coach with 28 years experience of working with horses and 24 years of working in the health and social sector, and our extremely friendly and experienced therapy horses, Henry, Winnie, Flora, Daisy and Dolly, and lots of other farm animals - our two dogs Trudi and Turnip, the flock of sheep - Sean, Otto, Tilda, Harriet and Mr. Lammy, the donkeys Nell, Eeyore, Gordon and Gulliver the geese and ducks and chicken and the rabbits Alex and Oreo and their families. We also offer animal-assisted therapeutic outreach visitis with our team of dogs, rabbits, sheep and donkey to nursing homes and hospitals - please get in touch for more information! Animal-assisted Therapy, Therapeutic Riding and Care Farming promote well-being, social confidence, sense of purpose and achievement - and offer long-lasting physical, psychological, social and educational benefits. Please, see our website www.hairyhenry.com for more details!

08/12/2025

Thanks to Jacqueline Glisson of Bellancy Equine Physical Therapist for coming all the way to us to treat Flora. She's recovering well from her knee surgery but understandably deals with some post op stiffness and some weakness which I wanted to have looked at. Flora thoroughly enjoyed Jacqui's treatment, she nearly fell asleep, she found it so relaxing and soothing. We are also trying K taping on her hind quarters which should help the muscles to re generate and remember their job!
Flora is all go go go these days, she is fed up with slow rehab and wants to have more fast paced fun again - a good sign that she is not in pain or disconfort! But as we know, less is often more when it comes to recovery, so a bit more patience, darling Flora, we will fly again soon enough!

Applications now open for FREE TEEN PROGRAMME on the Hairy Henry Care Farm The programme 'Giddy Up & Go' for 12-15 year ...
08/12/2025

Applications now open for

FREE TEEN PROGRAMME

on the Hairy Henry Care Farm

The programme 'Giddy Up & Go' for 12-15 year old teens will take place February to May 2026 on two mornings a week during term time.

There are 5 places available, and participation for teens will be free of charge apart from a small once-off registration fee.

The programme aims to work with teens, who experience difficulties in school, on personal development, social competence, life skills, self confidence and emotional resilience, to empower them to achieve their educational and life goals.
Teens will be guided through tasks around the farm which are practical and hands-on but also offer the acquirement of theoretical knowledge about horses, animal care, farm work and work within nature. The farm environment, the hands-on tasks and the contact with the animals are used for the teens to make new and brave experiences, learn new skills, step out of their comfort zone and learn about themselves and their capabilities which will help them to grow personally and reach their full potential.

Participant profile
• Aged 12-15 years (we will accept students who turn 16 during the school year 2025/26)
• Enrolled in secondary school and attending school at least part-time
• Effective verbal communication and comprehension skills
• Willingness and ability to engage in physical outdoor activities
• Open mindedness to become part of a team and help and support each other
• Parental and school consent to participate in the programme

Programme goals
• Engage teens in educational activities where they can experience learning as a positive rewarding process and (re)discover their own strengths, interests and capabilities
• Build on the teens' emotional resilience and their ability to step out of their comfort zone in order to grow and learn
• Provide a sense of achievement, of importance, of empowerment, of belonging and of responsibility in a safe supportive space
• Help teens explore new career options and interests and give them a real taste of working as part of a team doing meaningful jobs

The Hairy Henry Educational Trust is now inviting applications - application forms are available on request.
Application deadline is 19th December and interviews will take place in early January 2026.

If you are a parent or a professional who is interested to find out more, please contact sandraschmid@hairyhenry.com or call Sandra on 087 9389867.

Christmas event Sunday 21st 12-4pm🌟🌟🌟🌟🎅🐎🤶🐑🧑‍🎄🐕🌟🌟🌟Booking required, places going fast.To book go to www.itsplainsailing.c...
08/12/2025

Christmas event Sunday 21st 12-4pm
🌟🌟🌟🌟🎅🐎🤶🐑🧑‍🎄🐕🌟🌟🌟

Booking required, places going fast.

To book go to www.itsplainsailing.com/org/hairyhenry

A typical day to fit Lincoln's quote'Discipline is choosing between what you want NOW and what you want MOST'.Well, at t...
07/12/2025

A typical day to fit Lincoln's quote
'Discipline is choosing between what you want NOW and what you want MOST'.
Well, at the break of day, if you had asked me what I want now was another cup of tea in the warm kitchen followed by a leisurely start to the day in the dry, but I knew that what I want most is to make positive progress with Skye, take up any opportunities I can to grow together and build skills and confidence. So we headed off into the grey rainy morning to another training event, Skye unaware of the destination, chomping on her haulage in the trailer, me mulling over self doubt, anxiety and all bad scenarios possible whilst navigating fog, rain, pot holes, occasional mad drivers and miles and miles on the empty roads. Sometimes riding has nothing to do with physical ability but all with mindset and controlling emotions. And I can proudly report that I managed to put a brave face on for Skye, and all considered that we've been through in the last few months, we did pretty well over the 2 phase course at Hillcrest Equestrian Centre . After our recent ups and downs, it is very clear that now she is fit enough to jump well at moderate height over a course, but what is holding her back is her own head. She is so quickly overwhelmed by the look of things, immediately doubting herself, but with a firm 'up and over' attitude from my side we jumped everything and left it all standing, and I stayed on, too. A very strong vibe from Skye at the end that she was pleased with herself and had a sense of achievement, her grin says it all!

07/12/2025

Fighting with lions before the sun is up!!!!

06/12/2025

As a riding instructor, it is the greatest reward to see students progress and achieve their goals whilst having a good time. This rider started with us 8 weeks ago in 1:1 sessions, now she's flying around on Henry in canter independently! Big big well done. There is room for improvement on many levels of course, but that will only take time, for muscle memory and body strength to build. The most important, the foundation of confidence in the ability to keep balanced, in control and to keep focused and guide the horse in speed and direction is what matters at this stage.
Thanks to Henry for being such a great willing co-coach.

A wonderful visits yesterday to Kinsale Community Hospital. We've been going there so long, that there's always a lot o...
06/12/2025

A wonderful visits yesterday to Kinsale Community Hospital. We've been going there so long, that there's always a lot of chat and catching up with residents who know the animals well by now, expect our regular visits and are prepared with treats!
Thanks to all staff and management for making these visits possible, accommodating and supporting them.

The usual morning here in the barn. Even puppy got the hang of a late morning snooze very quickly, unbothered by the sno...
05/12/2025

The usual morning here in the barn. Even puppy got the hang of a late morning snooze very quickly, unbothered by the snoring equines around him, Turnip has taught him well!

A morning's work of shredding done! Plenty bits to light the fire later, thanks Wen 🥰
05/12/2025

A morning's work of shredding done! Plenty bits to light the fire later, thanks Wen 🥰

Wishing I'd be better at clipping in a straight line was the least of our worries this week 🙈 After our confidence drain...
04/12/2025

Wishing I'd be better at clipping in a straight line was the least of our worries this week 🙈 After our confidence draining lesson last week we'd been stepping carefully and slowly at home, eating extra minerals for the muscles, extra oats for the energy and freshening up our hairstyle, and we were ready to have another go again today. Different venue, different coach - but at a place we've been training since our journey began in 2023. When you feel a bit low, being coached by someone who knows our journey and has been part of it, and knows our strengths, weaknesses and ambitions, made all the difference!
Thanks Grace Santry at Tullineaskey Equestrian for helping us get back on track. Constructive lesson today, leaving us with a more positive mindset 😊🐴

03/12/2025

Dragon breath morning earlier 🌬
We much enjoyed the sun on our faces for that very brief moment!
And now back to this 🌧💧🌊🌀
Stay dry and warm everyone on this unpleasant night!

Big congratulations to Rachel who completed her 12-week training course with us today which covered aspects of farm safe...
03/12/2025

Big congratulations to Rachel who completed her 12-week training course with us today which covered aspects of farm safety, yard management, animal care and health aspects for donkeys, sheep, hens, goats, dogs and horses, safe horse handling, and working horses from the ground. It was a huge pleasure to be training Rachel, with her big interest in, and passion for, all things farming and horses! Well done, Rachel, and wishing you the very best for your further journey, I am sure this is not the last we've seen of you 😉😁

Address

Ballylickey
Bantry
P75AV82

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+353879389867

Website

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Hugging a Hairy Henry helps!

We offer Therapeutic Riding sessions and Care Farm activities on our small farm in West Cork. Our team consists of a fully qualified Therapeutic Riding Coach with 30 years experience of working with horses and 20 years of working in the health and social sector, and our extremely friendly and experienced therapy horses, Henry, Winnie, Flora and Daisy, and lots of other farm animals - our two dogs Trudi and Annie, the flock of sheep, the donkeys Gordon, Nell and Ee-ore, the geese and chicken, and the rabbits and pigs. All have been trained specifically for this job.

Therapeutic Riding and Care Farming promotes confidence, communication, independence, coordination and balance, muscle tone and flexibility, cognitive functioning and emotional well-being - and offers long-lasting physical, psychological and educational benefits.

All animals, but especially the horses - and more particularly Hairy Henry - offer big hugs for comfort and support, which can help hugely in times of challenge.

Hairy Henry’s is holistic, inclusive and non judgemental and offers a quality professional service to people from 2 years of age onwards. More particularly, our services may be beneficial to those who deal with ASD, anxiety, dyspraxia, ADHD, learning difficulties, communication and emotional difficulties.