Small Strides CIC

Small Strides CIC Bristols leading Trauma Informed Therapeutic Horsemanship Centre & Registered Alternative Provision. "Small Strides is such a wonderful, magical place.

Small Strides CIC is Bristol's leading independent Trauma Informed Equine Facilitated Learning centre. We specialise in working with both children and adults on the autistic spectrum and with additional needs. We are an alternative provision for South Glos, BANES, Bristol & Wiltshire local authorities. We partner closely with local schools, authorities and other organizations to provide trauma inf

ormed programs & courses for children struggling in mainstream education, with difficult emotions or PTSD. We believe relationships are the vehicle for change and through co-regulation and fostering connect relationships we aim to support emotional resilience & regulation, heal attachment wounds, reduce stress and anxiety, develop a deeper connection to self, improve skills and confidence to be better equipped for dealing with life's challenges. Jenny, has a wealth of knowledge in the field as is the lead facilitator here. Jenny is a fully qualified Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner, trained with Natural Lifemanship and Equssoma. Jenny is also an Advanced EFT and Matrix reimprinting practitioner, Somatic Trauma Recovery Coach, Reiki Master/Teacher & Equine Therapist and Animal Communicator. Jenny uses her wide range of skills to work on many levels, offering a fully holistic approach to the therapeutic interventions. Jenny is currently training to become a Psychotherapist to offer Trauma Focused Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. Louisa, has recently completed her Core training with Natural Lifemanship as an Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner and also has a background in Early Years Education and Care with specialist knowledge in supporting children’s emotional wellbeing and emotion coaching. As a neurodivergent adult and parent to neurodivergent teens, Louisa brings lived experience of the challenges and impacts of being neurodivergent. The horses are a much valued part of the team and this is very much reflected in the way the partner with them. Attuned Horsemanship is at the heart of the work at Small Strides and giving the horses a voice and choice is very important when working with them therapeuticly and we thrive to help our clients understand this different way of partnering with them, compared to traditional horse methods. Jenny and her horses make a huge difference to their clients both on a therapeutic level and in teaching practical horse care skills. My son has benefitted so much from his weekly sessions at Small Strides and I can't recommend it highly enough :)

www.smallstrides.co.uk

Im sharing this in here from my pivate practice   in case any parents are interested in working with me.Healing Through ...
05/02/2025

Im sharing this in here from my pivate practice in case any parents are interested in working with me.

Healing Through Horses: Somatic Therapy for Deep Transformation

For years, I’ve partnered with horses in my work, but over the past five years, I’ve been drawn even deeper into the profound connection, awareness, and attunement they bring to healing.

If you’ve experienced relational trauma, early developmental trauma, attachment ruptures, or simply feel disconnected from yourself and others, this work is for you.

Why Horses? Why Somatic Therapy?

Trauma isn’t just a memory in the mind—it lives in the body. It shapes how we feel, how we relate, and even how we hold ourselves. Horses, with their innate sensitivity, act as powerful mirrors, reflecting what needs healing and guiding us back to safety, trust, and connection.

When we slow down and build a relationship with them, emotions we’ve buried, patterns we’ve unknowingly repeated, and wounds we’ve carried for years come to the surface—ready to be healed.

This is deep, embodied healing, integrating the nervous system, rewiring attachment patterns, and fostering true self-acceptance.

I have limited spaces available for 1:1 sessions on Thursday mornings with my herd.

📍 Location: My Equine Therapy Centre located in the heart of the South Cotswolds between Bristol and Bath.

💰 Sliding Scale: £65 - £75 - £85 (based on financial circumstances)

If you feel called to this work, DM me to book your session.

This is more than therapy—it’s a journey back to yourself, guided by the wisdom of horses.



Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is often misunderstood, but it's a real and complex neurotype that impacts how indiv...
03/02/2025

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is often misunderstood, but it's a real and complex neurotype that impacts how individuals respond to demands, both external and internal.

This article by The Trauma Geek, does a great job of breaking down PDA and demand avoidance, helping to shed light on the experiences of so many.

😊 In my work, I support many clients with PDA through equine therapy, which offers a unique and non-confrontational approach to building trust, confidence, and emotional regulation.

🐴Horses don’t place demands in the same way people do, creating a space where individuals with PDA can engage on their own terms. This gentle, responsive interaction helps develop self-awareness, autonomy, and connection—without the usual pressure that can trigger avoidance.

🫂 If you or someone you know struggles with PDA, equine therapy might be a valuable support. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the article—let’s start the conversation!

Sometimes when I talk about PDA, everyone who has ever experienced demand avoidance starts to assume they are PDA. I wrote this description of the differences between demand avoidance and PDA to help people understand that experiencing demand avoidance does not necessarily mean a person is PDA. D

Small Strides CIC is Bristol's leading Trauma Informed Therapeutic Horsemanship Centre.We are located in the beautiful S...
30/01/2025

Small Strides CIC is Bristol's leading Trauma Informed Therapeutic Horsemanship Centre.
We are located in the beautiful South Cotswolds situated between Bath & Bristol.

We aim to improve mental, physical and emotional well-being and learn new skills through the interaction with horses in nature.

Relationships are at the forefront of our work, we believe that relationships are the vehicle for change and this is reflected in everything we do with self, others and the horses.

We specialise in working with neurodivergent children and adults and those with additional needs & PTSD.

We are an licenced Alternative Provision and provide a safe therapeutic space for children to attend while struggling both at home or in an educational setting.

We offer a range of programs including therapeutic and educational programs and accommodate both adults and children (+5), from a range of disadvantaged backgrounds.

We work with the following Clients;
• People struggling with mental health
• Learning difficulties
• Neurodivergent children and adults
• Children with development issues
• Challenging behaviour

And generally anyone who feel they can benefit from being around the horses.

We also offer volunteer opportunities within the local community.

Spaces are limited and are first come first serve. Due to the high number of referrals we receive we cannot hold places open.

Please email [email protected] to request a referral from.

ww.smallstrides.co.uk

Located in the picturesque South Cotswolds, Small Strides offers a secure and supportive environment for individuals of all ages to enhance their mental, emotional, and physical well-being by engaging with horses and immersing themselves in nature. As a registered Alternative Provision, we specializ...

Due to a change of circumstances, we have 1 space available on our Big Steps Program starting as early as next week on a...
29/01/2025

Due to a change of circumstances, we have 1 space available on our Big Steps Program starting as early as next week on a Tuesday 11am- 12pm.

Please email ONLY [email protected] to request an intake pack to put in a referral.

We accept referals from schools, local authorities, CHAMS, private referral, GPs, NHS and other external agencies.

Jenny

We are pleased to announce we have new Facilitators joining our team and we are openinv up some spaces on our Big Steps Foundation program on Mondays or Tuesdays staring in January 2025.

The Big Steps Foundation Programme offered by Small Strides, is specifically designed for vulnerable individuals who are facing difficulties in educational settings, the community, or at home.

Our expertise lies in working with neurodivergent children or adults, as well as those with additional learning needs or mental health challenges.

Our program combines therapeutic horsemanship with experiential learning to enhance the mental and emotional well-being of each participant while also boosting their confidence and self-esteem.

Through engaging in various activities with the horses, individuals with poor concentration can improve their focus, and the social and emotional interactions with others and their horse can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Additionally, horses can serve as transitional objects to assist participants in overcoming specific challenges in their lives.

The Small Strides – Big Steps programme is a 12-week course that is structured to support learners in making progress across a range of different areas.

If you are interested email the centre at [email protected]

29/01/2025

My experience with equine therapy and autism. Talking about ‘what is equine therapy,’ the benefits of equine therapy, mindfulness and how it compared with the traditional mental health care for autistic children and teens that I experienced.

27/01/2025

Responsive Parenting Inspirations 💗

27/01/2025

Recent research exploring the neuroscience principles of child development is consistently recommending this shift in focus as a way to understand the child, increase the child’s sense of safety and belonging, and as a way for parents and educators to truly connect and engage with the child.

Many times, especially when following the traditional parenting and teaching models, the child’s behavior is either seen as desirable or undesirable, appropriate or inappropriate, acceptable or unacceptable. As a result, when a child’s behavior is determined as unacceptable, then behavior modification strategies may be implemented to change or fix the behavior, or to change and fix the child.

Unfortunately, this method, may lead parents and educators to see the child as intentionally intending to disrupt or disturb others rather than as interpreting the child’s behavior as an expression of their emotions.

Therefore, recent research is encouraging methods following neuroscience principles, which focus on the relationship between parent and child, and educator and child, and which consider the impact of a child’s life experiences on their ability to approach their world with a regulated brain or avoid with a dis-regulated brain.

When a child feels safe, supported and understood, a child’s resilience, their self-confidence and self-esteem is more likely to increase because the executive functions of their brains are active and the survival systems are calm. However, conversely, when a child feels unsafe because needs have not been met, then the result of a dis-regulated brain or activated survival systems, is that a child may avoid or withdraw from activities, sometimes lash out, become stuck and appear uninterested or unmotivated or even attempt to appease others in order to avoid fearful people or situations.

Consequently, the neuroscience approach directs parents and educators to be aware of the child’s basic needs of sleep, nutrition, exercise and safety, assisting the child to increase their sense of control with increased resilience and increased motivation even when approaching stressful activities.

Therefore, the main focus is on the relationship between the parent and child, and between the educator and the child, because it is within the relationship that the child learns to feel safe and accepted, supported and understood. As a result, the child will then be more able to engage and enjoy the learning environment; emotionally, physically, cognitively and socially.

In this way, the behavior is seen as a window into the child’s emotional state and more accurately defined as an expression of emotion because it provides insight into the core of the child’s emotional, physical, cognitive and social needs and provides strategies that enable adults to connect and engage with the child to facilitate and maintain increased well-being.

26/01/2025

This just popped up on my memories so u thought I'd re share as it helped so many of you back then..I hope I sm able to help others who may be struggling right now.

26/01/2025

So we don't always partner with the horses during sessions, and today was one of those days.

Today we facilitated our Wednesday morning group on a team building exercise in the woods.

We collected things in our surroundings to build a natural mandala.

The word mandala is a Sanskrit term that means “circle” and in fact a mandala is a circular structure with a design that radiates out symmetrically from a unifying center. It is one of nature’s most perfect configurations.

You can see mandala patterns in natural objects from the radiating petals of a flower to tree rings, spiderwebs, seashells, crystals and more. And while they are beautiful, there is a deeper meaning in the mandala that you can introduce to your child. The mandala’s pattern can be interpreted as a model for the organizational structure of life, a type of cosmic diagram. It is both the microcosm and the macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design.

One of the reasons we enjoy making mandalas with children is because of their ephemeral nature. Like most nature art, ephemeral nature art can teach your child that not everything we value has to be material. Not everything we create has to be taken home or even returned to. The process of making art is fulfilling enough to be the focus at times. Creating ephemeral art teaches kids about the impermanence of life. The mandala is more than an image seen with our eyes. It is an actual moment in time.

Here is one of the group showing off the Mandala 🤗


26/01/2025

As I am currently buried deep in books and currently studying ethical frameworks within Counselling and Psychotherapy, I thought I would pause for a moment and share some of the ethical frameworks I abide by as being a certified Level 2 Natural Lifemanship practitioner and I will share my EFTMRA code of conduct seperatly.

🐴Natural Lifemanship Ethics and Core Beliefs

As a person certified in Natural Lifemanship Level 2. I attest to the following:

👉I believe the most important thing in life is connected, attuned relationships with self and others (including relationships with animals, my creator as I understand him or her, nature, the universe, etc.)

👉All of lifes healing happens in the context of attuned relationships based on trust, mutual respect, appropriate intimacy, and partnership.

👉 I believe strength is found in vulnerability, and that rupture in relationships is inevitable and can be opportunities for growth that can strengthen the relationship. Therefore, regardless of the task or activity, a connected relationship with self and others is always the goal.

👉 I believe that a partnership can happen when each party seeks to control themselves only, and true partnership happens when each party appropriately controls themselves for the good of the relationship.

👉 I believe that if its not good for both, its eventually not good for either and that a one-sided relationship is damaging to both parties.

👉 Regardless of what is going on around me, it is possible to control what is happening inside of me.

👉 Relationship with others, quite simply, flows out of the relationship with self (what we sometimes call regulation or my way of being in the world). Therefore, WHO I am is more important than WHAT I do.

👉 I realize that I cant teach someone to do something I cant do. Likewise, I can't teach someone to live a life that I don't live.

👉 As a result, personal growth becomes the foundation for ethical therapy.

👉The most important thing is to do my best to do what is right for my client.

👉 I understand that what is best may not be what is easiest.

👉 In order to do what is right for my clients, I have to know myself– my biases, my blind spots, and in the moment, I have to be connected with my own reactions and impulses so I can filter them. Only then can I do what is actually, truly best for my client.

👉 The team approach in NL affords me the opportunity to model a relationship where the NL principles play out and provides a space for the therapy team to notice and discuss biases and blind spots.

👉 It is, therefore, my ethical obligation to foster a healthy relationship with my therapy partner (horse and human)

👉 Clinical consultation is a regular part of ethical practice, especially if I am working alone in therapy sessions.

👉 I believe animals are sentient beings, who have relational and thinking capabilities, and can be capable of partnership if given the chance to develop.

👉 I believe that a good principle is a good principle regardless of where it is applied.

👉 Therefore, all NL principles apply equally to relationships with self and others.

👉 The relationship between horse and human is a real relationship in which relational patterns emerge, just like in any other relationship.

👉 When NL certified, I become part of a community of individuals who are deeply committed to connecting with self, connection with others, and who strive for connected relationships the way it was intended. As such, this community of practitioners strives to foster relationships that bring about healing for self, others, and the animal partners with which we work.

🐴🐴🐴

In November 2022, I embarked on a life-changing journey when I began my Level 2 Counselling Skills course. Fast forward ...
20/01/2025

In November 2022, I embarked on a life-changing journey when I began my Level 2 Counselling Skills course. Fast forward to today, and I’m overjoyed to share that I’ll be qualifying this June as a licensed counsellor and therapist!

The road hasn’t been easy—far from it. It’s been a path paved with challenges, moments of doubt, and many tears. But it’s also been filled with breakthroughs, resilience, and profound personal growth. Through every personal struggle and setback over the past few years, I’ve learned to dig deep, push forward, and truly trust the process.

The growth I’ve experienced during this time has far surpassed my expectations. I’ve not only gained the knowledge and skills to support others in their healing journey but have also experienced my own transformation along the way.

While I’ll be continuing to work part time at Small Strides, I’m thrilled to be building my private practice and starting this next chapter.

The thought of helping others grow, heal, and thrive fills me with so much excitement and purpose.

This is just the beginning of an amazing journey, and I can’t wait to see where it leads! 💛

💬 Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way—it means the world. And if you’re chasing your own dream, know this: it’s hard work, but it’s so worth it. Keep going—you’ve got this!

So excited, new venture ahead.

I got accepted on my access course a Level 3 Diploma in Counselling which is the start of my journey of studying to becoming an Equine Facilitated Trauma Psychotherapist 🥳

🐴 Volunteer Opportunity! 🐴Do you have 2 spare hours a week to make a difference? 🙏 We’re looking for new volunteers to j...
18/01/2025

🐴 Volunteer Opportunity! 🐴

Do you have 2 spare hours a week to make a difference? 🙏 We’re looking for new volunteers to join our team!

Available Shifts:
👉 Monday: Morning 8-10am
👉 Tuesday: Morning & evening (3-5)
👉 Saturday: Morning & Evening

Your role will include:
✔️ Horse Care & Yard Duties: General care, grooming, feeding, yurn out, bring in and yard tasks.
✔️ Enrichment Activities: Spend quality time with the horses – grooming, walks etc

What we’re looking for:
✨ 18+ and able to drive (due to our location near Lansdown/Wick, BS30).
✨ Empathetic, kind, and caring.
✨ Must be confident an experienced working with horses as this is a lone working role and you will be in charge of turn out and bringing horses in.
✨ Self-motivated – natural horsemanship experience would be amazing but not essential!

Why join us?
You’ll get the chance to support horses and contribute to their care while helping us to continue to deliver our services to those most in need.

If this sounds like you, please DM us or email Jenny at [email protected] for an application form.

📍 Located between Bath and Bristol (near Lansdown/Wick BS30).

Let’s make a difference together! 🐴

One of my clients wrote this beautiful and inspiring blog about their experience with Equine Therapy.It brought a tear t...
16/01/2025

One of my clients wrote this beautiful and inspiring blog about their experience with Equine Therapy.

It brought a tear to my eye this morning reading this and hearing her journey through this and now what she is getting up to since leaving Small Strides

#

My experience with equine therapy and autism. Talking about ‘what is equine therapy,’ the benefits of equine therapy, mindfulness and how it compared with the traditional mental health care for autistic children and teens that I experienced.

We have 2 spaces remaining on a Tuesday morning. We are now FULLY BOOKED all other days.If you would like to book a spac...
15/01/2025

We have 2 spaces remaining on a Tuesday morning. We are now FULLY BOOKED all other days.

If you would like to book a space on a Tuesday or be added to the wait list for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday please email me at;
[email protected]

We are pleased to announce we have new Facilitators joining our team and we are openinv up some spaces on our Big Steps Foundation program on Mondays or Tuesdays staring in January 2025.

The Big Steps Foundation Programme offered by Small Strides, is specifically designed for vulnerable individuals who are facing difficulties in educational settings, the community, or at home.

Our expertise lies in working with neurodivergent children or adults, as well as those with additional learning needs or mental health challenges.

Our program combines therapeutic horsemanship with experiential learning to enhance the mental and emotional well-being of each participant while also boosting their confidence and self-esteem.

Through engaging in various activities with the horses, individuals with poor concentration can improve their focus, and the social and emotional interactions with others and their horse can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Additionally, horses can serve as transitional objects to assist participants in overcoming specific challenges in their lives.

The Small Strides – Big Steps programme is a 12-week course that is structured to support learners in making progress across a range of different areas.

If you are interested email the centre at [email protected]

We are super excited over here as there are some huge changes and developments happening over here.2025 is the year of g...
14/01/2025

We are super excited over here as there are some huge changes and developments happening over here.

2025 is the year of growth and transformation...watch this space ✨️

We had a lovely day today, training 2 new facilitators to work here moving forward. I will introduce them both in a sepa...
02/01/2025

We had a lovely day today, training 2 new facilitators to work here moving forward. I will introduce them both in a separate post.

They will be running sessions on a Monday and Tuesdays.

If you are interested in a place on one of our programs, please get in contact, we have 3 spaces available starting this month.

Please email the centre at [email protected] with your enquiry.


Smokey wishes you a Merry Christmas 🎅          #
20/12/2024

Smokey wishes you a Merry Christmas 🎅

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Address

Beach
Bristol
BS306NP

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 3:30pm

Telephone

07817997568

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