Equine therapy - meet the team at Warrens Hall Riding School

From improving self-confidence and increasing mobility to reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression, equine therapy can help both adults and children.

The team at Warrens Hall Riding School in Oldbury wants to share its passion for horses with the community. As well as offering traditional riding lessons, they want to assist all ages in reaping the benefits of being around these gentle animals.

Earlier this year the riding school in Oakham Road was taken over by Male Family Group Limited and its new owners, Neil Male and his wife Emma, are committed to ensuring it reaches its full potential.

Many riding schools have been forced to close their doors during the pandemic as repeated lockdowns have taken their toll.

“The riding school had been trading under the previous owner for 30 years. We acquired the riding school in February this year. It was a failing business due to the pandemic. We’re horse owners and the land our horses are on backs on to the site. We didn’t want this riding school, which is a hidden gem, to close,” says Neil, who has moved his security firm GMS Group, previously based in Bromsgrove, to the 60-acre site.

Since taking up the reins, the couple and their team have worked hard to renovate the riding school facilities as well as residential buildings and also create a more welcoming entrance for visitors.

“We have a check-in screen with the name of the rider and the horse they are riding. It’s all about customer service,” says Neil.

They have also resurfaced the car park and removed a rather unsavoury but well-known local landmark – the 2,000 ton muck heap.

“When you talk about Warrens Hall, everybody remembers the muck heap,” explains Neil.

They have replaced the manège with a new arena that has a waxed, silica sand surface. “It’s durable and sustainable – it’s the stuff used at the Olympics and all major equine events,” says Neil.

The stables have welcomed 12 new horses and the team of staff has increased from three to 10.

Neil and Emma were keen to launch an apprenticeship programme, which attracted 50 applications within 48 hours. It offers students the chance to work towards British Horse Society care and ride qualifications as well as vocational qualification in customer service.

Since re-opening the school, they have been delighted with the demand for traditional lessons and currently have more than 60 people on the waiting list.

Equine therapy will also be a big part of the school’s work within the community and Neil is keen to make this available to as many people as possible. It involves building up a relationship with horses, which can include stroking, grooming and trust-building.

Horses are naturally gentle and calm creatures and are known to be empathetic animals with distinct responses to human touch and language. They can help improve communication skills, concentration and ease feelings of loneliness and helplessness. Equine therapy doesn’t just result in psychological benefits – it has been found to reduce people’s blood pressure and heart rate, and help to calm physical symptoms of conditions such as anxiety and stress.

Specialist training is being offered to staff to help them work with adults and children on the autism spectrum and partnerships are being formed with organisations across the Black Country.

This includes Penn Hall School in Wolverhampton, which caters for youngsters with a range of special educational needs and disabilities and West Bromwich-based mental health charity, The Kaleidoscope Plus Group.

“We’ve also got plans to become accredited by the Riding for the Disabled Association,” says Neil.

The school, which offers ‘pat a pony’ and stable management sessions, has been nominated in the Kindness in the Community category for the Black Country Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Business Awards. Neil has seen first-hand the benefits spending time with horses can have and wants to make riding accessible for disabled people and those with a long-term health conditions.

Two of the school’s young students are in foster care and also have physical disabilities. He says having riding lessons has made a huge difference to their lives. Neil also believes it’s never too late for someone to rekindle a love of horses.

“There’s a lady who is partially sighted who hadn’t ridden a horse for 20 years. Her husband approached us about her riding again. She’s now had two or three lessons with us. She never thought she would ride again,” he tells Weekend.

See facebook.com/warrenshallridingschool