Courses
We cater for and run courses for individuals, both children and adults, small groups, schools, corporate groups and other businesses. We work with anyone of whatever age and ability and offer one off sessions and short courses as appropriate to individual clients’ needs.
Continuing our "Whispering Ponies - Peoples Project Fund"
LAST YEAR WE WON!! 3476 VOTES!
Thank you for helping us to win National Lottery Funding!! 
Our pony Tippy over the last year has visited and interacted with and brought joy to over 200 people in Isle of Wight Residential Homes
Jo and Giles would like to send a massive Thank You to everyone who voted for “Whispering Ponies” in the People’s project. We would like to thank the staff of all the Residential Homes who have helped facilitate some extraordinary and moving experiences.
This meant we were able to buy the horse box and we were able to use some of the money to train up volunteers.
However we now need funds to be able to continue this project to visit Residential Homes on the Island.
As a result this year we are running Team Bodster I o W
https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/isle-of-wight-ultra
Equine Assisted Learning (EAQ) Approved
Through our license as an EAQ Approved Centre we are able to offer regulated, national qualifications which are accredited by OCN London at Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2. As such these qualifications are recognised throughout the UK. We can offer accredited courses to suit each learners’ individual needs and some of the most popular courses we offer are:- Work Preparation for Land Based Industries, Developing Personal Confidence and Self-Awareness, Healthy Living, Improving own learning and performance, measuring distance and length and understanding perimeter and area.
Natural Horsemanship sessions on the ground
We follow the principles of Natural Horsemanship, having worked with Steve Halfpenny of Silversand Horsemanship, and can offer horse handling experiences for those who are interested in learning alternative styles of horsemanship, are getting back into horses and want to build confidence, or have not had anything to do with horses and want a starting point. All horse handling sessions are offered ‘in hand’ (non-ridden) We recommend horse handling courses run as 1:1 sessions however we can cater for small groups.
View/download info sheet Natural Horsemanship sessions
Isle of Wight Adult Community Learning Fund
We at present have a small fund and therefore can offer reduced rates on a 30 guided learning hour Level 1 OCN London course in “Developing Personal Confidence and Self-Awareness” which we can offer through our license as an EAQ Approved Centre.
View/download Developing Confidence information sheet
Isle of Wight Short Breaks Fund
We at present have a small fund and therefore can currently run Short Breaks sessions most Saturdays from 10am to 3pm for learners who possess the new Isle of Wight Gateway Card.
Short Breaks is a statutory service funded by every county by the Early Intervention Grant and aims to increase activity opportunities available for children and young people with disabilities and/or additional needs to participate in. This in turn provides a “short break” for parents/carers while their child or young person participates in a safe, fun and enjoyable activity which meets their needs.To achieve this, Short Breaks on the Isle of Wight offers a range of afterschool clubs, evening and weekend activities and overnight stays for children and young people (up to their 19th birthday).
View/download Example 3 of short breaks work
View/download Example 4 of short breaks work
Awards For All - Ponies Re-Building Trust and Confidence out of Lockdown
Thanks to further Awards for All funding we are now running a project called “Ponies Re-Building Trust and Confidence out of Lockdown” where initially we will run 1 to 1 sessions and then small group sessions where we will work on Communication skills to communicate with the ponies and then transfer these skills to being able to communicate with people coming out of Lockdown and going out in public – do get in touch to find out more.
Through a grant from Awards for All Covid19 we can continue this work through our project “Ponies Empowering People”. Learners will continue to work together to complete some conservation work at Bodster CIC, including planting seeds and trees and also some nature-based craft to help improve their mental well-being and enable them to develop mindfulness techniques through team exercises – do get in touch with Giles and Jo Boddington to find out more about this project.
We are working throughout this year on increasing our funds for visits through our Give as You Live Page ” Team Bodster” – please see our donation link to Team Bodster”
Team Building Courses
We also run “Team Building” courses for small groups ( maximum of 6 learners for various groups including corporate groups). Participants will be able to observe each other with the horses, discuss their experiences and decide how to build better working relationships with their team as a result. Time will be spent reflecting on the personal experiences and discussion will include looking at aspects such as:- Positive V Negative approaches to situations/ Problem Solving/ Barriers to Productivity/ Making Choices leading to empowerment.
View/download info sheet Bodster CIC Team Building
Bodster Ponies Developing Confidence for Inactive Learner
Through the Solent Community Grant Round 2 Funding we ran a course in 2018 – thank you to the Solent Grant for the original funds. We now run a similar course through Adult Community learning for learners with complex barriers to job searching, voluntary or part-time employment. This is through interaction with our ponies on the ground where they will regain self-confidence. Learners will come every Tuesday morning from 10am to 12 noon over 9 weeks. Through interaction with our ponies they will be able to discover more about themselves, make commitments and develop new ways of thinking about possible future employment. Within the course learners will:- develop self-awareness, motivation skills, team building and leadership skills, overcome barriers to learning, develop numeracy and literacy skills, complete a portfolio, CV and taster work experience with our local community partnership links. Each learner will complete an OCN (Open College Network) Level 1 qualification in ‘Developing Self-Confidence and Personal-Awareness’. There is no riding involved. During the course each learner will be sign posted to their next step of employment, job searching or further training opportunities.
If you are interested in finding out more about this new course do get in touch to come for a visit
