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!

23/02/2026

Baby chick learned how to fly up onto the fence where everyone usually roosts! Mammy hen was so good to be staying on the ground with him for the first weeks until his wing feathers got big enough to follow her up.

With the evenings getting much brighter, we decided to offer our once popular Stable Club group again with a first sessi...
23/02/2026

With the evenings getting much brighter, we decided to offer our once popular Stable Club group again with a first session on 4th March 4-5.30pm.
This group is for 6-12 year olds who love horses and want to spend some quality time with these wonderful creatures. It is a recreational social activity based group where children learn about horses, their care and management, and about basic riding skills (walk mostly). We use therapeutic riding exercises and games to promote balance, good posture and confidence on horseback. The focus of the group is on sharing and helping each other and there will be 2-3 children per pony for the session to encourage learning from each other and positive social interaction. The group takes place in any weather. Some sessions will be spend riding less and learning more about horses as well as handling horses safely from the ground.
This is an ideal group for children who are not ready for a full riding lesson but want to build confidence around horses and on horseback as preparation to learn advanced riding at a later stage, or for children who just love the company of horses without the pressure to progress to riding as a sport. The group is calm and supportive and everyone is helped to participate at their own pace.
Please book via www.itsplainsailing/com/org/hairyhenry

Really nice Family Fun Session here last week during mid term. These sessions are designed for the whole family to take ...
23/02/2026

Really nice Family Fun Session here last week during mid term.
These sessions are designed for the whole family to take part and are tailor-made for each family - whether it is meeting the farm animals, helping with some farm jobs, taking the goats for a walk through Sam's Wood, learning about caring for the horses, horseback riding, games on horseback - we can fit it all in and give you a holistic relaxing fun experience our farm and help you create meaningful memories to take home!
For more information please get in touch Sandra 087 9389867 or go straight to booking via www.itsplainsailing.com/org/hairyhenry

After another week of committed training at home and the highlight of Skye's entry into the therapy horse world yesterda...
22/02/2026

After another week of committed training at home and the highlight of Skye's entry into the therapy horse world yesterday, we had a defeating experience at our jumpung outing today...but that's sport for you, one day you feel on top of the world, next you feel you've lost it all! We are a team after all, and I was definitely not pulling my full weight today. Still battling a head cold, I should have wisely just given us a day off, but the sun shone and the horse box was ready, so I got tempted into overestimating my energy and off we went.
Warm up was smooth, Skye in good form, but already my legs felt like jelly, so from the second jump into the competition course, Skye sensed that I wasn't fully in with her, my signals were different, my riding felt odd, and her self doubt crept in. She is still so depending on me giving her confidence, and when I was just hanging on with my battery light flashing, she lost her self belief to take over and carry on as usual...which she could have done physically no problem, we jumped all those jumps before many times by now! But mentally, when she feels not supported enough, she just goes into a dark place of despair and overwhelm, and it was refusals and half hearted jumps after that, a pretty awful display of un-coordinated efforts to get through the sj and xc course. And nobody to blame but me. Not a nice experience and I feel sorry for Skye.
Below is an image of her jumping a 90s oxer at home with good style and confidence, so on some level, it is frustrating that she gets into these dark places, but it is what it is, and we'll pick up the pieces and I try to learn from it (listen to your jelly legs!!!). Nightnight Skye, sorry for letting you down, we'll try again another time.

Very proud moment today when Skye absolutely mastered her first therapeutic riding session. Well done to her rider for u...
21/02/2026

Very proud moment today when Skye absolutely mastered her first therapeutic riding session. Well done to her rider for upgrading from Flora so seamlessly, and big thanks to Kate for assisting and supporting Skye.
We had been preparing Skye for some time for her new part time job, and she proved today that she was more than ready!

First camp of 2026 all done and dusted, and what a lovely two days it was! Thanks to all animals involved for being so f...
20/02/2026

First camp of 2026 all done and dusted, and what a lovely two days it was! Thanks to all animals involved for being so fabulous, and to my helpers Nicky and Kate whose help, kindness and expertise was essential to making it a success.

20/02/2026

The enthusiasm of these two going work 🤩
This morning in Kinsale Community Hospital.

Today we had a lot of firsts for 2026.First camp.First walk with the goats.First picnic at the swing.First arts at the t...
19/02/2026

Today we had a lot of firsts for 2026.
First camp.
First walk with the goats.
First picnic at the swing.
First arts at the table outside.
First for some children riding a different/bigger horse.
First for some children riding a horse with a baby horse inside her.
First time Turnip got hit by a train.
Well done everyone, and rest assured, no Turnips were harmed in the running of this camp.
See you all again tomorrow for day 2 😃

Therapy horse in the making 🤗🥰Skye is the shining example of a traditional family horse. As strong as a horse, she could...
18/02/2026

Therapy horse in the making 🤗🥰
Skye is the shining example of a traditional family horse. As strong as a horse, she could help move mountains, but as gentle as the soft spring breeze we had today. She is ready, and waiting, to work every day, and takes whatever is on the to do list in her stride and with a positive attitude. She loves interaction, she adores contact with anybody in sight, and she wants to be involved in what's going on.
Hard to walk past her and not say hello!!!

🐰EASTER CAMPS🐰3-day camps for 3-8 year olds🌼31st March to 2nd April🌺7th to 9th AprilMore information and booking via www...
18/02/2026

🐰EASTER CAMPS🐰
3-day camps for 3-8 year olds
🌼31st March to 2nd April
🌺7th to 9th April
More information and booking via www.itsplainsailing.com/org/hairyhenry or get in touch with Sandra 087 938 9867
Also, for last minute planning of this week's mid-term, we still have a couple of places available in our 2-day camp this week tomorrow Thursday and Friday!!! Booking online via above link 😁

And here a couple of much anticipated action photos from Sunday 😍It's not just lovely to have those memories on photo an...
17/02/2026

And here a couple of much anticipated action photos from Sunday 😍
It's not just lovely to have those memories on photo and show off my horse's beauty to others 😅, but always educational for me, too. My brain is usually hectically trying to remember the course and guide Skye through it the best way possible that I don't take in much else, but seeing her on camera tells me about her quality of jump, my own position and how that needs to be improved, and maybe most importantly Skye's facial expression, and I am delighted to see her bright and happy looking 😆

A job well done 💪👍👏Care Farming means trying a new task, learning a new skill, stepping out of the comfort zone for a ne...
16/02/2026

A job well done 💪👍👏
Care Farming means trying a new task, learning a new skill, stepping out of the comfort zone for a new experience and encounter - with the support of a dedicated team of farm residents and in a calm natural environment - and it results in friendship, joy, satisfaction, confidence, achievement and meaning and pride.
And when the donkey smiles at you because he's happy for his clean shed and full trough, it all makes even more sense 🫏😊

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.