Connection

Animals

There are any number of reasons why being with animals is good for body and soul, they are generous, kind, warm, furry, curious, non-judgemental and often funny. The thing they all share (large and small) is that they don’t speak our languages, so to communicate with them we need to find ways other than just talking. Learning to tap into our deeper senses and communicate with feeling and emotion can open a whole new sensory world.

There simply is no replacement for the extraordinary experience of accepting an offer of connecting with these special sentient non-human beings and learning to dig a bit deeper and connect with a generous heart. It doesn’t matter if it’s a large horse or a tiny guineapig, they all show their appreciation when we make the effort to understand them and their species-specific needs.

The term 'sentient' means - 'Having the power of perception by the senses; conscious'.

We also have a responsibility to provide the animals in our care with the best possible lifestyle which can be labour intensive and sometimes dirty work. The physical efforts needed to prepare clean housing, grooming, bedding, feed and grazing is healthy exercise for our bodies whilst enjoying filling our lungs with fresh air, it can really help to clear the mind of day-to-day stressors.

For children and young people the experiential learning element of caring for the land and animals also offers transferable life skills including care for self and others. We work hard to provide all our animals with plenty of enrichment to make sure their lives at Conquest Centre are as comfortable as they can possibly be.

The term 'experiential' means - 'Learning through experience in a different context/situation'.

Wellbeing

We all deserve to feel well but sometimes life’s challenges can become overwhelming and start to affect health and wellbeing. Whether it’s stress at work, family life or a life limiting neurodivergent or physical condition, it can spiral and affect how we feel about our lives.

We believe that physical and emotional wellbeing are linked so sometimes, when one or the other is affected, life can become increasingly difficult and make day to day minor tasks feel like an enormous burden.

Everyone is different, and each person who comes to us will have unique needs so for this reason we work in a flexible way that means we are able to tailor sessions to each persons individual needs. For some it may be most helpful to chat whilst walking with one of our dogs or grooming the horses, others whilst baking a cake, foraging by the riverbank or playing with the goats – we are always creative and enthusiastic to provide the right approach to suit you and positively influence your wellbeing.

Nature

The term 'biophilia' means - 'The love of life and the living world; the affinity of human beings for other life forms'.

We are extremely lucky to be situated in 17 acres of beautiful countryside surrounded by a 200-acre working arable farm, so we really can make the most of the great outdoors, nautre and Somerset fresh air. When you come to us, we can offer strolls around the centre’s facilities, exploring the mysteries of our rippling stream, woodland, nature trail or making a campfire or building a den in our forest school.

In the summer we have picknics in the fields or you can just enjoy having your senses awakened listening to birdsong, watching the clouds and feeling real grass under your feet.

As if we didn’t know it already – there is much research to back up that being outdoors in nature provides health benefits on it’s own!

We offer you the opportunity to do this with a mentor who will also have the skills to talk to you about your individual concerns or help unravel them if you are feeling overwhelmed or confused.

Research in this field is constantly evolving and The Mental Health Foundation have produced a report called ‘How connecting with nature benefits our mental health’ this is an excerpt and you can find the full report here.

Extract from ‘How connecting with nature benefits mental health' below:

Connection

Connection is individual to each of us and experienced in unique and personal ways, most commonly it’s the feeling of being in touch emotionally with someone who cares for us or with whom we have mutual interest.

Having a secure attachment to another person is a basic human need but sometimes it can feel daunting to trust enough to make these connections even with family members.

Feeling disconnected can be lonely and for those of us who have lived in a world of disconnectedness, it can be a daunting prospect to accept that learning to emotionally re-connect might be a part of the jigsaw to improved health and wellbeing.

This is a significant part of the help we offer and in the first instance the animals and the beautiful countryside help to make it less daunting and more meaningful, connecting with any animal can be magical.

Our Cornerstones

Animals

Wellbeing

Nature

Connection