Summerfield Stables - Horses in the community

Summerfield Stables is a community group that has been established over thirty years. Its aim is to encourage children and young people in the Yardley Wood area of Birmingham to understand and interact with horses. The young people who visit the stables are mostly between the ages of seven and fifteen and come from the surrounding areas, including Yardley Wood, Hall Green, Balsall Heath,  Kings Heath and Billesley. We also encourage children with both mental and physical disabilities. We are developing links with Crossroads Young Carers and Kidz West Midlands in order to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recently there have been talks with ecologists working in Birmingham City Council. We hope to do more for wildlife in the area, especially as the field is within the boundaries of the Shire Country Park. The organisation is not for profit and will hopefully seek registered charity status in the near future. The stables is run by volunteers and there are no paid members of staff.

We aim to increase the confidence and practical skills of children and young people through working with the horses. We believe that working with these animals helps them to learn to follow instructions and to practice teamwork. The young people have a chance to develop leadership skills by helping others to learn and by organising activities for the younger age groups. We do not believe that a genuine lack of money should deny people access to horses and an application can be made to the committee for a scholarship. This means that the donation given to the horses may be reduced for some young people. It is important that horses are seen as companion animals and life time friends. They are not machines or a short term commodity. Many horses at Summerfield are rescued, so there is an organisational focus on reschooling. However most of the horses enjoy competing in local shows on a fairly regular basis and the experience for young people is very much like owning their own ponies, whilst at the same time learning to share them and help others.