Horse lovers to fire fighters
KYALAMI - Shumbashaba Stables characteristically uses horses to help people but in July, the stable yard showed off its fire-fighting skills.
A veld fire that started below Riversands Primary School on Riversands Farm spread to the stable yard as the wind picked up.
Horse grooms, riders and neighbours rushed to prevent the fire from encroaching onto Shumbashaba’s property but they were unable to stop the flames from destroying the grazing fields, although all the horses were moved to safety.
Without grass to graze, the stable yard will provide their horses with 100 percent of horse feed until the new shoots grow later this year. The stables is appealing to the community to help supply horse feed for the stable’s 21 horses.
Shumbashaba Horse Helping People is a community non-profit organisation which uses the interaction between horses and people as a healing process. Sharon Boyce of Shumbashaba received the Fédération Equestre Internationale Development Award last year for her work of using horses to help people with disabilities or suffering from trauma. Youth at risk, trauma recovery, victim support, substance abuse, eating disorder programmes and therapeutic riding for people with and without disabilities are some of the centre’s programmes.
Every week, children with cerebral palsy from Bona Lesedi Disability Centre attend the stables to ride as the motion helps to stimulate their muscles.
The stable yard recently hosted a pony camp for Diepsloot youth to learn how to ride and take care of horses. They were also exposed to an equine-assisted learning programme which uses horses to interpret human emotions and apply their experiences with horses to life in general.
Shumbashaba also hosted a Unified Sports Day for people with and without disabilities to enjoy a sporting day together.
Details: Shumbashaba Stable Yard Manager Renae Erasmus: 083-373-6853 or blog.shumbashaba.co.za
