Key facts
- A fully funded mental wellbeing coaching programme for farmers is returning for 2026.
- The programme uses horses for equine-assisted learning (EAL).
- Sessions are offered weekly for eight weeks, from June to mid-October.
- It is open to farmers, farm families, and farm workers.
- Participants learn coping strategies for stress, anxiety, and burnout.
- No horse experience is required, and no riding is involved.
A mental wellbeing coaching programme for farmers, which utilizes horses for equine-assisted learning (EAL), is set to return for 2026. Approved for funding by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the initiative aims to support the mental health of the farming community. The programme will be based near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, and at Kilcloon in Co. Meath, offering weekly one-hour sessions over eight weeks from June to mid-October. It is open to farmers, farm families, and farm workers, providing a choice between eight weeks of one-to-one EAL coaching or four weeks of small group EAL coaching. Participants will engage in ground-based activities with horses to learn strategies for managing stress, anxiety, burnout, improving emotional resilience, confidence, and problem-solving skills, at no cost to them. EAL coach Melanie Downes highlighted that no prior horse experience is necessary and the approach is confidential, non-judgmental, somatic, and trauma-informed. Research indicates significant mental health challenges, including stress, burnout, and isolation, facing Irish farmers.