The Wild Mane Project

The Wild Mane Project A local not-for-profit project based in Tameside. Also offering workshop for all the community

With the help of our ponies & nature, we help people build confidence, develop life skills, improve emotional wellbeing, and overcome some of lifes challenges.

We had another upsetting incident with our ponies last night 😢🐴We were contacted to say that a group of teenagers were i...
06/09/2026

We had another upsetting incident with our ponies last night 😢🐴

We were contacted to say that a group of teenagers were in the field chasing the ponies, climbing on the fencing and throwing a chair around them. We called the police, who were there when we arrived.

We found out that a coat had been thrown onto the ponies, particularly Monty, to make them buck. The police spoke to the group and we all talked to them about just how dangerous this could be not only for them, but for the ponies trying to get away, if somebody were to accidentally get kicked by a frightened pony 🐴

Thankfully, when we went over to see the ponies, Esmeray came straight to us, Monty was nervous but then came over and stayed with us and Teddy tucked his head underneath my arm. They were all safe and not hurt, but nobody should be deliberately frightening them in their own home 🌳

We hope everyone understands that today we have chosen to cancel our sessions to help our ponies to rest and give them some much-needed TLC. As a small not-for-profit therapeutic organisation, cancelling sessions isn't a decision we take lightly, but our ponies are at the heart of what we do and their welfare has to come first. We are sorry we have needed to do this and hope to see you all next week. ❤🥰

Our ponies are a huge part of The Wild Mane Project. They work with children and young people, but this is also their home. When our sessions finish and we go home, they live here. ❤❤🐴🌳🐴

So we are asking everyone who uses the permitted path through Horses Field to please help us look after them. 🌳 Stay on the permitted path, keep your dogs on a lead, give the ponies plenty of space and please don't enter the grazing areas to walk, exercise dogs or spend time with the ponies.

❌ Please don't feed them either. Something that seems like a harmless treat can make a pony extremely poorly and some foods can kill them. They are also therapeutic ponies and we don't hand feed them as part of how we work with them.

🚶‍♀️If you would prefer a walk away from the ponies, there are alternative footpath routes from Hillview Road.

Most people who pass through are respectful of our ponies and what we are doing here, and we really appreciate that. We have an amazing support network in Dane Bank. Thank you.

Please just remember when you pass through, you're walking through their home, please leave them to live there peacefully ❤️🐴

31/08/2026

🌿🐴 TAG AWAY! WHO NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT WILD MANE? 🐴🌿

Tag the schools, teachers, Alternative Provisions, charities & organisations, home-educating families, parents, grandparents and adults who need to know what we have here. 👇

The ponies have had their summer break, the humans have sort of had one… and September means The Wild Mane Project is properly back!

And there is a lot happening...

🌳 PRIVATE BOOKABLE SESSIONS

🐴 Wild Child Club – our Sunday club for children to spend time with the ponies or explore and learn about nature.

🌱 Home Education Classes – weekly outdoor learning with ponies, nature, challenges, activities and awards to discover.

🐴 1:1 Therapeutic Sessions – individual sessions combining equine-assisted learning, nature and therapeutic approaches, built around the participant with measurable outcomes where needed.

🏫 SCHOOLS

• Whole-class workshops around your curriculum
• Supported 1:1 sessions
• Wild Mirror Therapeutic Programme
• Curriculum-linked outdoor learning days
• EHCP Section F provision, where our programmes meet the provision identified in a child or young person's EHCP

🌿 PRUs & ALTERNATIVE PROVISION

• Group programmes designed around the needs of each group
• Supported 1:1 sessions
• Observations, progress monitoring and reports

❤️ CHARITIES & COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS

• Commissioned 1:1 programmes
• Wild Mirror programmes
• Small-group programmes
• Programmes for children, young people and adults
• Support built around individual needs and outcomes

🤓 ADULTS

🐴 Wild Mirror – Adult Programme – our structured therapeutic programme for adults, working towards individual goals through equine-assisted and outdoor approaches.

Adults receiving Direct Payments may be able to use them to fund their programme where this has been agreed as part of their support.

🐴 AND WE’RE NOT FINISHED YET…

Built by people, supported by ponies, grounded in nature. 🌳🐴

🌿 Wild Child Club is BACK! 🐴Our Sunday club where children spend time with the ponies, explore and learn about nature.We...
30/08/2026

🌿 Wild Child Club is BACK! 🐴

Our Sunday club where children spend time with the ponies, explore and learn about nature.

We've had the summer off, the ponies have had a well-earned rest (although Teddy certainly doesn't need any more time off! 😂), and now we're ready to get going again.

And the best bit? We've barely even started.

There is still so much of our 16 acres to explore, things to build, wildlife to discover and jobs that need doing. The seasons will soon start to change too, which means the land around us will start changing with them – and there is going to be plenty to see, learn and get involved with.

We'll be spending time with the ponies, learning about their care and handling, exploring nature, developing our outdoor skills, looking for wildlife and generally getting stuck into whatever needs doing that week.

And there will be Wild Mane Challenge Awards and badges to discover along the way too. 🏅

So, who's with us?

🐴 Wild Child Club
📅 Every Sunday at 1pm
📍 Dane Bank Horses Field, Denton
💷 £9 per child

🌿 Book online:
https://www.wildmane.org.uk/book-online

Built by people, supported by ponies, grounded in nature.

🌳 Home Education Sessions at The Wild Mane Project 🐴What could you learn with 16 acres of land and a woodland as your cl...
30/08/2026

🌳 Home Education Sessions at The Wild Mane Project 🐴

What could you learn with 16 acres of land and a woodland as your classroom, with ponies and local wildlife as your teachers? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Our Home Education sessions are about getting outside, getting involved and learning through actually doing things.

We will be covering a wide range of subjects, with activities adapted depending on the ages, abilities and interests of the children and young people who come along.

🔬 Science & Conservation – exploring what is happening around us on the land and getting involved in conservation work.

🦔 Wildlife & Habitats – looking for tracks and signs of wildlife, finding out what lives around us, exploring different habitats and learning how we can protect and improve them.

🪱 Soil, Worms & Bugs – getting our hands dirty! Looking at soil, worms, decomposition and the important jobs that all the little things we don't always notice are doing. We will be working on our wormery, building bug hotels and creating habitats around the site.

🐴 Equine-Assisted Learning – working with our ponies, learning how they communicate, how our own communication affects them and using this to work on communication, teamwork, problem-solving and working together.

🌳 Wilderness Living Skills – learning different outdoor skills, using equipment, solving problems and learning how to look after ourselves, each other and the environment around us.

🧭 For our older teenagers, we can start bringing in employability skills too. Taking on more responsibility around the site, working as part of a team, communication, decision-making and completing real tasks that actually need doing.

🏅 And there will be Wild Mane Challenge Awards and badges to discover along the way. Some will be linked to what we're learning and doing, and some might not be quite so obvious!

We aren't trying to recreate a classroom in a field. There is so much we can learn from the ponies, wildlife and land around us, and plenty of opportunities to follow something further when it catches someone's interest.

📍 Dane Bank, Denton
🐴 Ages 5+
⏱️ 12pm - 1pm
💷 £10 per child or young person.

Built by people, supported by ponies, grounded in nature.

📅 Book online:
https://www.wildmane.org.uk/book-online

The ponies are enjoying their summer off 🐴 With weather like this, we all need to stay cool 😎 with our ponies living ou...
13/08/2026

The ponies are enjoying their summer off 🐴 With weather like this, we all need to stay cool 😎 with our ponies living out in their natural environment,they're experts at regulating their body temperature 🌡 That’s why we have a lot to learn from them ♥️

Some if the images have been provided by residents near the The Wild Mane Project, thank you ♥️🐴🌳

Yesterday we had a visit from our new farrier Callum Lane. He came highly recommended, and we can see why 🐴 A great job ...
09/08/2026

Yesterday we had a visit from our new farrier Callum Lane. He came highly recommended, and we can see why 🐴 A great job with our ponies!

Esmeray doesn't like having her feet done, but Callum had a trick up his sleeve.... He gave her a Lickit 🙌 He's now her favourite person... until the day he comes without the Lickit 🐴🤣

Over 2,000 of you have reacted to Monty's story, with hundreds of messages, comments and shares. Every single act of kin...
17/07/2026

Over 2,000 of you have reacted to Monty's story, with hundreds of messages, comments and shares. Every single act of kindness has meant so much to me, my family, the team and, most importantly, Monty.

Monty isn't just one of our therapeutic ponies. He's part of my family, and seeing so many people care about him has meant more than I can ever express.

A special thank you to the Dane Bank community. Thank you for looking out for us, caring about our ponies, and being our eyes and ears. We really do appreciate you!

The Wild Mane Project was built on five simple values (Respect Yourself, Respect Others, Respect Animals, Respect Nature, Respect Equipment). They guide everything we do and everything we teach. Seeing so many of you share those same values over the last day has reminded me why this project is so important.

Thank you for continuing to support us, our participants and our wonderful ponies. 🤎

Today, Emma and I were absolutely heartbroken to discover what someone had done to our kind and gentle Monty.At some poi...
16/07/2026

Today, Emma and I were absolutely heartbroken to discover what someone had done to our kind and gentle Monty.

At some point, one or more people poured beer all over him. His coat was sticky, discoloured and bleached in places. We tried to give him a bath, but instead of the pony who usually enjoys being washed, we found a frightened horse who flinched every time the water touched him. It took us nearly an hour to help him feel safe enough to let us near him.

In the end, we couldn't bathe him. The only thing we could do was gently work through his coat with wet brushes, taking things at his pace.

Beer isn't harmless. The sugars and other ingredients can strip the natural oils from a horse's coat, leaving it dry, damaged and uncomfortable. For horses that live outdoors, those natural oils are important for protecting their skin and coat from the weather.

What hurts even more is the emotional impact. Monty is a trained therapeutic pony who spends his days helping children and adults who need a safe, calm and trusting relationship. Today, it was our turn to help him rebuild that trust.

We are devastated that someone thought this was acceptable.

This incident has been reported to the police. If anyone witnessed anything suspicious or has any information, however small it may seem, please get in touch with us or contact the police quoting the Crime Reference Number 3030 16/07/2026.

Please remember that these are not just horses in a field. They are much-loved animals, and for many people they are a lifeline.

EDIT:

Thank you to everyone who has reached out and supported Monty and The Wild Mane Project.

The good news is that today Monty was much more himself. He had a bath and then immediately rolled in the dirt, which felt like a very good sign.

What happened to Monty was wrong. It doesn't reflect the values we teach every day.

We believe people can learn. We believe people can change. At The Wild Mane Project, we believe in teaching, not shaming. We believe in teaching those values to everyone. Respect Yourself. Respect Others. Respect Animals. Respect Nature. Respect Equipment.

Whatever your age, your past or your circumstances, they're values for life.

Thank you again for standing with Monty and with The Wild Mane Project. 🐴🌳

This week, I think participants and ponies have enjoyed the water activities in this hot weather ☀️💦🐴
11/07/2026

This week, I think participants and ponies have enjoyed the water activities in this hot weather ☀️💦🐴

Address

Hyde

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Wild Mane Project posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share