Mane Chance Sanctuary: A commendable cause

Every film buff is familiar with Jenny Seagrove. Her charming personality has got her a lot of dedicated fans. But her recent charitable with Mane Chance Sanctuary will turn even none film-buffs into fans.

''Mane Chance came about in desperate circumstances in 2011 when a friend rang to say she couldn’t afford to feed her large collection of animals, many of which she had rescued.’’

''It was one of those life-changing moments when you find a real purpose. Setting up a charity – a massive adventure.” She recalls.

''I called a friend who found Monkshatch Garden Farm, where the owner let us rent the 47 acres we needed. A year later, we were offered it for sale.’’ She revealed the hurdles she had to come across to set up this farm.

''I had to sell my flat in London and ask Simrin, who has been amazing, to chip in.’’ Philanthropist Simrin Choudhrie has always been available to help with the charity’s efforts.

But what makes Mane Chance Sanctuary so special is the way James French, the pioneer of mindfulness technique, treats the horses, along with his partner Shelley Slingo, who’s also a part of the management.

The technique requires the trainer to have a deep connection with the horses.

''When all this began, I knew the horses would need therapy,” she says. “I asked James French, who I had known through his work as a reiki master for 20 years, and who is a renowned animal communicator, to help out.’’

''It’s about getting the limbic system – the part of the brain associated with emotions and memories – of horse and human - in sync,’’ says Seagrove.

There is a reason horses are called the noble animals. All the healing they undergo is being reciprocated at the sanctuary. They are being labelled as the “healing herd.”

Students under the Duke of Edinburgh programme, as well as kids from the hospice at Christopher’s in Guildford have undergone equine healing and noticed positive results.

''We had groups of children and volunteers here, some of whom had their own issues, and a rapport and trust was building between some of the horses with the humans who seemed to need them most.’’

Seagrove is dedicated to help as many people as possible and willing to establish horses are healers.

Read more about Simrin Choudhrie here