The Tinnis Trust is based at Whisgills Farm, close to Tinnis Hill in the Scottish Borders. Tinnis is a local version of the Welsh word 'Dinas' which now means a city but in the first millennium BC described a 'stronghold' or a 'place of refuge'."
Our mission is to provide a place of refuge for people and for horses. We protect horses and we provide retreats for people who have experienced trauma so that they can experience the life-changing benefits of interaction with horses and time in the outdoors.
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About
Lem Sissay said, "Care is a one-word oxymoron. If we were to truly replicate what a family is for the child who's being looked after by the state...it would give them the best of everything. But what society gives the kids is not the best; it's the dregs."
At the Tinnis Trust our belief is that horses and the countryside should be for everyone, not just the privileged few, that young people who have been dealt the very worst hand that life has to offer deserve the best.
The Tinnis Trust is a registered charity whose vision is to provide sanctuary for horses and free therapeutic retreats in a beautiful rural setting where care experienced young people and trauma survivors have healthy food cooked and grown onsite, luxury ensuite rooms and access to trauma-focused equine therapy, life skills training, peer support and the opportunity to train and gain qualifications.
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Our vision is a society where:
- All people can have access to the life-changing benefits of horses not just the privileged few.
-Equine assisted activities are easily accessible, widely recognised and delivered with the highest levels of safety and ethics.
-The horses involved will be worked alongside in partnership rather than used as tools or vehicles.
-People from a diverse range of backgrounds are able to access work and training within the Equine Assisted Industry.
-Horses are valued not only as athletes, but also as teachers, companions, and healers. They live in comfort and die with dignity; they have loving homes where they can thrive and have opportunities to share their unique abilities with people.
We are an organisation with a Christian ethos that understands how God, religion and Christianity are loaded concepts. We know that lots of people, particularly those who have survived trauma, find it hard to believe that anything comes without strings attached. They fear that they might be judged, preached at or coerced into doing things they don't want to do. The Bible says, "A bruised reed, He will not break." When people have been bruised, broken, or otherwise hurt by other people, circumstances and sometimes even religion or the church, often the last thing they need is strong, persuasive or persistent evangelism. For those who have experienced trauma, it can feel too much like coercion. Just as God honours your own free will, we won't force our beliefs on you. We believe that that the best way to share God's love with others is through giving freely, loving gently and requiring nothing in return. Here at the Tinnis Trust, we don't preach, we don't judge, we just offer a safe space and opportunities to spend time with two of God's most beautiful creations: horses and the natural landscape