Adventure ~ Healing ~ Connection
We promote adventure and wellbeing through the power of the horse
Our journeys support charities with a focus on mental health, wellbeing & child welfare. We have raised over £93,000 for charities in UK and Europe, and have travelled over 5,000 km in 5 different countries.
We promote routes new & old, encouraging accessibility, community & sustainability. In 2024 we made our way across the Highlands, raising £8,200 for two local suicide prevention charities. Join a 2025 journey and help make a difference.
For a taste of what our journeys are like listen to journalist and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota’s ‘Open Country’ piece as she joined us on our recent ride across Scotland. Listen on BBC sounds
‘Our conversation traverses the moving backstory behind his first adventures; becoming an architect of your own reality… the humanising nature of suffering; creative connection through movement… the humbling relationship between man and horse, and what it means to be a pilgrim…'‘
BBC Radio 4 ‘Highlands with horses’
Latest podcasts about The Big Hoof
Every year we travel 200 miles for a given cause. The FareWays journeys are wild, inclusive and travel through the most beautiful parts of the UK. Have a listen to the BBC Radio 4 short documentary about our 2023 trip across Scotland.
In May 2024 we journeyed across the Highlands in support of two suicide prevention charities, raising £7,500. 14 participants and 60 primary school children joined.
You don’t need a horse, just a good pair of shoes and a willingness to do some good. Join us on our September journey around Loch Tay, open to all.
FareWays
Hooves and healing - riding to wellness
In May, The Big Hoof team rode into Dunfermline town, Scotland, to meet folk from inner-city areas to introduce them to the horses. Two weeks later, we hosted a group at the farm to garden, ride, enjoy the open spaces and make some delicious fresh pesto! All in collaboration with the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.
‘The horses’ impact in just a couple of hours was remarkable, even for those who were wary of getting too close. It was lovely to be able to facilitate this session especially as it turned out to be such a big hit. There were smiles all round, and a feeling of real achievement for the group….’
The Big Hoof is currently supporting Insulate Ukraine
After spending three weeks in Izyum, in the Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine, The Big Hoof have teamed up with NGO Insulate Ukraine. This UK based organisation has pioneered a glassless solution to one of the greatest issues faced by the devastated communities of eastern Ukraine: windows blown out by the war. emergency home-built solutions to replace windows blown out by the war.
Events…
The Big Hoof Feast!
Oh what a night! On 29 November 2024, we hosted our first ever Feast. Raffi Parker, chef and member of The Big Hoof team, cooked up a delicious spread, and there was live music from Elio Rojas Latin Jazz trio. Artworks were sold, The Big Hoof Christmas Postcards and much more. The evening was to raise funds and awareness for the ME Association and The Big Hoof.
Small Beer Brewery, Southwark, London.
Burns Night 2025
On 27th January, The Big Hoof celebrated their annual Burns Night evening at The Caledonian Club, London. With over 124 guests in attendance, the evening was one that captured the family spirit of the charity. Alongside the whisky, dancing, haggis, bagpipes and auction, participants from our rides and folk from the charities we have been supporting said a few words. Next dinner is planned for 1st Feb 2025.
With thanks to Ardnamurchan Whisky, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Fera GB and Blundstone Boots
Talks
Founder of The Big Hoof, Louis Hall, recently spoke at the Royal Geographical Society on 18 October. This year The Big Hoof team have given two talks at the Kendal Mountain Festival Tour and at two schools. The talks focus on what it was like to create the first conclusive horse trail across the Ligurian Alps, riding 2000 miles through Europe on horseback, charity journeys and how accidentally discovering a tribe in Mongolia started it all!
