Adventure | Healing | Connection
We promote adventure and wellbeing through the power of the horse
The Big Hoof journeys support charities with a focus on mental health, wellbeing & child welfare. We have raised over £98,000 for charities in UK and Europe, and have travelled over 6,000 km in 5 different countries.
We promote and discover routes new & old, encouraging accessibility, community & sustainability. In 2024 we made our way around Loch Tay, raising £8,200 for two local suicide prevention charities. Join a 2025 journey and help make a difference.
The Big Hoof is a Scottish charity that organises long-distance treks, with horses at its heart and a clear focus on mental health: Free and accessible to everyone.
Our aim is to improve mental wellbeing by inviting and inspiring people to go outdoors, using the horse as a vehicle for connection.
UPCOMING
20-24 May: journey in east Fife
Join us as we collaborate with the nationwide Beach of Dreams project and travel along the coast of east Fife, Scotland. To celebrate the importance of the British coastline, we will be journeying along the Fife Coastal Path, from Leven to St Andrews. Roughly 10 miles a day. Come for a morning, a night or more! Camping on route and plenty of swimming in the sea! More information coming soon. Please use the contact button below for more details at this time, and make sure to let The Big Hoof team if you would like to bring your horse!
JUST COMPLETED
FareWays 2025:
3 days around Loch Tay
On the bright and cold morning of 28 March, 16 humans, 6 horses and 2 dogs set off from Tombreck Community Farm and headed into the hills! On this short but very sweet three day trip, we journeyed around the east end of Loch Tay, raising more than £4,500 for the Alzheimers Research UK. Updates coming soon!
Every year we travel 200 miles in the UK for a given cause. The FareWays journeys are wild, inclusive and travel through the most unchartered parts of the UK. Have a listen to the BBC Radio 4 short documentary about our 2023 trip across Scotland.
“Today's biggest mental health issue is to
"feel alone". If I was a doctor, I would prescribe everyone to walk with their neighbour...”
— Tristan, 2024 Fareways participant
In Other News
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 ]
Talks
This September, our Director of Programmes, Kiki, was invited to give the opening lecture for the yearly AAI Symposium [Animal Assisted Intervention] at the University of Applied Sciences in Dronten (NL). Big Hoof founder Louis Hall also spoke at the Royal Geographical Society in October. In our public talks, The Big Hoof aims to inform people about the transformative power of the horse, address problems surrounding mental wellbeing and promote the outdoors.
Read more about Big Hoof Talks here
BBC Radio 4 ‘Highlands With Horses’
Wondering what a Big Hoof journey is really like? Listen to journalist and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota’s ‘Open Country’ piece as she joined us on our recent ride across Scotland.
Listen now on BBC sounds here
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.
Hooves and Healing:
Big Hoof Collaborations
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….’
