In a corner of the beautiful Dorset countryside, on the site of the old dairy farm for Verwood, you'll find a little old wonky barn, some lovely views and a variety of little animals, at a place fondly called:
The Country Corner
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Our most recent fundraising goal is to purchase an enclosed car transporter which we will adapt with wheelchair-accessible toilet in the nose section.
Eventually, a small horse lorry would make the best transport but this will take a huge amount of fundraising and so, a trailer is the first goal.
This adapted trailer will enable us to go out for a full day, taking our miniature therapy horses to places where they can work their amusing magic but will also double up as transport for power add-ons to beauty spots for people to meet us and have a bit of fun on exploring the great outdoors.
!!NEWS!!
Currently we have some necessary safety refurbishment but will not invest in this due to being informed, out of the blue, by our landlord, Dorset Council, not long before Christmas 2023, that after 32 years of tenancy, they will no longer be renewing the lease after the year ending March 2025 and during that year we are not allowed to keep our pigs or chickens!
To say I’m shocked is an understatement and the reason being given is that they want to return the land to just grazing so that it can be “repurposed at short notice” and the land must be “restored to a use which has a temporary nature”.
Could we relocate?
Definitely not as it has taken all this time to evolve into a place where my wheelchair is not a total impediment and funding the conversion of another blank canvas of grassland is not going to happen without massive investment and there is just not enough money coming in from fundraising and donations to do more than keep the animals.
There are no paid staff – all workers give of their time freely and keep the wheels turning and are highly valued.
Myself, my family, friends and volunteers are all a bit mystified as we consider we are only grazing the site and with no permanent buildings (the barn floor is not concrete) and fencing being either electric or sheep hurdles or metal panelling, could be removed to make way for whatever the Council decide is the new ‘purpose’.
The other impossibility to relocating is that due to 37 years in a wheelchair eroding my shoulders, I have days when I cannot transfer into my vehicle and need to be able to get to the farm in my wheelchair with the addition of a power add-on, the distance is under a mile from my home.
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We rely on fundraising from our in-hand miniature horse jumping and donations to further our charitable aims.
If you would like to support us and donate, please click on the donate button below and thank you for your support.
