Session Terms & Conditions

Spirit of The Herd Terms & Conditions

Pony Pamper Sessions, Pony Care Club, Pony Parties

In this document, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
“SoTH” refers to Spirit of The Herd which is located at The Ridgeway, Alvanley, Cheshire,WA6 6XQ.
The “visitor” is the person participating in the activity or visit to SoTH, including their accompanying adult(s) if relevant.
The “booker” is the person arranging the session or sessions with SoTH.
“SoTH volunteers” refers to any paid employee or contractor for SoTH or any lead, experienced volunteer assisting with the delivery of the session.
“Equine” refers to horse or pony residing at Spirit of The Herd who takes part in the pony sessions.

Booking Procedure

Booking a session can be done by emailing sothbookings@gmail.com or through our social media channels.
Sessions must be paid for in advance of the time of booking. We do not accept cash, card payments or cheques on arrival.
For ‘Mixed Group Pamper Sessions’ SoTH are only able to facilitate four visitors on site at one time for each booking as per the maximum number per group. Please do not arrive at your session with more than 2 adult visitors (including accompanying adults.) If you are seeking a large booking, please book a ‘Pony Party’ or an ‘Individual’ private session.
The booker will need to give ages of the visitors to SoTH along with accompanying adult(s) details so that SoTH can plan the session and ascertain the amount of people on site for health and safety.
If the booker cancels the session with less than 48 hour’s notice the booker will be charged a full price cancellation fee. Sessions cancelled with 48 hour’s notice or more can be rearranged.
Bookings made online may be subject to change due to volunteer and equine availability, SoTH reserves the right to change volunteers for any session. On occasions SoTH may need to contact the booker and adjust the time of the booking. SoTH aims to make any changes within a two hour adjustment, either way, of the time which the booker has requested. If a group session has been booked and the visitor is the only participant, we reserve the right to shorten the session to account for the discounted group price.
If the booker requests a change to the confirmed dates at a later stage, this may be possible if availability allows – SoTH will advise. In the event that no other date can be arranged (if SoTH is fully booked), then the initial booking stands and fees will be payable, whether or not the session is attended.
A registration form will be required to be completed prior to the start of the session(s). This form gives useful and important information to the SoTH volunteer(s) that will be running the session, including emergency contact and health and safety information. All personal information is securely stored and will not be shared with any third party – please contact SoTH by email info@spiritoftheherd.co.uk for a copy of our privacy policy if you would like more information.
All sessions may be postponed in severe weather conditions and at the discretion of SoTH and more than once if bad weather persists.

Cancellation of a Session(s) by a booker

Fees for sessions are non-refundable and non-transferable if the visitor is unable to attend for any reason, such as sickness, school trip, hospital visits, family holiday etc.

Cancellation of a Session(s) by SoTH

SoTH reserves the right to cancel any session(s) immediately if the visitor demonstrates any aggressive or inappropriate behaviour to either SoTH Volunteer(s), another visitor, animal or any person at the Sanctuary; or if the visitor is not able to behave in a safe manner when on site.
No further session(s) will take place with the visitor unless appropriate measures have been taken to reduce the likelihood of any repeat behaviour.

Supply of Services

SoTH will ensure that each session is delivered only by an experienced SoTH Volunteer. In the event of illness or unplanned absence, SoTH will offer another experienced volunteer for the session wherever possible but if it is not possible or it is deemed unsuitable in the best interests of the visitors concerned; the session will be postponed to a later date at no extra cost to the booker.
In addition, young volunteers may assist the SoTH senior volunteers, particularly when interaction with the equines is taking place. This involvement will be additional support with the equines to ensure that maximum safety levels are upheld at all times, and they will not act as a replacement for the volunteers in the leading of the session.
SoTH reserves the right to change the structure of a standard session to suit the welfare needs of the rescue therapy equines. The visitor(s) will be made aware of this. This may include, changing of the equine, excluding a walk, letting the equine loose and changing interaction.

Timings

The booker should ensure that the visitor arrives on site on time – it will not be possible to delay the start of any session as other activities may be scheduled to take place later in the day.
The Sanctuary hosts a range of community services. SoTH often have quiet sessions which require no one but the facilitator and the client, it is therefore not appropriate to interrupt sessions early. If the visitor(s) are early for their session they must wait in their vehicle or in the seating area at the top of SoTH driveway until their allotted time. If this is ignored. The visitor(s) will politely be asked to wait in the mentioned places by one of our volunteers.
Please be aware that SoTH may not start and finish your session exactly on time. Please allow 15 minutes past the session start and finish times to accommodate equine/session changeovers and welfare checks.

Clothing

The booker undertakes to ensure that the visitor attends each session in suitable clothing for the time spent with the equines on site and in the fields. This includes, but is not limited to stout footwear, such as boots, rather than canvas shoes, and gloves. The visitor should bring coats and jackets for cold weather conditions and also sun protection and hats for hot weather conditions as we are an outdoor centre.
If the visitor arrives at the Sanctuary in clothing that is not suitable for outdoor activities or that is not considered adequate for the safety of the visitor (for example, sandals or flip flops), then the visitor will not be accepted for the session and will be asked to return home.
Hard hats will be provided by the Sanctuary to be worn if a walk with the equines is included or if the visitor(s) enters the fields. Equines are not ridden at SoTH but the visitors may partake in grooming and/or leading the equines, for which the stated personal protection equipment will be required. Refusal of the visitor to wear such equipment will result in the visitor being excluded from the activities involving the equines.

Medical and Behavioural information

Any medical or behavioural information relevant to the participation of the visitor in the session(s) must be disclosed prior to commencement of the session. SoTH reserves the right not to accept the participation of any visitor on the grounds that any such medical or behavioural problems are not conducive to the session or if the safety of the visitor, SoTH volunteers or any other person on site cannot be guaranteed.

Safeguarding and Confidentiality

SoTH have a detailed safeguarding policy in use at the Sanctuary which can be viewed by contacting SoTH by email at info@spiritoftheherd.co.uk.
SoTH has a designated safeguarding lead, details of whom are displayed in the kitchen area.
All SoTH volunteers are familiar with the site health and safety and fire policies.
Any disclosure of confidential information deemed necessary by the SoTH designated safeguarding lead would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis taking all the circumstances into consideration. This would be done only in accordance with the recognised procedures described in the SoTH Safeguarding Policy and if a situation had arisen that warranted such disclosure.

Parental/Guardian Consent

For visitors under 18 years of age, SoTH requires the parent/guardian of the visitor to sign a parental consent declaration prior to the commencement of the session(s) – this is included on the registration form.
If the booker is not the parent/guardian of the visitor, then the registration form must be completed by the parent/guardian – they should either forward the email request or contact SoTH with contact details of the parent/guardian.
If parental/guardian consent is not received prior to the commencement of the session(s), SoTH may refuse to accept the visitor on the session(s) until it is received.