Horses & Forces CIC
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We Horses & Forces CIC will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 Horses & Forces CIC recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
We also pledge the following:

Providing Specialist Trauma Treatment for those Suffering from Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress and Associated Mental Health Difficulties: We will do this via provision of free trauma treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress and associated mental health conditions, to people who have served in the British Armed Forces. We commit to collaboratively developing bespoke trauma treatment packages to help military personnel (past and present) recover from the effects of their overwhelming experiences by engaging in EMDR and/or Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy at their own pace, at a non-clinical setting of Coombe Holdridge Farm. The treatment goal is often to promote integration and regulation across multiple areas of functioning and this often requires a multi-phased treatment approach that is not often available in the NHS. We commit to undertake a biopsychosocial view of an individuals presenting issues and liaise with other organisations to provide a multiagency approach to care as appropriate. Horses&Forces CIC commit to networking extensively with other organisations in the local area and further afield who are serving the same population, to ensure they have a good understanding of the varying kinds of support available that compliment the work of our organisation. The service specifically aims to support beneficiaries who: Have previously been offered psychological therapy via other organisations such as the NHS, but the treatment has not been successful in fully treating the symptoms. Have never approached organisations such as the NHS because of fears regarding stigma of attending a clinical mental health setting or because of concerns about what information will be held in NHS clinical records and who will have access to this. Are hesitant about engaging in psychological therapy and who may benefit from attending at a non-clinical setting, where they can get to know the therapist/s without pressure to sit in a room and speak openly from the first meeting. Need a longer period of engagement using a variety of approaches instead of one-size fits all and a limited number of sessions, as is the case in many clinical settings such as the NHS due to pressure on services. Would benefit from being able to have more control in collaboratively developing a bespoke treatment plan that combines psychological therapies and is able to flex to meet the individuals needs each week, since over the course of therapy a persons capacity to tolerate room-based trauma therapy varies

2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.