TOUCHING WILD with Bonny Mealand
5 DAY RESIDENTIAL EXPERIENCE (6 Nights)
Wild by Design
Learning from Horses in Scotland's Atlantic Rainforest
Horse Behaviour, Conservation Grazing and Ecological Restoration
Spend five days immersed in one of Scotland’s living conservation landscapes, where horses are not simply managed animals but active ecological participants.
Work alongside semi-wild, minimally handled ponies, learning how to understand behaviour through observation, context and relationship rather than control. Explore how the landscape itself shapes movement, social dynamics and decision-making and discover how behaviour, welfare and ecology become inseparable when horses are allowed to live more naturally.
Through field observation, practical work with minimally handled ponies, and conversations with those working at the forefront of ecological restoration, you will gain a richer understanding of both horses and the landscapes they help create.
Alongside this, you will experience a traditional transhumance with Nomios Pastoral, offering a rare insight into the enduring relationship between grazing animals, people and place.
This is access to a world very few people ever get to see.
About the Experience
Wild by Design is an immersive residential learning experience for people who want to understand horses more deeply within the context of conservation grazing, ecological restoration and species-appropriate living.
At the heart of the experience is horse behaviour.
You will spend time observing, interpreting and working alongside minimally handled ponies, exploring how horses communicate, make decisions, respond to pressure, use space, maintain social relationships and interact with their environment.
Rather than focusing on fixed techniques or control-based handling, this experience asks a different question:
What is the horse experiencing, and how can we work from there?
The learning is grounded in the Holistic Equid Learning Plan - the HELP Model - a structured, welfare-centred framework developed through extensive fieldwork with wild, zoo-managed, conservation grazing and minimally handled equids.
The approach integrates ethology, behaviour, welfare, environmental context and practical decision-making. It supports safe, thoughtful and repeatable ways of working with horses with challenging behaviour or who may be unfamiliar with human contact.
What Makes This Experience Different?
This is not simply a workshop about horses.
It is an invitation to see them differently.
By observing horses living within functioning ecological systems, you will develop a deeper understanding of behaviour, welfare and communication than is possible in many conventional domestic settings.
Working alongside minimally handled ponies will challenge assumptions about training, management and human expectation, while revealing how trust, choice, social stability and species-appropriate living shape every interaction.
You will explore how horses function as part of a wider living system: grazing, moving, browsing, resting, socialising, opening pathways, shaping vegetation and participating in the ecological life of the land.
The result is not only greater practical confidence, but a fundamentally different way of understanding horses and our place alongside them.
The Experience includes:
Behaviour-led work with minimally handled ponies
-
You will work directly with semi-wild and minimally handled ponies in structured, supervised sessions.
-
The focus will be on observation, timing, spatial awareness, behavioural thresholds, trust-building and calm, low-stress engagement.
-
You will explore how to prepare horses for essential care in safe and ow-stress ways that are repeatable and enjoyable for all involved.
Learning through the HELP Model
-
The HELP Model offers a practical framework for understanding and supporting horses in complex real-world situations.
-
You will learn how to apply the model to assess behaviour in context, structure interactions, make decisions in real time, and develop approaches that are transferable across individuals, teams and settings.
Conservation grazing in practice
-
You will explore how ponies contribute to ecological restoration through grazing, browsing, movement and habitat creation.
-
This is an opportunity to understand conservation grazing not simply as land management, but as a relationship between animals, people, place and ecological process.
Transhumance with Nomios Pastoral
-
A transhumance day with Nomios Pastoral will offer a rare opportunity to travel with grazing animals as they move through the landscape.
-
This experience brings together traditional pastoral knowledge, ecological restoration and the cultural relationship between people, animals and land.
-
Nomios Pastoral restores ecological function and resilient pastoral systems through the careful stewardship of grazing animals, alongside the revival of transhumance practices. Their work recognises animals not as production units, but as ecological participants.
Welfare, ecology and ethics
-
Throughout the experience, welfare will be considered not only as the prevention of harm, but as the creation of conditions in which horses can express agency, social connection, behavioural choice and species-appropriate lives.
-
The Five Domains Model will provide a foundation for thinking about physical health, behavioural expression and emotional wellbeing together.
Who This Workshop Is For
This workshop is designed for people responsible for the care and handling of equids who may be unfamiliar with human contact or have experienced difficult handling in the past.
It will be particularly valuable for:
Zoo and wildlife park keepers working with non-domestic or minimally handled equids
Conservation grazing wardens managing
semi-wild
pony herds
Sanctuary
staff
supporting rescued or traumatised horses
Veterinary professionals working with equids that
are difficult to handle
Experienced horse professionals and caregivers supporting horses who are fearful, defensive, or recovering trust with humans
Participants should already have basic experience working around animals, as the workshop involves practical sessions with horses who have limited handling experience.
What Makes This Workshop Distinct
Direct work with unhandled equids
Participants gain hands-on experience working with equids that have little or no prior handling, developing safe and effective approaches grounded in observation and behavioural response.
A structured, field-tested framework
The HELP Model provides a clear decision-making structure that integrates behavioural observation, environmental context, interaction design, and welfare impact, supporting consistent and informed handling decisions.
Welfare embedded through the Five Domains Model
All approaches are underpinned by the Five Domains framework, ensuring that physical, behavioural and emotional welfare are considered together, supporting both immediate safety and longer-term wellbeing.
Focus on repeatability and system design
The workshop goes beyond individual technique, supporting participants to develop handling approaches that are consistent, teachable and sustainable across teams and organisations.
Integration of behaviour and clinical care
Veterinary input within the workshop supports participants in aligning handling approaches with clinical requirements, improving safety and reducing stress during procedures.
Application within conservation and semi-wild systems
Through the site visit, participants explore how behaviour-led approaches extend beyond individual handling into herd management, ecological function and system-level welfare.
What Makes This Workshop Distinct
Direct work with unhandled equids
Participants gain hands-on experience working with equids that have little or no prior handling, developing safe and effective approaches grounded in observation and behavioural response.
A structured, field-tested framework
The HELP Model provides a clear decision-making structure that integrates behavioural observation, environmental context, interaction design, and welfare impact, supporting consistent and informed handling decisions.
Welfare embedded through the Five Domains Model
All approaches are underpinned by the Five Domains framework, ensuring that physical, behavioural and emotional welfare are considered together, supporting both immediate safety and longer-term wellbeing.
Focus on repeatability and system design
The workshop goes beyond individual technique, supporting participants to develop handling approaches that are consistent, teachable and sustainable across teams and organisations.
Integration of behaviour and clinical care
Veterinary input within the workshop supports participants in aligning handling approaches with clinical requirements, improving safety and reducing stress during procedures.
Application within conservation and semi-wild systems
Through the site visit, participants explore how behaviour-led approaches extend beyond individual handling into herd management, ecological function and system-level welfare.
Key Experiences
Participants will:
-
Work directly with unhandled and minimally handled equids in structured, supervised sessions.
-
Gain rare access to veterinary insight within a handling-focused workshop
-
Develop practical handling strategies that can be applied consistently across different individuals and environments
-
Learn how to structure interactions to support calm engagement and reduce escalation
-
Build repeatable approaches for preparing equids for essential care, including veterinary and husbandry procedures
-
Explore how to develop handling systems that can be adopted and maintained across teams
-
Visit a conservation grazing site to examine the relationship between behaviour, welfare and landscape management
What Participants Will Leave With
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
-
Assess behavioural thresholds and risk in unhandled and minimally handled equids
-
Structure interactions using species-appropriate planning, timing and spatial awareness
-
Develop repeatable handling approaches that support calm, low-stress engagement
-
Prepare equids for essential care in ways that reduce reliance on force or restraint
-
Apply the HELP Model to guide decision-making in complex, real-world situations
-
Integrate welfare considerations using the Five Domains framework in everyday practice
-
Support colleagues and teams in adopting consistent, behaviour-led handling approaches
-
Communicate their work clearly and credibly within
public-facing contexts, using language that reflects high welfare standards and supports transparent, evidence-informed practice
Meet the Team
Bonny Mealand
Founder of Touching Wild | Equine Behaviour Specialist | Equine Podiatrist
Bonny works at the intersection of equine behaviour, welfare, and hoof health, developing practical, welfare-centred approaches for working with unhandled, minimally handled and free-living equids across zoo, conservation and domestic contexts.
She is the developer of the Holistic Equid Learning Plan (HELP) Model, shaped through extensive fieldwork with wild and conservation equids, including award-winning work with takhi at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park. Her approach integrates ethology, careful observation and applied experience to support safe, predictable and sustainable handling systems.
BONNY MEALAND
DR ALICE BACON
Nomios Pastoral
Alec Heywood and Lizzie Mackenzie
Alice is an accomplished veterinarian with over 15 years’ clinical practice including five years’ at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park and Edinburgh Zoo, working with a wide range of captive and wild species, including non-domestic equids. Her work focuses on delivering high-quality clinical care in complex and remote environments, with a particular interest in low-stress handling and welfare-centred
Nomios restores ecological function and resilient pastoral systems through the careful stewardship of grazing animals, as well as a cultural revival of lost transhumance practices. Nomios sees animals not as production units, but ecological participants.
Their work shows how wilder grazing of cattle and ponies, moving naturally across the land, can help rebuild healthy soils, spread seeds and create dynamic, varied habitats.
By collaborating, we can help these natural processes flourish more widely, supporting landscapes that are richer in nature and better able to support wildlife and local communities.
Accommodation & Setting
Accommodation is in a modern house with panoramic sea views on the west coast of Scotland, with a beach within walking distance.
The accommodation is self-catered and shared, with single room occupancy available, offering a comfortable and relaxed environment that supports both focused learning and time to rest and reflect.
HOW TO APPLY
Places are limited to keep the group small and ensure a focused, supportive learning environment.
If you’d like to join us, please
complete the application form:
Practical Information
Duration:
5 training days within a 6-night residential stay
Dates:
28th July - 3rd August 2026
Location:
West Coast of Scotland
Accommodation:
Self-catered
Group Size:
Limited to 12 participants
Places are limited to ensure a high level of individual
support and a safe, focused learning environment.
Experience Level:
Participants should be confident working around horses.
The workshop involves practical sessions with equids
who have limited handling experience.
Full Price (including accommodation):
6 nights’ accommodation and 5 days of immersive,
practical training with unhandled equids in a small, focused group. Enhanced by veterinary input, this is a rare opportunity to engage deeply with behaviour-led, welfare-centred handling in real-world conditions.
Twin shared room: £690
Double room (single occupancy): £905
