Rhyndaston Alpaca is based at a family run farm in Hayscastle, Haverfordwest and will soon offer wellbeing and therapy sessions for the local community.

Rhyndaston Alpacas was established in 2020 as breeding herd, when Andrea Buckle joined her dad Roger working on the family farm. Andrea’s dad has been farming locally for over 40 years.

She says,

“It is still a sheep farm today, we have added to it with the alpacas rather than swapped. We wanted to diversify and focus on a new project together.”

Andrea says that the alpacas are perfect animals to work alongside and there are a number of opportunities she offers for the public against the backdrop of the Pembrokeshire landscape.

“Alpacas are lovely gentle animals with a passive nature and are in themselves so calming to be around. I will be offering wellbeing and therapy sessions at the farm, as well as meet and greets with our wonderful herd of alpacas, to enable you to experience natural calm in the beautiful Pembrokeshire landscape.”

Andrea says that therapy work with animals can be extremely beneficial to those involved and explains how she came to working with alpacas.

“I have been offering sessions as a Human Givens psychotherapist since late 2019 and love helping clients achieve emotional balance.

Research demonstrates that animal assisted therapy can positively affect health and wellbeing, so I had been considering training a therapy dog for Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI), but soon realised that my alpacas could also be used in this way.”

She goes on to explain what Animal Assisted Intervention is and how it works.

“AAI involves therapeutic processes that intentionally include animals as part of the process. Animal-Assisted Therapy, Animal-Assisted Activities, and service animals are examples of AAI and they use specifically selected animals with characteristics that are suitable for working in this way. You may be more familiar with horses or dogs in AAI.”

As Andrea notes, the use of alpacas for the benefit of mental and physical wellbeing, is becoming increasingly popular and these gentle animals can bring out things in people that other methods can’t.

“Alpaca assisted therapy can be a unique and powerful addition to the treatment and care plan for those needing medical, psychological or therapeutic support.

Alpacas are becoming more commonly used in care homes, mental health facilities and children’s hospital around the world.

Guided interaction with Alpacas with specific characteristics can facilitate a number of therapeutic processes. Interaction with these animals can, when professionally facilitated, provide a stimulus that can promote life skills and in some cases be fundamental to a person’s treatment.”

Andrea’s passion for animals and mental health care is clear.

“I’m excited to be able to work on both my passion for mental health support and my love of animals to be able to provide wellbeing and therapy sessions, both for individuals and also family sessions. Initially these will be exclusively on farm, but I’m hoping over time to offer visits to care facilities too.

It’s a privilege to be able to facilitate magic moments between people and these friendly animals. Being in the presence of alpacas and their gentle persona seems to melt stress and ‘re-centre’ people, it’s lovely to see the effect of just 30 minutes in their company. This can then allow a return to daily life, work, rest, therapy or rehabilitation with renewed happiness, calm and focus.

We have a range of personalities in our alpaca herd, all curious and gentle, as well as a very calm alpaca who loves to sit with visitors and soak up their attention. Everyone can benefit from spending time with alpacas!”

Andrea says she is looking forward to seeing the benefits that the alpacas bring to her clients.

“The benefits you may see from spending time with alpacas include greater self-esteem and confidence as well as improved morale, mood and self-worth. It is wonderful to see the development of relationships and emotional bonds built on trust and respect.

There can be better social interaction, reducing feelings of social isolation, as well as relief from anxiety and stress (slower heart rate and lower blood pressure). There is also the opportunity for learning new skills in nurturing and caring for animals appropriately.

It’s great as a professional therapist to be able to offer time with a distraction, a calming influence, a little touch of nature, an impartial non-judging, non-threatening, gently smiling creature whose large eyes, listening ears, curious, friendly and vulnerable nature together with my professional guidance can open up conversation and provide a natural flow to what can be a significant session.”

Andrea explains that the alpaca farm is open by appointment only, so that visitor numbers can be managed and privacy maintained for therapy clients.

“We would love you to be able to experience natural calm with our wonderful alpacas.”

This can be as simple as a meet and greet, where you can get up close and learn about the alpacas, or as a tailored wellbeing session for an individual or family, or as a therapy session for individuals.

Andrea asks,

“Do keep an eye on our social media for details or get in touch with me to discuss further if interested.”

Rhyndaston Alpaca is based at a family run farm in Hayscastle, Haverfordwest and will soon offer wellbeing and therapy sessions for the local community.

Rhyndaston Alpacas was established in 2020 as a breeding herd, when Andrea Buckle joined her dad Roger working on the family farm. Andrea’s dad has been farming locally for over 40 years.

She says,

“It is still a sheep farm today, but we have added to it with the alpacas rather than swapped. We wanted to diversify and focus on a new project together.”

Andrea says that the alpacas are perfect animals to work alongside, and there are a number of opportunities she offers for the public against the backdrop of the Pembrokeshire landscape.

“Alpacas are lovely gentle animals with a passive nature and are in themselves so calming to be around. I will be offering wellbeing and therapy sessions at the farm, as well as meet and greets with our wonderful herd of alpacas, to enable you to experience natural calm in the beautiful Pembrokeshire landscape.”

Do keep an eye on their social media for details or get in touch with Andrea to discuss further if interested.

Find out more about Rhyndaston Alpaca’s on their Facebook and Instagram pages