Park Lane Stables in the heart of Teddington is no ordinary riding school.

Run by a passionate team of staff and volunteers, and led by the tireless Natalie O'Rourke MBE, Park Lane Stables is a charity that provides equine therapy and access to horses for anyone in need.

It supports people living with disabilities, mental health challenges, or just struggling with life's general difficulties.

"We are a charity that offers access to horses for anyone with a need," O'Rourke explained.

"That might be someone with a disability, or someone with a mental health need, or somebody that has been bereaved, or lost their job.

"We do riding and we do carriage driving, and lots of activities off the horse for people that are not able to participate."

The stables actively employ people with disabilities who are supported by a network of volunteers behind the scenes and on the ground.

The charity employs those with disabilities to gain confidence and self-esteem (Credit: Natalie O'Rourke)

Visitors do not even need an appointment to benefit from the healing presence of the horses.

One of the stables' offerings is the 'cuddle horse', which is always available for anyone to meet, stroke, and simply be with.

O'Rourke said: "The stables are there for everybody. Everybody knows they can go and use the library. Nobody would need permission to go and use the library.

"We want the stables to be like that. People can just swing by and visit the cuddle horse, have a chat with a volunteer, have a cup of tea."

There is also a warm space open in winter where anyone struggling to heat their home can come for warmth and company.

"We just love being in the heart of the community."

She added: "So many people in the community come by and they chat to us; they tell us about their hospital appointments and what is going on in their lives.

"For a lot of people that come to the stables, it's simply life changing. We try hard to say yes to everybody."

The stables' equine therapy is not just about riding, but about building trust and confidence.

O'Rourke said: "We will give them achievable tasks to complete, and then next time something a little bit more challenging and so on, so that they are getting their own self-esteem back.

"The horses are just great levellers. They don't judge anybody, the horse will just treat people how you treat them, and that is powerful."

Despite being in an urban setting, Park Lane Stables ensures the welfare of their horses is top priority.

The animals are rotated to make sure they get the care and space they need.

"Our biggest challenge is just the sustainability of keeping going," O'Rourke explained.

"We rely on donations and grants to keep us going."

O'Rourke expressed that she does not wish for the stables to grow.

She said: "We do not want to dilute what we are doing. We want to continue to help people in our community

"We want the horses to remain in Teddington forever."

The horses welfare is a top priority at Park Lane Stables (Credit: Natalie O'Rourke)

This December, Park Lane Stables will be taking part in the Big Give Christmas challenge.

This is a week-long fundraising campaign from 2 - 9 December where every donation is matched pound for pound.

"So even if for Christmas people gave us a pound, would be massive for us," O'Rourke said.

Local residents can support in other ways through volunteering or sharing their skills.

At its heart, Park Lane Stables is about saying yes to people when they most need to hear it.

"We just facilitate. It is the horses that do the magic," O'Rourke said.

To learn more or to get involved visit here.