Last year, social worker Kristy Kemp opened an animal farm in central Victoria to help children and adults with behavioural issues. Having witnessed first hand the positive effects animals have on people as a child, opening an animal-therapy farm was a dream come true for Kemp. Flash Farm, on the outskirts of Bendigo, provides an alternative for people of all ages seeking therapy.
As a child, Kemp took her pony, Flash, to a local riding centre to offer rides to people with a disability. Even from an early age Kemp could see how interacting with her horse benefited other people.
The animal-assisted therapy farm is home to dozens of animals – including horses, goats, cows, dogs, sheep, alpacas, pigs, chickens and a micro-donkey – which are used in counselling, humorous…