Adventure ~ Healing ~ Connection
We promote adventure and wellbeing through the power of the horse
Our journeys support charities with a focus on mental health, wellbeing & child welfare. We have raised over £80,000 for charities in UK and Europe, and have travelled over 4,800km in 5 different countries.
We promote routes new & old, encouraging accessibility, community & sustainability. Our last ride, 2,800km from Italy to Spain, pioneered the first recorded horse trail across the Ligurian Alps.
The Highland ride
Join us on our upcoming six-day journey across the Highlands in May. Come for as long as you would like - walk, run or ride The Big Hoof horses. We will be camping, sleeping in bothies, travelling through historic villages, riding along lochs and into glens… be part of a gentle, magical journey in support of suicide prevention.
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For a taste of what our journeys are like listen to journalist and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota’s ‘Open Country’ piece as she joined us on our recent ride across Scotland. Listen on BBC sounds
‘Our conversation traverses the moving backstory behind his first adventures; becoming an architect of your own reality… the humanising nature of suffering; creative connection through movement… the humbling relationship between man and horse, and what it means to be a pilgrim…'‘
BBC Radio 4 ‘Highlands with horses’
Latest podcasts about The Big Hoof
Every year we travel 200 miles for a given cause. The FareWays journeys are wild, inclusive and travel through the most beautiful parts of the UK. Have a listen to the BBC Radio 4 short documentary about our 2023 trip across Scotland. Last year we hosted over 40 participants: runners, walkers, cyclists and riders, ages ranging from 8-69 years old. Be sure to express your interest for this year’s journey in July, from Fort Augustus to the isle of Colonsay.
FareWays
Have you ever wanted to ride across Europe? From preparation to completion, The Big Hoof talk runs through every detail that you need to make your own adventure, big or small, wherever you are. The horse, the distance, the wolves, where to stay, the Alps, funding, kit list, the eternal importance of strangers… having just ridden 2800km across Europe, from Siena, Italy to Cape Finisterre, Spain, we have plenty of mistakes and tips to share!
How to ride across Europe
The Big Hoof is currently supporting Insulate Ukraine
After spending three weeks in Izyum, in the Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine, The Big Hoof have teamed up with NGO Insulate Ukraine. This UK based organisation has pioneered a glassless solution to one of the greatest issues faced by the devastated communities of eastern Ukraine: windows blown out by the war. emergency home-built solutions to replace windows blown out by the war.
Events…
Kendal Mountain Festival Tour
Founder of The Big Hoof, Louis Hall, has been asked to give two talks for the KMFTour. The talk will be focussed on what it was like to create the first conclusive horse trail across the Ligurian Alps, riding 2000 miles through Europe on horseback, charity journeys and how accidentally discovering a tribe in Mongolia started it all!
Burns Night 2024
On 27th January, The Big Hoof celebrated their annual Burns Night evening at The Caledonian Club, London. With over 124 guests in attendance, the evening was one that captured the family spirit of the charity. Alongside the whisky, dancing, haggis, bagpipes and auction, participants from our rides and folk from the charities we have been supporting said a few words. Next year here we come!
With thanks to Ardnamurchan Whisky, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Bladnoch Whisky, Renais Gin, Fera GB, Blundstone Boots, X Muse Vodka, Five Kingdoms Brewery.
