Comprehensive Public Utility Programming in Vira

ECURIES DE LOU BAYLE operates on the conviction that direct contact with living animals and natural landscapes constitutes a fundamental pillar of public health and civic education. Our field activities are structured into four interconnected program modules, each designed to serve public utility, address social isolation, and protect regional Pyrenean ecosystems.

Operating from our base at Ferme de Janiquet in Vira (09120), our facilities feature sensory paddocks, outdoor riding rings equipped with disability boarding ramps, open-air biodiversity paths, and sheltered classroom areas. Sessions are conducted under the supervision of state-certified equine educators and trained community volunteers, ensuring the highest standards of safety, accessibility, and ethical animal handling.

Program 1: Therapeutic Equine Mediation & Adapted Riding

Equine mediation (équithérapie) is an evidence-based, non-pharmacological care modality that utilizes the horse to address cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor challenges. This program is organized in close partnership with regional medical establishments, specialized educational centers (IME), foster care networks, and municipal disability services across Ariège.

Activities are carefully individualized based on the needs of each participant and include:

• Sensory Ground Interaction: Mindful grooming, tactile exploration of equine coats, gentle halter leading, and respiration synchronization exercises that alleviate sensory overload and lower physiological anxiety levels.
• Adapted Biomechanical Riding: Utilizing specialized saddles, safety stirrups, and our custom hydraulic mounting platform, participants with reduced motor function benefit from the horse's pelvic oscillation, stimulating postural stability and neuro-muscular reflexes.
• Social Communication Workshops: Small group activities where neurodivergent youth practice collaborative tasks, such as navigating shared obstacle paths with miniature equines, building non-verbal empathy, self-assertion, and cooperative trust.

Program 2: Ecological Pasture Stewardship & Agro-Forestry Learning

The preservation of Pyrenean agricultural biodiversity requires active, educated guardianship. Our ecological stewardship program welcomes school groups, civic volunteers, and rural residents to participate directly in the ecological management of our 45 hectares of traditional meadows.

Core operational tasks carried out in this program include:

• Traditional Hedgerow (Bocage) Restoration: Planting and pruning native shrubs (dogwood, hazel, elderberry, hawthorn) to create living wildlife corridors and natural windbreaks that protect against soil erosion.
• Pasture Rotation Monitoring: Recording botanical species richness, tracking soil moisture levels, and moving equines systematically between grazing parcels to ensure natural carbon sequestration and meadow renewal.
• Chemical-Free Water Catchment Management: Maintaining natural rainwater harvesting troughs and preserving riparian zones along local stream tributaries, preventing agricultural runoff.

Program 3: Youth Civic Engagement & Rural School Field Days

Rural youth frequently lack accessible extracurricular spaces that combine physical outdoor recreation with ecological pedagogy. Throughout the school year, ECURIES DE LOU BAYLE hosts free and subsidized school field days for regional primary schools, middle schools (collèges), and youth leisure centers (ALSH).

Our curriculum introduces students to:

• Equine Ethology & Biology: Understanding herd dynamics, equine digestive systems, vocal and postural signaling, and evolutionary history.
• Microbiology of the Soil: Examining soil samples from grazed pastures under field microscopes to observe beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, earthworms, and decomposing insects.
• Civic Responsibility & Safety: Learning how community organizations operate democratically and understanding the ethical obligations humans hold toward domestic and wild animals.

Program 4: Senior Socialization & Memory Rejuvenation

Combating isolation among rural elderly citizens is an urgent civic duty. In partnership with local residential care homes (EHPAD) and home-care networks, our association organizes weekly equine interaction sessions tailored specifically for seniors.

These gentle gatherings take place in our sheltered courtyard. Seniors spend quiet, unhurried time brushing our calmest therapeutic horses, feeding healthy forage treats, and sharing memories of early agricultural life in Ariège. These sessions stimulate long-term memory recall, alleviate depressive feelings associated with social isolation, and restore a sense of purposeful connection to the living world.

Practical Specifications, Schedules & Accessibility

All activities are organized in full compliance with public safety, accessibility, and veterinary hygiene standards:

• Location: Ferme de Janiquet, De Janiquet, 09120 Vira, France.
• Weekly Schedule:
  • Wednesdays & Saturdays: Youth Educational Workshops & Community Discovery (09:30 – 12:00 / 14:00 – 17:00).
  • Tuesdays & Thursdays: Therapeutic Equine Mediation & Specialized Care Sessions (10:00 – 16:00).
  • First Sunday of Every Month: Open Civic Volunteer Stewardship Day (10:00 – 16:30).
• Accessibility: Wheelchair-accessible parking, accessible sanitary facilities, paved walkways connecting barn areas, and custom mounting ramp for riders with physical disabilities.
• Attendance Requirements: Mandatory advance registration to ensure proper supervisor-to-participant ratios and safeguard animal welfare thresholds.

Funding & Non-Commercial Guarantee

ECURIES DE LOU BAYLE is funded through municipal grants, territorial subsidies from the Department of Ariège and Region of Occitanie, and voluntary member dues.

"All membership fees and dues are fully reinvested in the association's public interest missions."

We operate with zero commercial motive. No products or retail services are sold. All operational revenue is strictly directed toward animal health, pasture maintenance, and community welfare programs.