How much does equine or animal-assisted therapy for autism cost in the UK?

There is no national price, and the spread is very wide. Published UK prices range from about £15 per hour for a group session at a charitable provider to £250 per hour at a private clinic. As examples of real published rates: Equine Learning (Warwickshire) lists £60 per hour for a private one-to-one therapeutic horsemanship or equine-facilitated learning session, £40 for a half-hour private session, £15 per hour for a group Inspiring Riders session and £25 per hour for a group Horse Boy session. Track Clinic (Somerset) charges £250 per one-hour child equine-assisted psychotherapy session, booked in six-week blocks, and £350 for a 1.5-hour family session for up to five people. Riding for the Disabled Association member groups are charities and set their own fees locally, so ask your nearest group directly.

Does the NHS pay for equine or animal-assisted therapy for autism?

Not as a routine, commissioned treatment. Equine and animal-assisted work is generally accessed through charities or paid for privately. In some cases public funding reaches it indirectly — for example through a local authority social care budget under Self-directed Support, or where a provider is approved by a council. Families should not assume NHS funding is available and should ask any provider directly what funding routes they accept.

What financial help is available in Scotland for families of autistic children?

Four main routes. Child Disability Payment from Social Security Scotland is not means-tested and can be applied for without a diagnosis; in 2026/27 the care component is worth £30.30, £76.70 or £114.60 a week and the mobility component £30.30 or £80.00 a week. Family Fund's Scotland programme gives grants to families on a low income raising a disabled or seriously ill child aged 17 or under who have lived in Scotland for at least six months, and families can apply every 24 months; its grant categories include clubs, hobbies and activities, and days out, but it will not fund items that a statutory agency should provide after a needs assessment, which it lists as including therapies. Take a Break Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by Family Fund, funds short breaks including leisure activities and clubs for carers of disabled children aged 0 to 17. Self-directed Support under the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 lets families take their assessed social care budget as a direct payment — ask your council's children and families social work team for an assessment.

Guides & Answers → Money

How much does animal or equine therapy for autism cost in the UK — and is help available?

Q: What should I ask before paying for an autism therapy?

Ask what qualifications and insurance the staff hold, whether they are PVG-checked and have a safeguarding policy, what outcomes they measure and how, whether you can visit before committing, and what happens if your child does not settle. The National Autistic Society warns that very few autism interventions have been independently or scientifically evaluated, that some make bold claims without strong evidence, and that no product or therapy cures autism. Be especially wary of anything promising a cure — NICE guidance is clear that secretin, hyperbaric oxygen and chelation should never be used.

Real published prices, honestly compared, plus the Scottish grants and payments most families never hear about.

Short answer: There is no national price, and the spread is enormous — published UK rates run from about £15 an hour for a group session at a charitable provider to £250 an hour at a private clinic, with charity one-to-one sessions commonly around £60 an hour. Help exists and is under-claimed: in Scotland, Child Disability Payment (up to £114.60 a week care plus £80.00 mobility in 2026/27, not means-tested and available without a diagnosis), Family Fund, Take a Break Scotland and Self-directed Support direct payments can all help cover activities like these.

Why there's no single price

"Equine therapy" isn't one thing, and the label covers everything from a volunteer-led group session at a local charity to a clinical psychotherapy session delivered by two qualified professionals and a herd of horses. Those are different products with genuinely different cost structures — so comparing headline prices without checking what's underneath them is how families end up shocked. Our guide to the three main types explains the difference →

The single biggest factor is whether the provider is a charity (subsidising sessions through fundraising, grants and volunteers) or a private clinic (recovering full staff and horse costs from the fee). The second is group versus one-to-one.

Real published UK prices

These are actual rates published by UK providers, not estimates. They are illustrative of the range, not a market survey — prices change, so always check directly.

Provider & session type	Published price	Format
Equine Learning (Warwickshire) — group Inspiring Riders	£15 per hour	Group
Equine Learning — group Horse Boy session	£25 per hour	Group
Equine Learning — equine-facilitated learning, group booking	from £30 per person	Group
Equine Learning — therapeutic horsemanship or EFL, private	£40 per half hour · £60 per hour	One-to-one
Equine Learning — Horse Boy mini camp (one night / two days)	from £275 per family	Residential
Track Clinic (Somerset) — child equine-assisted psychotherapy	£250 per session, booked in 6-week blocks	One-to-one, non-ridden
Track Clinic — family session (1.5 hours, up to 5 people)	£350 per session	Family
RDA member groups (450+ across the UK)	Set locally by each charity — ask your nearest group	Varies
Stable Ground (SCIO in formation)	Being built to be free or heavily subsidised for families	One-to-one

A note on how we read this: a £250 session and a £60 session are not the same service badly priced — one is clinical psychotherapy with two professionals, the other is a charity-subsidised horsemanship session. Neither price tells you which will suit your child.

Does the NHS pay for it?

Not as a routine, commissioned treatment. Equine and animal-assisted work in the UK is overwhelmingly reached through charities or paid for privately. Public money does sometimes reach it indirectly — through a local authority social care budget taken as a direct payment, or where a council has approved a particular provider. Don't assume; ask each provider what funding routes they actually accept.

Four ways Scottish families can get help with the cost

1. Child Disability Payment (Social Security Scotland)

This replaced Disability Living Allowance for children in Scotland. It is not means-tested, it is tax-free, it is not treated as income for other benefits — and crucially, you can apply even if your child does not yet have a diagnosis. Weekly rates for 2026/27:

Component	Lower	Middle	Higher
Care	£30.30	£76.70	£114.60
Mobility	£30.30	—	£80.00

The money isn't ring-fenced — it's there for the extra costs of raising a disabled child, which can include activities that help them. Apply on 0800 182 2222 or at mygov.scot. An award can also unlock other things: a higher disabled child addition in Universal Credit, exemption from the benefit cap, Child Winter Heating Assistance (£265.50 for winter 2026-27 at the highest care rate), and Carer Support Payment for you at the middle or higher care rate.

2. Family Fund — Scotland programme

Grants for families on a low income raising a disabled or seriously ill child aged 17 or under. You need to be the main carer, to have been resident in Scotland for at least six months, and to have a low income from work or benefits. Families in Scotland can apply every 24 months.

Relevantly for this page, Family Fund's Scotland grant categories explicitly include clubs, hobbies and activities and days out, as well as sensory toys, family breaks and equipment.

The important caveat: Family Fund states it cannot fund items already bought, or items that should be provided by a statutory agency such as a local authority or health service after a needs assessment — and it names therapies among those. So a session framed as a therapy that your council or the NHS ought to be providing may fall outside what they'll fund. If in doubt, ask Family Fund before you apply, and pursue the Self-directed Support route below in parallel. familyfund.org.uk

3. Take a Break Scotland

Scotland's short breaks grant scheme for unpaid parent carers (and eligible kinship carers), funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Family Fund. Grants can go towards a break away, leisure activities, outings and sports equipment — not only holidays — and can be used flexibly across single or multiple breaks. You need to have lived in Scotland continuously for six months or longer, be a UK resident, and care for a disabled or seriously ill child aged 0–17 who lives at home with you and is not looked after by the local authority.

Timing matters: 2026 applications closed on Monday 22 June 2026, so the scheme is currently shut. It runs annually — set a reminder for spring 2027. If you care for a young person aged 18–20, Take a Break doesn't apply; contact your local carers centre about Time to Live microgrants, managed by Shared Care Scotland. takeabreakscotland.org.uk

4. Self-directed Support (your council)

Under the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, if your child is assessed as needing social care support, you choose how that budget is used. Option 1 is a direct payment — cash paid to you as the parent or guardian to arrange support yourself, which can include activities, provided the council is satisfied it protects your child's welfare.

The step most families miss is the first one: ask your council's children and families social work team for an assessment of need. A phone call, email or letter is enough to start it. If you're eligible for support, the council must discuss direct payments with you. gov.scot guide to Option 1 · Council contacts for our three areas →

Before you pay anyone: five questions

The National Autistic Society is blunt that very few autism interventions have been independently or scientifically evaluated, that some make bold claims without strong evidence to back them, and that there is no proper scientific evidence that any product or therapy "cures" autism. NICE guidance is clear that secretin, hyperbaric oxygen and chelation should never be used in any context. Any provider promising a cure has told you everything you need to know.

What are your staff qualified in, and who insures you? "Works with horses" is not a therapeutic qualification.
Are your staff and volunteers PVG-checked, and can I see your safeguarding policy?
What outcomes do you measure, and how do you know if it isn't working?
Can we visit first, without committing or paying?
What happens — to the session and to the money — if my child doesn't settle?

This page is general information about costs and funding, not financial, legal or medical advice. Prices, grant windows and benefit rates change — please check every figure with the provider or authority before relying on it. Animal-assisted and equine work is a promising complementary support for wellbeing and confidence, not a treatment or cure for autism. For free, independent help with benefits, contact Citizens Advice Scotland or the Carers UK helpline on 0808 808 7777.

Sources

Equine Learning — Price List (therapeutic horsemanship, equine-facilitated learning, group and camp prices) — equinelearning.org.uk
Track Clinic via Wiltshire Together — equine therapy for children, adults, groups & families (£250 per child session; £350 family session) — wiltshiretogether.org.uk
Riding for the Disabled Association — About Us (39,000 participants a year; over 400 centres) — rda.org.uk
Carers UK / Carers Scotland — Child Disability Payment factsheet 2026/27 (rates, non-means-tested, no diagnosis needed, Child Winter Heating Assistance £265.50), updated April 2026 — carersuk.org (PDF)
mygov.scot — Child Disability Payment (how to apply; 0800 182 2222) — mygov.scot
Scottish Government — Social Security Assistance in Scotland: up-rating for inflation 2026-27 (3.8% uprating) — gov.scot
Family Fund — Scotland programme: eligibility, grant categories including clubs, hobbies and activities, and exclusions (items a statutory agency should provide, including therapies); page last reviewed 13 February 2026 — familyfund.org.uk
Take a Break Scotland — Scottish Government short breaks scheme administered by Family Fund; eligibility and 2026 closing date of 22 June 2026 (page last reviewed 22 June 2026) — familyfund.org.uk · takeabreakscotland.org.uk
Shared Care Scotland — Time to Live microgrants (carers of young people aged 18–20) — sharedcarescotland.org.uk
Scottish Government — Self-directed Support, Option 1: direct payments — gov.scot
National Autistic Society — "Warning: so-called cures and dodgy interventions" — autism.org.uk

Last reviewed: 20 July 2026 · Stable Ground

Cost shouldn't decide who gets a chance with a horse

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