Hoofbeats Sanctuary is located on a tranquil 4 hectare site at 26 Fellowship Drive, Doonan. Only ten minutes from the Bruce Highway exit at Eumundi, two minutes off the Sunshine Motorway at Emu Mountain Rd, and 10 minutes from Tewantin and Noosaville, the Sanctuary is perfectly located and easily accessible to anyone in the Noosa and Sunshine Coast regions.
Please note that the Sanctuary is not open to the public. We are a trauma healing center and have programs operating seven days a week. All visits to the Sanctuary must be arranged by prior appointment in order to preserve the space’s peace and tranquility and protect the privacy of our clients.
Hoofbeats Sanctuary relies on volunteers to operate – if you would like to join our team, spanning horse care to facility maintenance and everything in-between – please apply online.
Getting Here
The entry to Fellowship Drive is straight opposite the United Petrol Station on Eumundi-Noosa Rd, Doonan. We are the first property on the right-hand side, just past the Flying West cafe – look for our lovely engraved wooden sign on the front fence near the entrance.
There is ample parking either on Fellowship Drive or in the Sanctuary car park. There are double gates at the entry to the Sanctuary. Sunshine Coast council prohibits parking on nature strips so please don’t risk an unnecessary fine.
Please try not to arrive more than 10 minutes early. Because we run equine therapy programs and other counselling services, it is vital you arrive at your allotted time in order to not disrupt someone’s session.
Sanctuary Happenings
All of our therapy and counselling programs are held on-site at the Sanctuary. Our programs are aimed at women and girls from ages 12 and above. These include our individual equine therapy programs Go Remarkable and Recovery & Discovery, our new group based Horse Wisdom program, and our trauma-informed Somatic Stretch and Soothe gentle exercise class. We are always looking at ways to expand our program offerings and have lots planned for the future.
We do equine therapy like no one else here at Hoofbeats. We do not use our horses, we work alongside them. Sometimes our horses don’t feel like being part of our sessions – and that’s ok – and we never force them into doing anything they don’t want to do. We do not ride our horses either, all of our activities are ground based. You can read more about our approach to equine therapy here.
Although we are not a registered NDIS provider we are able to accept self- and plan-managed NDIS packages.
Cost is never a barrier to anyone at Hoofbeats Sanctuary – we work hard to secure grant funding and donations from the public in order to provide our programs at low- to no-cost, with varying scholarship options available to our clients. In doing so, we are the only provider in Australia to offer free equine therapy. If you would like to help us, you can fund a scholarship in order to provide discounted therapeutic services to those who are unable to access it elsewhere.
The Herd
Hoofbeats Sanctuary is home to our herd of nine horses and ponies. These animals are the heartbeat of the Sanctuary, providing the backbone for our equine therapy programs. Most of the herd have suffered abuse and neglect of their own before they came to the Sanctuary and their journeys are remarkable, making them the best teachers and healers.
Keeping horses is expensive – it costs us just under $5000 a year to look after, keep healthy and otherwise care for each member of the herd. We offer a wonderful horse sponsorship program which allows you to help us look after the herd and receive lots of cool benefits in return, like regular updates on your chosen member of the herd and some of our Hoofbeats branded merchandise. You get to choose your sponsorship level and which horse to sponsor. It makes a great gift for yourself or another horse lover in your life, and allows us to continue to provide our equine therapy programs. Every dollar that we save on horse care is a dollar we can reinvest into mental health programs for our community. So your support does make a huge difference to people’s lives.
Please note that we are currently at capacity. Although we have rescued animals in the past, we are just unable to take on any more horses at our current location. Likewise, each horse that comes to the Sanctuary is here for life; we do not lease out or rehome animals after they arrive.