Hoofbeats Sanctuary has moved and is now located at a secluded facility off Andersons Road in Yandina. Only seven minutes from the Bruce Highway exit at Yandina, Hoofbeats Sanctuary is centrally located and is about half an hour to 45 minutes away from many locations in the Sunshine Coast, Noosa and Gympie 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
Head out of Yandina on Cooloolabin Road before turning left on Andersons Road. If you’re coming off the Bruce Highway, go straight through the traffic lights in town, and if you’re coming from Bunya Road you’ll want to turn right at Steggalls Road. When you’re on Andersons Road, turn left at the fork, after about 800 metres. We are located on the right hand side of this access road.
Please make sure to double check where you’re going if you’re using a maps app for directions, as you might be taken to our former Doonan facility instead. We technically don’t have an address, but entering ’77 Andersons Road’ should get you to the right place. Google Maps now has us in the correct location, so please check the map below.
The access road is currently in poor condition following recent wet weather events, so please drive slowly and look out for potholes.
There is currently limited parking on the access road that we share with an adjacent business. Please try your best to keep ample room for a turning circle, as the road is narrow and horse floats often come down and struggle to turn around. Dedicated Hoofbeats Sanctuary parking spaces are under construction, but will not be finished until the second half of the year.
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, and our new non-therapeutic Horse Connection activity. 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.
In 2024 our programs were independently evaluated by researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast, who found our services gave clients a “magnitude of difference that is exceptionally significant” as well as providing “reduced thoughts of suicide, increased emotional resilience, improved self-regulation, greater confidence, enhanced coping skills, and better interpersonal relationships“. You can read the 28-page report 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 – as a non-profit, 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.