Conny Rohrmoser focuses on developing the trust of young people, who are provided with peace and strength to be able to overcome their personal challenges. Whether mental, physical, or spiritual, many children carry a burden that prevents them from flying high. Conny wants to always stay here and is happy “to have found her Sankt Johann native”. With her husband Johann, the trained kindergarten teacher lives and works at the Reiterhof, which is sometimes more like an educational campus than a farm.
The life of Conny Rohrmoser is so exciting that the facts and figures relating to the farm play only a secondary role. In short, when it comes to farm facts, the farm, which previously subsisted on dairy farming, now houses around 20 mother cows with calves. Her husband Johann works in a construction material plant and is guaranteed a traffic-jam free commute on his way to work from Maschl 3 (Reiterhof) to Maschl 28 (employer). After having children, Conny returned to work very quickly. As a trained educator, she focuses on animal-assisted intervention. At the same time, she offers the “school on the farm” four afternoons a week and is also a qualified forest educator. She almost has to be, since the farm is directly surrounded by the forest. She is a very hard worker and agrees with Albert Einstein, who once said: “Personalities are not shaped by pretty speeches but by their own work and achievement”. This is a living reality at the Reiterhof.
“WHEN CHILDREN COME TO LIFE AND BLOSSOM, I AM DELIGHTED.” It’s mainly children from the region not so much vacation guests who participate in the offer of animal-assisted education on the farm. What sounds simple and not medical at all can have a big influence on participants. A “Rabbit massage” or “going on a walk with a donkey” are done only with animals trained specifically for these purposes. This creates a deep connection between people and animals, which is hard to explain in a classic sense…even for Conny, the host, who has often practiced and experienced it. She does not place much importance on conventional medicinal feedback – it is much more important that she is able to support the children in whatever form they need with her trained animals. For example, the girl who could hardly walk but whose desire to move improved more and more after animal therapy. The donkey that placed its nose right on the nose of a child who could hardly move. These are moments that give you goosebumps and that make Conny ask: “Why does the animal do that?” There must be more to it. It’s hard to explain but simply beautiful when it happens. Another example is the mother of a child with social interaction issues who asks when another meeting with the animal can be arranged. These are true success stories. On this farm, education is more than uniform elementary school instruction according to a schedule. These days, education is unfortunately too often removed from nature and not accessible for children with their own individual challenges. Pigs are also great therapy animals Conny asserts. Just because we like their meat doesn’t mean that they aren’t more than just extra bacon.
“I AM A PERSON AND I NEED MY FREETIME.” From time to time, everyone needs a retreat including the farmers of “Farm Holidays”, who aren’t entertainers that are available around the clock. Of course, there are accommodation providers who get
34
Holidays on the farm | SalzburgerLand
