What is Equine Assisted Learning?
EAL is an innovative form of experiential learning –where clients develop new insight and learn new skills via relational experiences with horses.
EAL can assist in personal development, professional development and developing leadership skills in teams and individuals.
EAL is a fast-growing modality across Australia as well as internationally. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) clients can benefit greatly from EAL services as can children and adolescents.
Our Services
What does this look like?
In EAL, clients are offered ‘safe’ (physically and emotionally) experiences with horses for the purpose of exploring self-experience in relationship, building self-awareness, building awareness of patterns or habits that are no longer serving clients well, developing social and emotional skills, and addressing learning goals clients have identified.
What Happens in an EAL Session?
- Observation of horses
- Meeting with horses at liberty
- Lead-line experiences including touching,
- grooming and leading
- Liberty leading (leading horses without a lead rope)
- Led-mounted / riding
- Creative activities with horses
Why Horses?
Horses are beautiful, intelligent, sensitive and strong beings who can evoke strong feelings in clients or engage clients in the learning process. Calm and healthy horses can assist in co-regulating a client’s nervous system, can model healthy living and expression of feelings, as well as offering non-judgemental safety and trust. Horses can offer unique bio feedback and hold clients in a way traditional learning environments cannot. The natural environment can also contribute positively to learning outcomes for clients.
Who Attends EAL?
- Children and adolescents
- NDIS Participants
- Neurologically diverse clients
- Corporate Teams
- Leaders and Managers
- Organisations
- Personal Development clients
- School groups
And more
What are some benefits of EAL?
- Improved social skills
- Empathy and relationship skills
- Distress tolerance
- Confidence and self esteem
- Reducing stress
- Boundary setting
- Promoting movement and activity
- Meaningful connection
- Proven scientific benefits of mindfulness
- Increased attention
- Problem solving
- Connection with nature
