Life Skills through Horse Sense
What is Equine Assisted Learning?
To put it simply, Equine Assisted Learning is a learner based educational experience with horses. More specifically, it is an effective approach to human development that encourages individual and team growth. Participants engage in objectively driven exercises and find themselves learning valuable life skills in a fun and exciting atmosphere while working with horses. Equine Assisted Learning has proven to be effective, powerful, positive, educational, and creative. Exercises are developed to encourage self-esteem and self- confidence through validated, hands-on experiences. Current research has found this form of experiential learning to be most effective as the person learning will retain the newly acquired skill.
Why Horses?
Horses are tough and stead-fast dance partners. Horses consistently react to stimulus provided by participants. Some of the joys associated with working around horses are – they don’t judge but they constantly assess and provide feedback that is honest and instant. Learning to listen to what horses have to say is powerful and can sometimes spur the answer to individual change. By including horses in specially designed educational exercises, equine-assisted facilitators have greatly multiplied the participant’s rate of success to self discovery.
How?
Horses respond and react from the stimulus of the people they are working with and address the problem immediately. A skilled and certified facilitator has the opportunity to step-in and help identify what needs to happen to move forward. Horses don’t over think a participant’s motive but horses do challenge their behaviour and leadership.
