Overview

This course is intended to provide a general introduction to Equine Assisted Services. It is for anyone who wants to find out about the growth opportunities and therapeutic potential that horses offer, whether for personal or professional reasons. For those wishing to one day become practitioners, it may be the very first step on a long and interesting journey. For others, it might offer the information needed to embark on a different path. Whatever your hopes, it is important to note that while this course provides an overview of the fundamental elements involved in Equine Assisted Services, the ‘nuts and bolts' so to speak, it does not provide the training or information necessary to work with clients in an EAS setting. This can only come through taking part in an accredited practitioner training course plus hours of supervised practice and personal study. The course is intended to provide a brief overview of the field of equine assisted services rather than a comprehensive how-to guide. The various Equine Assisted Services have a range of delivery methods and session structures within which they operate as does each individual practitioner. For example, an interactive vaulting session looks different to an equine assisted psychotherapy session. Broadly the different methods fall into one of two categories:1. Equine-Assisted ActivitiesEquine-assisted activities tend to be skills-based and involve a lot of ‘learning by doing'. They might involve mounted or ground activities, driving, vaulting, riding, grooming and stable management or other activities in which the clients, participants, volunteers, instructors and equines are involved. Activity-Based Equine Interventions include:-Horsemanship: the art of riding, handling, and training horses.-Therapeutic Horsemanship: a catch-all term that describes activities on and off the horse for the purpose of contributing positively to the cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being of individuals.-Therapeutic Riding: mounted activity for the purpose of contributing positively to the cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being of individuals.-Therapeutic Driving: people with physical, mental, sensory or emotional disabilities interact with a horse or pony while driving from a seated position.-Interactive Vaulting: an activity in which participants perform gymnastic movements on and around the horse. Goals depend on the needs of the individual vaulter but are usually mobility or confidence based.-Equine Assisted Learning (sometimes known as equine facilitated or equine guided learning or EAL): an experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and personal goals through equine-assisted activities.-Equine Assisted Education: approaches that utilise equines and the equine environment to address academic goals or educational development.2. Equine-Assisted TherapiesEquine-assisted therapies tend to be treatment-based. While they incorporate equine activities and/or the equine environment, there will be more of a focus on processing, introspection, discussion and/or specific guided movements for the benefit of mental health, physical health, mobility speech or language. Therapy-Based Equine Interventions include:-Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP): an interactive process in which a licensed mental health professional working with or as an appropriately credentialed equine professional, partners with suitable equine(s) to address psychotherapy goals set forth by the mental health professional and the client.-Hippotherapy: a physical, occupational or speech therapy treatment strategy that utilises equine movement. The word hippotherapy derives from the Greek word hippos, meaning horse. The term hippotherapy refers to the use of the movement of the horse as a treatment strategy by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech/language pathologists to address impairments, functional limitations and disabilities in patients with neurological, motor and sensory dysfunction. This treatment strategy is used as part of an integrated treatment program to achieve functional goals.

Skills

Reviews