Equine Facilitated Practitioners are often focused on generally focused on skills based learning or individual development provides individual learning experiences that focus on developing or nurturing personal resources such as self-esteem and confidence, resilience, emotional and social intelligence.
Equine Facilitated Practitioners are often focused on generally focused on skills based learning or individual development provides individual learning experiences that focus on developing or nurturing personal resources such as self-esteem and confidence, resilience, emotional and social intelligence.
The learning process alongside the horses provides a framework whereby transferable learning can occur. This is an experiential process whereby individual needs and requirements in life can be explored in interaction with the horses. This is engaged to support not just personal learning but also professional, sometimes team-based, learning.
In some cases, and where appropriately qualified, practitioners may provide therapeutic services such as counselling for the purpose of treating mental health disorders and improving a person’s mental health. This practice incorporates interaction with horses into the mental health services that they provide which are used to enrich or enlighten existing clinical approaches and help to frame meaningful therapeutic outcomes for them.
The practice is generally carried out on a one-to-one basis as ground-based reflective exercises or activities alongside the horses.
Practitioners may also be providing Therapeutic Riding which focusses on teaching horsemanship and riding skills to children or adults with special needs. It is educational and recreational as well as therapeutic. It can also incorporate progression towards competitive or independent riding goals. In the United Kingdom it is generally covered under the umbrella of RDA (Riding for the Disabled).
From the Register’s perspective the principal emphasis is on where that learning and development is focused on the delivery of positive mental-health well-being related skills and resources.
