I've recently been asked about how equine assisted coaching/development could help with a number of specific situations, such as to help kids who have been, or are about to be excluded from school. I've had a similar enquiry from a Youth Offenders programme. It's also great with leadership skills, confidence building, eating disorders, people with autism.... the list goes on!
Just thought this might give you a taste:
For me, the interaction with ponies, almost as a third party, takes the pressure off the learner (client) by diverting attention away from them and resolving behavioural issues in a much less confrontational way. For example, I'm aware that a lot of kids who have been or are about to be excluded from the education system suffer with ADHD and don't understand the impact that their behaviour has on other people.
Ponies respond only to what they see and feel at any given point in time. So, if they are presented with someone with ADHD they will pick up on the high energy levels, as well as the physical behaviours and are likely to become unsettled and distracted themselves. This presents a great opportunity to ask the learner to think about how they can help the pony to become calmer and more settled by bringing down their own energy. The pony will usually respond to this very quickly and become much calmer. Initially, the learner will see that they have 'helped' the pony. However, we would then go on to talk about how they could work with this new skill (calming themselves down) to help in other situations. Indirectly, we have helped the learner start to acknowledge and address their own behaviour issues, without becoming directly confrontational.
This is just one example of how EA learning can be used as a support tool.
For me, the interaction with ponies, almost as a third party, takes the pressure off the learner (client) by diverting attention away from them and resolving behavioural issues in a much less confrontational way. For example, I'm aware that a lot of kids who have been or are about to be excluded from the education system suffer with ADHD and don't understand the impact that their behaviour has on other people.
Ponies respond only to what they see and feel at any given point in time. So, if they are presented with someone with ADHD they will pick up on the high energy levels, as well as the physical behaviours and are likely to become unsettled and distracted themselves. This presents a great opportunity to ask the learner to think about how they can help the pony to become calmer and more settled by bringing down their own energy. The pony will usually respond to this very quickly and become much calmer. Initially, the learner will see that they have 'helped' the pony. However, we would then go on to talk about how they could work with this new skill (calming themselves down) to help in other situations. Indirectly, we have helped the learner start to acknowledge and address their own behaviour issues, without becoming directly confrontational.
This is just one example of how EA learning can be used as a support tool.
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