H-EALING® –
Human-Equine Assisted Learning
Some educational & healthcare professionals believe that people are not the only teachers or healers who can assist others to create desired changes in themselves, or their lives. Like them, we at the Learning Shire have found that few teachers embody more direct feedback or more honest communication in response to people’s feelings, attitudes, and actions than do equines – the flight animals commonly known as horses!
Equine-assisted learning (EAL… also called equine-facilitated learning, EFL; or equine-facilitated experiential learning, EFEL) has grown in popularity among experiential learning professionals for over two decades. Yet compared to its sister discipline of therapeutic riding (equine-assisted activity & therapy, or EAAT), which supports a wide range of mind-body rehabilitation needs and has been well-established since the late 1960s, EAL remains quite a young field of practice & research – yet one with enormous promise!
At the Learning Shire, our facilitators & program associates have studied equine-assisted modes of learning with such master teachers as Monty Roberts, Linda Kohanov, Chris Irwin, and Koelle Simpson. Our own approach, which we call human-equine assisted learning or H-EALING®, sees the work between a human and a horse as a mutual learning partnership – where both contribute to and both benefit from teaching and caring for the other.
The Learning Shire is now creating collaborative relationships with horse facilities in the Centre County region of Pennsylvania, where H-EALING® programs will soon be offered. No prior horse experience is required to participate in these programs, and most program activities involve no riding, taking place entirely on the ground. Feel free to contact us with your questions and to indicate your particular needs and interests regarding this type of programming: info@learningshire.com
Program Directory
Journeys of the Body –
Horseplay: Choosing Your Boundaries & Making Them Stick (for teens)
Journeys of the Heart –
The Heart of Leadership: Listening & Speaking ‘Below the Chin’
Journeys of the Mind –
Chosen by a Horse: Conversation… the Equus Way
Program Descriptions
Horseplay: Choosing Your Boundaries & Making Them Stick
Teenagers undergo rapid & sweeping changes – in their bodies, minds, and emotions – which introduce powerful new dimensions to their lives in terms of personal relationships. How teens learn to navigate these changes and feelings creates patterns that stay with them for life.
This workshop builds on the natural behavior of horses to question & negotiate boundaries in the herd. Through playful & safe interaction with horses on the ground, teen participants learn the meaning of personal boundaries, begin to notice their perceptions of boundaries more fully, and learn how to negotiate their own boundaries with others. As participants grow in confidence, they practice ways to maintain the boundaries they set, and learn it’s possible to protect themselves from unwanted advances by others.
The Heart of Leadership: Listening & Speaking ‘Below the Chin’
Program under development.
Chosen by a Horse: Conversation … the Equus Way
Program under development.