What is Equine Assisted Learning (EAL)?
Equine Assisted Learning is a hands-on educational program that uses the interactions and developing
relationships between horses and humans in an environment of learning and self-discovery. It is designed to
promote personal growth by providing insights and opportunities to develop social, life, academic, or
professional skills in a fun and supportive environment. Through a curriculum of activities designed to address
individual goals and needs, each equine interaction is framed to help participants (children, teens, & adults)
learn and grow. The barn/farm environment naturally lends itself as a unique multi-sensory classroom. EAL is
facilitated by credentialed professionals with additional training and education in working with equines and
understanding their innate behaviors and qualities.
Why Equines?
All of the below attributes make the equine a natural partner to teach us about ourselves and society, provide
opportunities to develop skills, and practice better ways to navigate life.
 Both as herd and prey animals, equines are very attune to reading body language. They are able to give
people honest, clear, and accurate feedback to their non-verbal communication. Equines clearly
communicate what they are thinking and get confused when people don’t do the same. Survival
instincts have made them experts at reading intent, including our subconscious ones. Their feedback
can help us become more centered and focused when interacting with them.
 Equines don’t bluff, pretend, have hidden motives or use innuendos. Their innate ability to
communicate purely and consistently provides us with honest feedback to our use of body language
and helps us to be clear and thoughtful in our social cues. This creates a perfect scenario as we explore
our own social behaviors and the feedback the horses provide us.
 Horses as herd animals provide a useable metaphor for our own society, including:
leadership/teamwork, family, workplace, and classroom interactions. As the participants develop a
bond with their horse, it is natural for them to want to be able to address their horse’s needs,
concerns, and comfort levels. This promotes empathy and respect. When a person provides clear
communication and leadership, horses respond with a willingness to partner with them and follow.
Participants can apply the skills developed while teaming with horses, to working with other people in
a team or group.
How does EAL work at Saddle Up?
Each week the participants explore a new theme (i.e. trust, body language, managing risk, boundaries)
through the eyes of their horse. As trust and comfort levels grow, they tackle new activities, building
competencies and increasing self-confidence.
As students interact and work with the horses, they observe the behaviors and responses, develop skills,
discuss and reflect as they enjoy time at the farm with staff, their volunteers and each other. As the
participants engage in the equine experience in an active manner, they are afforded the opportunity to
capture the concepts to be learned, and practice new skills with their horses. From there, students discuss,
model, role-play, and participate in games designed to transfer the skills learned with the horses to their own
social interactions and life experiences.
The EAL Program at Saddle Up! helps children and teens gain insights and develop skills and experience in the
below areas. Schools/parents choose which topics best address the needs of the groups of students attending
the program. Saddle Up! Equine Assisted Learning staff work closely with schools to customize each lesson
plan to the needs and strengths of the students.
Saddle Up! provides a supportive educational environment that allows for individual learning, including oneon-one assistance throughout each class. Saddle Up!’s multi-sensory environment and inclusive teaching
strategies supports all learning styles and learning differences. Accommodations and modifications will be
utilized when needed to promote individual success.
Social skills
Body language - Understanding non-verbal cues (others and their own)
Modulation of communication techniques/appropriate responses to others
Being clear/ knowing intent
Boundaries/personal space
Team work/ being a good leader and teammate/working together
Respect/empathy
Life skills
Making good decisions – managing impulsiveness
Honoring our instincts and feelings - Knowing when to ask for help
Understanding learning differences – appreciating each other’s strengths
Mistakes – We all make them and we can all learn from the
It’s ok to make mistakes and it’s great to learn from them
Inclusion – valuing what makes others special
Creative problem solving
Dealing with new situations –anxiety and hypersensitivity issues
Assessing target issues & triggers
Honoring our situational needs
Learn to body scan –before anxiety gets too high
Self-calming techniques - Ways to de-sensitize
Ways to decrease anxiety and have success
Managing our environment
Below is a brief outline of a sample Equine Assisted Learning lesson plan for students with social and
behavioral challenges. These 2 hour classes allow time for addressing multiple learning styles and
accommodating necessary processing and motor planning time. Each class includes multiple activities to
reinforce the learning experience. The classes culminate with additional processing opportunities, to insure
that the students transfer the new skills they learned and practiced with the equines, to their daily social and
life situations.
Social Skills Topic - Reading Body Language (our upper body) and Social Cues (facial expressions, voice,
touch, eye contact, & posture)
Learning Objectives:
1. The student/ participant will identify 4 times the horse communicates with his/her body, explaining the
horse’s action, what the horse is saying, and an appropriate response the student should provide.
2. The student/participant will identify 2 ways a person uses their body to show that they are comfortable or
uncomfortable, when the student greets them. Explain the action, what it may mean, and an appropriate
response the student could provide.
 Educate: Students receive handouts to learn about equine body language (front end only) and then practice
reading the equine body language of equines in the paddocks. Students will role play equine body language
and the group discusses appropriate responses.
 Learn by observing and practicing: Head in to the barn and practice approaching the horses and reading
ears, eyes, headset, etc. over stall doors. Students learn to halter. With their volunteers, they continue to
read the body language of the front end of the horse as they enter the stalls and halter their horse. The
students (with their volunteers) will spend time with the horses in their stalls talking and touching the horse
neck and shoulders until the horse is relaxed and comfortable with their presence.
 Equine Interaction Activity - A: Grooming – Students learn about grooming tools (except hoof pick). As they
groom the horse (from the withers forward) they will explore the use of different body positions, voice,
touch, & eye contact to find out what makes the horse and themselves more relaxed with each other. As
they go through the grooming process, the focus is on observing what the equine is saying to the, learning
what the horse likes, and making changes when the equine seems uncomfortable. Students are challenged
with finding the horse’s sweet spot.
 Equine Interaction Activity –B: Introduction to Leading – Students learn about leading horses, reflecting on
body position and language, having a plan and effectively communicating their plan to the horse. With the
volunteers role-playing their horses, students will practice observing the “horses” body language as they
practice leading them through a simple course in the arena. Once they are comfortable with their “human
horses” students will begin to lead their own horses. Using the feedback their horse provides, students will
evaluate what they are doing well and what they might consider doing differently. When the horse
communicates that he/she does not understand the student, they will be encouraged to help the horses by
reviewing what they are doing with their body language, voice, contact, posture and even where they are
looking. Students and horses will work together until they confidently navigate the course.
 Additional processing game to transfer skills learned. It is extremely important to incorporate activities to
make sure the students understand how they can take these new skills that they learned and practiced
with the equines, and use them in their daily life. Students and volunteers take turns role playing horses
and people. Game One- students take turns modeling a horse’s body language and all of the volunteers,
model ways humans send the same message with their bodies. Game Two – Volunteers partner up and take
turns model one person greeting another. The students are challenged with guessing whether the person
receiving the greeting, is comfortable and if not, what the ‘greeter’ should change to make the other person
more comfortable.
 Assessment: Depending on their abilities and preferences, students attempt to meet the lesson objectives
by drawing pictures, modeling, writing the answers to questions, or verbally giving their answers. After the
students leave, the volunteers fill out an assessment to verify whether the student did / did not meet each
part of the objectives.
Why choose Saddle Up! for your students?
• Saddle Up!’s EFL programming staff are PATH International certified Equine Specialists in Mental Health & Learning
with backgrounds in education and/or mental health. They provide challenging curriculums to encourage personal
growth and build self-esteem. Accommodations and modifications are utilized when needed, to promote individual
success.
• The Saddle Up! staff team and well trained volunteers model a culture of acceptance and appreciation for all unique
abilities.
• Saddle Up! provides a safe and supportive educational environment that allows for individual learning with one-onone assistance when interacting with the horses. Our multi-sensory environment and inclusive teaching strategies are
designed to support all learning styles and learning differences.
• To ensure alignment with the school’s philosophies and curriculums, the Saddle Up! team will work closely with school
administrators, teachers, and counselors and is open to incorporating school assessment tools and resources when
appropriate.
• The Saddle Up! staff encourages students to create personal program goals and share any specific objectives that they
want to focus on each day. Through this, students can actively participate in setting the program curriculum within each
class. They are further challenged to assess their own progress based on their personal goals and objectives. This creates
a very powerful individual and personal learning experience.
• As with all newly learned skills, reinforcement and generalization are crucial. At Saddle Up!, students are afforded
opportunities to further explore and practice the skills they acquired while working with the horses, with staff and
volunteers. Saddle Up! also encourages schools to allow students to create an educational video to share what they
have learned in the classroom or with their families. By teaching others, the student’s skills are processed and reinforced
in a new way.
Schedule and Fees
The Equine Assisted Learning programs consist of two hour classes that typically meet once a week for four weeks. Each
two hour class costs $75 per student. Saddle Up! has the flexibility to work with the schools to accommodate their
schedules.