Equine Assisted Learning
Welcome to the Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association's Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) Program! Our EAL program is a dynamic, hands-on learning experience that leverages the unique qualities of horses to foster personal growth, skill development, and empowerment for individuals and groups alike.
What is Equine-Assisted Learning?
Equine-Assisted Learning is an experiential approach to learning that partners participants with horses in interactive activities. Horses are highly intuitive and sensitive animals, capable of providing immediate, honest feedback to human behavior. This makes them powerful teachers, offering participants valuable insights into their communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills.
CTRA facilitators are trained through the Cartier EAL program. If you're interested in learning more, follow this link.
Who Can Benefit?
Our EAL program is designed for individuals, families, schools, and organizations looking to:
Enhance communication and interpersonal skills
Build confidence, leadership, and trust
Strengthen teamwork and collaboration
Develop problem-solving strategies and resilience
No previous experience with horses is required! All activities are conducted on the ground under the guidance of our certified facilitators to ensure a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.
Why Horses?
Horses live in the moment and respond to subtle cues, helping participants recognize and reflect on their own behaviors and emotions. By engaging with these incredible animals, participants gain practical skills that can be applied to their daily lives, work, and relationships.
Get Started
Discover how Equine-Assisted Learning can inspire growth and transformation for you or your group. CTRA is offering EAL terms to small groups of 6 to 10 participants. Each term runs for 6 to 10 weeks, with one-hour sessions held weekly.
EAL is CTRA’s most current program, and some of the groups that have benefited in the past year include Cowichan Brain Injury Society, Greenway Group (Providence Farm), Cowichan Women Against Violence, and Nature School, to name a few. There is a nominal fee of $10 per person per session; however, CTRA works with each group to accommodate their individual needs.
At this point, CTRA has welcomed groups into EAL, but in the future, we hope to offer the opportunity for individuals to sign up for set sessions. Explore our programs today and take the first step toward achieving your goals with the help of our extraordinary equine partners.
Do you have a group you think would benefit from EAL? Contact Us for more information!
Testimonials
“Wow the EAL class was incredible. I had no idea what to expect and it turned out to be profound.
The facilitators were both great. I felt very supported, heard, and gently guided throughout. And their instructions were very clear so it’s on me that I made inferences - and hahaha that was a fantastic reminder about listening. I also loved that the lesson was all about teamwork, and especially communication and problem solving. Having a non-verbal partner, dear Yilden, just added to the presence, awareness and consideration required of my human partner and I. It was a joy when we were in sync working together, and so powerful to watch for cues and come up with solutions when it wasn’t.
The problem solving for me turned out to be a real clue as to how I’m doing after the traumas I experienced at work earlier this year. I normally would pride myself on being able to think outside the box, for my ingenuity and lateral thinking. However after the events I’ve noticed my problem solving to be more fixated and linear and that’s exactly what transpired during the lesson; the same feedback I’m getting from my counsellor but in a tangible way that I’m coming along but still have a way to go. And as I tried to give to my two partners, compassionate patience I learned is also essential to give to myself. Very moving for me.
So as a tool for team building or as part of a healing journey, I’d say this course is invaluable. I’m so grateful for being able to participate. Thank you!”
“This was truly amazing class, I didn’t want it to end. I would of liked to hear more at the end the purpose of this class and why we need to use our common sense when working with/around the horses. The last task my team had was to blind fold two of our team mates and the third separate all the horse brushes into colors…well I decided to blindfold myself and Bliss…this could of went horribly wrong, but my senses told me that Bliss would trust me enough to blind fold her. I let her know what I was going to do, I did it, then talked her through it until the task was done….thankfully she was as calm as a kitten and was puddy in my hands. LOL!
I loved it and want more 😊 The love and attention the horses received was golden. ”
“Thanks for including me in the EAL session. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, or what the goal was before attending. The exercises were interesting, and definitely made us think “outside of the box”. Having a horse as part of the team, makes you realise that any decision must be based on what effect it will have on the team as a whole.”
“Please thank Irene and team for the creative learning experience! It gave me some valuable insights. My most rewarding takeaway was the trust gained with Maeve.(I have had some prior horse experiences that have made me feel nervous and insecure).
Horses are such special team players! Love how Irene integrated them into her program.”