Festina Lente Riding School has been providing Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) programmes for over 5 years. EAL is a process where young people work with horses to develop their emotional growth, personal awareness, relationships, and trust. The team involved comprises of the horse, the participant, an equestrian advisor and a facilitator. The focus of the sessions is generally on the person working with a horse on the ground, so riding is not usually involved.
EAL is fast becoming both a recognised and innovative approach to assist people of all ages in increasing their levels of self-awareness, and in doing so, facilitating improvements in areas such as self-confidence, personal responsibility, boundary setting, teamwork, communications, problem-solving and leadership skills. A number of studies have shown that participation in EAL Programmes have shown improvements in these areas. Equine facilitated programmes are experiential by nature allowing a dynamic to develop between the person and the horse providing excellent opportunities for developing self-awareness due to the horses immediate responses to people’s reactions, mirroring people’s emotions and thereby providing instant feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |
> What is involved in an EAL Session?
The EAL session starts with an observation session whereby the people observe between two and four horses interacting with each other within an arena space. This is followed by an opportunity for people to approach each of the horses and explore levels of self-awareness in being around horses. There are number of activities that can be used as part of the EAL sessions and in most cases the horses will not wear headcollars. Team focused activities can include individuals or groups to build an obstacle course through which both they and the horses/s walk where the focus is on communications, problem solving and relationships. Other activities explore our level of awareness of our boundaries and how they affect our relationships.
> Why is working with horses so beneficial?
Horses are able to read the most subtle cues and respond to the messages people give them in that moment with complete honesty. Horses reflect back the emotional state of the participant, so that people learn that if they learn their behaviours, the horses will respond differently.
Also, accomplishing a task involving a large and powerful horse instils confidence and self-assurance which the participant can bring to other challenging and intimidating situations in their lives.
>Will children learn to ride a horse?
No, the focus is on children working with horses on the ground, observing and interacting with the horse or pony based on their own levels of comfort.
>Is it safe?
Yes, the role of the equestrian advisor is to ensure the safety of both the people and horses at all times.
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Festina Lente Equine Assisted Learning Service is now available to young people as a group or one a one to one. It is also be available to families, teams, and really anybody that would like to participate in an equine assisted learning and personal development session.
Sessions (group or individual) generally last an hour and a half. A group is usually made of between 2 and 4. Sessions may be a once off or can be availed of on a once-off basis or over a number of weeks.
Costs of a group session is €51.00 and the cost of an individual session is €35.00 per session. A separate price list is available for those referred by the private sector.
For further information please contact Jacinta Holly: (01)-2720704 Ext 9 or mobile: 087 9491922