What is Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) ?

This intervention has grown in popularity over the last decade and many different health professionals now work alongside horses in order to help their clients.

Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) involves non-riding interactions between humans & horses from the ground. The horse is generally considered the teacher and a human facilitator is there to help guide the participants on a journey of learning & understanding

Being with equines can teach us much about relationships and successful communication and getting to know individual horses through a range of activities such as grooming, haltering, leading and lunging, can help us become more aware of our own mental and physical processes.

Paying attention to our body language and physical sensations, may lead to a better understanding of our thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Why choose Equine Facilitated Learning?

Horses don’t criticise, they are non-judgemental, sensitive, and responsive to intent. They can detect emotions and usually provide immediate and honest feedback. Most importantly horses don’t lie because they don't separate how they feel from how they act. Hence, EFL offers a unique opportunity to explore behavioural issues in a non-confrontational way, encouraging the development of verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Opportunities for powerful metaphoric learning often arise and as self-awareness develops we ‘grow’ as individuals, finding it easier to change our perception of ‘self’ and of ‘others’.

Benefits of EFL:

• Increased self-awareness and self-confidence
• Support emotional and behavioural growth
• Support Social and Emotional Learning Competencies
• Improved educational outcomes
• Personal self-development
• Improved communication skills and teamwork skills

Please visit the Berry Fields website for more information: 

https://www.berryfieldsanimalassistededucation.co.uk