For years we investigated Equine Assisted Learning due to our passion for helping people and horses lead better lives. Initially we conducted an open day for our Not for Profit Corporation, ‘Learn from Horses Inc.’ in February 2016. We invited people from mental health organisations, counsellors, therapists, schools, youth agencies, addiction centres etc. along with the Mayor of Port Macquarie at the time, Peter Bessling, who spoke to those in attendance, welcoming our organisation. Approximately 50 people attended along with the media who filmed segments for the local news.

As the Learn from Horses Program is a short program of approximately 6 hours, those who attended wanted to continue, therefore we established Horses Inspiring Humans so they could return indefinitely. We promoted the Charity by attending schools, TAFE, market days, community events etc. with the horses and ponies and attended Nursing Homes with the ponies as well. For some time, I attended local Youth Network meetings to promote the Charity and local Rotary, Probus, School Counsellors and other meetings to talk about what we do.

We have found over the years that we haven’t needed to advertise as we are receiving lots of enquiries via word of mouth. We constantly market our program in the way we communicate with our clients and their support, presentation of the facilities, how the sessions are conducted, how we talk about our business and being invited to community events.

What attracts clients to Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) over traditional methods is clear, immediate, unbiased feedback from horses. Benefits include EAL’S effectiveness with unresponsive, treatment-resistant, or treatment-savvy clients. EAL works within a shorter time span, making it more cost-effective for clients. But the benefits include overcoming anxiety and fear, learning to be fully present in our bodies, and developing effective coping strategies to conquer problems. More important than features and advantages is explaining how EAL impacts our clients and improves their lives which is what they really care about.