Avening Park, Westend, Avening, Gloucestershire GL8 8NE | Visits by appointment only - we look forward to hearing from you
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We are a professionally accredited therapeutic center!

The therapeutic team are qualified in IEFPL, EAGALA, HEAL and LEAP models of equine assisted therapy. We believe that being able to practice the 4 different models gives us the flexibility to tailor a truly individual programme to our clients and client groups. Please contact us to discover what we could do for you.

Upcoming Events

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equinetherapycenter

#connection #relationship #empowerment
| #trauma, #ACEs | #autism, #ASD | #dementia #YOD |

equinetherapycenter
May, Mother, Mare I ask her, “May I touch you th May, Mother, Mare
I ask her, “May I touch you there?” 
She teaches me to ground, 
To check, 
Eyes soft or stern, 
Each moment at her side,
Is one in which I learn. 
A secret softie though, 
Scratch her ear and she’s subdued, 
Still a teacher, 
But in her nuzzly, gooey mood. 
When we’re out of bounds, 
Like she taught me to do, 
At unfamiliar sounds, 
She heeds her own advice too! 
She asks, she checks, 
And together we ground, 
So that on the way home,
We barely notice the sound. 

This is a poem written by Laura Simons, one of our volunteers who started with us this year. Each member of the herd has their own poem, an expression of Laura's experience of them, and some of what she has learned with us. 

#poetry #horses #horsemanship #equinetherapy #volunteering #poem #herd #volunteer #equinefaciliatatedtherapy
Why do we call it Relational Horsemanship? As wel Why do we call it Relational Horsemanship?

As well as Equine Therapy, we also offer Horsemanship, which we have chosen to call Relational Horsemanship. 
People often ask what we mean by this, what does it involve? 
We focus on learning to communicate effectively and safely with our horse, developing an understanding of their behaviours and body language, and what each signal means. We also teach how to care for their individual needs, including what they eat, their ideal environment, as well as their mental and emotional well-being. Riding may or may not be part of these sessions, depending on the wishes of client and horse, and there are so many other things to learn alongside riding.

But most importantly we facilitate a relationship, a partnership between human and horse that relies on trust, understanding, and learning together.

#horsemanship #horses #riding #horseriding #horsesandpeople #learningtoride #equinetherapy #connemara #trust #learning #partnership
Feels like the first day of spring today 🌼 Tal Feels like the first day of spring today 🌼

Tali says he hopes everyone is enjoying the sunshine ☀️

Although we run sessions in pretty much all weathers, (as long as the horses are happy!) a day of sun is very much appreciated. 

#pony #equinetherapy #shetlandpony #sunshine #spring #springhassprung #springtime #flowers #dandelion #yellow
Our horses choose who they work with, they have an Our horses choose who they work with, they have an incredible ability to know what each person needs. 
There are many horses around the world doing amazing and similar things, this article is about a horse who visits patients in hospital, bringing joy and comfort to their bedside.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/gallery/2021/mar/12/doctor-peyo-the-horse-comforting-cancer-patients-in-calais-in-pictures?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 

#horseshelpingpeople #equinetherapy #equinefaciliatatedtherapy #horses #healing #comfort
Celebrating International Women's Day. Here May i Celebrating International Women's Day. 
Here May is watching over Ellie as she sleeps, just as women around the world can look out for each other and support one another. 

#mares #internationalwomensday #womensday #celebratewomen #powerofwomen #horses #herd #supporteachother #gotyourback
Developing Trust and Confidence working with horse Developing Trust and Confidence working with horses- Part Four

The last step, which is important for your horse and you, and which many horse people miss out on, is allow your horse time to enjoy his success. It may sound simple, but it involves some very specific feel  and timing. We've seen this with so many of our students, once they see the power of allowing the horse to think, they become so excited. 
You can literally see the horse grow in confidence and curiosity before your eyes!

There are many other things we need to do, what would you add? 

#horsemanship #horses #horsetraining #confidence #trust #connemara #bay #bayhorse #sleepinghorse #naptime
Developing Trust and Confidence working with horse Developing Trust and Confidence working with horses- Part Three

Practice & build those skills-
building new neural networks takes time for humans & horses

The third step is to use our new skills of listening to the horse, in a series of 'confidence building' exercises. The aim is that the horse remains within their comfort zone, not at any time feeling overwhelmed or pushed into shutdown. These confidence building challenges can be set up when you normally go out, or in your arena or paddock. This includes helping your horse to be relaxed in high energy situations, when they are away from home and when they are away from their friends, gradually increasing their resilience. Patience is one skill that is essential to the success of this step, we need to be slow and steady, accepting that our horses need time to acclimatise to things. 

#horsemanship #horsetraining #horses #confidence #trust #cob #gypsycob #explore #learn #resilience
Developing Trust and Confidence working with horse Developing Trust and Confidence working with horses- Part Two

Know what your horse is saying - 
Improve your horse speak.

The next step is to improve our ability to read our horse's body language. We need to train ourselves to become observant to every tiny body movement and change of balance our horse makes. When you realise that every movement is a communication, we are able to help our horses a lot more easily and efficiently - reducing any current miscommunication or confusion around their behaviour!

#horsemanship #horsetraining #confidence #trust #horses #irishsporthorse #irishdrafthorse #equinetherapy #therapyhorse
Developing Trust & Confidence working with horses Developing Trust & Confidence working with horses

There are 4 simple starting steps that we use:

1. Map out your horse's comfort zones- 
These will be related to location, or situation. 

Your horse may be calm in the arena but feel worried when in a new location. Or other days, when it's windy or their friend is galloping about, they may be very
nervous in the arena. If we ask too much of our horses in a difficult situation, we risk losing their confidence. There
is a delicate balance of knowing how much to ask, and when to ask it.
And it all relates to creating an accurate & in depth "comfort zone model", putting this down on paper can help us visualise and better understand. These will be completely different for each horse, as every horse is an individual and has had different experiences. This is the first foundation step in being able to build trust and confidence; having the knowledge of what your horse is comfortable with. 

#horsemanship #relationalhorsemanship #naturalhorsemanship #horsetraining #horses #confidence #trust #workingwithhorses #shetland #shetlandpony
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