Equine Assisted Learning Programs

Social, Emotional, and Experiential Learning with Horses

At Alkira Adina Equestrian, our Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) programs invite participants to learn alongside horses who actively take part in the process. Horses are not treated as tools or equipment. They are responsive partners who offer feedback through their movement, behaviour, and choices, including when to engage, pause, or step away.

These programs support the development of social, emotional, and life skills for children, teens, and adults through practical, hands-on experiences. Sessions are shaped around individual goals and may take place on the ground, in the saddle, or through a combination of both, depending on readiness, confidence, and what the participant is working towards.

How the Programs Work

Starting on the Ground

All ridden programs begin with several sessions on the ground before progressing into the saddle. Ground-based sessions allow participants to build familiarity, confidence, and understanding of how horses respond to body language, breathing, and emotional state. This groundwork supports both safety and learning, and helps ensure that any mounted work is calm, purposeful, and connected.

In-Saddle Equine Assisted Learning

In-saddle EAL sessions are not riding lessons. While participants are mounted, the focus is not on learning to ride or improving riding technique.

Instead, learning happens through shared movement and interaction with a willing horse. Sessions support participants to develop:

Emotional regulation
Body awareness and posture
Spatial awareness and balance
Focus, attention, and impulse control
Communication and confidence

Horses offer immediate, honest feedback through their responses. For example, when a participant becomes tense, the horse may slow down, stop, or choose to move away. Participants are supported to notice these moments, adjust their breathing, soften their body, and become more aware of how they are asking for something. These skills are practical and transferable, and can be applied in everyday situations outside the arena.

Will facilitates Equine Assisted Learning both on the ground and in the saddle, supporting participants to build awareness, regulation, and social understanding through guided, experiential activities.

Games on Horseback

Games on Horseback is facilitated by Brylee and Will and offers a structured, playful way for participants to continue learning while mounted. The program uses games and challenges to encourage engagement while still allowing the horse to respond freely and honestly.

Through Games on Horseback, participants work on:

Emotional regulation and frustration tolerance
Spatial awareness, planning, and sequencing
Balance, coordination, and body control
Understanding how their body moves and feels in space
Social skills such as communication, cooperation, and turn-taking

The horse remains an active participant in each session, responding to the rider’s focus, posture, and emotional state. These interactions create natural opportunities for participants to recognise patterns, practise regulation strategies, and develop skills that carry over into daily life.

Ground-Based Equine Assisted Learning

Ground-based EAL sessions focus on learning alongside the horse without riding. These sessions may include observation, leading, obstacle work, and guided activities that invite the horse to engage at their own pace.

Sessions support participants to develop:

Body awareness and understanding of personal space
Emotional awareness and regulation
Social communication and teamwork
Problem-solving and decision-making

Will facilitates ground-based sessions and adapts activities to suit each participant’s goals, needs, and comfort level.

Equine Assisted Learning and Riding Lessons: What’s the Difference?

Equine Assisted Learning (EAL)
EAL sessions are goal-aligned and individualised. Learning happens through interaction and partnership with horses, with a focus on social, emotional, and life skills. Sessions may be ground-based or in the saddle, and progress is measured through increased awareness, confidence, and skill development rather than riding ability.

Horse Riding Lessons
Riding lessons focus on learning to ride and developing riding and horsemanship skills. Progression is based on riding technique and practical riding outcomes. Riding lessons do not involve the same goal-aligned social and emotional learning focus as Equine Assisted Learning.

While both involve horses, the intention, structure, and outcomes are different.

What to Expect

Programs begin with an intake process to understand goals, experience, and support needs. Early sessions focus on observation, relationship-building, and noticing how the participant and horse respond to one another. Sessions are then shaped and adjusted over time to ensure learning remains meaningful, supportive, and engaging.

All sessions are hands-on, purposeful, and paced to support confidence, independence, and growth, while respecting both participant and horse.