Horse Wisdom Equine Assisted Learning

20/03/2026

New Research on Equine-Assisted Learning and Childhood Trauma

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma explored how equine-assisted learning can support children who have experienced trauma.

Researchers examined a 7-week program called “Resilience Reins”, involving 151 caregivers reporting on children exposed to trauma. The program combined unmounted activities with horses and psycho-educational learning sessions.

Key outcomes reported by caregivers included improvements in:
• Emotional regulation
• Communication skills
• Self-efficacy
• Social behaviour and peer relationships

The study concluded that equine-assisted learning can help children build self-regulation and resilience after traumatic experiences, especially when caregivers are involved alongside children in the program.

Read the study:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40653-025-00747-5

17/03/2026

Horses have been teaching humans for thousands of years.

Not through words,
but through presence.

Through the quiet language of breath,
body, and awareness.

They show us how to listen more deeply,
how to soften the noise of the mind,
and how to meet the moment as it truly is.

Long before we tried to analyse or explain them,
horses were already guiding us back to something simple:

To be here.
To be honest.
To be fully present. 🐴

12/03/2026

The calm, the trust, the connection. 🐎❤️

11/03/2026

Horses are prey animals.

Their survival depends on reading the smallest shifts in energy around them.
That’s why they notice things about us before we even realise them ourselves.

The tension in our shoulders.
The shallow breath.
The emotion we’re holding.

And when we begin to settle… they settle too.
🐴

- The Way of the Horse

10/03/2026

What does the research say about equine-assisted learning for young people with anxiety?

A recent study of 166 young people aged 8–18 found that a short 5-day equine-assisted learning program led to significant improvements in:

🐴 calmness
🐴 communication
🐴 assertiveness
🐴 empathy
🐴 focus
🐴 planning
🐴 responsibility
🐴 engagement in learning

The young people in the study were referred due to anxiety, and after just 5 x 2-hour sessions of groundwork-based horsemanship, referrers reported strong improvement across all eight areas.

One of the biggest findings?
Young people became calmer, more engaged, and better able to manage themselves socially and emotionally.

The research also suggested that early adolescence (around 11–14 years) may be a particularly important window for this kind of intervention.

Why might this work?

Because horses don’t respond to words alone. They respond to body language, energy, focus, boundaries and regulation. That means young people get immediate, honest feedback in the moment — and they learn through doing, not just talking.

For many young people, especially those who struggle in traditional settings, this kind of hands-on, outdoor, relationship-based learning can be a game changer.

At Animal Instincts Australia, this is exactly why we do what we do.
Not because horses “fix” people — but because they help create the conditions where calmness, confidence, connection and growth can happen.

04/03/2026

04/03/2026

A slower breath is a moment of autonomic shift that a horse offers when they feel safe enough in that interaction to down regulate.

This is not about the horse becoming quiet, compliant, or shut down. It is about soft eyes, mobile ears, postural ease, and a body that is able to return to parasympathetic tone while remaining present and connected to the environment.

Regulation is always contextual and individual.
Many factors influence breathing such as sound, temperature, pain, fitness, posture, herd dynamics, and prior experience, so this is never a single sign to read in isolation.

But when you consistently see a horse able to exhale, soften, and stay in relationship with you, you are witnessing a nervous system that feels safe enough to let go.

And that is where trust lives.

03/03/2026

The strongest leadership is often the quietest.

Horses respond less to volume and more to presence. When we ground ourselves, breathe steadily, and communicate with clarity instead of force, peace becomes the foundation of every interaction. In that stillness, timing improves, feel sharpens, and connection deepens naturally.

Today, lower your energy before you raise your expectations and let calm lead the way.

Learn more and claim your free ticket at https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/free-ticket

03/03/2026

Horse Wisdom Equine Assisted Learning Currently has Sessions Available

Does your NDIS Plan have funding for Core Supports or Capacity Building included?
Did you know Equine Assisted Learning CAN be funded using your NDIS package?
Horse Wisdom is not considered Therapy and so, if you have goals in your plan, related to Life Skills, Social Skills, Emotional Regulation, Accessing Community and/or Building Relationships,
Horse Wisdom Equine Assisted Learning may be perfect for you.

www.horsewisomequineassistedlearning.com.au
Email horsewisdom01@gmail.com or
Call Kellie on 0408 464 735 for a confidential chat

13/02/2026

Equine-Assisted Programs Supporting Young Offenders - Equine-assisted programs offer a unique, evidence-informed way to support young people involved with the justice system.

Working alongside horses helps young offenders develop emotional regulation, accountability, empathy and self-awareness. Horses respond honestly to human behaviour, providing immediate, non-judgemental feedback that encourages reflection and positive change.

These programs can support:
• Emotional regulation and impulse control
• Trust-building and healthy relationships
• Responsibility, boundaries and respect
• Trauma-informed rehabilitation
• Reduced re-offending through skill development

Equine-assisted services focus on connection, growth and responsibility — not punishment — creating opportunities for young people to rebuild confidence, self-worth and future pathways.

At Animal Therapies Ltd, we support best-practice, ethical and welfare-centred equine-assisted programs that benefit both people and animals.

12/02/2026

We don’t truly lose ourselves in the things we love…
we shed the parts that were never meant to stay, and slowly return to who we were always meant to be. 🤍🐎

10/02/2026

Who Works in Animal-Assisted Services?

Animal-assisted services are delivered by a diverse, multidisciplinary workforce, supporting people across health, disability, education, justice, community and aged-care settings.

Professionals working ethically with animals may include:

🔹Health practitioners – psychologists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, social workers, counsellors and physiotherapists integrating animals within their professional scope.

🔹 Education professionals – teachers, special educators and learning support staff integrating animals to support engagement, regulation and inclusive learning.

🔹 Disability & community support professionals – disability support workers, youth workers and case managers supporting participation and wellbeing through structured animal-assisted activities.

🔹 Animal-assisted practitioners – practitioners with specialist training in animal-assisted programs, operating within ethical and welfare frameworks.

🔹 Health, aged-care, justice & first-responder settings – nurses, lifestyle staff and practitioners supporting wellbeing, trauma recovery and social connection.

Across all settings, best practice requires:
✔ Appropriate human qualifications
✔ Animal welfare and species-specific training
✔ Clear scope of practice
✔ Insurance, risk management and ethical delivery

Animal-assisted services are not one profession — they are a collaborative field centred on human wellbeing and animal welfare.