IdEAL is a Community Interest Company offering Equine Assisted Learning activities and therapeutic horsemanship for children, young people and adults.
Inspired Equine Assisted Learning is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company specialising in Equine Assisted Learning activities and Therapeutic Horsemanship, which benefits a wide range of adults and children, including those with behavioural challenges, mental health problems, and learning difficulties. Therapeutic work with horses has been shown to improve mental and emotional wellbeing, physical skills and enhance communication and relationship skills. We offer private and group sessions on a long or short-term basis. For an informal chat or to arrange a visit please message Claire or Mike on this page or email info@inspired-eal.co.uk or call Mike on 07729 909186. We look forward to working with you.
23/03/2026
If you really want to test your communication skills, forget the meeting room and step into an arena with a horse who has absolutely no interest in your job title, your “confident voice,” or your ability to say “let’s take this offline.” Horses don’t respond to jargon, charm or your best TED‑Talk impression. They respond to clarity, calmness and whether your body language matches what your mouth is saying. As Brené Brown reminds us, “Clear is kind,” and horses take that very literally. If you’re sending mixed messages, they’ll simply wander off to find someone who isn’t.
Julian Treasure says, “We teach what we are,” which becomes painfully obvious when a horse mirrors your nerves, your hesitation, or your over‑explaining. And Simon Sinek’s line, “Leadership is a choice”, hits differently when the horse chooses the quiet person at the back instead of the one giving a motivational speech.
EAL turns communication theory into instant, unfiltered feedback. You can’t fake confidence with a creature who reads your heartbeat. You can’t bluff your way through unclear instructions. And you definitely can’t impress a horse with your LinkedIn endorsements.
What you can do is learn to communicate with authenticity, presence and genuine confidence, the kind that works just as well in the office as it does in the arena.
If you’re ready to discover how horses can transform the way you communicate (and give you a few humbling laughs along the way), come and meet the real experts.
22/03/2026
If you really want to understand your team, forget the boardroom, try standing in a field with a half‑ton colleague who has zero interest in your job title. Horses don’t care who’s “Head of Synergy” or who brought the colour‑coded spreadsheet. They care about clarity, trust and whether your energy matches your actions. As Simon Sinek says, “Trust is built on consistency,” and no creature tests consistency faster than a horse. Patrick Lencioni reminds us that “Teamwork begins with vulnerability,” which is exactly what happens when a horse ignores your self‑appointed leadership and follows the quiet one at the back.
EAL exposes team dynamics instantly: mixed messages, over‑assertiveness, too many chiefs, not enough carrots… and the horse always knows who’s genuinely leading.
Ready to discover what your team looks like without the corporate gloss? Come and meet the real facilitators.
21/03/2026
Horses have an incredible talent for cutting straight through human nonsense. They don’t care if you turn up looking like a walking fashion editorial or like you’ve slept in your mucking‑out clothes. If anything, they’ll actively test your priorities: a Balenciaga jacket is just another perfectly good surface to scratch an itchy face on, and my battered old stable fleece gets exactly the same treatment. Fancy footwear? Useless. A steel toe‑cap will always outrank a designer trainer. And your Louis Vuitton bag? Best left in the car… unless it contains carrots, in which case all bets are off.
That’s the beauty of Equine Assisted Learning: horses respond to authenticity, trust and confidence, not image. They don’t care about status symbols, they care about congruence. As Brené Brown puts it, “Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection,” and horses know instantly when you’re being real. Simon Sinek reminds us that “Trust is built on consistency,” and no creature tests consistency quite like a horse.
If you want to experience leadership without ego and feedback without filters come and spend time with our herd.
20/03/2026
Continuity of support is essential for anyone accessing therapeutic or wellbeing services, but for people living with anxiety it becomes absolutely critical. Even small changes, a shift in routine, uncertainty about future sessions, or the possibility of a service closing, can heighten stress and make daily life feel less manageable. In Lincolnshire, adults already face significant barriers to getting help. Local intelligence reports highlight long waits and limited capacity across mental‑health pathways, and national data shows anxiety levels remain high, with adults rating their anxiety at an average of 3.7 out of 10 on the previous day.
When people finally find a service that feels safe, consistent and responsive to their needs, the thought of losing it can be overwhelming. Yet rising operational costs, staffing, insurance, utilities, feed and specialist resources, are placing pressure on beneficiaries, providers and funders alike. Without sustainable funding, some level of change becomes unavoidable if we’re going to keep supporting as many people as possible.
But we must also be honest: some individuals will fall through the gaps. And when early, preventative support disappears, people often reach crisis point later, ultimately increasing demand on already stretched health and social‑care services.
People deserve stability. They deserve to know their needs matter. And they deserve services that can stay open long enough to make a meaningful difference.
If you’re a funder, organisation or community partner who believes in protecting continuity of care, please get in touch. Your support helps keep people from slipping through the cracks.
19/03/2026
We’re increasingly worried about the impact on beneficiaries when they’re asked to meet the full cost of therapeutic EAL sessions because no external funding is available. Across the UK, equine providers are facing steep rises in feed and forage costs due to inflation, weather‑affected harvests and higher fuel and fertiliser prices. Insurance premiums have also risen significantly, and staffing costs continue to climb. These pressures are especially acute for small East of England providers, where margins are already tight.
When session prices rise, families often have no safety net. National equestrian participation data consistently shows that cost is one of the main reasons people reduce or stop horse‑related activities. Many beneficiaries tell us they may need to cut down the frequency of sessions or stop altogether, losing the confidence, emotional regulation and wellbeing gains that EAL provides.
If you know a funder, organisation or supporter who believes in the power of EAL, please connect us. Together, we can keep these life‑changing sessions accessible.
18/03/2026
We’re saddened to share that IdEAL will need to increase session prices for adults from April. This is not a decision we ever wanted to make. But with staff, insurance and feed costs rising almost daily, and no new funding available despite our best efforts, we’ve reached a point where this change is unavoidable if we’re to keep delivering safe, high‑quality EAL support.
What hasn’t changed is our commitment to accessibility. We’ll continue doing everything we can to help beneficiaries stay with us, including offering small group sessions as a more affordable alternative to 1‑2‑1 support. No one should miss out if there’s a way we can help.
If you know organisations, funders or supporters who believe in the power of EAL, please connect us. Your support genuinely helps people continue the journeys they’ve started.
13/03/2026
A metaphor is a bit like borrowing someone else’s glasses: suddenly the world looks different, even though nothing around you has changed. That’s exactly why NLP uses metaphors so often, they let us describe one thing as if it were something else, giving the brain a fresh route into an old problem. And yes, that means this post about metaphors… is also a metaphor about metaphors.
In our Equine Assisted Learning sessions, we weave subtle NLP techniques into the work, including metaphor. Horses make this surprisingly natural. Their behaviour offers instant, honest feedback, helping people see patterns, reactions and possibilities from a new angle. A nervous horse mirroring a nervous human can become a metaphor for boundaries. A calm horse responding to calm breathing becomes a metaphor for self‑regulation. Suddenly, learning feels lighter, clearer, and sometimes even funny.
If this sparks your curiosity, follow our page, share the post, or help support our work.
13/03/2026
We have some spaces available for our Easter Pony Club! It’s going to be lots of fun, with a variety of activities🐣
Message our page to book in!✨
Please note, payment is required to secure your place🦄
12/03/2026
A group of young adults with learning difficulties regularly join us for EAL sessions, and the change we have witnessed is remarkable. Many first arrived feeling anxious, unsure of themselves, and hesitant to interact with others. Working with the horses offered something different, a calm, non‑judgemental space where they could build confidence at their own pace. Over their time with us, we’ve seen them begin to communicate more clearly, support one another, solve problems together, and take pride in small but meaningful achievements. Families told us they were seeing real shifts at home too: reduced anxiety, better emotional regulation, and a growing sense of independence.
These outcomes reflect well‑established benefits of EAL for adults with learning difficulties, including improved confidence, stronger social engagement, enhanced communication, and the chance to experience success in a supportive environment. Horses offer immediate, honest feedback, helping participants understand their own emotions and actions in a way that feels safe and empowering.
We want to continue offering life‑changing experiences like this for individuals and their families. If you’d like to help us keep this work going, please consider donating via our Localgiving page: https://localgiving.org/charity/inspired-eal
11/03/2026
We’re seeing a growing pattern across South Lincolnshire: more adults, children and families are coming to IdEAL because their other support has disappeared or become impossible to access. For many, Equine Assisted Learning has become the one stabilising force left, and Sunset Farm a place where anxiety eases, confidence grows and people feel safe enough to reconnect.
At the same time, gaps in statutory and community services are widening. Long waits, reduced provision, overstretched workers and rural barriers mean people who were already struggling are now falling through the cracks. This places real emotional, operational and significant financial pressure on IdEAL, yet everywhere we look the need for our service is only increasing.
We want to be there for those who have nowhere else to turn but we have a growing sense that the community funders and those commissioning wellbeing services are simply taking service provisions such as ours for granted and not reaching out to see what additional support is urgently required. Please share this message, raise awareness, or support us if you can.
10/03/2026
We recently supported an adult who had been struggling with severe anxiety and long‑term social isolation. Leaving the house had become overwhelming, and they felt completely disconnected from the world around them. During their Equine Assisted Learning sessions, we saw a gentle but powerful shift. The calm, steady presence of the horse helped them regulate their anxiety, build confidence and reconnect with their own sense of capability. Over time, they began engaging more, smiling more and even looking forward to being around others again; something they once thought impossible.
This kind of support is especially important here in South Lincolnshire, where rural isolation, limited public transport and long waits for mental‑health services mean many adults fall through the gaps. EAL offers a lifeline: a safe, non‑judgemental space where people can rebuild confidence, reduce anxiety and rediscover connection at their own pace.
We want to keep offering this life‑changing support to adults who need it most. If you’d like to help us continue making a difference for individuals and their families, please consider donating via our Localgiving page: https://localgiving.org/charity/inspired-eal
Your support genuinely changes lives.
09/03/2026
Trying to explain Milton Model language patterns is a bit like saying, “You might begin to notice… something… perhaps now… or maybe later.” It’s the art of being intentionally vague so your brain fills in the gaps, like giving someone a treasure map where the X is “somewhere over there” and trusting they’ll discover something meaningful on the way.
That’s the magic of the Milton Model in NLP: abstract, open‑ended language that gently guides thinking without boxing anyone in. And yes, we use it subtly within our Equine Assisted Learning sessions. Horses are brilliant partners for this, their calm presence and honest reactions help people explore new perspectives, often without realising they’re doing it.
If you’re curious about how language, horses and gentle mindset shifts can work together, follow our page, share this post, or support our work.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Inspired Equine Assisted Learning CIC:
Spending time with our horses will positively and permanently change your life! Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) is a unique learning experience that uses horses as active participants; it does not involve riding and no prior experience with horses is required. Our horses make perfect learning partners as their natural responses provide immediate and honest feedback to your actions and behaviour giving you a deeper understanding of yourself.
Inspired Equine Assisted Learning is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company specialising in Equine Assisted Learning activities and Therapeutic Horsemanship, which benefits a wide range of adults and children, including those with behavioural challenges, mental health problems, and learning difficulties. Therapeutic work with horses has been shown to improve mental and emotional wellbeing, physical skills and enhance communication and relationship skills. We offer private and group sessions on a long or short-term basis. For an informal chat or to arrange a visit please message Mike on this page or email info@inspired-eal.co.uk or call 07729 909186. We look forward to working with you.
Are you looking for something completely different and fun to do with your family? Do you struggle to compete with Social Media, TV and Video games?
Let our horses help! Inspired Equine Assisted Learning has a unique approach to building communication, leadership and team building skills - and your most important team is the one you share your life with at home? Join us for a fun session and discover what really makes your family tick. We’ll customise a unique experience for your family that will help improve communication, understanding and respect, and we’ll deliver it in a unique and unforgettable way, using our horses to guide you.
Our EAL + NLP Company Away Days are positively fun and positively productive!
Collaboration vs. Competition - Many team events are based on competition, but you really want all your team to work TOGETHER like a well-oiled machine! You don’t have to like every member of your team, but if you can communicate and understand one another then your team will be unstoppable!
At Inspired Equine Assisted Learning every experiential training session helps to develop effective skills in a fun and memorable way.
Our corporate Away-Days allow employees to spend quality time together to discuss ideas, issues and information in an environment that encourages innovation and creative thinking.
Inspired Equine Assisted Learning is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. The fees we receive from corporate training help us to offer subsidised EAL sessions to disadvantaged people, living with various conditions in our community who can really benefit from EAL but don’t have the resources to pay for sessions themselves.
Horses Helping To Improve Care Home Residents Happiness
Last year, we took two of our ponies, Toffee and Pepsi, to meet residents at local care homes in South Lincolnshire. We received very positive feedback from the sessions, with residents eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the ponies and participating in the sessions. Residents asked lots of questions about the ponies with some reminiscing about riding and farming with horses. There was also anecdotal evidence that significantly more residents actively participated and enjoyed the innovative EAL sessions than take part in some of the other regular activities that are provided for them.
