The Movement of the Horse workshop a great success
Aspects of Equine Assisted Services delivered at CAFRE Enniskillen
The Movement of the Horse, a workshop delivered at the CAFRE Equitation College in Enniskillen, in collaboration with the One Equine Trust, recently proved to be a huge success, attracting delegates from all aspects of Equine Assisted Services, as well as those with an interest in sourcing EAS for their clients, who wished to hear more about why and how this works.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0d32d8b9-eaf1-4b9c-b651-4955b9ec6cac_1107x559.jpeg)
Hello and welcome to Horse&Field. Our aim is to support local, grass roots equestrian enthusiasts and competitors and keep you all informed of what’s happening in the horsey world, as well as covering all things agricultural. If you haven’t already subscribed you can do so below:
Organisers were very fortunate to secure the services of Rupert Isaacson from the Horse Boy Foundation and Terri Brosnan from Childvision in Dublin, whose in-depth knowledge of the neuroscience, explaining why this works for so many people on the Autistic Spectrum and other neurological conditions, was a revelation to many of those present.
“As a long-serving RDA Coach, I can vouch for the fact that we have always known that the movement of the horse is beneficial, but until now we didn’t know why. Their techniques for training and supporting horses were very impressive and I look forward to the day when these skills are being taught to everyone who uses horses for whatever purpose,” said Julie Frazer.
Also present was Kezia Sullivan from Bournemouth University, who signposted everyone to research papers on their website by Professor Anne Hemingway, which should prove a useful resource for practitioners when seeking funding.
Also delivering a workshop were Orlagh Daly and Clare McMonagle, Occupational Therapists from Ulster University, who are involved in the delivery of the current Equine Facilitated Therapy post-graduate course at UU. Unfortunately, there are currently no Northern Ireland based AHP’s on this course, which seems a shame as it is not going to increase the availability of badly needed services here. Hopefully, as the word spreads of the benefits of EAS, the Department of Health will recognise the importance of encouraging their staff to do the training and deliver these services, which have the potential to help so many people. Clare also gave some insights into the benefits of Equine Assisted Therapy for children affected by Multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences through her private practice at Gortilea.
The third workshop was delivered by Claire-Maria Campbell, a physiotherapist and veterinary physiotherapist with a wide experience of treating sports injuries in both humans and horses and the official physiotherapist to HSI’s high performance eventing squad. She gave some helpful insights into how to diagnose discomfort and pain in our horses, as well as some useful tips and exercises in how to mitigate this. Equine welfare must and should be at the heart of everything we do and the more knowledgeable practitioners are, the better service they will be able to deliver.
There were over 100 delegates present, including visitors from all over Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as from Germany where Rupert is based, and students from the college who have an interest in EAS. RDA was well represented, with attendees from seven groups, who will hopefully have gone back to their teams inspired to spread the message and encourage their volunteers to continue with their amazing work.
Organisers are so fortunate to have access to the College facilities to deliver days like this and grateful thanks are extended to Jane Elliott and her staff for being so welcoming and working so hard to make this happen. Hopefully, the networking opportunities at a day like this will move the needle on the development of EAS here in Northern Ireland and encourage collaboration between different practitioners and equine experts for the benefit of everyone.
Rupert Isaacson was emphatic that collaboration is the best way to make progress and improve services for everyone and no one should be excluded from participating in the journey.