Here at ‘Back to Country’ in the heartland of Lockwood South community we are blessed to be surrounded by an abundance of native Australian animals. We acknowledge that we are on the land of Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung Country and we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that they are the true custodians of the land. We express our gratitude in the sharing of this land, our sorrow for the personal, spiritual and cultural costs of that sharing, and our hope is that we may walk forward together in harmony and in the spirit of healing.
EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING
WHAT IS EAL?
At ‘Back to Country’ we offer Equine Assisted Learning sessions that provide experiential learning opportunities where clients are invited into safe non-judgemental experiences with horses to support the growth of social-emotional skills, personal development, and professional development skills.
This experiential style of learning offers the opportunity to build and strengthen life skills, gain self-awareness, awareness of others, opportunities for co-regulation and tap into skills and strengths.
Clients are invited to participate in a variety of unmounted horse-related activities. These may include observation, touching, leading, brushing or spending time with the horses. None of the sessions include riding as there is so much to learn about communication, boundary setting, awareness, conflict management, regulation, relationships and problem solving from horses through research-based, non-riding activities.
At ‘Back to Country’ clients are invited and supported by the practitioner, together with the horses, to explore, develop and grow in areas such as emotional regulation, improving communication, team building, setting healthy boundaries, building relationships and attachments and working through life’s challenges.