Diploma

Today, I finished all the coursework required to earn my diploma in Equine Facilitated Learning through the Athena Herd Foundation. We still have one more class together, but I'm going to miss meeting with all of these people. They are such a fantastic group and it has been a joy to learn alongside them. The fact that this coursework was delivered virtually, was one of the pluses of the pandemic. I had classmates from all over... England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and New Zealand. Maybe someday I will get to meet some of them in person. 

Listening to everyone's case study presentations today also confirmed that this is valuable work. Horses have an unique ability to create awareness in ourselves. It is that awareness that allows us to make positive changes in our lives. Plus, horses are just calming to be around, and who doesn't need periods of calm in their lives? 

In a sense, doing the coursework and supervision and reading and practice sessions and case studies was the easy part. Now comes the real work of trying to convince people of EFL's value. I'll admit on first hearing, it does seem a little out there. People are well-acquainted with therapeutic riding and the use of horses in tandem with mental health services, but this is something else. It's not therapy, it's using the processes of experiential learning to learn about oneself. Experiential learning with horses. Experiential learning with horses while doing what seem to be simplistic exercises. It can be a hard sell. A hard sell until someone has the chance to experience it, and then the more common reaction tends to be, "Wow! This was so helpful!!" 

Still, I'm pretty excited and proud to have earned this diploma, and I'll sit with that tonight before worrying about moving forward. 

(If by chance you do want to try it out, head to my website and fill out the contact form.)