Anita will read from her new book and answer questions from participants.

Globally, most EAA/T Centers rely on volunteer leaders and side walkers. Without volunteers, EAA/T centers throughout the world would not be able to function. The many thousands of volunteers are genuinely appreciated and regarded as extremely precious. It is part of any practitioner’s role to make volunteers welcome, motivated and feel part of the team. It is vital that they give time to training volunteers, so that they understand their role both in the arena, and in the environment of the EAA/T center. Practitioners and EAA/T centers should always ensure that their volunteers are rewarded for their work. In this lecture, I will share the ways practitioners must integrate the volunteers as full partners in the work.

With some 2.6 billion people around the world in some kind of lockdown, we are seeing a secondary epidemic of burnouts and stress-related illnesses come from the toxic effects of COVID-19 lockdowns. Taking action now, as restrictions are lifted, can mitigate these effects of lockdown. (Statistics from the World Health Organization, 2020.)

According to Arnav Kashyap, (2020) who wrote in the Hill Times, “People who have been in lockdown, or quarantined are very likely to develop a wide range of symptoms of psychological stress and disorder, including low mood, insomnia, stress, anxiety, anger, irritability, emotional exhaustion, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms”.

One way to begin to rebuild and repair the damage done by Covid-19 is to take baby steps through new and different pathways.  Practitioners and horse owners can help. A visit with our compassionate horses that are always in the present can provide a most welcome relief.  In the company of horses, it is possible to restore healthier minds, bodies, and souls.  Please join me in my webinar, Horses Help with Covid-19, to explore how bonding with horses, under supervision might facilitate a new pathway for people to safely regain reassurance, and a sense of peace, as well as a much needed break from Covid-19

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Equine Assisted Activities and Therapy (EAA/T) appears to be an excellent non-invasive intervention that provides both prevention and an integrated rehabilitation experience for PTSD sufferers.

This study will lay the foundations for understanding and working with those clients experiencing PTSD.

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For Youth At-Risk academic life can be exceptionally challenging. Many drop out of the educational system and are left vulnerable, unmotivated, and unable to find satisfactory employment, training, and advancement.

In response to this issue, I developed an active learning program for teenagers that offered a school matriculation course for Equine Studies with the possibility of maximum points. This course was divided into three parts and was considered an agricultural science exam through which the students studied the inside and out of a horse, their environment, and comparing their form and development to other farm animals and birds. The aim of the course was to raise their self- esteem and allow them to develop a critical consciousness so that they too would have that sense of ownership, accomplishment, feeling that they were on a par with others by studying for and passing a valuable high school matriculation exam. In this Zoom lecture, I will explain the elements of the course and its specific impact upon the students.

The role of the EAA/T practitioner is to support the clients in coping with real-life-issues. In order to do this effectively, the practitioner must not only have a deep understanding of themselves, but they must also know and understand the common objectives of their work, and be able to plan individualized, achievable therapeutic aims and objectives for each client. It goes without saying that they must have knowledge and an understanding of the horse or horses they are working with, in order to build a successful partnership that will ensure a safe and positive EAA/T service. In this Zoom lecture, I will offer some thoughts for personal reflection and suggest some strategies for assisting our challenged riders.