Spring Reins of Life

Founded in July 1999, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) is a non-profit 501c3 organization developed to address the need for resources, education, and professionalism in the rapidly growing field of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL).  EAGALA now has over 4,500 members in 49 countries.  This work is rewarding – for the professionals and clients alike. The past three years show a growth rate of EAGALA Model programs over 400%.

The EAGALA Model is based on four main points:
1. Treatment triad team consisting at all times of a licensed mental health professional, a certified equine specialist, and horses.
2. That all work is conducted on the ground, there no mounted work as a part of the model
3. The therapeutic goals and routines remain solution focused for the client by way of experiential learning and behavioral rehearsal for self discovery (in other words as little talking as possible).
4. Requiring CEU and renewal of certification every two years and strictly adhering to the international code of ethics set forth by the EAGALA Ethics Committee.

EAGALA has seen over 233% growth in the industry and this continues to climb as professionals in the clinical and human development fields to accept EAP/L as a valid and effective approach, and to actively use it with their clientele. This benefits those in the equine fields by opening up greater possibilities for doing what they love, namely working with horses. This benefits those in the clinical and human development fields by providing a powerful, effective, interesting and fun therapeutic / educational alternative. Most of all, this benefits the clients / participants, because as those of us currently working in this area see all the time – it works!!! The growth and learning of all involved is intense and rewarding.

Animal Assisted Therapy has been endorsed by the American Psychological Association (APA), Section 17, Division 13; and by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) as a viable option for self-exploration and growth…

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) incorporates horses for emotional growth and healing.  It is a collaborative effort between a licensed therapist as the Mental Health Professional (MHP), an Equine Specialist (ES), and the Horse(s) working with the client(s) to address treatment goals.  Unlike traditional psychotherapy, the use of the horses provides an intense “short-cut” to revealing core issues, through non-verbal awareness, allowing the clients to recognize and resolve emotional/behavioral patterns.  Animals can bypass the underlying trust issues that complicate relationships with humans.  Horses offer a non-judgmental view into our self inflicted limiting beliefs and offer a new perspective on how to overcome them.

Spring Reins of Life is dedicated to helping people live better lives both personally and professionally.  Horses are powerful and truthful teachers, these graceful creatures have an extraordinary ability to activate self-awareness in humans by mirroring hidden or conflicting feelings or beliefs.  It is the horse’s natural gift to us to reconnect and renew human self-trust.  This is accomplished through non-verbal interaction and exercises that can transform our perceptions and offer insightful outcomes.

In our modern era, we busy ourselves with the mobile office, career advancement and social stature, in doing so we tend to forget our need to be connected to natural world in which we live.  Our hectic and sometimes overbearing lives spiral us away from our nature which then creates internal conflict with our biological need to be grounded in our individual truth.  Nature offers us simple and accessible opportunities to learn vital life lessons.  The horse’s essence is always grounded in nature as it is one of the few animals that while domesticated, never loses its primal wild instincts.  They can lead the way towards finding our true nature and a solid ground from which to operate.  The horse will wait patiently for each of us to arrive at the core of our aspirations and for us to speak authentically from the heart.  Your openness to self-improvement and growth provides the platform for the horse to present you with your truth because their nature is intolerant of all falsehoods.  Without clarity and true leadership the horse will suddenly become disengaged, directionless – which acts as a profound barometer for our own conviction / commitment.  By developing the capacity to listen to our inner voice, core beliefs and intuition, we can then relax with the horses into self leadership.

At Spring Reins of Life we have carefully designed and customized workshop programs based on expertise and also derived from the pre-event screening we do with each EAL client.  This enables us to zone in on the most prominent needs within your group or organization.  We offer half day and full day EAL workshops (one to three days, 8-10 hours each day with breakfast and lunch included), or weekly workshops (lasting about 3-4 hours for a period of 4 to 8 weeks).  For all of the EAL workshops we also provide post session assessment reports and also a 30 day online follow-up discussion forum which is specified to your group.  Our scheduled workshops provide groups with a unique, interactive experience to learn and fine tune valuable skills which can be incorporated to enhance both personal life and advancement in the workplace.

No horse experience is needed to benefit from this training; in fact the majority of our clients have never been around horses before.  All workshops are managed by certified facilitators and all EAL exercises are performed un-mounted.  Spring Reins of Hope will target exercises and desired outcomes based on what you think is lacking – tell us what is not working or what you want to improve and we will put the horses to work on those specific issues or deficits.  EAL sessions can also be arranged by appointment on an individual basis to cover the same basic principles as in the group workshops.  Please contact us for more information or to schedule a consultation / evaluation.

• Overcome obstacles and blocks both personally and professionally
• Discover and re-define limiting patterns and beliefs
• Defining goals and objectives, both short and long term
• Building confidence and courage to find, work and live your truth
• Rekindle or originate self-truth, self-trust, and self-leadership
• Foster true team building skills to become a serving member of the herd
• Learn what it truly means to be a leader and to be led efficiently
• Cost effective – the money saved on increased productivity and performance based on true confidence and connectedness within the group

Guest visits are welcomed but must be by scheduled appointment only. We encourage curiosity for EAP services, however for insurance /safety precautionary reasons there are NO walk-in visits allowed. This policy is for your personal safety, the safety of our herd and of the farm.  So please contact us in advance if you would like to schedule a visit.