EAQ® - Home of Horse-based Learning and Education 

EAQ® (Equine Assisted Qualifications) sets and monitors quality standards for its equine assisted learning centres and provides training and qualifications for facilitators and others involved with equine assisted learning. There are a number of EAQ Approved Centres in the UK offering interaction with horses for children, young people and adults leading to nationally-recognised qualifications.

Training for Facilitators
EAQ offers a number of training programmes for facilitators including the Level 4 Certificate in Facilitating Equine Assisted Learning. The Level 4 Certificate is a national qualification which is regulated in the UK by Ofqual. Training is available for facilitators, horse professionals, tutors, assessors and practitioners of equine assisted learning. Courses run throughout the year. You need to take part in an online Introduction Day before enrolling on the facilitator training. Please check the Events page for the next Introduction Day. Training can be a mix of online and face to face sessions.

EAQ Approved Centres
EAQ Approved Centres have met quality standards including horse handling, the environment and staff qualifications. Their staff have been specially trained to offer equine assisted learning sessions to individuals and groups from all walks of life. Some centres specialise in certain areas, such as working with children and young people who are excluded from shcool. 

Find the location of your nearest EAQ Approved Centre.

Find out how to become an EAQ Approved Centre.

If you would like to attend sessions at one of our centres, please email us today!
Privacy policy

  1. Introduction
1.1    We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors and service users.
1.2    This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and service users; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.
1.3    We use cookies on our website. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.
1.4    Our website incorporates privacy controls which affect how we will process your personal data. By using the privacy controls, you can specify whether you would like to receive direct marketing communication.

  1. Credit
2.1    This document was created using a template from SEQ Legal www.seqlegal.com.

  1. How we use your personal data
3.1    In this Section 3 we have set out:
         (a)      the general categories of personal data that we may process;
          (b)      the purposes for which we may process personal data; and
          (c)      the legal bases of the processing.
3.2    We may process data about your use of our website and services ("usage data") using google analytics. The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The basis for processing this information is so that we can ensure we can monitor and improve our website and services. No personally identifiable information is collected.
3.3    We may process "account data".  The account data may include your name and email address. The account data may be processed for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, ensuring the security of our website and services, maintaining back-ups of our databases and communicating with you by email if you have opted in to receive marketing communications.
3.4    We may process profile data".  The profile data may include your name, address, telephone number, email address.  The profile data may be processed for any orders you place through our website or for events that you may have booked using the website.
3.5    We may process information contained in any enquiry you submit to us regarding goods and/or services "enquiry data". The enquiry data may be processed for the purposes of offering, marketing and selling relevant goods and/or services to you.
3.6    We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our email notifications and/or newsletters "notification data". The notification data may be processed for the purposes of sending you the relevant notifications and/or newsletters. We use mailchimp to send out our email campaigns.  Details of their privacy policy can be found here: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/
3.7    In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section 3, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or] in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
3.8  Please do not supply any other person's personal data to us.

  1. Providing your personal data to others
4.1    We may disclose your personal data to one of our Approved Centres if it is appropriate for us to do so but we will inform you first by email, by telephone or in person.
4.2    We may disclose your personal data to our insurers and/or professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
4.3    Financial transactions relating to our website and services are handled by our payment services providers, PaypalWe will share transaction data with our payment services providers only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing your payments, refunding such payments and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments and refunds. You can find information about the payment services providers' privacy policies and practices at https://www.paypal.com/en/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.
4.5    We will not disclose your data to any third party suppliers of goods or services.
4.6    In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.[ We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.]

  1. Retaining and deleting personal data
5.1    This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.
5.2    Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

  1. Amendments
6.1    We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
6.2    You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.

  1. Your rights
7.1    In this Section 7, we have summarised the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.
7.2    Your principal rights under data protection law are:
(a)    the right to access;
(b)    the right to rectification;
(c)    the right to erasure;
(d)    the right to restrict processing;
(e)    the right to object to processing;
(f)    the right to data portability;
(g)    the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and
(h)    the right to withdraw consent.
7.3    You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.
7.4    You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.
7.5    To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.

  1. About cookies
8.1    A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
8.2    Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
8.3    Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

  1. Cookies that we use
9.1    We use cookies for the following purposes:
(a)    authentication - we use cookies to identify you when you visit our website and as you navigate our website
(b)    status - we use cookies to help us to determine if you are logged into our website
 (d)   security - we use cookies as an element of the security measures used to protect user accounts, including preventing fraudulent use of login credentials, and to protect our website and services generally
(e)    advertising - we use cookies to help us to display advertisements that will be relevant to you
(f)    analysis - we use cookies to help us to analyse the use and performance of our website and services
(g)    cookie consent - we use cookies to store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies more generally

  1. Cookies used by our service providers
10.1  Our service providers use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website.
10.2  We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google's privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
10.3  We publish Google AdSense interest-based advertisements on our website. These are tailored by Google to reflect your interests. We may publish Google AdSense advertisements on our website. To determine your interests, Google will track your behaviour on our website and on other websites across the web using cookies. This behaviour tracking allows Google to tailor the advertisements that you see on other websites to reflect your interests (but we do not publish interest-based advertisements on our website).] You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser by visiting: https://adssettings.google.com. You can also opt out of the AdSense partner network cookie using those settings or using the Network Advertising Initiative's multi-cookie opt-out mechanism at: http://optout.networkadvertising.org. However, these opt-out mechanisms themselves use cookies, and if you clear the cookies from your browser your opt-out will not be maintained. To ensure that an opt-out is maintained in respect of a particular browser, you may wish to consider using the Google browser plug-ins available at: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996.
10.4  We use Amazon to advertise products or services that you may be interested in. This service uses cookies for tailor the advertisements that you see on other websites to reflect your interests.

  1. Managing cookies
11.1  Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:

(a)    https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
(b)    https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);
(c)    http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);
(d)    https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);
(e)    https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411 (Safari); and
(f)    https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).
11.2  Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.
11.3  If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.

  1. Our details
12.1  This website is owned and operated by EAQ (Equine Assisted Qualifications) Limited
12.2  We are registered in England and Wales under registration number 07362407, and our registered office is at 18-20 High Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset.

13  You can contact us:

(a)    by post, to the postal address given above;
(b)    using our website contact form;
(c)    by telephone, on the contact number published on our website; or
(d)    by email.

 

Subscribe to our mailing list and receive EAQuine News straight to your inbox!

* indicates required
Email Format
EAQ® Training for Facilitators of Equine Assisted Learning and Education

If, as a facilitator, you are unaware of how you are influencing the horse's behaviour, how can you provide an authentic experience for a learner?"  Tricia Day 

EAQ offers a range of training for facilitators, support staff and volunteers. The main qualification for facilitators is the Level 4 Certificate in Facilitating Equine Assisted Learning but we offer progression routes including horse awareness at level 3 if you are not yet ready to take the level 4. We believe that everyone involved in equine assisted learning needs to have a high level of skill with horses and horsemanship training is mandatory for every facilitator.

Level 4 Certificate in Facilitating Equine Assisted Learning 
The Level 4 Certificate in Facilitating Equine Assisted Learning (FEAL) was written by EAQ Founder, Tricia Day, has been accredited by OCN London, is listed on the Register of Regulated Qualifications and regulated by Ofqual. It is the first nationally-regulated qualification of its kind for equine assisted learning. The Level 4 Certificate contains six mandatory units. The underpinning knowledge for these units is delivered in 17 days face-to-face training with additonal mentoring, e-learning, assignments and assessments.

The six units are:

  • Handling and Managing Horses in Equine Assisted Learning
  • Communication in Equine Assisted Learning
  • Safeguarding in Equine Assisted Learning
  • Planning Equine Assisted Learning
  • Facilitate Equine Assisted Learning for Individuals and Groups
  • Manage Behaviour of Learners in Equine Assisted Learning.

Handling and Managing Horses in Equine Assisted Learning
Course length: 4 days

This unit concentrates on increasing horse awareness and ability. You will learn about herd dynamics and behaviour as well as how to work with a loose horse or those which are controlled with a halter and lead rope. The mental and emotional well-being of the horses are important to us and so we help participants to increase their self awareness as well as their awareness of horse signals and how to interpret those signals.

You will have an opportunity to practise your ‘natural horsemanship’ skills on the training by working with horses loose in a round pen as well as on a halter and lead rope. 

One participant said “I’ve done some sensory skills training but I’ve never felt anything like this!”

There is an e-learning platform where you can read relevant research, watch the course videos and upload assignments. It is a great way to keep you motivated and moving along with your horsemanship.

I’ve been around horses all my life.  Do I really need to do more training about horses? 
You may have been around horses all your life and learnt skills from well-known trainers. However, working with horses in an equine assisted learning environment is different from other types of handling or riding. You will be able to assess your skills for yourself on the Introduction Day and decide if you have any gaps in your horse awareness.

Are You In Tune With Your Horse? 
One of the resources for the EAQ Horse Awareness Certificate is the e-book In Tune with Your Horse’ by Tricia Day.

Communication and Safeguarding
Course length: 4 days

Tricia explained how talking to someone can interrupt their thoughts, but it wasnt until I was engrossed in grooming the horse that I realised how annoying it was when someone interrupted me! Now Im much more mindful of when I speak as well as what I say.

This is the second of the three training courses and covers two units. These are suitable for new facilitators, support staff and people wishing to work as assistants within an equine assisted learning environment. You will build on the skills you have learnt in the unit Handling and Managing Horses in Equine Assisted Learning.

Communication Skills for Facilitators of Equine Assisted Learning provides the knowledge and opportunity to practise the skills you need to communicate effectively with learners, parents, carers and others involved in equine assisted learning. The unit covers non-verbal and verbal communication techniques, empathic listening skills, transactional analysis, and barriers to effective communication as well as transference, counter-transference and projection. 

Safeguarding in Equine Assisted Learning
This units looks at safeguarding in equine assisted learning, policies and procedures including safer recruitment and how to recognise possible signs and symptoms of abuse as well as what to do if a learner makes a disclosure. 


Plan, Facilitate and Manage Behaviour of Learners 
Course length: 9 days.
This course brings together all the skills and knowledge that you have learnt so far, building on the horsemanship, communication and safeguarding. 

The three units in this course cover:

  • Planning Equine Assisted Learning
  • Facilitating Equine Assisted Learning for Individuals and Groups
  • Managing Learner Behaviour in Equine Assisted Learning.
Topics include: 

  • how we can make the most of the opportunities presented by the horse’s natural behaviour in their environment
  • roles and responsibilities of those involved in sessions
  • risk assessments
  • types of learners
  • different ways of planning sessions
  • interacting with loose horses
  • handling horses on a halter and lead rope
  • working with individuals and groups
  • managing behaviour of learners of all ages.

Intensive Course
When you join the intensive course you will be able to take part in the 17 days training over a period of three weeks with one or two days break between each course. Visit the Events page to find out about the next available course.

We understand that you may have animals to care for, so we also organise the courses in such as way that you can attend over a longer period if that suits you better.

Number of participants
We keep the numbers small, usually no more than six people at a time. This enables us to provide a personalised course to meet your individual needs and you have time to embed the skills.

What do people say about the Facilitator Training? 
Everyone should do this course whether they are horsey or not!

This course has really enriched me in many ways Tricia, youve been amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for inviting me to the course!

I have learnt a lot particularly about myself and I hope the changes that have occurred can be applied and maintained. I feel more grounded’ and that should help me!

I have more self-awareness, how I can communicate more effectively with others, and how subtle the effect is.. 

IMG 0761