What will our webinar be about?

Horses are being increasingly incorporated into health and wellbeing treatments and interventions. These Equine-Assisted Services (EASs) vary widely in both theoretical and practical applications. However, until now, the experiences and perspectives of the practitioners of these services have received little attention. The present study ‘An Exploratory Study into the Backgrounds and Perspectives of Equine-Assisted Service Practitioners’ was conducted to address this knowledge gap. This webinar outlines the results of this survey, focusing on practitioners training, education, perspectives and the perceived benefits and challenges which exist within Equine Assisted Services. It also takes a look at the diversity which exists in the field, the emerging topics of interest within EAS, as well as possible opportunities for progress and growth going forward.

Rita Seery is currently a PhD candidate at Queen’s University Belfast with a research interest in the Horse-Human Bond. She graduated with a BSc in Equine Science from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1998, having spent all her childhood and early adulthood working and being around horses. She spent several years working in the horse industry before changing career path entirely. However, her passion and interest in horses and horse welfare continued. Having identified a need for enhancing the education of new horse owners, she set up a horse care course in collaboration with the USPCA which ran for many years. This experience piqued her interest and involvement in all things related to the Horse-Human Bond. More recently, Rita attained an MSc in Animal Behaviour and Welfare before commencing her PhD studies. Her current research focuses on practitioner and service users perspectives of Equine Assisted Services in order to explore the different ways horses may help people, in addition to gaining a better understanding of the greater Equine Assisted Service sector.

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