Not Just A Pony Ride

Erin is a lifelong horse woman and very accomplished professional in the equine and EAS world.  She is sharing her advice for folks on their journey to becoming involved!   Importance of taking risks and being open-minded.  Tips on networking with the right people EAS Horse burnout and education for prevention Benefits of 3 types of “paths” to instructorship: Internal mentorship, external mentorsh...

An oldie but a goodie podcast!  If you didn't catch this episode the first time around, listen in now!  Kaiti is shedding light on the #2 diagnosis served by the EAS industry, ADHD.  We're also highlighting our new mini course that is launching soon, "Unbridled Potential:  Support for Neurodivergent Participants in EAS".  Don't stop with this podcast, get more tips, tricks and activities with the...

Lynn Thomas, Founder of ARCH and Lynn Moore, an ARCH professional share their passion for this association and how helpful the ARCH framework can be in helping their mental health clients go deeper, faster in the equine-assisted environment. Arenas for Change (ARCH) is a friendly, inclusive, supportive learning community, especially for therapists, transformational coaches, educators and equine pr...

Everyone has heard of the different “learning styles”, we may know what they are - auditory, visual and kinesthetic - but how do we actually apply that information?  in this episode we discuss specific examples of how it applies to teaching participants in the arena and how using a combination of different styles can really help participants progress more quickly!  Get more information about the ‘...

It takes a village for our centers to be successful, how are we thanking that village?  Our board of directors, sponsors, donors, volunteers, staff… what makes them feel most appreciated for a year well done? Shelby Schult, our Program Director is here to help us brainstorm some authentic, personal options that are resource friendly for any center! Listen closely for a pop-in from our CEO, Edye Go...

We’re not talking about the kind of progress participants make from month to month or even week to week.  We’re talking about within a single 30-45 minute session, how are you challenging your participants and upping the ante?  Riding patterns every week without a SPECIFIC focus on skill progression is not enough. Giving participants opportunities to grow in confidence safely with their skills in...

We are doing a  replay of a VERY popular episode, Season 2, Episode 40 of the show.   At the time of this episode, Shelby Schult was our acting Equine Operations Manager, which she was for 8 years, but is now our program director here at HETRA.  We are replaying this episode because number one it was a really popular listen but also we get a TON of questions on this topic through the show and when...

2 Tips for going into episode 102… #1 it’s a little longer than our typical episodes, so be prepared fr that, but #2 it’s longer because it’s JUICY. There was too much good information to make it any shorter!  Joe has such a fresh perspective on managing therapeutic riding centers.  Joe Wappelhorst is the ED at SIRE and he was able to not only grow their organization SUBSTANTIALLY in a short amoun...

Today we are gong to look at tone.  Everyone has heard it… high tone, low tone, fluctuating tone, spasticity … what does all that even mean!? Spoiler alert it’s can be a little complicated and depending on the diagnoses can look very different from participant to participant.  Today we are going to do our best to simplify it and break down the basic differences between hyper- and hypo-tonia and ho...

We’re celebrating 100 episodes of the podcast!  Listen in to hear Edye Godden, CEO of HETRA and Erin Bevington, COO of HETRA, share their thoughts on how we have stayed adaptable as a center and why that is so important for sustainability.  We share great reflections and some laughs about the adventure to where HETRA has ended up today.   Follow us on social and plug in here:   https://notjustapon...

As an adaptive riding instructor, you might find yourself in an uncomfortable situation you don’t know how to navigate with your participants.  It could be oversharing, traumatic responses, panic attacks, being shut down and a lot more. As instructors we have a tendency to want to help our participants and step in to offer advice,  but we have to be careful to stay in our lane and offer the correc...

As the EAS industry continues to expand and diversify, it is of utmost importance to keep the needs of our equine partners at the forefront of the movement.  The better you are to your horses, the longer they will be in your program.  It’s about education and staying honest with yourself about what our horses need to stay happy, healthy, sane and sound.  Check out HETRA University Live, October 4-...

Evaluation of incoming participants is an important piece of the puzzle in so many ways. It helps your participant be as successful as they can be, but it also helps your instructors, volunteer team and horse team make important decisions and be prepared.  Listen to hear what Edye Godden, CEO at HETRA thinks the primary barriers are to thorough evaluations and why they are so important.  Get the C...

Join us for a global conversation!  Vera, the President of HETI is here to talk to us today about the importance of connection with other professionals, not only locally, but on an international scale.  We discuss what HETI has to offer it’s members as well as what sort of challenges and successes she has seen on a global scale for the EAS community.   Learn more about the Federation of Horses in...

Executive function is the cognitive process of the brain that allows us to set goals, plan things, stay organized and make the right decisions while keeping our emotions in check.  It consists of a series of 7 skills: self-awareness, inhibitory control, non-verbal working memory, verbal working memory, emotional self-regulation, self-motivation and planning/problem solving. This episode will take...

We have been getting a lot of questions lately about how to get involved in the Equine Assisted Services industry.  There are SO many ways to make an impact, listen in to hear the options and what all goes into each area of service.  Today we will cover options for instructors, therapists, coaches, educators, facility, horse and volunteer management as well as the different areas of programming an...

Getting insurance coverage for your therapeutic riding center can be a daunting task.  How do we ensure we are adequately covered when it comes to our clients, our horses, our property and our equipment? Jonathan Killian of Killian Insurance Agency is here to answer all of our burning questions!  Listen in to hear from a seasoned professional who truly understands the EAS industry and wants to hel...

Kaiti & Shelby traveled from Gretna, NE to Dallas, TX for PATH Intl. Region 8 /LSTEN Conference hosted by Equest!  We love to travel to share presentations and learn, but another bonus is getting to see other centers!  Expect to hear in this episode:  Hear about out time at Equest’s facility in Dallas What’s trending in education for our industry?  Exciting sessions we attended Thoughts on EAL...

Link to the FULL EPISODE:   https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast/317-equine-assisted-therapy-in-ot-and-pt This week’s episode is a collaboration with some very special folks.  Rachel Harrington and Jessica Hill, are two Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants who, in partnership with Harkla, have a podcast called “All things Sensory”.  On their podcast they answer questions related to all things sens...

There are so many options when it comes to certifications, but how do you know which one is right for you?  Listen in to hear Diana Bezdedeann share why the HERD Institute might be a good fit for you!  They specialize in Equine Facilitated Learning & Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy with two tracks for beginners and advanced practitioners.  The HERD Institute prides itself on putting the horse...

  How is your center protected when it comes to confidentiality?  It is important both legally an ethically to maintain proper confidentiality when working with our participants.  As instructors and therapists we have access to sensitive health care information such as diagnoses and medical paperwork and it is our job to protect that.  Listen in to hear how HETRA manages protected information with...

The kind of elopement we are talking about today means to leave a caregiver’s supervision without permission or warning.  Elopement is a serious issue because elopement can put that person in a unsafe situation. In EAS specifically, this can be even more serious because of the inherent risk present in our facilities. We don’t want participants darting into an open arena with lessons happening, wan...

When we talk about building workshops to help build leadership skills or corporate skills, we first have to define “leadership”.  Jeff defines leadership in one word: influence. Think about this – if you walk a 1200 pound horse into the arena, you can’t hardly push/pull them one inch.  All you can do is exhibit influence, and that’s what leaders do.  By looking at leadership with this definition,...

What makes a good horseman or woman?  It’s not just riding! It’s learning all types of things about horses in different ways to make a well rounded experience.  Whether it’s too hot, our horse is off or there are medical changes in our participant, the reality is sometimes we can’t always ride.  In order to keep our participants engaged and continuing their progress we need to come up with an alte...

Emily Dillard has the best of both worlds.  She is a School Psychologist and the Dean of Students at Explorer Academy, a unique school that serves those in special education.  She is also a PATH Intl. Certified Instructor and associate program director for Bison Strides, an equine-assisted services program in Fargo, ND.  Her worlds collided in a very special offering in which she organized the cor...