Congratulations to our first group of graduates to complete four days of facilitator training in Building Internal Resilience Through Horses. This is a strengths-based and trauma-informed equine-assisted learning program that will now be available to community organizations in Halifax through Halifax Lancers.

Halifax Lancers is an inclusive non-profit equestrian school and therapeutic riding centre for children and adults in Halifax established in 1936. In August, I travelled to Halifax to meet this special herd of horses and their humans. It’s an honour to support their community engagement work.

This was also an opportunity to ‘pilot’ a facilitator training program based on the Building Internal Resilience Through Horses manual. Stay tuned for further facilitator training offerings to be available in the new year at The Mane Intent.  

In August, we presented the Building Internal Resilience Through Horses research briefing together with Dr. Katia Keefer, our project research lead as part of the Knowledge Hub now posted on Western’s Centre of Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children’s web site here.

Our research project, a collaboration between The Mane Intent, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre and Trent University, officially concluded in March, 2021. The research project was possible thanks to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s contribution fund thorugh the supporting of Health Survivors of Family Violence investment. Those young women participating in the B.I.R.T.H. program who derived more value from the program showed greater improvement in core resiliency domains, and expered smaller declines in mental health. This project was a career highlight for me personally and professionally. Grateful for the experience.