Five Minutes With... Jill Strachan - Equine Learning for Futures Inc

Jill Strachan, Master of Environmental Education, Bachelor of Education, is a very dedicated lady.  Jill is not only director of a Thoroughbred breeding establishment pre-training and retraining racehorses, currently enrolled in Equestrian Australia Introductory Coaching course, with 20 years working in the education system under her belt, she is also co-founder of Equine Learning for Futures Inc (ELF).

ELF is a not for profit association based in South East Queensland who offer workshops and school based programs for children, youths and adults who can benefit from Equine Facilitated Learning.

What is Equine Facilitated Learning you may ask?  Most of us admire horses for their beauty and grace but are also respectful of their power and size. Horses are prey animals, naturally seeking peace and safety and react honestly and immediately to human requests in a way that is unambiguous. Horses reflect like a mirror an individual's thoughts and attitude with its own behaviour. It is non-judgmental and has no ego so is a great natural teacher.

In Equine Facilitated Learning, staff are trained to facilitate and help individuals to recognise their own thoughts and desires and how these affect a developing bond with the horse. We see participants growing in self confidence and self esteem and working through challenges in a way that expands their awareness of their own thoughts and deeds. We help them to draw parallels from their own lives and through these interactions with horses we can let them  experiment with more effective ways of overcoming issues.  The experiential nature of this work and the individual’s “aha” moments of realization that their intentions, thoughts and beliefs are read and understood by the horse, are key to forming a close relationship.

Learning to work effectively with a flight animal takes effort and personal responsibility but the rewards are empowerment and an ability to make healthy behavior and hence life choices.

This amazing program's goal is to provide opportunities for students to develop and practice resilience, problem solving and interpersonal communication (Social and Emotional Learning) through the development of appropriate programs involving the riding, caring and training of horses. This program will assist a young person to gain a stronger sense of self.

We first heard about ELF's wonderful work when the RSPCA advised that abused Shetland Pony, Elf, was being cared for by Jill and may become a member of the Equine Learning for Futures' horse team, once he has recovered fully from his injuries.

Horsezone managed to interrupt Jill's hectic schedule for a quick chat about ELF and Elf!

 

Jill, firstly, how did the development of ELF come about?

The timing of the development of ELF has been almost cosmic in some respects, in the way ideas, people and horses have come together to make ELF inc a growing entity. It was July 2009 that I was starting to think about bringing the country to the city and run horsemanship courses for students who needed a different approach in schools. I called a  Riding for Disabled centre and just started talking… would you believe they had just received funding for a project that was just what I was after and they needed another school. I could not believe our luck. Hilary Stubbs and Jodie Alderton were the facilitators and we became friends and co- founders of ELF Inc, in early 2010. Today Hilary and I are the remaining co-founders and we are keen to have more people on board.

We recently have been very fortunate to have our work become the subject of a research project with QUT in 2010. We are eagerly awaiting the results… we all know it works, but if you want grants etc you have got to show the numbers! Hilary has also been involved in an ongoing research project with Griffith University that has developed a wonderful working relationship with the people at Crowson Park RDA. This has enabled us to run our programs for 2011 at their centre.

 

What is your vision for ELF?

This may seem a bit bold but  - I see ELF (or a similar association) running parallel with the Riding for Disabled. We have the same values but the demand for resources at the RDA means that students with learning or behavioral issues cannot be catered for at these locations, and I fully understand the dilemma that many RDA centres are faced with. There are many people doing this work around the world and there is a need to get organsied and get a collective voice, we need to remember why we are doing it – it certainly isn’t for the money. An association similar to Equestrain Australia or the Riding for Disabled would provide the structure and qualifications which will ensure that we offer safe and meaningful programs.

 

Are you able to give examples of how ELF can change lives?

I can’t be too specific here as we are dealing with students, but I will try to paint a picture of how some of the students develop through the program. There was a very timid student who joined us, they were so apprehensive that I was on the phone to the parents explaining how safe the program is and what their child may achieve. The first 3 weeks saw this student keeping to themselves, not answering many questions until they had their “moment”.  It was when they were learning to lead and they had to lift their energy and be assertive without aggression to move the horse to a specific point. This student had obviously thought about what was being said, walked in bold as brass and became an effective leader for the horse – well the smiles were huge and the chatter started. In fact back at school there was a considerable change. Before, this individual didn’t have a friend to chat to but they now talked to others and started to join a friendship group. In fact the change was so profound that the student started to boss us around (in nice cheeky way) – we didn’t mind as it was great to see the assertiveness come through.

 

Tell us about how you met Elf, the little grey pony, and how he's going now?

Again cosmic! We had a very sick colt that was rushed to Redlands Vet on Boxing day, the same day were heard the sickening tale of the pony at Murphy’s creek. Our colt stayed a while at the vets and it was during that time Elf (as he was named) arrived. I could not believe his name – the same as our organization. I stood by him as the vet removed the bandages and was horrified at what I saw. The poor little fellow was shaking, lying on the ground BUT he still engaged with people. It was then an idea formed  - I whispered into his ear “Be strong, you have some work to do.”

I was visiting the vets quite a bit with my colt – who was improving –and I just kept peering over the stable door to see how Elf was faring – it was awful, he was in so much pain and shock I didn’t think he would make it. After a while I broached the subject of looking after Elf once he was out of a critical state. David Lovell from Redlands Vet listened to me prattle on about ELF inc and the work we do – mind you I am a longstanding client – who wouldn’t be with 17 Thoroughbreds and I had dealt with my fair share of injuries (again think Thoroughbreds!). David didn’t say much, but I don’t think he was too optimistic about Elf’s chances.

Well that is all history as they say. The RSPCA allowed me to be a foster carer. Elf still has injuries that we are treating but his change in personality since coming here has been marvelous. He nickers when he sees me, I am in no doubt he is saying 'hurry up the food lady', or 'quick that piece of grass over there has my name on it'!

 

What are your hopes for Elf’s future?

One word comes into my mind when I think of Elf - RESILIENCE.  This is his message – If I can do it so can you. We would like Elf to be ELF’s mascot and have students learn respect and leadership through working with him in our programs. I am sure he will have a positive impact on all students he meets.

 

Do you have a motto in life?

I have a couple of mottos that seem to resonate through my life:

Be careful what you wish for…. It might come true: I have always wanted a “pony” or a “horse” I have 17 on my property, 4 at studs in Qld and 2 in New Zealand. Yikes – I got what I wanted alright.

If you keep doing the same thing you will get the same result: I think this relates mostly to my philosophy of teaching – try different approaches with different kids and you might be surprised with the result. This, I think, is where the idea began for using horses with some of the students I was working with over at Marsden SS in 2009.

 

CLICK HERE to visit the Equine Learning For Futures Inc website.

 

Thank you so much for your time, Jill.  We are looking forward to hearing more about ELF and how it is changing lives and also about Elf, his recovery and integration into the program.