For youth ages 6-18 interested in building skills, confidence, and friendships, our Day Camps, after school, and private EAL sessions pair participants with horses and other animals to grow and develop social-emotional skills, such as:

Identifying feelings & needs
Building trust
Focus & mindfulness
Working as a team
Reading body language
Setting boundaries
Clear communication
Creative problem-solving
and more

During sessions, youth take part in structured horsemanship activities like leading, grooming, obstacle courses and more, encountering challenges & fun along the way, and are encouraged to practice different behaviors and responses and reflect on the real-time feedback from their equine partner.

PATH Intl. Certified Equine Specialists and adult volunteer mentors help participants find takeaways from their learning that they can apply to other areas of their life. These sessions help youth build the confidence, tools, & strategies needed to make healthy, helpful choices off the farm. We may also incorporate small animals like rabbits, goats, chickens, cow, dogs, & cat!

This program requires a $25 deposit for all participants. This deposit is applied to the total balance for the quarter.

The cost of EAL programming is $100/1.5 hour group session or $100/1 hour private session. 9 sessions per quarter for groups is typical. As we do not currently accept insurance, scholarships are available on a sliding scale and calculated by household income/family need. Payment plans are also available. To apply for a scholarship, please complete our Financial Aid Application or print and and send to lindsey@animalsasnaturaltherapy.org or mail to:

Animals as Natural Therapy
Attn: Lindsey Polson
PO Box 31595
Bellingham WA, 98228

Program