A NEW advocacy group which aims to raise visibility and funding for equine assisted therapy and learning (EAT&L) in Northern Ireland will mark its online launch on November 3rd in an International One Health Day webinar.

The One Equine Trust, the brainchild of five experienced business leaders and volunteers who commissioned a report into the current state of Northern Ireland’s providers and service users, will seek to position EAT&L as a series of mainstream treatments for people with physical, mental, emotional and educational challenges.

The One Equine Trust webinar participants will include ministers from the Departments for Health, for Education and for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Robin Swann, Peter Weir and Edwin Poots.

One Equine spokesperson, Richard Moore, former chairman of NI Meat Exporters’ Association and the NI Food and Drink Association, says the vision is that everyone in Northern Ireland who could benefit from EAT&L has access to affordable, accredited services.

“The big goal is that Northern Ireland will be known as a region of excellence, recognised internationally, for the practice of equine assisted therapies, the training of therapists, and advancing research in this expanding international field of practice,” says Richard.

One Equine has identified key objectives including building awareness of the beneficial outcomes of all aspects of EAT&L, accessing funding to promote research, becoming an influential and credible voice for the sector, forming international collaborations to share, promote and transfer best practice and to provide forums for practitioners to develop collaborations which lead to better, cheaper, faster outcomes for clients.