Program Overview
Students interested in working in therapeutic settings using horses to help patients physically, mentally and emotionally thrive with the B.A. in Equine Assisted Services.
The concentration areas in this degree position students to excel at all levels of this field, from performing administrative functions, providing adaptive riding services, to applying for graduate programs in pursuit of animal-assisted mental health counseling credentials.
Equine-assisted therapeutics and other activities facilitated by animal caretakers make up a rapidly-growing career field based on the intersection between health and wellness and equine training. Asbury’s Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Equine Assisted Services degree requires 124 distributed in the following manner:
What you’ll learn in Asbury’s Bachelor’s in Equine Assisted Services can lead to community-level or clinical equine therapy job opportunities. Courses include:
The EAS major at Asbury University is the first of its kind in the United Stated: It is currently the only undergraduate degree in the country that provides general and foundational education regarding theories, schools of thought, and historical perspectives that have shaped the field at large and influenced current standards of practice. Most other undergraduate programs only provide courses that are specific to a certain model, method, or standards developed by a certification organization. Asbury’s EAS major combines horse husbandry with areas like psychology and management.
Such specialized education is also offered at Asbury, but only after a student has completed courses that focus on general education about EAS. To ensure that EAS students develop sufficient practical knowledge and skills, practicum and internship courses are designed in cooperation with Asbury’s partnership with local EAS centers. These centers provide our students with supervised hands-on learning and practice opportunities in various services, such as healthcare services and educational services that incorporate equines and adaptive horsemanship services.
Students majoring in Equine Assisted Activities receive instruction in psychology and equine training readying them for careers using horses to facilitate activities of all kinds. The equine-assisted activities industry can include any way communities and individuals connect to horses for educational, recreational or personal development purposes in public or private organizations.
Students studying Equine Assisted Activities will complete a built-in internship in their field of service. These hands-on hours contribute to a horseback riding instruction certification and allow students to gain experience in a field they wish to pursue professionally, from school settings to guiding trail rides.
Students who picture themselves managing or owning a business in equine-assisted services can concentrate in EAS—Program Management. In this area, equine majors take business courses both broadly and specific to the equine industry. Essential concepts like equine law and farm and ranch management are taught, and students experience an internship and training in both for-profit and nonprofit management concepts.
The Equine Assisted Mental Health (EAMH) degree concentration includes additional psychology courses and a practicum experience in either a clinical or counseling setting such as our AU Equine Center. Equine majors studying assisted mental health will gain expertise in cutting-edge EAMH interventional techniques and learn how to seamlessly integrate equine instruction with mental health practices.
Asbury’s experienced and brilliant equine program faculty ensure students proceed with an understanding of how equines can ethically and safely be used in mental health services, whether they enter the workforce or apply to graduate programs in counseling or psychology.
EAS students complete specifically designed practicum courses at local partner programs, such as:
The Asbury University Equine Center also hosts several Equine Assisted Services that allow EAS students to gain experience as volunteers or Equine Specialists when providing therapeutic riding services for adults with disabilities, equine assisted learning services with At-Risk Youth, and group psychotherapy services that incorporate equines for clients from the Isaiah House Addiction Recovery program.
Exceptional equine education meets integrated hands-on learning on our pastoral Wilmore, KY campus. Students learn, relax and connect with each other and animals throughout the Equine Program premises.
Equine studies students and alumni complete internships and work in equestrian jobs at companies including:
Alumni are currently working in positions such as:
admissions@asbury.edu
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