identity for itself (as evidenced by the sheer number of acronyms and names used to de- scribe the work), there have been many new initiatives since the time of that research. Most notable is the establishment of a new Canadian body in 2012, the National Associ- ation for Equine-Facilitated Wellness, which provides clear steps towards certification and education opportunities in provinces across Canada. Other training opportunities not directly affiliated with the NAEFW also exist. A separate group, the national AAT Task Force, was founded in 2008 and has been working toward developing a parallel process for the establishment of standards and ethics for AAT in general (all species).


There continues to be multiple training op- portunities for AAT in French in Quebec. In English-speaking Canada, the main oppor- tunities for non-horse related AAT training remain in Alberta. A new distance education graduate certificate will soon be offered through Concordia University College of Alberta, increasing access for professionals across the country to professional develop- ment in this field, regardless of geographic location.


Sarah Schlote, Bs, MA (C Psych), CCC, www.thenaturalconnection.ca, Interim Director-at-large


Taking the Time it Takes


I remember hearing at a natural horseman- ship clinic many years ago that I needed to “take the time it takes so that it takes less time.” I figured I knew what that meant: it meant, instead of being task focused and catching my horse in whatever way I could, grooming him and then immediately sad- dling up to ride, I should instead follow cer- tain steps, including various groundwork ex- ercises aimed at building trust and respect, and then things would go better when I then went to ride. Mocha has taught me over the past three years that it means so much more than that!


When my horse Mocha first arrived here three years ago she was very hard to catch. When you approached her she would either run away, or she would turn around and try to kick you. Various approaches were sug- gested to us about how to address this trou- bling and frustrating ‘behaviour’. We could


keep her in a small pen so she could not get away from us; we could leave her halter on so it was easier to ‘grab’ her; we could take a bucket of feed out and slip the halter on while she was not looking; we could only feed her once she had been caught. The approach we did end up using quite a bit at first was called a ‘join up’ – where you actu- ally drive the horse away from you until he/ she decides to come to you. So today, as my young client (who I will call Sam), who has not been out here for a few months, and I went out to see Mocha, we talked about why we would not be using a join up with Mocha today. Sure it would probably work – if she was hard to catch we could do a quick join up and likely catch her within 5 minutes and have a compliant horse who we could then ride. What would that do to our relationship with Mocha? How would it impact how she saw Sam when she comes back next week? Really how much of the horse would we be taking through the gate with us? And how much of herself would she close off from us to keep herself safe?


So instead we ditched the halters in the corner of the field and took out a couple of brushes. We then spent the next hour brushing all of the horses, as they came to us. Mocha initially kept her distance but before long seemed to sense the lack of threat and came over for a hug too. At one stage four of the seven horses lay down around us, and one of them fell asleep at Sam’s feet! It was a very nurturing and quiet time. Mocha relaxed in a way which would not have seemed possible three years ago. Her eyelids drooped and she rested her chin


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