LEAP Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning/Facilitator Training
We offer a number of training courses, workshops and professional development as well as working with individuals wishing to have Equine Facilitated Therapies.
LEAP is to provide Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy EFP and Equine Facilitated Learning EFL for individuals and groups, and to provide high quality, professional training to enable our Practitioners to create ethical, safe and healing client experiences Our purpose at LEAP is to provide safe and healing Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) and Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) for individuals and groups, and to provide high quality, professional training to enable our Practitioners to create ethical, safe and healing client experiences. We have been leading the field of Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning since 2006 and have been training our approach since 2013, making us one of the most established training providers in the UK. Including the Crossfields Institutes Level 4 Diploma in Equine Facilitated Learning: the LEAP Method, the Crossfields Institutes Level 5 Diploma in Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy: the LEAP Method. LEAP is home of the Trauma Processing Ride™ (TPR ™ ) and Equine Facilitated Recovery™ (EFR™) which offers our Practitioners a unique approach to supporting clients processing trauma, addiction and PTSD. Members of the LEAP Training team are the only people licensed to offer our trademarked and unique approaches to equine facilitated work. Be sure to contact us for more information.
30/01/2026
Diploma training asks something different of a learner. It asks for presence, responsibility, and a willingness to engage with both theory and lived experience. The updated delivery model is designed to support that process more clearly, without compressing or simplifying the work itself.
If you are exploring diploma training for later this year, information is available on our website, or you are welcome to get in touch to talk it through!
28/01/2026
Over the past year, we’ve listened carefully to our learners.
Many shared that the depth of the Diploma mattered, but the extended delivery often made it harder to stay connected to the learning, to their practice, and to themselves. In response, we have redesigned how the Diploma is delivered, without reducing what it stands for.
The new structure allows learning, embodied practice, and reflection to sit closer together. It gives learners earlier access to material, clearer pacing, and more opportunity for integration, while maintaining the standards required of an Ofqual-regulated qualification.
If you are considering Diploma training and wondering how it might fit alongside your life and professional commitments, this change was made with you in mind.
Find further details on our website at the link in bio!
24/01/2026
Equine-facilitated work looks natural and intuitive from the outside. In reality, practitioners are holding multiple layers of safety at once.
This is why regulated training exists — to teach the skills that protect clients and horses. Learn more about training pathways by visiting our website or DM us “PATHWAY”.
21/01/2026
Equine-assisted work requires structured learning, reflection, and accountability. The qualifications delivered through LEAP are designed to support practitioners in developing the knowledge, awareness, and professional judgement needed to work ethically with both horses and people.
For those considering this pathway, applications for Level 4 and Level 5 Awards and Diplomas remain open until the end of March. Learning timelines vary depending on practice completion, but beginning earlier allows more time to integrate the work before in-person elements.
19/01/2026
People often imagine that readiness arrives with certainty or confidence, but in equine-facilitated work it rarely looks like that. Readiness is usually quieter. It sounds like curiosity. It feels like the sense that this work is calling you. It often appears as an inner shift rather than a dramatic moment.
If you are exploring the field and beginning to picture yourself stepping into this work in a meaningful way, now is a natural time to take that first step. We welcome applications for those ready to begin their pathway and develop the foundations needed for ethical, regulated practice. 😇🧡
18/01/2026
The next six months at LEAP offer a chance to step into a field that is both meaningful and transformative. Whether you are exploring the idea of working alongside horses or preparing to deepen your existing practice, there is a clear path ahead.
This part of the year is when people begin to shape plans, imagine possibilities, and decide what direction they want their work or life to take. If you feel drawn to this field, you are invited to walk alongside us. Together, we create the conditions for growth, learning, and ethical practice with horses at the centre.
Plan ahead with us. Your pathway can begin sooner than you think, and the herd will meet you where you are.
15/01/2026
Why the LEAP Method?
LEAP exists to provide ethical, externally regulated training in a field where standards vary widely.
Involving horses in client work is not a technique.
It is a responsibility.
We choose Ofqual regulation because:
• Clients need emotional safety
• Horses need agency and protection
• Practitioners need competence, not assumptions
• The field needs oversight, not self-certification
If you want to work with horses and people professionally, begin with a framework that protects both.
Curious to learn more? Sign-up to one of our introduction days via the link in bio to see how ethical practice is applied to the equine world.
13/01/2026
Horses respond to the intention beneath the behaviour. They notice tension, hesitation, and emotional tone long before words or actions make sense to the human eye. Clients feel it too.
In this work, the practitioner’s presence becomes the anchor. This is why awareness and regulation are at the heart of ethical, equine-assisted practice. The technical skills build from there, but everything begins with the internal state of the person holding the space.
07/01/2026
🎆 Wishing you a grounded and steady stay to the Year of the Horse! 🎇
Across many cultures, the horse symbolises resilience, intuition, partnership, and forward movement. These qualities sit at the heart of the LEAP Method.
Whether you’re curious about this field or deepening your professional pathway, we look forward to supporting your journey into ethical, regulated, horse-centered work in 2026.
26/12/2025
Horses teach us that pace is a choice.
Even in busy seasons, we can return to our own rhythm rather than being pulled into someone else’s urgency.
If you are planning your year ahead and thinking about training in 2026, the coming weeks are an ideal time to reflect on what you need. Award (Relational Horsemanship & Energy) starts Feb 1st and Diploma enrollment closes Jan 31st.
📔 Book an intro day or discovery call (link in bio) to explore at your own pace.
24/12/2025
Wishing you a gentle, restorative Christmas from all of us at LEAP 🧡❤️💚
This season can bring many things to the surface. For some it is connection. For others it is complexity, pressure, or quiet grief. However this week meets you, we hope you find small moments of ease, breath, and grounding.
The horses will be resting, roaming, and teaching us in their own quiet ways, as they always do.
Thank you for being part of this community and for the care you bring to this field.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to LEAP Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning/Facilitator Training:
Our purpose at LEAP is to provide safe and healing Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) and Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) for individuals and groups, and to provide high quality, professional training for those who wish to become EFP/L practitioners.
LEAP was set up in 2006, originally as a charity, with a key programme being a project with Children in Need. This programme was working with children and teenagers who had been abused and it ran for just over a year, highlighting to the team of the need for high quality and professional training in this emerging area of work. The LEAP model was developed shortly afterwards offering an integrative and embodied approach. A model developed through over 1000 client hours and clinical practice. It has been influenced by the work of Barbara Rector, HEAL, Eagala & Epona (all USA based training and approaches), our training team initially trained in other approaches as UK training wasn’t available at the time.
The model includes active and reflective exercises, and it can be tailored to meet the needs of different clients groups or for individual needs and ages. The key to the model is the concept of a creative, living model that each practitioner can adapt and develop according to their clients' needs, and their own strengths and talents as a Practitioner. LEAP is unique in that we also consider the horses to be therapists in their own right rather than a 'tool' for the therapist; they're given the choice and freedom in the work they do or choose not to do. The physical and emotional welfare of the horse is paramount, as is the selection of appropriate horses for a therapeutic herd.
Offering a UK based approach with extensive experience working with clients, complexities of working with referring agencies, extensive corporate, counselling and trauma work, our team are passionate about sharing this experience and knowledge with our trainees.
At our dedicated centres in Derby and Reading, we have two established therapeutic herds of all shapes and sizes. We have horses and ponies who range in age from 3 years to 27 years and who are all kept as naturally as possible. The LEAP Network of Practitioners has grown to 150 around the world, including France, Bahrain, Singapore, Luxembourg, Channel Islands and we hope to see this grow further in 2020!
