General

Do I need my member number to log in?

No. On the old website, you used your member number and password to get in. Now, you will need your unique email address and password. If you are logging in for the first time, the password is Password1 (case-sensitive and no spaces). You will not need your member number, and your member number will not work in the email field.

I'm having trouble logging in. What do I need to do?

We've all had times of trying to log in to a webpage and didn't notice that our caps-lock was on. Here are a few of the more common mistakes:

• caps-lock was on
• didn’t capitalize when they should (e.g. “password1” instead of “Password1”) -- it’s case-sensitive
• had the username and password flipped
• using a numeric value for their user name (not an email address) -- in other words, don't use your member number
• not filling in the username

I have a horse I would like to donate to NARHA. How do I go about that?

NARHA Member Centers depend on the generosity of horse owners to acquire horses and ponies for therapeutic riding programs. Many horses are donated to NARHA Centers because owners outgrow them. Some are retired competitors whose owners want them to lead less strenuous lives. And some horses are donated because the owner's tax credit is more of a benefit then selling the horse. Whatever the reason for the donation, each horse must meet a NARHA Center's needs and pass a trial testing and training period before he is mainstreamed into the program. Read NARHA’s standards regarding horse donations. NARHA partners with DonateMyHorse.com to provide a platform for horse donations to therapeutic riding centers nationwide.

I’m interested in starting a NARHA center. How do I begin?

The idea of starting an equine-assisted activities and therapies program or opening a NARHA center can seem overwhelming at first, and many questions immediately come to mind. Find the answers here.

How do I return or exchange NARHA/EFMHA merchandise?

http://narha.tricalyx.org/policies

How soon will merchandise I purchased be shipped?

Items are usually shipped within 5-7 days. However, items do not ship without a receipt of payment. Read our shipping policies here.

Membership

What does a NARHA membership cost?

For an individual member, the cost is $45 annually. For individuals residing outside North America, an Individual International Membership is available for $85 annually. The benefits are the same.

What does an individual membership include?

An individual membership includes a subscription to NARHA STRIDES (our quarterly news magazine) and NARHA News (our industry newsletter distributed twice monthly via email). You also have the opportunity to receive one of NARHA's industry publications: Administrator Voice, for those who administer NARHA centers; Instructor Voice, with tips and articles especially written by and for NARHA instructors; and EFMHA News, the magazine of the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association.

Why can I not access the Foundation Directory?

The Foundation Directory is a center benefit, not a member benefit. Therefore, only a center's executive director or primary contact may access the Foundation Directory.

Where is the Standards Manual?

The NARHA Standards and Accreditation Manual is a members only benefit. It can be found here. Please note that you must be logged in as a member first.

certification

How do I start the certification process?

The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) offers three levels of certification for therapeutic riding instructors: Registered, Advanced and Master. Specialty Discipline Certification is also available for driving and interactive vaulting. Therapeutic riding instructors that teach at NARHA Centers are required to achieve (one level of) NARHA Instructor Certification status. Instructors may apply for any level of certification that they feel they are qualified to achieve, as long as the application criteria for that level are met. Click here to begin the process.

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Equine Facilitated Learning

How does EFP/EFL fit with NARHA?

The NARHA organization provides a set of core safety standards that apply to all equine assisted activities regardless of your techniques or approach. These standards enforce quality risk management considerations so that the clientele, horses, and staff within each program are at a lower risk of injury or harm. All practitioners within the field of equine-assisted activities should have knowledge of and adhere to NARHA/EFMHA's field-tested safety standards as an attempt to protect and advance our industry.

What is the difference between equine facilitated psychotherapy and equine facilitated learning?

Equine facilitated learning experiences are carefully created equine assisted activities that promote human development in an experiential format. Equine facilitated learning may be conducted by an educator, therapist, an equine specialist or a NARHA instructor. Experiential learning refers to a style of learning that occurs when a person is interacting with the environment, including the people, animals and situations involved. It is “learning by doing” and may take place over a short period of time, such as a workshop, or during regularly scheduled sessions.

Equine facilitated psychotherapy provides clinical assessment and treatment of mental health needs through equine assisted activities. EFP denotes an established therapeutic relationship with clearly established treatment goals and objectives developed by the client and his or her therapist. The therapist must be an appropriately credentialed mental health professional to legally practice psychotherapy.

What is an equine specialist?

An “equine specialist” (ES) is defined as an experienced horse handler who is aware of important issues within the fields of mental health and education services, e.g. confidentiality, duty to warn, transference, counter-transference, and projection. This individual is comparable to a therapeutic riding instructor (TRI) but has additional training for understanding the mental health/education issues in addition to the physical components in which the TRI is traditionally trained. It is the equine specialist's job to advocate for the equine and translate the equine's behavior and feedback to the rest of the team.

How do Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Equine Facilitated Learning help clients with psychosocial healing and growth?

EFP and EFL take mental health and learning practices “to the barn” as an experiential approach to personal growth and healing. The partnership that is developed between the clients or students and their horse provides an alternative opportunity to the traditional mental health and education services. The EFP or EFL sessions are goal oriented to meet the clientele’s needs in an individual, group, or family setting. Within the field of equine-assisted activities, EFP and EFL add the emotional and cognitive aspects of treating the whole person and help them with their needs in a multi-dimensional way.

Are there any precautions or contraindications to EFP?

Yes, EFP precautions and contraindications are available in your NARHA standards manual. Another way to enforce a quality risk management system is to adhere to the specific EFP/EFL contraindications and precautions in addition to NARHA’s list of contraindications and precautions. A “contraindication” is defined as a condition or factor that increases the risks involved in using a particular drug, carrying out a medical procedure, or engaging in a particular activity. A “precaution” is defined as increased awareness or steps that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of emotional or physical harm.

What does EFMHA mean by horse partnership?

The equine is a critically important, sentient partner in the four-part team consisting of the equine, a mental health professional or educator, an equine specialist and a client. It is important that the horse is considered a full partner within these sessions, protected from harm and not placed or staged in an environment that could elicit a fear or stress response in hopes of benefitting the client. This philosophy is very important for the center to implement as a whole to ensure that clients are not witnessing horses experiencing undue harm or stress, as well as to ensure quality care, emotional, and physical well being of the program horses.