LHEAP- Liberty Horsemanship For Equine Assisted Professionals

This Isn’t Just Another Certification Program.

This Is A Movement.

Where True Connection Begins—with the Horse, the Self, and the Client

Are you ready to transform your work with horses into a powerful, heart-led practice that changes lives?

Whether you're already an equine-assisted professional—or dreaming of becoming one—LHEAP offers a complete, values-driven pathway to elevate your horsemanship, deepen your connection with your horses, and create transformational results for your clients.

 LHEAP blends liberty-based horsemanship with equine-assisted healing practices to teach you how to:

• Develop true partnership with your horse through the Carolyn Resnick Method and the Waterhole Rituals

• Support your clients’ healing and growth without force, pressure, or performance from your horse

• Create ethical, aligned, and impactful sessions grounded in emotional safety, autonomy, and mutual respect

• Become a Certified Equine Facilitator in 9 Months and Step Into Your Purpose with Confidence.

Why LHEAP?

Too often, horses are used as tools in healing work without ever receiving healing themselves.

At LHEAP, we believe in a different way—one that nurtures the horse’s well-being first, and from there, allows the horse to become a genuine, willing partner in transformational work.

Because a horse that’s connected, emotionally regulated, and joyfully engaged becomes the most powerful co-facilitator you could ever ask for! 

Who This Is For

• Equine therapists, coaches, and facilitators who want a more intuitive and respectful way to partner with horses

• Mental health professionals looking to integrate horses into their practice ethically and powerfully

• Horse lovers and healers seeking a community that values relationship over results

• Aspiring equine-assisted professionals who need structure, mentorship, and proven methods to begin their journey

  This Is For You If...

• If you have training in an Equine Assisted Professional (EAP) modality but seek more hands-on horsemanship experience

•  Want to integrate horses into your practice but aren’t sure where to begin

•  Want to offer horses a better experience during sessions with clients, and desire to give the horse a voice, ensuring the horse is completely willing

•  Feel inexperienced in reading horses and keeping people safe

•  Are experienced in horsemanship but feel your knowledge doesn’t fully align with your EAP work

•  Have always been curious about liberty horsemanship and how it can enhance your EAP practice

   

What You Will Learn

✅ The Waterhole Rituals Liberty Horsemanship

You will learn Carolyn Resnick's unique Liberty Training® approach, based on seven rituals that are natural to horses. Liberty-based training is a gentle, horse-centered method that focuses on building a true partnership without the use of force, restraints, or traditional tack. Instead of relying on physical tools or dominance, this approach emphasizes connection through trust, clear leadership, and subtle, nonverbal communication.

By understanding the true language of horses and working with the horse at liberty—free to move and respond naturally—practitioners develop a deeper awareness of equine body language and emotions. This creates a safe space where both horse and human can listen and respond authentically, cultivating mutual respect and cooperation.

Ultimately, liberty-based training nurtures a relationship built on harmony and partnership—an essential foundation in therapeutic and facilitation settings, where emotional safety and genuine connection are paramount.

Plus, you’ll learn how to design and lead equine-assisted sessions that honor both your client and your horse—including:

✅ Learn how to read horses to keep clients safe and bring well-being to both horse and human
✅ Equine Group Facilitation Safety
✅ How to Facilitate Group Workshops with Horses
✅ “Workshop” Design
✅ Marketing and Selling Group Equine Mindfulness Experience Workshops

You’ll also gain skills in:

✅ Emotional regulation—for you, your horse, and your clients
✅ How to train your horse at liberty so that the horse becomes an engaged, willing partner
✅ Reading subtle body language, developing true feel, and communicating from your authentic self
✅ Business guidance to help you structure your offerings, attract aligned clients, and grow sustainably

And most of all—how to listen to the horse every step of the way.

What You’ll Get

✅ 4 Live Zoom Video Coaching Calls Each Month

  Months 1–6: Four coaching calls per month
  Months 7–9: One live coaching meeting per month
  Months 10–12: Didactic supervision

✅ 2 Live, Hands-On Clinics to Practice and Be Coached in Person
✅ Liberty Horsemanship Training Modules
✅ Equine-Assisted Facilitation Frameworks
✅ Client Session Templates
✅ Community Support + Mentorship
✅ Ethical Business Building Tools
✅ Access to Q&A Sessions and Real Case Reviews
✅ Replays of All Live Zoom Meetings

✅ Online Course Dashboard with Class Recordings and Additional Training Videos
✅ 3 Zoom Intensive Trainings (9 AM–4 PM MT), Demonstrating the Experiences
✅ Visual Badge for Your Marketing & Promotion

Students will have 12 months of access to mentorship —
they can begin their coaching business  6- 9 months,
followed by 3 months of didactic supervision to support their growth and confidence.

 The LHEAP Difference

This is not about pushing horses to perform for clients.
This is not about checking boxes or following a script.

This is about cultivating presence.
This is about honoring the horse’s voice.
This is about leading from the inside out.

As the equine-assisted industry continues to grow, more and more horses are being asked to step into the role of “Equine Therapist.” This evolution raises important questions:

• How are we supporting horses in this new role—not as recreational or sport partners, but as emotional companions and co-facilitators of healing?
• How do we prepare a horse to engage with the emotional and mental health challenges that clients bring to session?
• Is it fair to expect a horse to hold space for trauma, grief, or deep human vulnerability without first teaching them how to navigate it?
• How do we ensure emotional and physical safety—for both humans and horses—in every session?

At LHEAP, we believe these questions aren’t just important—they’re foundational. And our approach is built around the answers.

Honoring the Horse as a Healing Partner

• Horses are not tools. They are sentient beings with thoughts, emotions, preferences, and boundaries.
• Healing work must empower both human and horse—not place one in service to the other.
• Partnership comes from mutual trust, not performance.
• Horses must be prepared for the emotional intensity of client work—just like human professionals.
•  The role of the horse is sacred, and deserves respect, training, and safety. The greatest power of the horse is to awaken the greatest power within ourselves.
• Just as human practitioners require training to support others ethically and effectively, horses must also be prepared—not with pressure or conditioning, but through connection, communication, and trust.

Co-Facilitators in Healing: Redefining the Horse-Human Partnership

Instead of viewing horses as passive mirrors or tools, we recognize them as active co-facilitators in the healing process.

🐎 The Role of the Horse

• To show up as a fully expressed, emotionally supported being
• To model presence, trust, and nonverbal communication
• To invite clients into authentic connection and grounded awareness
• To teach by being—demonstrating connection without coercion, and showing humans how to be in relationship from a place of authenticity

🤝 The Role of the Human Professional

• To co-create a safe space for both horse and client
• To hold space for the client while also protecting the integrity of the horse-human dynamic
• To honor the horse's feedback and respect its agency 
• To build connection using The 5 Heartfelt Strings:
  🧡 Bond · 💛 Trust · 💚 Respect · 💙 Willingness · 💜 Focus

Empowered Horses. Empowered Humans. Sustainable Healing

Over decades of teaching and observation, Carolyn Resnick witnessed something striking: horses from all disciplines were being held back—not by a lack of ability, but by a lack of true partnership.

Not because their humans didn’t care, but because they were never taught how to create deep, trusting connection.

Even many “natural” horsemanship models rely on subtle power, pressure, or appeasement.

At LHEAP, we teach a new standard—one rooted in free choice, emotional safety, and willingness.

If we ask the horse to support human healing, they must be supported in their own.
And if we want our work to be ethical, impactful, and sustainable—we must begin with honoring the horse.

How can we expect a horse to lead a client into the fullness of who they were created to be, if the horse hasn’t first had the chance to live in its own fullness

🐴 “Just as we would never send an untrained person into a therapeutic role, we must not expect our horses to carry emotional weight without preparation. They deserve the same care, support, and education we give ourselves.”

—Nancy Zintsmaster