The BuildingBlock™ Curriculum
A Research-Based, Internationally Recognized Equine Assisted Learning Curriculum.
The BuildingBlock™ Difference
Where the Skills That Change Your Life Are Built.
The BuildingBlock™ curriculum doesn't just teach participants about horses; it teaches them about themselves. What makes these programs so powerful is that they have guaranteed outcomes that build on the values, skills, and foundations your organization is already putting in place, giving participants the experiential learning to make those lessons stick. Every skill developed in the arena is transferable to school, work, and life. Every behavior in the arena has a direct parallel in human life.
Horses are naturally non-judgmental and respond directly to human energy, intention, and body language. That immediate, honest feedback creates a uniquely powerful learning environment. Curriculums available for youth, veterans, women, and men.
What is Equine Assisted Learning (EAL)?
New to EAL? Watch This.
If you've never seen Equine Assisted Learning in action, this is where to start. In 7 minutes, you'll see exactly how the program works, what happens in the arena, and why horses are such powerful teachers. It's the fastest way to understand what BuildingBlock™ is, and what it does for the people who go through it.
What Makes It Different
Four Pillars of the BuildingBlock™ Program
Not Therapy. Not Riding.
This is a non-clinical Equine Assisted Learning program. It is ground-based, objective-driven, and accessible to everyone regardless of horse experience, background, or ability. No riding. No clinical setting. Just real skills, built through real experience, with some of the most honest teachers on the planet.
Structured Progression.
Each program introduces a new objective, but every skill built before it continues to be practiced. The curriculum is intentionally designed so that by the final session, participants aren't just learning something new; they are drawing on the full weight of everything they have built since day one.
Immediate Feedback.
Horses respond to stimuli in real time. Every shift in the participant's energy, intention, and body language produces an immediate, honest response from the horse. That feedback is instant and non-judgmental, which is exactly what makes it so powerful for self-awareness and growth.
Real-World Parallels.
Every session is debriefed with a direct parallel back to real life. What just happened with the horse, the breakthrough, the moment it all clicked, becomes a conversation about leadership, relationships, and how to take what was learned in the arena and apply it to the world participants return to every day.
How Every Session Works
The Same Powerful Structure, Every Time.
1
Briefing
The session opens with the facilitator bringing the group together. This includes taking attendance, distributing name tags and helmets, and recapping what was covered in the previous session. The facilitator introduces the objective for the day using a flipchart, then delivers instructions and a demonstration of the activity. Teams are assigned before participants head into the arena.
3
Mini Debriefs
The mini debrief happens in the moment, right there in the arena, while the experience is still alive. The facilitator steps in with a few simple questions anchored to what just unfolded. This matters because the horse has already delivered the feedback. The mini debrief helps participants see it, name it, and connect it to the objective before the moment passes. It's brief, but it's often where the first real shift happens.
2
Arena Time
Teams work through obstacle-based exercises with their horses, each designed around the day's objective. Success requires the group to communicate, lead, listen, and adapt. The horse makes learning moments instantly visible by reflecting back exactly where the team is connected and where it isn't. Facilitators step in once the horse has spoken facilitating teaching moments anchored in the objective.
4
Full Debrief
After the arena, the group comes together, and the real conversation begins, connecting what just happened in the arena to their lives, their work, their relationships. Facilitators ask questions that help participants arrive at their own breakthroughs. Those are the insights that don't leave when the session ends. They go home with them, to work with them, into every relationship they carry.
The Curriculum
Each course adds a new layer of skill. The progression below represents the full journey from a first introduction all the way to fully integrated leadership and personal choice-making.
The Horse–Human Parallel
What the Horse is Really Teaching
Every behavior in the arena has a direct parallel in human life.
Here's how participants learn to read and apply it beyond the arena.
"Why does my horse want to be with me?"
You've earned his trust, and he feels safe with you. That's not luck, it's the result of how you showed up. The skills that build trust with a horse are the same skills that help you build stronger relationships, and a life people want to be part of.
"Why is my horse walking so fast?"
When a horse doesn't feel safe, he takes over, because his survival depends on it. We aren't so different. This program is about learning to step up as the leader of your own life so you're the one setting the pace, not reacting to everyone else's.
"Why won't my horse move forward?"
He needs to feel your certainty before he'll move. If you don't know where you're going, he won't either. This is self-leadership. The horse won't let you fake it, and neither will life. Until you get clear on your direction, nothing moves.
"Why is my horse distracted?"
Is your focus somewhere else? Is your team on the same page? Horses need clarity, and when they don't have it, they get confused and check out. How can we communicate so everyone knows where they stand and where they're going?
"Why does my horse keep stopping?"
You're looking back, and he can feel it. The moment you hesitate or lose focus, he stops. That's self-leadership and confidence; the ability to stay committed to your direction even when doubt creeps in. The horse just makes it impossible to ignore.
"Why is my horse acting different with others?"
Every person brings something different into the arena: energy and body language, and he adjusts accordingly. People do the same thing. Have you ever noticed how the way you show up changes how someone responds to you?
"Why does my horse move away from me?"
Something in your energy or body language isn't landing the way you intend. He isn't judging you, he's responding to what's happening. The horses give us honest, immediate feedback about how we show up and help us become self-aware.
"Why does my horse change when I do?"
Your horse is responding to us all the time. When we change our breath, posture, or focus, he changes too. That's presence. When we learn to be intentional about how we show up at work, at home, at school, the people around us feel it too.
Have Questions?
Learn more about how our programs work and how we can support your goals.
