The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is an international human-rights treaty. It states that people with disabilities must have the same rights, choices, independence, and opportunities as everyone else. It focuses on removing barriers in society, not “fixing” the person. Ireland ratified the UNCRPD in 2018, meaning that our Government is legally committed to equality, autonomy, accessibility, and inclusion for disabled people. ⭐ Is Ireland actually applying the UNCRPD in practice? Short answer: Partly — but not fully. ✔ Areas where Ireland is making progress: - Rights-based language and policy are increasing - The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 supports autonomy and choice - Public bodies must make services accessible - Awareness in education, health and social care is growing ❌ Areas where Ireland is not fully applying the UNCRPD: - Ireland still has not signed the Optional Protocol, so people cannot complain to the UN - Long waiting lists for disability services and assessments - Lack of accessible housing and transport - Inconsistent implementation across schools, workplaces and organisations - Disability rights often depend on location, resources and staff attitudes ⭐ Why this matters for equine-assisted practitioners Even if full implementation is slow, we can uphold UNCRPD principles in every session by: - Supporting autonomy and decision-making - Providing equitable access and reasonable adaptations - Respecting communication differences - Avoiding restrictive or paternalistic practices - Creating an inclusive, empowering environment - Treating each participant as a person first, not a diagnosis This aligns with both Irish law and Horses Connect values. 💬 Reflection Prompt In your own words, how does the UNCRPD influence how you work with participants in equine-assisted sessions?

Make sure you let them know to keep scratching 🤣

For the past two Fridays we’ve had the pleasure of working with groups of people experiencing social exclusion. The topic of barriers came up and the groups had no problem creating physical representations of what that meant to them. The horses then taught them some very important lessons. Barriers don’t have to stay as big as they first appear. They can be broken down into bite sized pieces that can be overcome - one step at a time. If you keep your eye on where you want to go go, and keep moving forward one step at a time, you’ll get there. Allowing yourself permission to receive the support you need - and then giving yourself that support first - gets you over the barriers.

We're often asked to explain the seemingly unexplainable effect that simply being around horses has on people - especially those with anxiety, or neurodivergence. While the research is scant, and most of the evidence is anecdotal and experiential, we've put together a short article to help you answer that question - for yourself, or your clients 🙂