Horse Safety Australia Inc - formerly the Association for Horsemanship Safety and Education in Australia Inc (AHSE)

History

In 1992 the Association for Horsemanship, Safety and Education in Australia (Incorporated in 1997) was formed to foster higher standards of safety within the horse industry, particularly relating to teaching horseriding to groups of beginners. Since then  Horse Safety Australia has accredited more than 900 instructors in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, WA and South Australia.

The Association for Horsemanship Safety and Education originally obtained its structure from the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) in USA, using their materials, which had been developed over 45 years of experience in horseriding at camps. AHSE  went on its own in 1997 and linked with the Australian vocational education system.

In 2006 AHSE changed its name to  Horse Safety Australia.

Qualifications

Recognised by education departments, used in AAS, linked to the Outdoor Recreation Training Package:

In addition to national recognition of these qualifications,  Horse Safety Australia (AHSE)  certification  has been listed as appropriate for instructing horseriding in the Education Department guidelines to schools in Queensland, Tasmania, NSW, ACT, Victoria, WA and S.A.

Horse Safety Australia qualifications line up with the Outdoor Recreation Training Package, similar to many other outdoor activity qualifications. (The clinic process includes obtaining status in groups of units in Certificates II, III and IV in Outdoor Recreation through a private registered training organisation through recognition of prior learning*.) These clusters of units, which form the basis of our qualifications, line up exactly with the ’skill sets’ listed in the newest version of the Outdoor Recreation Training Package (SIS10)…ie. industry agreed competencies for being horse riding instructors or trail guides.   They also meet the requirements of the Adventure Activity Standards.

The aims of Horse Safety Australia involve safety, fun and effective teaching of horse activities in all disciplines.

In addition to the program for the accreditation of instructors, Horse Safety Australia provides the opportunity for site accreditation : with standards for safe fencing and facilities, clothing and footwear for horseriding; equipment standards, qualified staff,  ratios of staff to students etc.

*Horse Safety Australia runs 4 day accreditation clinics in which the participants are put through their paces to demonstrate their abilities as instructors, horsemanship teachers, trainers and trail guides. Qualifications are gained through a process of Recognition of Prior Learning. Clinics should not be viewed as training sessions; though the networking which occurs is usually a valuable experience for those seeking new and innovative ideas to apply to their programs.