Inspire Pathways Foundation
A not-for-profit established to make structured, safe, horse-based learning available to the people least able to reach it.
Inspire Pathways Foundation is an equine facilitated learning (EFL) organisation based in Tasmania. We support children, young people and adults to learn and grow alongside horses, within a structured and supportive program.
Sessions are facilitated, held outdoors and paced to the participant. They are neither clinical appointments nor riding lessons. Participants reach us through schools, youth services, allied health providers and NDIS support coordinators, or they come to us directly.
The Foundation is the not-for-profit arm of an established Tasmanian EFL practice. It was set up to fund and deliver places for people who would otherwise miss out.
To support wellbeing and create the conditions for learning, by cultivating safety, grounding and belonging.
Everything we do starts from one belief: when a person feels seen, accepted and capable, they are free to grow.
In practice, that belief shapes how a session opens, how quickly it moves, when a horse is introduced, and what a participant is and isn't asked to do. It is also why wellbeing comes first in every program. Until a person feels safe, very little else is possible.
Six things set our work apart from general wellbeing services.
Learning happens outdoors and through the body (movement, breathing, attention, being close to a large animal) as well as through conversation. For participants who have learned to manage adults with words, or who don't have the words yet, this can be the difference between taking part and shutting down.
The horses are partners in the work, and their welfare, workload and willingness are taken as seriously as a participant's. If a horse isn't willing on a given day, it doesn't work that day. Participants see that decision being made, and learn from it.
Physical, psychological and ethical safeguards are written down in advance, applied in every session and reviewed regularly. Safety is built into how each session is planned and run.
Nobody needs a certain level of confidence, ability or communication before they start. Each session begins where the participant is that day, including the days when things have gone backwards, and moves at their pace.
We don't separate wellbeing from learning. Feeling settled, confident and that you belong is what makes learning possible, so we work on those things first.
Much of our work is with young people for whom school and other traditional settings haven't worked. The program was designed with them in mind from the start, and that shows in how it is structured, how it is paced and how we measure progress.
Four priority programs for year one. Each has a defined participant group, a referral route and its own funding pathway.
Equine facilitated learning developed with and for Aboriginal communities in Tasmania. Program design, cultural governance and pace are worked out together with community partners.
Structured programs for young people disengaged from school or at risk of becoming so, including young people connected with youth justice or out-of-home care. Delivered in blocks of sessions so progress can build over time.
Programs supporting emotional regulation, confidence and mental wellbeing for children, young people and adults, including participants with disability and participants recovering from a period of significant disruption.
Fully or partly subsidised places held across each of the programs above, for individuals and families who cannot meet the cost of a place and have no other funding available to them.
Working with horses carries real physical risk, and many of the people we work with are dealing with more than they can easily talk about. Our framework covers both, and it protects participants and horses equally.
The framework is documented, applied in every session and reviewed on a set schedule, with each review recorded. Funders and referring organisations can request a copy of the full framework and its latest review.
Documented handling protocols. Horses matched to the participant and to the day. Session ratios, ground rules, protective equipment and site condition checks before every session.
Incidents and near misses are recorded and reviewed, and practice changes as a result.
Consent at every stage, including the right to stop, step back or say nothing without needing to explain why. Trauma-informed facilitation and clear boundaries around disclosure.
Clear referral pathways if something comes up that is outside our scope. Participants are never asked to perform, disclose or explain themselves.
Horse welfare limits on workload, session frequency and recovery, and close attention to whether each horse is willing to take part.
Child safe practices and screening, privacy and data handling, and a written scope of practice so everyone knows its limits in advance.
Inspire Connections operates through two entities, each with its own purpose and separate finances.
Not-for-profit arm
Commercial arm
The Foundation holds charitable purpose and receives grant and donation funding. It contracts the company to deliver programs at cost, drawing on the company's practitioners, horses and methodology. Grant funds are acquitted against the Foundation's programs, and the arrangement between the entities is set out in a written service agreement.
This keeps the two income streams separate. Commercial income stays with the company, and charitable income stays with the Foundation and is spent on the programs it was granted for.
To confirm before launch: board composition and director backgrounds, conflict of interest and related party policy, and the financial year and reporting cycle. Grant assessors look for named directors with governance, finance or sector experience, so we recommend listing them here.
Based in Tasmania, delivering statewide within the first year, with a plan to grow beyond that.
Delivering in Tasmania from an established practice, with the Foundation newly registered and its first programs being funded.
Statewide delivery, so a family's distance from a single site doesn't limit who can be referred. All four priority programs running, each with its own funding pathway.
The methodology is designed to be taught. Over time we plan to license it to other qualified EFL practitioners, with the safety framework and training included, so the program can reach people outside Tasmania at the same standard.
There are four ways to work with the Foundation. Each one starts with the form below or a direct email.
For community organisations, schools and services who want to shape or co-deliver a program with us.
For schools, youth services, allied health providers and support coordinators referring a participant.
For grant makers, trusts and foundations. Governance documents, program outlines and the safety framework are available on request.
For individuals and families, including enquiries about subsidised and scholarship places.
Bookings and donations aren't handled through this site. We reply to every enquiry personally.