Partner countries: Ireland, The Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium and Spain.

The aim of the project is the development and implementation of one or more certified courses on horse-care specifically focused towards Travellers and Roma. These courses will be developed from two sources:

• From existing programs within mainstream providers e.g. PLC Colleges, Agricultural schools.
• The practical knowledge of the client group.

It is envisaged that the development of these new courses will encourage the client group to re enter the labour market.

Background to the project:

Presently Travellers and Roma do not have the requisite educational attainment to avail of the formal Equine Courses that are provided presently in agricultural colleges and further educational institutions in the partnership countries. As the literacy levels required to complete these courses in the agricultural colleges are too high for the client group who this project is targeting, this new Equine Course will be developed at foundation level (pre-vocational) and it is envisaged that it will be very practical based and will not be over reliant on their literacy skills. It is envisaged the courses developed will be informed by the client group themselves, and the challenges for the providers will be to integrate the real life experiences of Travellers and Roma in horse care into the modules/courses that are to be developed. It is hoped that the courses/modules provided in the Agricultural Colleges of the partner countries and other institutions, will be adapted to integrate the skills of the client group and develop a module that will be suitable to be used at foundation level.This project will involve the development of a programme/course that will be accredited by each individual educational and training bodies in the partnership countries such as : FETAC, LOBAS, OKEV etc. It may be possible to achieve a certificate for the course that may be credited at European Level.

Stages of development:

There will be four stages of the development of the course:

1. The evaluation of the present courses that are available by the providers of the Equine Study modules in the participating countries, this will be done by formal thematic groups of invited participants. A forum will be provided, for the opportunity to explore the essential parts of the courses. It may be possible to agree a draft framework) of a module based upon the aim of the project.

2. A consultation process will be developed to identify the present skills of Travellers and Roma in horse care. It is hoped that Travellers and Roma experiences of horse care will inform the development of the course. It is essential that the support of the client group is paramount; the challenges of the providers will be to develop strategies to ensure their involvement. Guidelines will need to be drawn up to ensure that the specific relevant information on aspects of horse care is recorded. These guidelines will focus on the methodologies and strategies to be used in acquiring the information on horses from Travellers and Roma.

3. The development of courses that integrates the learning from stage one and stage two with the support of the accrediting bodies in each of the partner countries.

4. The implementation of the pilot course in three partner countries.

It is envisaged that the course that is piloted be mainstreamed, based upon an evaluation phase that is part of stage four.The time schedule for the project is three years, with stages 1,2 and 3 completed in the first year and half, the implementation phase will last for one year and the final half year of the three year project will involve the evaluation phase of the project and its dissemination across the partner countries. The promoter of the project is located in Ireland, it has been decided in the promoter's country to create a consultative forum of interested parties and national bodies involved in the education and training of Travellers and other disadvantaged communities. This consultative forum will meet on a regular basis to advise on the project development, and in the development of strategies in relation to dissemination of the outcomes of the project. Some of the agencies represented will be FAS (Irish Training and Employment Authority), IVEA (Irish Vocational Education Association, NALA,( National Adult Literacy Agency), etc.

Read Gerard Griffin's brief synopsis of the Horsemen project or look at photos taken at the Horsemen Conference held in Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland in March 2003

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