Abstract:

Reading anxiety is a significant barrier to literacy development for many elementary-aged students, particularly those with learning differences, emotional challenges, or prior negative reading experiences. Our small nonprofit focused on equine-assisted literacy program serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade who struggle with reading achievement and confidence. Program staff have observed that while many students exhibit high levels of anxiety and low self-efficacy when reading aloud to people, these same students often read confidently and calmly to horses in the farm setting. This observation prompted an inquiry into how equine-assisted learning environments might support the reduction of reading anxiety and facilitate the transfer of reading confidence to traditional academic settings.

Grounded in Attentional Control Theory, classical conditioning, and research on anxiety’s impact on literacy achievement, this study synthesizes existing literature on reading anxiety, emotional regulation, and evidence-based anxiety interventions alongside emerging research on equine-assisted learning. Drawing from these findings, a three-lesson supplemental intervention was developed for our program that integrates explicit instruction about reading anxiety, mindfulness and relaxation strategies, reflective practice, and the use of a tactile “bridge stimulus” to support high-road transfer of reading confidence. The intervention is designed to help students recognize and manage anxiety, build confidence reading aloud to horses, and intentionally transfer those skills to reading aloud with peers and adults in school settings.

The purpose of this research is to support literacy education development in better understanding reading anxiety and implementing developmentally appropriate, research-informed practices that address both the emotional and cognitive needs of struggling readers. By leveraging the nonjudgmental presence of horses and structured transfer strategies, this study aims to strengthen students’ reading self-efficacy and reduce reading anxiety across learning contexts.

Keywords:

Reading anxiety, reading confidence, equine-assisted literacy, self-efficacy, transfer strategies.