Anyone who is greeted by a mighty brown draft horse when entering a university campus knows that this is where veterinarians are trained.

A few meters further on, two women in dark green aprons lead two bandaged sheep across the extensive grounds of the Justus Liebig University (JLU) in Giessen.

Two dogs have made themselves comfortable on a meadow next door.

The dogs, however, do not really belong here, so they are not patients.

They were brought by a participant in the Animal Assisted Service course.

The animals snooze in the shade, waiting for the children who have been announced for the day.

Anyone who would like to use animals professionally in an educational, social, medical or therapeutic field has the opportunity at JLU to take advantage of the extra-occupational offer "animal-assisted services".

On this morning, participants in the course are to familiarize first graders who are arriving by train from Butzbach with topics relating to different animals.

In this case, however, almost without animals.

Only said dogs are included.

Among other things, it should be about finding new ways to explain to children how and why animals act the way they do.

The course participants got together in small groups to complete the task.

At one stand it is explained how the wool of sheep differs from the wool of an alpaca.

The children can use photos to learn how sheep are sheared, they can feel wool and felt small balls.

"Horses serve other levels"

For the participants of the course, the event is an examination.

It's about designing an appropriate environment, including the spatial conditions and conveying content based on the target group.

"It's a challenge, especially when you don't have a teaching degree, but perhaps a youth welfare background," says Katharina Ameli, coordinator of the course, which is linked to the JLU's Animal Welfare Research Center.

For the participants Lea Gebhardt and Lena Mohri, everything revolves around the topic of horses this morning.

Gebhardt is an occupational therapist and works in psychiatry.

She already uses dogs in her work, but would also like to include horses in therapy.

Dogs have a very calming effect on their patients, says Gebhardt.

She reports, for example, about a severely depressed man who has no contact with the outside world.

But in the presence of a dog, he suddenly straightened up and beamed, the therapist recalls.

The difference between dogs and horses is not just about size.

"Horses serve other levels," says Gebhardt.

They mirror the other person and tend to avoid contact, while dogs want to please and want to be close.

Mohri works in a youth welfare facility that accommodates young people between the ages of 14 and 23 who are "absolutely tired of therapy", as the social worker explains.

They have mostly been kicked out of many facilities and have difficulties with impulse control.

Mohri himself speaks of "system crashers".

Animals also lived in her facility in a rural setting, and the young people learned from and with them.

They recently took in a new roommate with severe behavioral problems who had set a fire in her former group home.

Her colleagues had respect for the new task, but the newcomer proved to be sociable in contact.

Only the animals, in the case of llamas, would not have allowed contact, would have turned away immediately and ran away,

when the young woman sought her nearness.

Animals sense negative energy, says Mohri.

But energy can also be turned into something positive, for example through positive thoughts.

An experience that the "system crasher" could have together with the animals.

Course has been offered since 2016

Every year in October, 10 to 15 interested people start the one-year training at the JLU, which costs a total of 4950 euros.

According to the concept of the open university, those who do not have a high school diploma can also take part.

The participants themselves are often pedagogues, social workers, educators or interested people who already work with animals and would like to expand their range of activities.

The first course of this kind took place in 2016.

At the beginning it was mostly people from the immediate vicinity, i.e. from Giessen, who registered, says Ameli.

Today, the participants come from all over Germany, and one even came from Luxembourg to attend the face-to-face events.

The participants have to invest 720 hours in further training alongside their job.

They are trained, among other things, by lecturers from the fields of business administration, law, biology, veterinary medicine and communication sciences.

In addition, many people from the field are invited, including graduates from previous years, to report on their experiences.