The Benefits of Horse Therapy
Horses have a full range of feelings, attitudes, preferences, and personalities. It’s easy to assume that because they don’t hold board meetings, or score well on the SATs, that they are less intelligent than humans. But horses display their intelligence, logic, and intuition in many ways that we don’t recognize because we speak a different language Just like us, horses feel fear, anger, grief, relaxation, happiness, and affection. They play, fight, and communicate in relationships and share many of the same dynamics of our own.
Far more than most people know, horses are social, emotional animals. They react and respond. A gelding in the field will call enthusiastically to an approaching friend, a mare whose foal dies will grieve, a horse abused by a human will develop fear and distrust. This is why equine assisted psychotherapy is so powerful. Humans instinctually know that all beings feel. We connect and relate to others emotions. We believe in that moment, standing next to the horse, that he knows what we are feeling and what our experience is that brought us into that arena to seek answers. Horses sense our struggles, they “mirror” our behaviors and that is when the magic happens. Humans react to the mirroring as if it is real life. Through the horse we become aware of how our actions or the actions of others affects our lives. That “aha” moment helps us know that we just got something big, leading us to realize our true possibilities.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a powerful and effective therapeutic approach that has an incredible impact on individuals, youth, families, and groups. EAP addresses a variety of mental health and human development needs including behavioral issues, attention deficit disorder, PTSD, substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, relationship problems and communication needs, to name a few. EAP is experiential in nature. This means that participants learn about themselves and others by experiencing the horse and being experienced by the horse. The minute the participant walks into the arena, the horse immediately has a sense of what that participant is about through sensing the person, his or her scent, stance, body language, and even voice inflection. It is said by horse professionals that horses can feel a being’s heart beat from up to three feet away, so they are very attuned with everything we do. The horse will often mimic the human's behaviors and feelings. If an anxious person approaches a horse, the horse will often times react in a skittish or uncomfortable manner. If a depressed person is experiencing pain, a horse will often react in a more comforting, calm manner.
Animals such as elephants, dolphins, dogs, and cats have also been used for therapeutic purposes. Horses become the most popular animal to use in animal therapy because they give immediate feedback to the rider’s actions. Horses also have the ability to mirror the feelings of the rider. Horses’ large and intimidating appearance forces their rider to gain trust around them.
Have you hugged a horse today??
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