Equine Therapy

Equine Therapy uses experential learning to foster life skills and character development.  The focus involves setting up activities involving horses which will require the client or group to apply certain skills:
non-verbal communication
assertiveness
creative thinking
problem solving
leadership
taking responsibility
teamwork & relationships
confidence
attitude


Why Horses?
Horses are large and powerful, which creates a natural opportunity for some to overcome fear and develop confidence.  Accomplishing a task involving the horse, in spite of those fears, creates confidence and develops skills for dealing with other intimidating and challenging situations in life.

Horses give immediate feedback.  That makes it  evident that an individual’s emotions directly affect a horse. If a positive reaction from the horse is desired, the individual needs to put himself or herself into a frame of mind that affects the horse positively. This might compel the person to be less anxious, less angry, less depressed, or calmer. Kids that cannot focus on a day-to-day basis are able to focus on the horse. Kids that have a hard time expressing trust and love are able to express these feelings naturally with a horse.



Building a relationship with an animal is very rewarding in many aspects; for a person with an emotional, social or psychological disability, the trust and loyalty of an animal demonstrates to the student how important they are and then they may extend these attributes to personal relationships. Horses also help people feel in control of their situation because there is a direct correlation between action and reaction.
The sometimes unpredictable nature of animals and situations also creates a real-life environment in which students will be able to confront fears and make adjustments to situations beyond their control.
The therapy horses used in the session have the ability to mirror exactly what the human body language is saying in that moment. Horses are honest, which makes them especially powerful messengers.