Equine therapy – or equine facilitated psychotherapy – involves a therapist working with you whilst you engage with and build a relationship with a horse or horses. It does not involve riding and is more likely to include stroking, grooming, and interacting with a free roaming horse in a field, perhaps working up to a point where the horse will accept guidance to follow a certain path or undertake a simple obstacle course in accordance with the trust built.

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Why is Equine therapy effective?

It is not unusual for people to be sceptical about the idea of equine therapy – until they have experienced it.  Many people simply misinterpret it as being for the horse itself, rather than the horse being the centre of the therapy for a person. It is important to understand that equine therapy is about you and the horse, the horse handler and therapist being there to guide but not interrupt the interaction between you and the horse.

 

Why? Taking away the pressure of verbal communication and need to interact with other people will shift your focus. This feeling is often liberating and therapeutic even for those who have no prior experience with horses.

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“I remember the first client I had” recalls Joanna “I believed wholly in the power of the horse, my very first childhood memories being linked to them, but I had worries that my experiences may not be so for others.  My first client had recently taken herself out of a deeply controlling relationship that had led to a loss of confidence and depression. At the end of the session, she stood silently, crying, I asked her how she felt, and she answered “Yes, yes, more than OK, I feel the doors and windows have been opened and I can shout and scream freely, can I?”  People can find themselves overcome by emotion without really knowing why, releasing feelings that they have tried to keep inside or feeling suddenly able to think about things they have been scared to confront. This is the power of the horse.”

 

How do we use Equine therapy?

We put you in a situation with a horse and you will find, with our support and encouragement, that there is a desire to build a relationship with that horse, which could be immediate. We do not need to generally push this as most people want the horse to come to them and bond, this is natural. Importantly to understand, for this to happen, you must be prepared to release some of your inner positive emotion, a sense of self, true self, perhaps that you have held back for some time, because horses respond to positive energy. When blocked up with negative feelings and negative behaviours the horse will most likely not respond.

 

Joanna is a trained equine therapist and has spent her life surrounded by and believing in the emotional sanctuary that horses offer and has a deeply felt passion for helping people, believing this combination is perfectly aligned when channelled to the benefit of others through equine therapy.

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