An increasingly robust body of evidence shows the effectiveness of equine therapy in managing emotional trauma and providing therapeutic insight beyond traditional psychotherapeutic approaches.
Horses communicate nonverbally and are highly intuitive of their herd mates’ emotions and intentions, providing clients with an invaluable tool for self-awareness and encouraging mindfulness practices. Their mirroring effect allows clients to recognize their behavior and feelings more directly, helping to promote mindfulness practices in everyday life.
Physical Connection
Equine-assisted therapy offers individuals an effective means of building trust within an ethical therapeutic relationship that’s mutually respectful – and this can be particularly helpful for trauma survivors who’ve been through difficult experiences that eroded their sense of trust in society, making traditional talk therapy difficult to regain that trust.
Interacting with horses requires mindfulness and focus, which can help people with PTSD learn to focus on the present moment and practice emotional regulation. If something startles a horse, for instance, this may prompt them to use calming techniques in order to manage their own anxiety levels.
Horses have the unique ability to help clients remain present, encouraging them to remain mindful in the present moment and remain calm and composed themselves. These skills can then be transferred back to everyday life where inner peace may become possible; especially important for those suffering PTSD who find themselves stuck in memories from the past or worries for the future.
Self-Awareness and Insight
As prey animals, horses have developed keen senses for sensing their environment (neuroception) and sensing fear or distress in humans (interoception). Due to these instinctual mechanisms, equine-facilitated therapy encourages deeper levels of self-awareness and insight.
Horses live in the present moment and encourage clients to do the same, helping individuals develop mindfulness skills that can be used to manage PTSD symptoms like intrusive memories or anxiety about the future.
Encourage Non-Verbal Communication
Many survivors of emotional trauma have difficulty verbalizing their emotions. Working with horses teaches participants to interact through gestures and touch instead of words; this embodied form of communication provides participants with essential lessons about building trust and safety which are integral parts of recovery from trauma, as well as teaching emotional regulation which survivors often struggle with; especially helpful for combatting posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Building Trust and Safety
Horses are herd animals that depend on mutual trust and communication within their herd to thrive. Being highly intuitive and responsive animals, horses provide instantaneous feedback about individuals’ actions and emotions – providing valuable nonverbal support for trauma survivors who struggle to verbalize their thoughts or emotions, encouraging self-awareness.
Horses demonstrate an ability to learn using positive reinforcement, an effective training method involving the addition and withdrawal of rewards (such as food) in order to encourage desired behavior. For instance, if one horse bites another around food, their trainer may stop giving treats until they change their behaviour and avoid the stimulus that was previously unpleasant.
Trauma survivors may relate to horses due to the similar survival traits displayed by both. This identification can provide emotional regulation and increased sense of safety that promote the formation of healthy relationships and empathy towards others.
Communication Skills
Equine therapy offers a non-threatening environment in which clients can rebuild trust. They also learn effective communication techniques in an appropriate and respectful manner that they can utilize both professionally and socially in the future.
Horses are highly sensitive animals. They feed off each other’s energy and can detect negative emotions such as frustration or stress from people around them. By learning to read a horse’s body language, clients can better communicate their emotions in a safe environment while developing trust between themselves and the horse.
As prey animals, horses must always remain vigilant for potential danger, much like humans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychologists found that horses with PTSD moved more slowly, carried their head lower, and vocalized less when in contact with their owners when in comparison with control group horses – reflecting back the natural mirroring qualities that horses offer that may help trauma survivors find peace within.
