Therapeutic Equine therapy
“I wish I had known about equine assisted therapy when I was riding regularly. When I was 15 I was involved in a riding club in Lakewood called the Westernaires. At first I was scared of getting on a horse but Westernaires helped me overcome that fear and build my confidence. Now I would love to get back on a horse but since it’s been so long since I’ve ridden, I’m back to being scared.”
Kaycee Womack
Senior Paper
Sonja Linman
15 April 2016
Equine Therapy, also known as Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) or Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, is a form of experiential therapy that involves interactions between horses and people who are suffering from a variety of physical, emotional, cognitive, and mental health issues. Therapy involves a wide range of activities that are supervised by a team of people that included a health professional and a horse professional. There are many aspects of EAT that benefit the disabled, as well as those suffering from grief and loss, depression, addiction and trauma.
Studies indicate that benefits of Equine Therapy include: assertiveness, emotional awareness, empathy, stress tolerance, flexibility, impulse control, problem-solving skills, self-actualization, independence, self- regard, social responsibility, and interpersonal relationships. Clearly, children and adults alike need access to this wonderful option.
History of Equine Therapy
The idea that horseback riding can help with disabilities began in 1875. The french neurologist Chassaignac found that his patient’s balance, motion and control of muscles improved while on the back of a horse. He also found that riding improved the mood of his patients (St. Mary’s). There was also encouraging news regarding the benefits of horseback riding at the end of World War 1 from Oxford Hospital in England (St. Mary’s).
In the United States, the North American Riding for Handicapped Association (NARHA) was formed in 1969. Today, the NARHA has expanded to more than 800 member centers, 3,500 certified instructors and 6,500 members. It offers certifications in either equine assisted psychotherapy, or equine assisted learning (Horses Help).
In addition, there are programs all over the country that offer certification linking EAT to psychotherapy and physical therapy programs. In fact, Bethany College, in West Virginia offers both certification programs, and in Arizona, at Prescott College, those certifications are included in their marriage and family counseling program (Horses Help).
Why Horses
Dede Beasley, an equine therapist at The Ranch, a rehabilitation center in Tennessee says, “Like people, horses are social beings whose herd dynamics are remarkably similar to the family system” (5 lessons). Horses have an amazing ability to sense a person’s emotions and react to those emotions. If a person is angry, the horse might become stubborn, if a person is anxious, the horse can sense the emotions. This teaches riders to be conscious of what they are projecting. The reactions of the horse can help people get in touch with what’s really going on inside them. “Horses are completely emotionally honest and congruent and will reflect the emotional signals of a client, thus helping clients better understand themselves” (5 lessons).
People who have a hard time relating to other persons can often get really close to horses. Horses can not speak but are really good at communicating. By learning how to communicate with a horse, people can learn how to improve relationships with other people. Beasley also states, “As a sophisticated herd animal, horses immediately begin building relationships with people as members of their herd...people then get to decide whether...to take this opportunity to develop a new kind of relationship” (5 lessons).
Just grooming, leading, or putting a halter on a horse can help people learn how to approach and deal with others. You can not control or dominate a horse so if that is how a person gets what they want in their life, it will not work with a horse. Also, if a person is really passive or weak, the horse will not respond to that either.
People who are dealing with fears, PTSD, low self-esteem or a lack of confidence can be really scared and want to run away when they first see a huge horse. If they fight that urge to run away and mount the horse, they can slowly begin to overcome that fear and in time gain confidence to work through the fears and issues they are dealing with in life. Beasley says, “These special animals allow people to bring all kinds of issues into the horse’s world, and be accepted as they are, imperfections and all” (5 lessons).
Horse are big but gentle animals. They don’t play games, they don’t lie, and they don’t ever judge anyone. Clients who have trust issues learn that they can trust the horse they are working with. Conquering fears, building self-confidence and creating a positive self-image can lead to a person being truly empowered to move on in life a much stronger person.
Many stories exist about life changing experiences in EAT. One story tells of a young girl who at 10 years of age, had a difficult riding accident. Following the accident, this girl, who had a passionate love of horses and riding, never even mentioned horses again. With the help of the equine therapist, this young woman was slowly reintroduced to horses. She started by only standing in the field with a horse, than standing next to the horse, eventually petting and then grooming the animal. On the one year anniversary of her accident, she mounted a horse again (Interview Woolcott).
How Equine Therapy Works
Melissa Wiley and her 22 year old daughter, Jessie are in Carbondale, Colorado. Melissa is a certified Ground Based Equine Specialist and was the former Horse Manager at Wind Walkers Equine Therapy Center, in Carbondale, CO. Jessie, who struggled with learning disabilities was both a client of Wind Walkers and later the Horse Manager, taking over for her mother.
Jessie’s story is interesting. As a young girl she had great difficulty reading; she would read to the middle of a page and her eyes would automatically jump to the beginning of the next line. She experienced temper tantrums that would last for hours. Something neurological was going on. She would also come home from school overstimulated and overwhelmed and fall apart emotionally. Math and other school work was extremely difficult for her. Equine Therapy consisted of putting her on a horse backwards and allowing the horse to wander around while Jessie did her homework on the horse’s back. Jessie explains that sitting on a moving horse moved the body and stimulated the production of oxytocin, a chemical that helps calm a person and makes them feel better. The oxytocin counteracted the build up of cortisone, which is a chemical produced when the body is under stress or fear. The temper tantrums she experienced went away immediately with the equine therapy, school work came much easier, and her stress level lowered drastically. Jessie also talked about how being on a horse helped strengthen the left brain, right brain connection. Jessie had been totally left brain artistic but the rocking of the horse helped her shift more easily between left and right brain which really helped her math work.
Both Melissa and Jessie tell other stories as well; How a woman with Multiple Sclerosis, unable to walk, had, through therapy, over time been able to slowly hold herself up in the saddle, ride for longer periods of time, hold herself straight without assistance, and improve her balance.
They tell the story of a Downs-Syndrome young girl who when therapy started was to afraid to even pick up the reigns. Over a couple of years of riding, she gained confidence, physical balance, and an improved decision making ability. Today, this young woman is in a special program at the University of Cincinnati, out of the house and pledging a sorority!
Another story is of a young man with Apert Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes physical deformities of the head and face. Being at Wind Walkers and in equine therapy, this client gained confidence, made friends in a safe environment, and now, at 21, works full-time at a local grocery store.
There was a young man named Jimmy who couldn’t walk and was never supposed to. He would ride double and exercise his legs by putting them on the horse’s shoulders and pushing up in a rocking motion. Through a repatterning of the brain, he eventually started walking.
Melissa spoke about how equine therapy works with the kids in the Youth Recovery Center at a local hospital. These teenagers struggle with drug and alcohol addiction and have regular equine therapy sessions. She coordinates activities where the kids and horses work together and develop metaphors between horse behavior and the students own lives. She spoke about how horses mirror our emotions, read our body language and help us come to grips with what we are feeling (Interview Wiley).
The team of specialists that work with clients can include: Physical Therapists, certified mental health professionals, horse specialists, riding instructors, trained therapy horses and committed volunteers. Sessions can be individual or small group setting.
Treatments of psychological and emotional problems are usually well researched and studied. The treatments are, “evidence based”, which means that after years of study, there is proof that a treatment works. With Equine Assisted Therapy there have not been enough studies performed to prove that it works. In the few studies that have been done, EAP has been shown to have positive results in some and no improvements in others.
Anecdotal evidence though, especially case studies, have shown that EAP gives significant help to to children and adults with disabilities. “ Experts suggest it may be because experience-based therapy, such as storytelling or art therapy, is difficult to quantify. In other words, the questionnaires that psychologists typically use to measure a treatment’s effectiveness might not capture the changes or positive benefits of EAP (Tartakovsky). ”
However, regardless of the lack of longitudinal data, Equine Assisted Therapy works. It is a legitimate therapy to use with persons who suffer from physical, emotional and mental disorders. First-hand accounts and secondhand stories make it very difficult to doubt its effectiveness. Clearly it provides a long list of effective benefits including: affection, communication skills, empathy, confidence, mutual trust, respect, responsibility, self-control, and unconditional acceptance.
A horse is a great big powerful animal, an animal that is non-judgmental, sensitive to the emotions and feelings of the rider, and perhaps able to help the rider/client to understand their issues, process them and hopefully find some healing. Options to include EAT in insurance coverage are being encouraged.
Works Cited Page:
1.]www.equine-psychotherapy.com
"Equine Psychotherapy." Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. <http://www.equine-psychotherapy.com/>.
2.]http://www.flyinghorsestable.net
"Flying Horse Stable." Equine Therapy WI | Anger Management | Efp Stress Relief |. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. <http://www.flyinghorsestable.net/>.
3.)https://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/addiction-treatment/lessons-equine-therapy
V, M. "5 Lessons People Can Learn From Horses in Equine Therapy." Addiction Treatment Elements Drug Rehab Treatment Centers. 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
4.) http://www.sopristherapyservice.org
"Sopris Therapy Services." Sopris Therapy Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.
5.) http://www.equestriantherapy.org
"What Is Equestrian Therapy?" Equestrian Therapy. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.
6.) Interview, Rick Woolcott, April 2016
7.) Interview, Melissa Wiley and Jessie Wiley, May 2016
8.) http://www.asocequinoterapia.org/english/Historia.htm
St Mary’s Health Center, The History and Development of Equine Therpy
9.) http:// www.therapycareers.about.com
What is an Equine Therapist
10.) http:// www.crchealth.com
What is Equine Therapy
11.) http:// www.equine-therapy-programs.com
Horses help the Disabled become Enabled