Why Horses?

Horses have proven to be very effective at facilitating change through learning/therapy (see Research pages). Here are some reasons why:

• Touch – Horses can provide comforting physical contact where professionals can’t.

• Strength – they can carry clients and help them feel ‘held’. 

• Size – the size and speed of horses demands attention and strongly supports clients to be mindful and present during interactions. 

• Community – Horses live in herds and model how to live in community with others for the good of all. They also share our need for social interaction.

• Support – People who aren’t comfortable with traditional counselling may be more likely to engage in a session with a horse involved.

• Sensitivity – Horses are very sensitive to our emotions and know what people are feeling better than we do. 

• Communication – Horses provide honest, instant feedback to clients making it easier for them to see what needs to change.

• Beauty – horses draw attention and evoke feelings.

• Awareness – with heightened sensing capabilities they are masters in awareness.

• Always Connected to their Environment – horses live in constant interaction with everything around them.

• Congruent – internal experience matches with their outer expression of self.

• Present – horses live in the here and now, rather than past or future.

• Embodied – they live in their body with their senses and feelings, but they have little or no ego to interfere.

• Self-regulation – horses tend to naturally attempt to meet their needs or ‘interests’ and engage fully in the cycle of experience.

• Comfortable with all energetic contact– from quiet & gentle to excitable, to strong/aggressive - horses model flexibility in contact.

• Heart – the electromagnetic field of the horse’s heart interacts with and influences the human’s heart and its field. People can feel peaceful and relaxed just by being with a horse.

• Love – Horses are capable of love and show their love in various ways which help people to heal and grow.

• Risk – The unpredictable nature of horses is not only exhilarating, but can also help people to learn how to respond well in a crisis situation.

• Followers – Horses aresearching for a responsible leader to hand over to so they can relax, but you need to prove you are worthy first. 

• Leadership – Horses know how to lead and be lead from multiple positions (in front, from behind, from the side). 

• Survival – The horse’s zest for life inspires hope and determination to succeed.

• Creativity – Horses get bored from doing the same thing repetitively and thrive on  creative interactions.

• No ego – Horses won’t judge you. 

• Learning – Horses are able to be trained and learn from previous interactions. 

• Heart Connection – Horses have big hearts with big emotions and are capable of forming heart-connections with people.