Why Horses?

Equine Therapy: Why Horses?

• Horses provide the opportunity to have a relationship with another living creature. 
• Horses require being “in the moment,” hard work, responsibility, communication skills, and assertiveness.
• Horses are honest. Their reactions provide a powerful evaluative and intervention tool. Individuals seem to be better able to “hear” a message and apply it to other life situations if it is in the context of their interaction with the horse.
• Horses have the ability to mirror human body language. Statements such as “the horse doesn’t like me” provide opportunity for individuals to discover that if they change how they interact with the horse, the horse will respond differently towards them.
• Like humans, horses are social animals. Horses have defined roles/jobs in their herd and have individual characteristics. Horses, like humans, do not all respond the same way to a situation. Horses provide countless opportunities to use metaphors with youth and often parallel what is going on with that individual. 
• Horses create a learning environment that allows direct interaction between adults and youth, where the horse is the teacher and humans are students.
• Horses are awesome creatures both in size and power. From the first interaction, two components are set in place: the youths are removed from a comfortable setting where their problem behavior works for them. They are in a highly structured setting where their safety depends on listening and following rules. This sets the stage for effecting change. 
• Horses, like many other animals, have telepathic abilities based on the bond they have with other horses and humans. They are powerful spiritual creatures.