Most people are used to the typical scene of a therapist’s office with a client sitting on a comfortable lounge chair as they talk through their problems, but when you think of therapy, do you ever imagine a horse? This may only be a comforting scene for trained equestrians, but horse therapy is indeed an existing form of therapy readily available for all who can afford it. Equine assisted psychotherapy is a holistic highly specialized form of experiential therapy. It involves working in collaboration with the therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist, a horse specialist and most importantly, horses. The fundamental aim of this kind of therapy is to help individuals discover more about themselves, encouraging people to reconnect, to explore emotions, feelings and beliefs. By way of self perception, individuals determine their attitude and preferences by interpreting the meaning of their own behavior. The reason horses are beneficial to this process is that being a prey animal, horses are highly sensitive beings and are very effective at mirroring the behaviors and attitudes of the people they are working with. They are empathetic and emotionally responsive to humans. Joanna Gray is a…
