What do therapy horses do

Research has found Equine Therapy to also be beneficial for those with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. The therapy helps individuals to better manage their emotions and learn to express feelings more positively. Riding and caring for the horses improve self-esteem and anxiety, and improves negative body issues.

Most participants in Equine Therapy benefit from the unconditional acceptance offered by the horses they work with. At Turning Point of Tampa, we have seen many of our clients benefit from Equine Therapy and are proud to offer this option at an off-campus location. If you need help or know someone who does, please contact our admissions department at , or admissions tpoftampa. Equine-assisted psychotherapy EAP can be used with a variety of populations and in a variety of therapeutic settings.

In fact, horses can be used in counseling with individuals of all ages, even with families and groups. Equine-assisted psychotherapy is often not the sole form of treatment, but rather a complementary therapeutic service to be used in partnership with more traditional treatment.

Offering a much different experience than traditional talk therapy , EAP brings people outdoors and offers an opportunity to use all senses while learning and processing through emotional challenges. Equine facilitated psychotherapy may be just as effective with children and teens as it is with adult clients.

As with adults, children can experience challenges such as trauma , anxiety , depression , PTSD , and more. Equine therapy offers them a therapeutic environment that can feel less threatening and more inviting than a traditional talk therapy office. The majority of children participating in EAP are between the ages of 6 to 18 years old. Children often find it difficult to open up and process painful emotions and experiences. Although a variety of animals can be used in the psychotherapeutic process, horses offer unique traits that have made them a top choice for animal-assisted therapies.

According to anxiety expert Dr. Robin Zasio, horses bring the following unique elements to the therapy process. As much as humans, especially therapists, do our best to offer a safe space for clients to explore deep emotional hurts and painful experiences, it can be uncomfortable for clients to openly share their thoughts.

Building therapeutic rapport can take time as participants working toward building trust and practicing vulnerability in session.

Having the horse present may offer a sense of peace, as they only will react to the client's behavior and emotions with no threat of bias or any judgment of their emotional experience. Horses are keen observers and are vigilant and sensitive to movement and emotion. They often mirror a client's behavior or emotions, conveying understanding and connection that allows the client to feel safe.

This also allows for clients to maintain a sense of self-awareness, using the horse's behavior and interactions for feedback and opportunities to check in and process what is happening in the moment. As clients might find themselves vulnerable when trying to open up about emotional challenges, past experiences, or life transitions, the horse can offer a reference point to use for processing.

If something feels too painful to speak of, it can feel a bit easier for clients to process using the horse as an example, or to align their experience with the horse's experiences in the moment. Externalizing the content in this way can make things easier to approach and process through. Some other potential benefits of equine therapy include increased:. Horses also require work. They must be fed, watered, exercised, and groomed. Providing this type of care can often be therapeutic.

It helps establish routines and structure, and the act of caring and nurturing something else can help build empathy. Equine therapy has some evidence supporting its effectiveness in helping to manage several conditions. Anxiety disorders affect more than 17 million Americans. Although most people experience some level of anxiety at points in their lives, especially around experiences involving change and uncertainty, there are times when people experience anxiety that meets clinical diagnostic criteria.

Anxiety-related conditions include, but aren't limited to:. Many people who struggle with anxiety find themselves stuck in worry about their past and fear about their future. As Dr. Zasio points out, working with a horse during the therapeutic process can create an opportunity for clients to "stay present and focused on the task at hand. Since horses are vigilant and sensitive to behavior and emotions, they can sense danger and respond with a heightened awareness, which typically leads to a change in their behavior and possible attempts to get away.

Clients who struggle with anxiety can relate to this ability to sense danger cues and respond in a heightened way. Processing challenges through a horse's behavior can be easier for certain clients than speaking directly about their own personal experiences with anxiety.

Another benefit of using equine-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety is helping clients practice vulnerability in a safe environment. As clients learn to interact with the horse and try new things, they are being asked to step out of their comfort zone with the help and support of the therapist and the horse.

Clients can then process their experience, such as the fears and challenges, as well as any insights, discoveries, or victories in those moments during therapy. Working with horses requires patience, understanding, discipline and responsibility. Horses can be stubborn one day and playful the next, meaning that you need to be flexible, innovative and open to altering your behaviour. By working through equine therapy, you can develop skills such as communication, self-control, problem solving and accountability, as well as improving your self-esteem, empathy, flexibility and independence.

It gives you the opportunity to discover more about your capabilities, develop new ways of thinking and change negative behaviours. For example, by working with the horse, you may start to notice self-defeating thought processes or negative patterns of behaviour which may be contributing to your addiction, giving you to opportunity to take steps to overcome them.

Many of the benefits of equine therapy are likely due to the nature of the horses themselves. Horses are naturally gentle and calm creatures, and are able to mirror and respond to human behaviour, meaning that they are highly effective at interacting and working with others in a patient and non-judgemental manner.

In addition, individuals who find it hard to trust others or be intimate with people, can often achieve a strong bond and a level of closeness with their horse, and experience affection, acceptance and mutual respect. Other aspects of it are about controlling a one-tonne animal as a team.

It enables patients to identify emotions which sometimes they find difficult to express inside groups. Horses are very social animals; they engage with each other, they engage with us. Their presence alone can be healing. Beasley recalls one client who suffered brutal childhood abuse in her family. Rather than designing a directed equine therapy session, she allowed the client to sit in the pasture with the horse. Past memories taught her that anyone bigger or more powerful than her would mistreat her.

Now she had a firsthand experience that showed her she could trust again. When people open themselves up, they grow in their ability to build relationships and to ask for help. After counseling clients for 30 years, 15 of which have included equine therapy, Beasley says she still learns something new every day.

These five lessons are just a few examples of the growth that happens through equine therapy. Other benefits of equine therapy include:. Few settings are more suited to equine therapy than The Ranch in Tennessee. Clients at The Ranch participate in an equine-assisted psychotherapy group at least once a week.

They also have opportunities to take a one-on-one therapeutic horseback riding lesson and to ride horses recreationally on the open pastures of the 2,acre working ranch. Skip to content. Other benefits of equine therapy include: learning to accept responsibility taking care of oneself and others patience humility a sense of pride an appreciation for the simple joys in life.

Category: Addiction Recovery December 12, Tags: Addiction Treatment equine therapy The Ranch.