Why Incorporate Horses
As any pet owner will know, animals make us feel better. This is supported by science and the reason so many of us love having our pets about us. Research shows that just looking into the eyes of your pet can lower your heart rate. Their presence alone is enough to calm you down, to give you warmth, to let you feel loved and soothed.
So, Why Horses?
Horses are beautiful, sensitive, and strong animals. People are often attracted to them because of their size and beauty. They can evoke strong feelings and responses and unconscious feelings and needs that are then available for processing. They can provide an emotional and sensory environment for clients that is conductive of calmness and the development of trust.
Due to their size and the fact that they are prey animals and have the ability to move quickly, people tend to have a heightened awareness around them. This helps people to move out of autopilot and into awareness, which is essential for change.
Horses have proven to be very effective at facilitating change. They are great role models and demonstrate behaviours we ourselves can benefit from practicing.
Here are some reasons why;
Touch – horses can provide physical contact where professionals can’t. The simple act of stroking a horse can help to regulate the nervous system and bring about calmness.
Size – Due to the size and speed of a horse being about them demands mindfulness, attention and being present.
Herd – Horses live in herds and model good relationships, clear boundaries, good communication and letting go after they are activated.
Support – people who are not interested in traditional counselling or room based therapy are more likely to engage in a session with a horse in the open.
Sensitive – Horse are very sensitive to our feeling, emotions and energy and know and react to how we are feeling better than we do.
Communication – horses provide honest, instant feedback to clients making it easier for them to see what they need to change.
Prey animals – horses are prey animals and as such are constantly aware of what is going on around them and how they feel.
Beauty – Horses naturally evoke strong feelings in people, then available to be processed.
Awareness – Horses are masters of awareness, they are aware of their environment, their herd and their own emotions and react accordingly.
Authentic/ Congruent– How a horse feels internally is how they behave, they don’t hide their feelings.
Present – Horses live in the here and now, not the past or present.
Embodied – Horses live in their body with their senses and feelings, but they have little or no ego to interfere.
Self – regulation– Horses naturally attempt to meet their needs, plus they let down regularly, letting go of fears and worries.
Flexible in contact style – from quiet to energetic, strong to gentle – horses are very flexible in their contact style, changing depending on their feelings and the environment
There are many life lessons we can take from horses, and if we implemented them in our daily lives, we would be much happier and healthier. Being present and regulated, being aware of how we feel as well as others, having boundaries and clearly communicating them, being authentic - so acting how we feel and not hiding our feelings. It is these learnings that we cover in Equine Assisted Learning, and with the support of our horse helpers, we learn to have a happier, healthier life.