Equine Therapy: Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Thinking About A New Year's Resolution? Five Reasons to Try Equine Therapy

from Claire Dorotik (LMFT)
PsychCentral Equine Therapy: Straight from the Horse's Mouth Blog

We all make resolutions, and sadly, many of us will never realize these often lofty goals. And what do we do then? We wonder why. First, why did we make the resolution in the first place, and if we are the introspective type, what is it about us that prevented us from reaching our target? But to answer these questions, we’d probably have to have a window into our unconscious. And really, we may just not have the time or patience for psychoanalysis. But, maybe, just maybe, we can learn something about ourselves through time spent with a horse.

So, in honor of resolutions, here are five reasons to try equine therapy.

1. Horses are novel. For the majority of people, meeting a horse is an entirely new experience. While we may have some idea how self-exploration will go, we really have no idea how we will react, or more importantly, how the horse will react to us. This is the perfect environment to learn about the self.

2. Horses are physiological. While people often miss nonverbal cues about others, and we even can be unaware of what we are presenting outwardly in a nonverbal way, horses miss nothing that is nonverbal. And without saying a word themselves, horses can us the truth about ourselves.

3. Horses are powerful. Want to feel more powerful? Well try directing a 1200 pound animal. And then consider that this animal has a reaction time less than half of ours.

4. Horses are non-threatening. For all their massive power, horses do not carry the same preconceived ideas about the way people should should look, act and feel. Instead, they just accept people as they are, because that is all they know.

5. You might discover something new. For some people, equine therapy is an introduction into a lifelong love of horses. I fact, some clients go on to purchase their own horse!

Equine Therapy: Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Three Ways to Boost Your Mood

from Claire Dorotik (LMFT)
PsychCentral Equine Therapy: Straight from the Horse's Mouth Blog

With the holidays progressing rapidly, and the state of the economy on a fast decline, finding ways to improve mood is now more important than ever. However, as with most things, when they are needed most, is also when they are hardest to attain — think the ones who are hardest to love and how they need it the most. And while the truth is that being around horses will certainly not stop the difficult holiday reminders many people suffer, or in any way improve the economy (horse owners would attest to this point), but it just might make a person feel a little better in one of the following ways.

1. Physiological Calming: Neurochemicals can be cunning little things. They rise often without their host’s awareness, and can wreak havoc on all sorts of health factors. To be sure, stress, and the physiological ramifications of it are now considered to be possibly even more predictive of a potential heart attack than levels of cholesterol or blood pressure.
   
   Given the dangers of elevated levels of epinephrine, cortisol, and dampened levels of serotonin, most people struggle when it comes to just how to lower them. Well, being around any animal has been demonstrated to be an effective way of calming the physiological system, and often due to their size and power, horses can have an even more pronounced effect on a person than other types of animals.


2. Introduction to nature: Horses live outside, in nature, in rhythm with the natural world around them. Humans, on the other hand, effectively insulate themselves from the world around them through a variety of barriers from cell phones to high rises. Yet being connected to the world around themselves is a very important survival skill — and the statistics on the correlation between “distractions” and accidents is a very telling factor.
   
   Perhaps even more importantly, many people feel incredibly disconnected from those around them, while all the while, being presumably “connected,” via some form of wireless device. Simply spending time outside with another living being, absent the daily distractions is a very healthy, and very rejuvenating experience.


3. Reduction of isolation: People, unlike horses, isolate when they feel sadness, shame, disappointment, or loneliness. Here again, we can learn a lesson from our equine friends. When feeling any of these emotions, horses immediately are surrounded by the herd (I talk in depth about this in several chapters of my book), even if moments before, a herd member was dominant over the upset horse. Interestingly, horses seem to have adopted the concept that the ones who are hardest to love, need it the most.

So, in a time when some mood boosting is needed, and the answers seem to disguise themselves, consider spending some time around a horse, as it just might provide the very experience that’s needed — with a few answers carefully hidden in the herd.

Partnering with Mountin' Hopes Again!

Horse Sense has always been a big supporter of Madison County’s Mountin’ Hopes Therapeutic Riding program…and now we’re pleased to work together once again as Mountin’ Hopes undertakes one of its biggest transitions to date.

Don't know Mountin' Hopes? Founded in 1997 by Kathryn Graeter & Pat Magnus, this organization has been offering therapeutic riding to residents in WNC for many years. Their mission?

To embrace the unique gifts and challenges of each individual, encouraging personal growth through the horse and human relationship.

You can see why Mountin' Hopes & Horse Sense have a natural synergy. Learn more about all the work they have done and about what they do by visiting http://www.mountinhopes.org/!

Over the years, several Horse Sense staff members have served on the Mountin’ Hopes board of directors. The two programs have collaborated multiple times to provide services, host fund raisers, and conduct various training programs for staff and board…all while referring clients back and forth as needed between programs.

This fall Mountin’ Hopes announced the sale of its farm property in Mars Hill, NC. When the sale went through, they contacted Horse Sense to help with their Fall teaching schedule. Horse Sense is providing access to our state-of-the-art facilities so that the clients of Mounain' Hopes have a quality location for their riding lessons.

Horse Sense is happy to collaborate and continue supporting Mountin’ Hopes during this critical transition period. As we like to say, “Working together works!” And together we’ll make Western North Carolina a better place for horses and people.