Equine therapy: how horses can help with stress, anxiety, and trauma
(Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The equine-assisted therapy field is continuing to grow as more people see the benefits horses can offer.
Dementia, mental health problems and terminal illness are just a few areas in which equine-assisted therapy is proving beneficial, and providers are reporting an increase in patients being referred by social prescribing (when health professionals refer patients to community support).
The Way of the Horse, founded by Dina Shale, treats children and adults for conditions such as stress, anxiety and trauma – including those who come to her via social prescribing. The business also offers training courses on delivering equine therapy.
“We’re seeing the industry grow, especially with people who are not horsey. Most of the people that come to us have never been around horses but they are looking for an answer and we have the solution,” Ms Shale told H&H.
“Our programmes are ‘trauma-informed’, so it’s teaching people to develop and understand their bodies. We use horses to demonstrate the fight and flight mechanism and we help people to understand what stress is and how it manifests in the body.
“Our bodies do the same sort of thing as horses’ do when they are scared of things; when we feel fear, we respond either by going into fight or flight. When you understand the basics of the science behind what is happening in your body when you feel anxious or stressed, you have a chance to calm that nervous system and the tools to regulate it.”
Grace Olson of HeavenStone Healing provides equine-assisted therapy to people with terminal illnesses, and also has had clients referred to her via social prescribing. She told H&H the equine-assisted therapy industry is being “talked about more”.
“My therapy focuses on helping these people just to find inner peace so that they can cope with things like their hospital appointments. Sometimes in sessions all a person wants to do is just stand with a horse, and that’s enough for them,” she said.
“Horses have a lot more to offer than we were ever aware of. I personally feel the vibration of a horse is just naturally healing.”
Ms Olson was involved in organising a class at the Weeton Show on 30 July to celebrate therapy equines. People who could not physically attend could instead enter online, and a marquee at the show displayed pictures of the horses and information about them.
“We wanted to celebrate equines as therapists,” she said. “If someone had had physical, mental or emotional therapy from any equine, whether they owned the animal or it was based at a centre, they could enter.
“The public could meet the horses and the handlers at the show and find out how to access this type of help. It’s a chance to show people that anyone can access a horse, even if it’s visiting a local rescue centre. Horses are for everyone.”
A Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) spokesman told H&H the charity now has 50 groups offering “Tea with a Pony” sessions for those living with dementia.
“This started in 2018 at Cotswold RDA, which had become aware of the increasing number of people living in their community with a range of life-changing conditions, particularly dementia, and for whom riding was not suitable but who might be helped by some other form of animal-assisted therapy involving horses,” said the spokesman.
“Other RDA groups run specialist hippotherapy sessions, and increasingly we are seeing a rise in social prescribing for people with emotional, behavioural or mental health conditions.”
The Human Equine Interaction Register (HEIR), a register of practitioners offering equine-assisted therapy, celebrated its first anniversary in March and now has more than 50 providers signed up.
HEIR UK project manager Anna Collins told H&H people are “seeing the value of the register”.
“The sector is understanding that it needs to be credible. Some people might think that equine-assisted services are a bit quirky, but they’re having positive health and wellbeing outcomes for the people benefiting from them,” she said.
“There’s a whole spectrum of therapeutic equine services; from Godolphin taking former racehorses into care homes, to horses being used to support military veterans, or people with physical mobility problems. It’s huge and it’s growing. We held an event in March to celebrate our anniversary and we had more than 150 people attend from across the industry, including the Princess Royal, and it shows the attention the sector is getting.”
Ms Collins added that the organisation has been “delighted” with the applications it has received to the register.
“We’re working on the basis that if people don’t meet the standards we will advise them how to do so, rather than just say you’re not in,” she said.
“The most common things that people need support with are making sure they have a safeguarding policy – or making sure they’re insured properly. We’ll look at their insurance policies and say, ‘You’re not really covered here for what you’re doing’, and it’s quite a shock for them. I think it’s been really good because collectively everybody’s learned that in some areas there may be a few weaknesses – and that’s why the register is needed. It’s all helping to raise the standard.”
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The healing power of horses to help more people than ever
Register planned for equine-assisted therapy providers
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