Why Horses?

Horses have been our partners for thousands of years. They have served us in war, in settling the west, working our farms and ranches, in sport, and in friendship. As our society becomes more violent and seemingly out of control, people, agencies, and corporations are looking for something that will have a greater impact in helping effect positive change. Now equine assisted psycho-therapy and activities are gaining recognition as a powerful and effective approach to helping children, adolescents and adults make positive changes.

Horses facilitate healing Horses have an amazing power to help facilitate healing and to teach us about ourselves. They are honest and nonjudgmental (which cannot always be said about their human counterparts). Horses experience a wide range of emotions and provide immediate and observable feedback. Horses use nonverbal communication and react appropriately which make them powerful therapy partners. They are social beings that bring us insight into group dynamics and the individual roles we play in our daily lives. The interactions with horses provide wonderful metaphors for self discovery and a safe way to identify our emotions and patterns of behavior.	Equine assisted psychoTherapy—–An emerging field EAP Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and EFL Equine Facilitated Learning Activities is an emerging field in which horses are our partners for emotional growth and learning. It is experiential in nature in that people learn about themselves and others by participating in activities with horses and then discuss feelings, behaviors, and thinking patterns. This approach is compared to ropes courses and other adventure based activities. EAP and EFL have the enormous advantage of utilizing horses, which are dynamic and sensitive living beings.
An adjunct to Talk Therapy	A TYPICAL SESSION WITH HORSES
EAP can be very useful as an adjunct to traditional talk therapy. It is a powerful assessment tool. It is also a brief approach that successfully addresses a variety of mental health issues such as ADD, ADHD, substance abuse/codependency, eating disorders, abuse issues, depression, anxiety, relationship and communication problems. It is very effective because it is experiential and solution based, even fun.	Ninety-five percent of our activities are on the ground interacting with or observing horses. You may be simply watching horses interact in a field or paddock. You may be grooming a horse in the barn to accomplish a task or goal. Additional activities can be structured according to your needs or the needs of the client. Riding would be possible in appropriate situations.