Horses and Humans: A Unique Partnership in Therapy by Kathleen Choe

Horses and Humans: A Unique Partnership in Therapy

By Kathleen Choe

One of the earliest recorded mention of equine therapy is found in some writings by Hippocrates, a physician born in 460 BC in Greece. Hippocrates wrote about “hippotherapy,” a term derived from the Greek word for horse: “hippos.”  Much later, German physicians in the 19th century advised patients suffering from hypochondria and hysteria to engage in horseback riding to reduce their symptoms, a trend which spread across Europe and eventually reached the United States of America as working with horses has become increasingly integrated into mental health treatment inpatient and outpatient programs.

What makes horses so uniquely suited for partnering with humans in their healing processes? 

1.      Horses and humans have a mammalian nervous system and brain.

2.      The nervous system of both engages in fight, flight, freeze or fawn when faced with threat.

3.      As a prey animal, the horse’s brain develops similarly to the brain of a traumatized human.

4.      Both are social creatures who need connection with others in order to survive and thrive.

5.      Horses and humans hold traumatic experiences in their bodies but also can heal by experiencing safe and trustworthy repeated relational interactions.

In other words, trauma affects horses and humans in similar ways, and they also heal in similar ways.  This makes them natural partners in the healing process when facilitated by those trained in both the psychology and physiology of horses and humans, with an emphasis on trauma informed care.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is an experiential form of therapy that involves working with horses to address a multitude of issues, including:

·         Abuse

·         Neglect

·         Combat

·         Grief and loss

·         Eating disorders

·         Depression

·         Anxiety

·         Chronic illness

·         Adverse life circumstances

Horses will respond honestly and directly to whatever behaviors and internal states a client presents to them in the moment, allowing the client to experience immediate and helpful feedback about the communication and relational patterns they create in their lives.  Horses provide opportunities to practice assertive communication, set boundaries, make requests, learn emotional regulation skills, and build trust and confidence in a mutual partnership.  All of the skills used to build relationships with the horse are transferable outside the session to human relationships.

Working with horses in the healing process includes many benefits, including:

Building Trust 

This is a profound step towards growth in interpersonal relationships and healing. Learning to trust a very large and possibly unfamiliar animal such as a horse is very powerful in the development and restoration of trust for those whose ability to trust has been violated by difficult life experiences.  Being trusted by these survival-oriented prey animals also rebuilds self-worth, self-acceptance, and self-compassion. Horses similarly benefit from new experiences where they are given choices and treated with patience and gentleness.

Anxiety Reduction

Research on the human-animal interaction indicates that contact with significantly reduces physiological anxiety levels. When calm and relaxed, horses generally have a resting heart of around 44 beats per minute, while people struggling with anxiety may have a heart rate upwards of 100 beats per minute.  Horses have an electro-magnetic field around their heart that extends 6 feet and beyond, which literally pulls down the heart rate of the anxious human through a process called synchronous co-regulation.[i]

Decreasing Depression and Isolation

Many clients presenting with trauma are struggling with depression and have withdrawn from social relationships.  They may have experienced relational rejection that makes it difficult to be vulnerable in requesting connection from others. Horses are genuine and unconditionally accepting and provide an opportunity for people to engage in connection with less fear of judgement. Horses will use discernment in the moment to decide if a person is safe enough to connect with. They don’t rate the person on past experiences, socioeconomic status, or other factors that can induce judgment from other humans.

As client experience success connecting with their equine partner, they may feel encouraged to seek more relational connection with people in their lives as well.

Mindfulness

Horses live in the moment rather than the past or the future.  Their ability to be uniquely present helps to draw people into the moment to be fully present as well. Feeling safe in the present moment helps the nervous system re-set from survival mode. People who live in an exhausting perpetual state of fight, flight or freeze, can experience relief and rest through this co-regulation.

Embodiment

Horses communicate with their bodies, through postures and gestures and energy.  They respond to the energy people bring into their space, which encourages the client to become aware of their own energy and emotions. People dealing with post traumatic stress may experience dissociation from their bodies to protect themselves from traumatic situations and memories. This can lead to them being unaware of what is happening inside their bodies. When a human body language portrays calmness, but inwardly their nervous system is reacting in an angry or frightened way, we can this incongruence. this Horses equate this incongruence to predatory behavior, like a lion stalking the herd slowly and low to the ground while having intense internal energy.  When our insides and outsides “don’t match” horses sense this inner conflict and provide feedback to the human that things aren’t matching up in several different ways. For example, they may move away from the person and not offer to engage until the person becomes aware of their incongruence and moves towards establishing congruence in their body.

This provides helpful feedback to a person working to establish effective communication and connection with their equine partner and others in their life. [ii]

When horse/human interactions are safely and intentionally facilitated by trained professionals who understand both human and equine physiology and psychology, benefits abound for both.  For better or worse, the lives of most horses are inextricably bound with humans.  Increased positive relationship skills benefit both horse and human, helping to keep horses away from undesirable situations such as kill pens or neglected. Humans can benefit from the reminders of being present, being congruent, and being more self-aware.

[i] https://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/energetic-communication/

https://www.heartmath.org/assets/uploads/2017/10/effect-of-equine-assisted-psychotherapy-on-emotion-regulation.pdf

[ii] Jobe, T., Shultz-Jobe, B., McFarland, L. & Naylor, K. (2021). Natural Lifemanship’s Trauma Informed Equine Assisted Services. Liberty Hill: Natural Lifemanship.