If you’re struggling with anxiety, you can take your pick from several different therapeutic approaches. The therapist’s office isn’t always the setting for these techniques, though.
One non-clinical approach to treating anxiety is equine-assisted therapy, which involves caring for and interacting with horses under the supervision of a mental health expert.
Hamer Equine Assisted Learning [ H.E.A.L.] offers a tranquil space for participants to experience the unique benefits of equine assisted in Victoria, Australia. H.E.A.L. offers physically and psychologically safe experiences with horses.
Using this method, you won’t have to mount a horse, and you don’t even need any experience with horses to do it. If you choose, you can spend your periods leading, feeding, and petting horses. Perhaps you’ll decide to do nothing more than watch them.
Any of the following, according to a 2015 report, could be beneficial:
Learn more about yourself and our world by clicking here. – Raise People’s Awareness of Mindfulness
Reducing stress, anxiety, or terror Relieve various forms of emotional pain, such as depression, by using the techniques presented here.
Want to know how anxiety can be reduced by riding a horse? Considering equine-assisted therapy for yourself or a loved one?
What to expect from sessions, key research findings, and where to find a therapist who offers equine-assisted therapy for anxiety are just some of the topics covered in this article.
Guide to Meeting Preparation
Any given therapy session might include the following, depending on the type of program being used:
Having spent a considerable amount of time
– watching horses and their behavior
Caring for and brushing a horse (administering) food or treats as rewards Taking a horse for a walk in a small space. the activity of guiding a horse along a course or over obstacles
Whence comes this kind of behavior? A few examples are as follows:
It’s possible that doing some basic, normal grooming procedures could help you unwind and find some peace of mind.
In the same way that going for a walk can improve your mood and hence help you feel less anxious, so too can steering the horse.
Feeding and caring for the horse might help foster a closer relationship with it.
A therapist will be present at all times to guide you and offer suggestions as you interact with the horse. They may ask you questions about what you noticed, and they may also encourage you to process any difficult feelings or profound insights you had while experiencing the event.
What equine-assisted therapy actually looks like for a given individual might vary greatly depending on the modality being used. Some people purposefully engage in activities with horses with the aim of overcoming their own personal challenges with anxiety, trauma, or trust.
The question is, “Why horses?”
You may already be aware of the therapeutic benefits that animals may provide, whether in the form of a companion animal or an emotional support animal.
The same holds true for equines.
These social, perceptive animals use vocalizations and postures to communicate with one another within the herd and with humans. Due to their unique ability to recognize and respond to human emotions, they play a vital part in the healing process.
Co-director of the Man O’ War Project at Columbia University Irving Medical Center Prudence Fisher is certain that positive interactions with horses can foster the kind of meaningful attachment that might result in new perspectives and improved habits. The purpose of this research is to learn more about equine-assisted therapy and how well it works in the treatment of PTSD and other mental health conditions.
PTSD sufferers have many symptoms with those who suffer from anxiety, including hypervigilance, feeling on edge or tense, avoiding people or situations, insomia or restlessness, irritability, and changes in mood and thought, thus it stands to reason that those with anxiety may also benefit.
Working with horses is one of several approaches of alleviating anxiety.
The ability to control one’s emotions is one of the benefits they provide.
When considering how to care for them, horses stand out from the crowd because of their unique status as predatory animals.
That’s why they’re so perceptive and sensitive overall; they can probably feel the vibes of those around them. Clients can gain insight into the impact they have on others and receive guidance on improving their emotional regulation and interpersonal skills.
If you suffer from anxiety, you may find it difficult to manage your feelings and express them effectively, both to other people and to yourself.
Equine-assisted therapy teaches you how to communicate effectively with horses. Whenever you make use of these skills, the horse is more likely to respond to you. The confidence you feel in your ability to communicate and form meaningful relationships with others may be strengthened by this.
Trust and openness can be established via their company.
As you can see, horses are quite big. Anxiety and exposure can be caused by knowing that a fully grown horse can weigh up to a thousand pounds.
The sheer size of the horse makes it difficult to adequately portray trust and fear issues in a talk therapy setting.
To safely interact with horses, you must show them due reverence and be cognizant of the fact that they can act in ways you cannot predict.
Horses are gentle and friendly, despite the fact that being scared around such a large animal is natural. Respecting someone’s boundaries and acting in accordance with their behavioral cues is key to developing a trustworthy, mutually beneficial relationship with that person.
Having the confidence that comes from knowing you can communicate effectively with such a massive animal can carry over to other, more common situations that may otherwise fill you with dread and stress.
Those places provide an alternative atmosphere.
Equine-assisted therapy typically takes place outside, in a serene and beautiful natural environment.
A increasing amount of studies indicates that spending time in nature can raise your mood and minimize emotions of stress, anger, and worry. Therefore, especially if you love being outside, you can realize that the natural surroundings alone helps ease some of your ongoing anxiety and concern.
Fisher thinks the bright, natural setting might be quite beneficial if you’ve tried talk therapy and other conventional approaches without success.
Maybe expressing your fear into words is difficult for you, or you have problems pinpointing the main reason and particular triggers. This procedure could be sped up by a change in landscape, especially if a horse is involved. Horses are empathetic creatures and can reflect your mood and demeanor.
If your therapist notices that you seem unusually tense, furious, or on edge, they may bring up the horse’s reaction to you. This may make it less difficult for you to convey those feelings, opening the door to a more in-depth discussion of the issues at hand.
It’s possible you could learn some mindfulness practices from them.
Engaging with a horse requires full focus and awareness.
To avoid frightening or disturbing the horse, you must first be conscious of your own actions and the horse’s.
However, as you progress through the exercise, you will be keeping a close eye on the horse’s reactions. Do they seem relaxed and open to being touched? What messages do their facial expressions and vocalizations send? (You will receive more instruction in understanding horse language from your therapist as part of the treatment process.)
All of this needs that you remain in the here and now, not allowing thoughts of the past or the future to derail you.
Mindfulness, which involves paying attention in a nonjudgmental way to one’s internal and external experiences, has been shown to improve reliability, tolerance, openness, and interest. The more regularly you practice mindfulness, the more likely it is that the benefits will last long after your session is over.
Fisher says, “Equine-assisted therapy may help you reflect on your thoughts, behaviors, and interactions with other creatures, in large part via your becoming aware to the horse’s reactions, as horses deliver clear and steady feedback that matches the mood and signals you convey.”
By raising one’s level of self-awareness, one may be able to put a stop to negative patterns of behavior, such as ruminating as a response to anxiety. As you deal with the cause of your worry, this could be quite beneficial.
Take traumatic experiences as an illustration. Childhood trauma, such as abandonment or maltreatment, has been shown to contribute to adult anxiety.
If you’ve encountered trauma in the past, interacting with horses may reawaken dormant neural connections in your brain. Devoille illustrates this by using the analogy of a horse walking away while you try to connect with it. The animal’s behavior may trigger painful flashbacks to a time when a loved one abandoned you as a child. At such times, we might choose to reflect on our reactions, make adjustments to our interactions with the horse, and usher in novel experiences.
