Helping With Horses: What You Need to Know About Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy

Horses have stood side-by-side with humans for centuries. And now, we’re working with horses to treat addiction and mental illness.

Equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP), also known as equine assisted therapy (EAT) or simply equine therapy, is a rapidly growing form of addiction recovery. It involves using horses to achieve therapeutic goals as designed by a health professional, the benefits of which include improved motor skills, sensory processing, and better social interaction.

Here’s what you need to know about equine therapy, and why it’s an effective way to treat those challenged by addiction and mental health issues.

What Is Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

Equine assisted psychotherapy is a highly specialized form of therapy that uses horses to help treat those suffering from trauma and addiction. Founded at the Sierra Tucson treatment center in Arizona, equine therapy has now been introduced in North America, in the U.K. and across much of Europe, and for good reason. Don Lavender, Programme Director at Camino Recovery, explains:

“It’s become a really effective therapy. We are working with addicts to teach how to work with personal boundaries and the boundaries of the self and others, as well as some healing. It’s therapeutic for the human because they get to learn connection with others. If they’re isolated and they’re using drugs, they will learn how to replace that with connection.”

Get a peek into equine therapy with Don Lavender from our visit to Spain.

Equine therapy takes an activity-based approach to healing to promote personal growth, responsibility and positivity. It’s designed to break down the barriers that prevent positive communication and encourage healthy interactions, first with the horse, and then with those around us.

How Does Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Work?

The common misconception about equine assisted psychotherapy is that it involves horseback riding. In actuality, there is no riding of horses involved in this form of treatment. Instead, equine therapy is about groundwork. It’s about learning how to speak the language of the horse and build a connection with it through a series of ground-based activities.

One example is lunging. In short, lunging is getting the horse to move around the pen with you. You can pull on a horse’s rope and drag it around the pen next to you, or you can develop a “join up” and walk in unison with the horse at its own free will. It’s the latter that you want to achieve, but to do this requires the patient to understand, read and tend to the horse’s emotions.

A big reason why equine assisted psychotherapy is so effective is that the horse emulates a non-judgmental, open and entirely honest human being. They are a “divine mirror” to human emotion and give a patient the ability to understand how certain actions and behaviors affect those around them.