Since 4000 BC, horses have played a role within human cultures and have done so for millennia. Horses are used for various purposes; activities, sports, working purposes, and most recently, therapy. As society has become more technologically advanced, the role horses play in society has dramatically changed. We have started to depend on horses as workers less and less, but at the same time we seem to need the emotional and physical support they can lend more and more. Equine-assisted therapy is an umbrella term encompassing several therapeutic activities involving horses. Hippotherapy, for example, utilizes the movement of horses for physical, occupational, or speech therapy, and has been used to treat motor and sensory issues associated with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke, among other things. Though horses have been used for physical therapy since at least the fifth century B.C., the formal discipline of hippotherapy wasn't established until the 1960s. On the other hand, equine-assisted psychotherapy is a type of experiential psychotherapy that uses horses to help in the treatment of psychological and behavioral issues, is a much newer activity that isn't widely practiced yet. Being in the presences of horses and horseback riding is not only good for metal health and is therapeutic, but caring for a large animal such as a horse builds character in children and adolescents.
Stress-related heart attacks, anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure are on the rise nationwide. Suicide rates have risen, more people are on medication to help cope with their emotions, and many struggle to even get a decent night’s sleep. Many studies, including one done in the UK, have shown that people who ride rate their emotional level as happier and more cheerful after riding. Those who ride also find that they become more depressed the longer they go without riding, but that a ride will increase their happiness and lower their stress levels. The study states that “The qualitative data suggests that horse riding can play a role in managing negative feelings relating to anxiety and depression.” and one specific participant stated that “I have suffered from depression from the age of 18 . . . there was a time when I couldn’t ride for a while due to a fractured knee, it was then that I realised how much horse riding had helped me cope with my depression.” A therapy counsellor in sussex field, Gabrielle Gardner, has worked with all types of clients, including young offenders, and says “a horse picks up on the way people are feeling, mirroring their emotions and responding.” Horses have a innate skill of being able to sense the way humans feel around them because they are prey animals and are highly attuned to environmental activity. If you are around a horse and are tense and nervous, the horse will pick up on that feeling and recreate it themselves. It’s because of this innate skill that they are so beneficial to troubled people and are an alternate form of therapy. There are many people who do not take to talking therapies, I included, because counseling is not “one size fits all” so to say. Unfortunately, scientific research still remains small, and the results from therapy are mostly anecdotal. But, Franklin Levinson claims that "It has been clinically documented that just being around horses changes human brainwave patterns. We calm down and become more centred and focused when we are with horses," he says. "Horses are naturally empathetic. The members of the herd feel what is going on for the other members of the herd." Another common group of people who use horses as therapy are military veterans. PTSD is very common amongst this group. The group “Horses for Heroes,” meets once a month with as few as two veterans and up to as many as twelve at a time. The program starts with social time, then they break up into groups. The veterans receive education about horses, they spend time grooming the horses, and then they ride if they would like to in a lesson type of format. Once again, being around the horses doesn’t require the patient to engage in speaking. They can go to the horse and just relax. It gives them a calmness that allows them to move forward. An interesting incident that took place with a participant, named Steve, within the program. A loud noise spooked Steve’s horse he was grooming and the horse’s caregiver was concerned this would trigger Steve’s PTSD. Interestingly enough, it was Steve who remained calm and took it upon himself to calm the horse from whatever spooked it. While this is not hardcore scientific data, it further proves the beneficial effects horses have on people with psychological disorder.
On the other hand, horses can also be extremely beneficial to people diagnosed with a genetic disorder. Children with autism also benefit from equine therapy due to the motor, emotional, and sensory sensations that come with riding a horse. Autistic children have difficulty bonding emotionally to others. Rather than verbal communication, autistic children experience physical communication with the horses. They brush them, pet them, and take care of them. By learning to care for the horse, they can associate the care they provide with feelings and an emotional bridge is constructed. This bond can lead to social and communication skill production with other people in his life as well. Autistic children also often have difficulty comprehending normal directions. By engaging in equine therapy, the autistic children follow directions through a activity that makes taking direction easier to remember. For example, equine therapists have children throw colored balls into baskets while riding, touch their eyes, mouth, and ears during a song, and identify scenes—all incorporated during riding. In 2015, a randomly-controlled study conducted at Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center found that about half of the 116 children tested had shown improvement in language skills, communication ability, understanding of social cues, and behavioral control. The Horse Boy Foundation – set up by Rupert Isaacson, who has an autistic son – is running a new programme of equine therapy camps for autistic children and their families in Britain. Dr Nicola Martin, an autism expert at the LSE, said she thought anything that brought children and families together would have a positive effect. "It's certainly not about healing or curing, because autism is for life, but being out in the countryside, close to nature, doing something enjoyable like interacting with horses, has got to help families come together." *Insert concluding sentence that transitions nicely to next paragraph*
Finally, caring for animals and chore routines builds character and responsibility in children and adolescents. While it is not possible for every child to have access to taking care of their own horse, the few that do benefit greatly from it. Results of the study, published in February 2006, found a significant positive relationship between horsemanship skills and life skills. Taking care of a horse helps with character development. Handling, riding, and caring for a horse or pony can develop a host of positive traits in a child, including responsibility, accountability, patience, level-headedness, empathy, kindness, and self-discipline. In terms of responsibility, Whether you’re mucking stalls and caring for your horse in your own backyard, or keeping track of his needs (farrier visits, worming, shots, etc.) at the boarding barn, there’s no denying that having a horse requires diligence right from the start. Horses also help build self confidence, especially in young children. While horse riding is an independent sport, it’s actually a partnership in which the owner is a teacher and leader who works with the horse. Nothing builds self confidence better than “leadership training.” When you tell a 1,000-pound animal to move in a certain direction, and then to follow you, it’s a feeling of accomplishment that you successfully taught it to do that. And when the horse does not comply, you are responsible for administering the proper discipline. That’s a form of empowerment that’s only found working with large animals. Riding can also translate into Scholastic enhancement. The perseverance needed to ride well can translate into improved performance in the classroom. Riding increases a child’s focus and intensity,” observes California trainer Carol Dal Porto, who prepares youngsters to compete on the Appaloosa circuit. “You can’t let your mind wander when you’re riding a 1,200-pound animal.” This learned concentration later shows up in kids’ schoolwork, “to their parents’ delight,” adds Dal Porto. Ann Swinker, Ph.d, professor in Animal Science at Penn State University states that “If your child likes animals and you’re concerned about that child’s problem solving, goal-setting, or decision-making skills, then definitely get him or her involved with horses.”