EQUINE THERAPY
Equine Therapy! What is it?
Equine: relating to a horse, of any other member of the horse family. Therapy: the treatment of mental or psychological disorders by psychological means. If you combine both of these definitions you get the meaning of what is equine therapy. Equine therapy is a therapy that uses a horse to stimulate the emotions of a person based on how they are feeling. Horses have the capacity to feel a person's emotions and create a bond with them, which can result in everlasting love and appreciation for one another.
How does a horse help a patient?
The horse is like the psychological mirror of a person. Whatever the person feels, the horse will feel. Given this, in order for a person to keep the horse patient so it can follow any of their commands, they must feel calm so the horse does too. This, in a way, demands control and forces the person to keep calm so the therapy can go well.
Why is it beneficial?
-Horses help to build self-esteem and self-confidence, and they inspire people to pursue their goals and aspirations. Experienced personnel and the therapy horses help build social skills, which helps people of all ages improve their relationships with family, peers, and their community.
-This can be a huge benefit when working with those suffering from mental health issues, as being around and working with horses can help the patient to build confidence, communication skills, trust, social skills, impulse control, and also learn boundaries.
-In physical therapy, multidirectional movements of the horse are utilized in gait training, balance, postural control, strengthening, and increasing range of motion. In many studies, improvements in gross motor skills, and functional activities have been reported in disabled children.
Who is it beneficial for?
This therapy is beneficial for people who struggle with mental disorders and illnesses such as autism, Down syndrome, depression, and anxiety, but also can generally help people who are stressed.
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What are some examples of benefits that equine therapy provides?
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Emotional stability and control
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Social skills
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Speech and pronunciation
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Confidence levels
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Trust
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Empathy
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Overall happiness
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Mental and physical health
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Motor skills
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Strength
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Balance
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Behavior
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Focusing
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Endurance
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Coordination
What goes on in equine therapy?
Equine therapy uses a combination of exercises and activities such as; grooming, painting, and petting the horse. Most importantly is mounting and riding the horse. This is truly how the feeling of a person gets transmitted to the animal. This is done by sitting the person on the horse's back with a saddle, while another person or supervisor is leading the horse giving the patient instructions. These instructions are like, “lift your hands”, “say please to the horse for it to move”, “breath in”, etc. If these commands are followed by the person taking the therapy, they will start to see the impact on their confidence, social values, and calmness.
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How do the emotions of a patient change from the beginning to the end of the therapy?
This therapy can influence how a person is feeling in many ways. Most commonly, people who start taking the therapy feel intimidated by such a big creature, but as they continue to take this therapy they can find that these animals are very kind and gentle (not all of them, just the ones used for equine therapy) and provide you comfort more than any other animal can. When riding, people can feel happier because they feel more relaxed by the movement of the horse. By the end of the therapy, the patient usually has more confidence and feels better about themselves due to the fact that horses provide this special connection.
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