.png)
What is
Equine-Assisted Services?
_JPG.jpg)
Working with horses is a wonderful way to facilitate healing. Once a bond is created between a human and a horse, healing and learning can begin. Since horses are prey animals, they have had to learn some serious survival skills in the wild. This includes learning to ’smell’ the chemicals of emotions of another to understand if they are a threat or not. These animals are so respondent and sensitive - which proves to be a great attribute for those who are holding onto trauma, or even just feel stuck in their life. Horses will respond to what is happening underneath the surface and in your emotional and physical body.
…My Life has changed in this one experience. As a singular therapy session, by far the most impactful that I've had in my life. Connecting with this giant animal as its nudging me was such a powerful experience.
-Catie, Survivor
Please watch my video on anewdawnfoundation.org where participants in Equine Assisted Learning discuss the impact of working with horses for their healing journey.
Why Horses
Working with animals has proven to have many health benefits from lowering blood pressure to lifting depression. Working with horses, however, has its own unique set of benefits in addition to these. This is because horses are vibrational beings that “read’ the energy around them, and they stay centered and present, constantly tuning into the energies around them.
Being animals that are preyed upon in the wild, horses have used this vulnerability to develop highly tuned reptilian brains. The reptilian brain is the instinctual flight or fight brain. Humans have continued to grow their neo cortex (evolved brain) and therefore moved away from the instinctual part. Most of us have lost the skill to tune into vibrational levels and use of our senses. Horses haven’t lost these skills, as they need them to survive. Therefore, they can teach us to have strength in these areas that we’ve shutdown.
Here is an example of horses using the ability to know if the energy from another animal is a threat or not: There are many stories in the wild of a herd of horses out grazing in a field, and suddenly one of them catches onto a threatening energy from a lion nearby. The lion is out of sight of the herd, yet one picked up on the intent of the hungry lion. This horse communicates with the others letting them know there is a threat so they can band together. Once the lion realizes this is not going to be his food source today, they lion goes off and finds it somewhere else. That same lion is then seen walking thru the herd of horses later, with a full belly and no intention of attacking the horses. This time, because his energy is non- threatening; the horses just continue to graze and are not alarmed. What we know from this is that horses can use our emotional body to know what we are really feeling in the moment. We may say or pretend to be feeling one way, but horses don’t understand words so they pick up the true essence of our emotions and will respond accordingly.
The horses ALWAYS know how to give the space, the nudge, the lesson. They are the true facilitators and ’therapists’ in this work
Here are a few ways they do this:
​
Smelling The quality of our energy has different smells. For example, If we are in fight or flight, it will ‘smell’ different then if we are in rest and digest (para sympathetic verses sympathetic nervous system). Different chemicals have different smells. Reading/understanding body language- Since horses have a lack of verbal communication, they have become very adept at knowing what our body language is saying about us in the moment.
Trust of their reptilian brain. They’ve relied on it all their lives, and its saved them.
Eyes the location prevents them from seeing directly in front of or behind them. Because of this, they need to be more present to be aware of any danger. They stay in the moment because they have found there is valuable information when we are present- not looking behind/backwards or straight ahead in the future. (Physically and metaphorically)
Heart Although the human brain is larger than a horse’s brain, (yet they are 8-12x’s larger than humans), their hearts are larger than ours. Research by The Heart Math Inst. shows that the electromagnetic field of the heart is larger than that of the brain. A magnetometer can measure the heart’s energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is impressive, it’s even more amazing that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse’s heart is five times larger than the human one! The horse’s EMF is also stronger than ours and can directly influence our own heart rhythm. Additionally, horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a “coherent” heart rhythm (heart rate pattern/HRV) which explains why we may “feel better” when we are around them. Studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy.
​
So, in a sense, they are using their superpowers of being present and heightened instincts to track our thoughts -which are our vibrations- that we are putting out in the world via our inner physiology and our outer posturing. What you offer you get back in return, so they are teaching us about ourselves on a emotional and body awareness level. And they do it without lengthy intellectual processing as humans do. They ‘see’ us for how we really feel, and if we allow them to they can assist us in knowing our feeling/emotional patterns.
​
They give us the opportunity to explore:
​
-
What will be possible for you when you discover feeling and thought patterns that can block you from moving forward?
-
What benefits are there for you when you are more present?
-
Who in your life will benefit /be gifted with your presence?
Trauma-informed healing through horses
My journey into occupational therapy was inspired by the healing power of animals, and today, through partnerships with Special Spirit, Inc., mentorship at Freedom Reigns Ranch, and training with the Academy for Coaching with Horses, I integrate equine-assisted learning with somatic and trauma-informed practices.​With over a decade of bodywork experience and VITA™ certification, I help clients tap into and release trauma stored in the body that keeps our nervous system in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn patterns by using the intuitive presence of horses. These gentle yet powerful beings guide us in building awareness, setting boundaries, exploring self-love, and breaking free from limiting beliefs. Whether grooming, leading, or simply being with them, horses offer space, insight, and deep emotional regulation, the true facilitators in this work.