Horses are the most commonly used animals for therapy purposes. What makes them so well suited for this exercise is their ability to immediately respond and give feedback to a rider’s stimulus. A horse’s survival depends on its inherent nature to analyze, ‘read’ if you will, the intention of anything that creates a pressure in their perceived bubble of safety. If the pressure exceeds their comfort level, they will act on that and retreat to a position of safety; they respond right away making no excuses for their attempt to remain safe and comfortable. With this enhanced ability to perceive danger comes a remarkable skill in recognizing things in their environment, and to our benefit, their willingness to become attuned to humans and all the emotions and energies we tend to tote along with us. Without uttering a single word, horses can speak to humans while therapeutically offering an unconditional love and non-judgmental ear to facilitate a healing process where other forms of therapy have failed. In addition, horses demonstrate an uncanny capacity to realize honesty and will never be deceived by a human’s attempt to mask emotions with false smiles or intentions. Horses live in a world of black and white communication and will certainly not settle for anything but the truth.
Horses can mirror people’s emotions and will match that state. In an empathetic display, horses will absorb the current emotional status of the people around them usually resulting in an improvement toward a more joyous position.
With all that being said, perhaps considering horses as a source of mental (and physical) therapy would be a prudent decision. East Point Horspice is beginning the 2021 therapeutic riding season on Thursday May 13th at 5:30 p.m. in the EPH Memorial Volunteer Center. The 10-week program is open to all participants who are willing to allow horses to become the teachers in a unique and life-changing classroom. Riders will undoubtedly develop a relationship with their equine partners as they learn to properly care for and ride the program horses through exercises ranging from easy to more challenging, all the while in a fun and creative atmosphere. In the previous 15 years of the EPH program, many successes have been witnessed regarding improved development of the riders who possess anxiety, traumatic stress, autism, or results from stroke or other physical impairments. You are encouraged to contact EPH at (308) 762-3848 or eph@bbc.net for further information about expectations associated with the program. If you are interested in a front row seat to this wonderfully amazing horses/rider relationship, EPH encourages you to volunteer this summer. The life you change may be your own.