Equine Therapy in Nashville, allows clients to participate in “feet on the ground” interactions with horses. Assisted by both our two legged and four legged therapists; clients are able to learn and identify self-confidence, relationship dynamics and patterns, problem-solving, and teamwork through a variety of experiential exercises. The goal of equine therapy is to help patients develop needed life skills, such as responsibility, self-confidence, accountability, self-control, and problem-solving skills. Safety is a top priority for all participants. Participants often wear helmets and other protective gear should they fall from a horse during a therapeutic session.
What Does Equine Therapy Involve?
Equine Therapy involves activities directly relating to the care of horses, including grooming, feeding, haltering and leading a horse. A trained equine therapist will walk the patient through all these activities, the therapist will observe and interact with the patient in order to identify behavior patterns and process thoughts and emotions. The ability of a therapist to use the horse as a metaphor for other issues helps make the equine treatment applicable to real life problems. Equine Therapy is often used as a team-building exercise or in family or group therapy because horses also show interpersonal behavior. Also, because equine therapy is often goal-oriented, it allows the group to work together to achieve a common goal.
Benefits of Equine Therapy
One of the major benefits of equine therapy comes from working with animals that have a non-judgmental nature and are animals which mirror the attitudes and behaviors of the humans they are working with. We have seen patients who have made strides and shown improvement in the following areas:
- Assertiveness
- Empathy
- Flexibility
- Independence
- Self-regard
- Impulse control
- Problem-solving skills
- Empathy
- Stress tolerance
What Conditions Does Equine Therapy Treat?
Success has been found with many conditions including, but not limited to, substance abuse, addiction, behavior disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, learning differences, ADD/ADHD, autism, Asperger’s, grief/loss, trauma, sex addiction, compulsive gambling, bipolar, depression and related conditions.
