Posted: 10th November 2020 | Back to news feed
As equestrians, horses are our time out, a chance to relax and take a break from the stress of daily life. Time spent with them leaves us feeling refreshed, but do you know that due to their calming presence we can actually learn a lot from them?
As prey animals, horses are more sensitive to emotions as well as their environment and can often sense how we are feeling even before we realise it ourselves. They may act as a mirror responding to our emotions, e.g by moving toward or away from us. In equine facilitated learning, a coach or therapist uses these reactions to help us connect with our inner feelings and emotions, leading us to an improvement in self awareness.
Photo: Rosie Withey
With the effects of the coronavirus pandemic leaving the nation struggling with their mental health more than ever, spending time with horses can act as an emotional reset, they are content with just ‘being’, which can help us to get out of the mindset that we always need to be doing something, which many people struggled with over lockdown.
These are 6 of the important ways equine facilitated learning can help you;
Alleviating anxiety
Horses tend to live in the moment, they don’t overthink or hold a grudge. Being around this type of energy can help us to begin to behave in a more similar way, calming our minds and helping us to become aware of mental chatter. This understanding can then be used to learn how to move through negative thoughts and become more calm and focused.
This can be an incredibly positive environment and mindset for those struggling with anxiety. Being in the presence of a calm horse reduces anxious arousal, because it is “a comforting reminder that danger is no longer present.” The calmness of the horse helps people become more mindful of the present moment, mirroring the behaviour of the animal.
Spending time with horses helps us to become aware of our mental chatter. In these moments when the mind is calmer we can learn to recognise whether we are listening to our true voice or if its the false self voice that we are listening to. We can then learn a process to move through thoughts and beliefs that are not serving us.
Boundaries
Horses make their boundaries very clear, they show their feelings when they don’t want to do something and are quick to express their anger if they feel that another horse has crossed a boundary. Without any words at all, horses make clear when someone has crossed their boundaries. What we can learn from horses is how to notice when we are being controlling, or being controlled and find more effective and respectful ways to be in relationship.
It is a valuable complementary therapy
In many cases, equine facilitated learning can lead to breakthroughs where conventional therapy has no longer been effective. This may simply be because you are happier talking through your emotions in the context of a horse or because of an increase in self awareness through working with a horse. Some people spend years talking about their problems, and this has its place, but being with a horse may help them to become more aware of their feelings and emotions and move through their challenges in a more embodied way.
Mindfulness
Equine facilitated learning integrates mindfulness at almost every step as you learn to be present, in the moment, calm, centred, focused, and fully engaged.
Horses are present to what is happening in the moment, alert to their surroundings and curious about what’s happening in their environment. Being in their presence can help us to be more present to our thoughts and emotions. When we become more connected to our true feelings and simply ‘be’, there comes a sense of peace.
Confidence and Self esteem
Confidence can be enhanced as you challenge yourself to learn and master new skills. Through equine facilitated learning many people find an improved ability to tackle new projects and challenges in a natural, non-competitive, and non-judgmental environment, which leads to improved confidence, self-assurance, and self-esteem.
Identifying feelings
Horses have a unique ability to sense emotions and react accordingly. If you are angry or aggressive, some horses may become obstinate. If you are anxious, some horses may pick up on your anxiety and become skittish. But witnessing the horse’s response promotes self-awareness and can help you identify your own feelings, and when you acknowledge your feelings your body begins to calm down and the horse will often respond in kind.
During equine facilitated learning the therapist creates a safe environment in which clients can explore their feelings in the presence of horses. Because horses respond in the moment with no judgement or bias towards the person’s emotional experience they can bring an added depth and understanding to the session.
Case Study
Some years ago I was teaching a 12 year old. When I arrived she was madly scratching her head, which she proceeded to do at the beginning of the early lessons and as soon as the lesson had finished and she went out of the arena.
During one of her earlier lessons her Mum, who had been watching, shouted across the arena at the top of her voice ‘change your diagonal’! This deflection of emotions from the mother onto the child took away the space for the daughter to ‘work things out for herself’.
After this, I quietly asked her Mum to leave us for the duration of the lesson. I then ‘held the space’ for the child to FEEL her vulnerability, be on the wrong diagonal, feel and see what that looks like, be on the correct diagonal and compare how that looked and felt so that she could make her choice and work it out for herself!
This use of equine facilitated therapy gave her a safe space where she could be vulnerable and work through a challenge which led her to grow, develop and expand her comfort zone. Over time the head scratching lessened both before and after the lesson.
More information at https://horsesasteachers.co.uk/
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