About the Program

Horses respond with unique insight into who we are in the moment. They are profoundly gifted reflectors of our true selves because their very survival depends of reading their surroundings correctly. That’s why time spent with horses on the ground, under the guidance of certified EAGALA professionals offers us a safe, hands-on, and immediate way to practice being honest with ourselves and open to change. No riding involved. No previous horse experience necessary. 

Horses are experts in feedback because as prey animals, their natural instincts require them to be continually perceptive of their environment. They provide honest immediate feedback to the presenting environment. Clients in recovery are often disconnected with their feelings and their physical body as a result of childhood or recent trauma. They spend a great deal of time thinking about the past or worrying about the future. Being “in the present” and “connecting with their feelings” is very challenging almost universally.

Horses help clients “be in the present” and get more “in touch” with their feelings. Being prey animals, horses are keenly aware of their surroundings and intentions of those around them. Additionally, horses’ “insides match their outsides,” consequently, if clients aren’t “congruent” with their body language and feelings, horses know this and give feedback accordingly. Clients are much more open to receiving feedback from an animal as compared to a human therapist.

The arena allows for experiential learning without judgment. (EAGALA 2013). There is an unconscious engagement between horses and people, which includes the effects of the Oxytocin hormone. Oxytocin reduces fear/anxiety in both humans and mammals when one encounters another in a safe place (EquiPower 2015 p. 16).

Horses are sensitive to non-verbal communication and respond to clients’ accordingly. This provides an opportunity for honest, here-and-now transformational experiences. By creating a safe environment for experiential learning through doing rather than thinking (cognitive processing of talking/listening), clients are offered opportunities for self-reflection, integration, and empowerment of their own learning/life choices.