How Interacting with Horses Promotes Healing

Contributing Author Michael Hughes

The bond between humans and horses has been forged over thousands of years. Modern interactions benefit from this bond. Horses provide companionship and contribute to therapies that promote mental and physical well-being.

It is a relationship that greatly benefits humans when it comes to the healing powers that horses provide. How does this happen? Horses are able to sense human emotions and body language, which provides immediate and tangible feedback that helps individuals confront their feelings and build trust.

Interacting with horses promotes healing through their ability to mirror emotions, as well as lower stress, and provide a nonjudgmental connection that fosters emotional regulation and self-awareness. By allowing an individual to confront their feelings and build trust, they lower the stress hormone cortisol while increasing oxytocin, the “bonding hormone,” which promotes a sense of calm and connection.

It is this approach that is used in equine therapy to help people process trauma, build confidence, and improve mental and physical well-being. 

Emotional and Mental Healing 

There are various ways that horses offer emotional and mental healing for humans. Here are just some of the methods that allow for real healing to take place.

Emotional Regulation

A person must remain calm to interact effectively with a horse, which encourages practicing emotional regulation and stress-relief techniques. 

Empathy

When you work with a horse’s needs, you help develop empathy by encouraging an understanding of another creature’s perspective. 

Trust 

Cultivating a therapeutic bond with a horse necessitates developing trust, which can be extended to trusting oneself and others. 

Self-esteem and Confidence

You will find that effectively connecting, or bonding, with a large, powerful animal can be quite empowering. This can increase self-esteem and confidence. 

Self-awareness

Horses offer real-time, non-judgmental feedback by mirroring a person’s energy and body language.  This transaction can help individuals understand their own emotions and behaviors. 

Communication Skills

Horses require clear, congruent communication that is both verbal and non-verbal. This enables people to improve their communication abilities. 

Physical Healing

Horses can bring physical healing through equine-assisted therapy, which improves motor skills, balance, and muscle strength through activities like therapeutic riding and hippotherapy. 

Here are many other specific ways that horses can provide physical healing and wholeness to humans. 

Stress Reduction: Doing activities like grooming and just being in the presence of a horse outdoors has the power to lower blood pressure and heart rate. 

Improved Balance and Coordination:  Therapeutic riding uses the horse’s natural movements to strengthen core muscles, as well as improve balance and bolster coordination. 

Increased Body Awareness:  Humans can tune into their own physical sensations by simply interacting with a horse. This can be especially beneficial for people with eating disorders. 

Healing Trauma and Other Conditions 

PTSD and Trauma

Equine therapy can help people process trauma by relearning to recognize their feelings, as well as regulate emotions, and build trust. There is some evidence that this can result in significant reductions in depression and PTSD. 

Eating Disorders 

People who work with horses are often able to rebuild a positive relationship with themselves by learning patience, self-acceptance, and by learning to recognize bodily cues like hunger and fullness. 

ADHD and Autism

The structured environment that equine therapy offers is typically beneficial for people with ADHD and autism. It helps them with skills like attention, patience, and impulse control. 

Being with Horses is Healing to Humans

Whether you are riding horses, or just grooming, petting, leading or communicating with them, there is undeniable evidence that they provide healing to all of us if we take the time to be with them. Whether it involves reducing our blood pressure, stress level, or enhancing our self-awareness, horses instill in humans a sense of calm and gentleness.

There is ample evidence to show that the potential is practically limitless for opportunities to heal our souls as we spend time with our four-legged friends. You may just find that a relationship with a horse may enhance the quality of your life.

Learn more about Good Works Public Relations, founded by Michael Hughes.