Horses give us many gifts simply by being in our lives. From being loving pets to providing comfort and long quiet rides, horses provide service and companionship. They also have an amazing therapeutic, healing power. Equine-assisted therapy is a science-based, powerful and experiential approach to therapy. EAT is a therapeutic treatment method that uses an equine environment and equine activities to benefit people diagnosed with depression, traumatic brain injuries, autism, cerebral palsy, ADD, post traumatic stress disorders, and much more.

Horses can help people build social skills, self-confidence, communication skills, and trust as well as improving impulse control, perspective, empathy, and self-awareness. Studies show that when people spend time with a horse, it can lead to human and equine heart rates syncing up, generally lowering the human’s heart rate, alleviating a stress response.

As herd animals, horses have an innate ability to read body language and mood. As prey animals, they are hypervigilant, attuned to smell, movement, and sound. As social animals, they possess qualities like acceptance, kindness, and tolerance that make them uniquely qualified to interact with people in distress.

Animal-assisted therapy is a long-used tool in the treatment of humans and horses seem to be especially suited to providing physical and emotional biofeedback to people of all ages and with a wide variety of needs.

Horses have long been part of our lives, as tools, transportation, and companions. They can be healers, too.