ACA Blog

Horses communicate primarily through the use of body language, eye contact, voice and smell. As we learned last time, observing the horse can often provide clues about his emotional state and temperament. This week, we will discuss how understanding horse communication may help counselors communicate with clients on a deeper level.

I have received some really great feedback about the various types of therapeutic horsemanship programs available. I have also received some great questions. This week, I will take the opportunity to answer one of the recurring questions: How do horses communicate?

This week we will be climbing out of the saddle to learn about the experiential groundwork techniques of the EAGALA method.

Since the submission of my last blog post about deaf individuals and some of their negative experiences in counseling, I have been seriously touched and somewhat humbled by the outpouring of communication I have received not only from counselors and counseling students; but also from deaf and hard of hearing individuals themselves.

This is an area of Therapeutic Horsemanship that I find to be fascinating. When I think of vaulting on horseback, the image of superhuman gymnasts in Cirque du Soleil-like performances springs to my mind. The more I researched the topic, however, the more I realized the value it brings to clients participating in Therapeutic Horsemanship programs. The balance, focus, confidence and teamwork it takes to perform the exercises during a Therapeutic Vaulting session can be extremely beneficial not only in a physical sense, but also psychologically.

As we learned last time, Therapeutic Horsemanship is a great method of recreational therapy for people with physical disabilities, developmental disabilities and mental health issues. In addition to riding lessons, many Therapeutic Horsemanship programs offer other ways of interacting with horses to enhance the physical, psychological and social benefits horsemanship provides. One example is Therapeutic Driving.

This week we will explore the world of Hippotherapy. Despite the way it sounds, we are not using the hippopotamus for therapeutic purposes - although I would like to see that!

Most of us are aware of the benefit therapeutic horsemanship provides to people with physical and developmental disabilities. But did you know that horses are also a wonderful resource to use in the identification and treatment of mental health issues? In this new blog, we will explore the ways horses and other animals may be able to enhance the therapeutic experience for our clients.

“…art approaches as a saving sorceress, expert at healing. She alone knows how to turn these nauseous thoughts about the horror or absurdity of existence into notions with which one can live.” –Frederick Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy

I was six years old running with a wild pack comprised of my thirteen cousins, equal parts boys and girls, at our Grandmother's farm in upstate New York. As our mother's drank coffee and chatted and our dad's played poker and tried to solve the world's problems me and my kin were not only allowed, but required to play outside and amuse ourselves. We were not supervised, which by today's standards seems unthinkable. I am not one to romanticize the past – my male cousins were unruly boys and I found them twenty-five percent fascinating and seventy percent frightening. I was a partially undecided.