Essay On Equine Therapy

Equine therapy is a big part of the phoenix center. It promotes emotional growth, provides a different approach to therapy for a child that is therapy resistant, and teaches children how horses learn and how they can connect that to their own lives. The type of kids that come to the Phoenix center are the ones that deal with a lack of confidence, trust, and self-acceptance. All this is due to their experience with trauma. Studies have shown that equine therapy can be very effective dealing with those and other things including depression, anxiety, autism, etc.
An example of what a certified therapist might do at the beginning of a therapy session is place the horse in the middle of a big circle and ask the student to move the horse to the outside of the circle without touching the horse. This therapy teaches the children that when other people want to help the way they help isn’t by screaming or forcing but by being patient and understanding what they want. Another lesson they go through is trying to the lead the horse. The kids have to learn that in order to lead they can’t be ahead and force the horse to

walk but to stand next to them and go at the same pace. This teaches them that you have to be understanding and on the same level as someone who is trying to get help in order to continue or help them move on.
The reason that horses are used in therapy is because of their ability to mirror the feelings that its handler has. They can easily show you your own emotions and teach you to better control your own emotions. Horses are also very big animals, especially compared to young kids, this makes the kids be able to trust the horse, and shows them that size has nothing to do with trust. At the end of the therapy session if a child is able to control the horse even with intimidation or fear it further enforces the fact that they can go through life and accomplish challenges.
When a child first experiences equine therapy it might be very intimidating, especially because of the sizes of the horses.

Sometimes they won’t even want to get near them. For this reason the certified therapist know to slowly get the child close to the horse by applying fun and interactive sessions that will boost the child’s confidence and also trust the horse. In most sessions the child does not specifically have to ride the horse, sometimes all it takes is walking alongside of one. The smaller kids work with a type of therapy that combines equine therapy with art. By painting the horse with washable paint they can show their feelings on the horse. They may paint a heart to symbolize their love for the animal and this slowly distracts them from the fact that they are in a therapy session and give them an enjoyable day that promotes their growth

within.