Benefits from Equine Assisted Riding

Equine-assisted programs requires people to be calm, centered, focused, and fully engaged. Horses can teach mindfulness, which can help you observe your momentary thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and sensations. This mindfulness helps you to tolerate stress, as you are not reacting to these fleeting emotions.

Stress Tolerance

Horses look for leadership. You can’t force them into cooperation. Learning to be less passive by stepping up and becoming a leader is essential when working with horses. At the same time, they can sense when a person is too aggressive. They will directly react to this scenario by becoming restless, for example.

Assertiveness

Equine therapy benefits people who struggle with impulse control and emotional regulation. The need to communicate with a horse calmly promotes emotional awareness, emotion regulation, self-control, and impulse control. It’s effective in reducing irritability, agitation, and impulsivity. Equine-assisted therapy increases cooperation, emotional regulation, capacity for delay, and behavioral control.

Impulse Control

Empathy is the ability to understand and share another’s feelings. As herd animals, horses can sense and assimilate the feelings of other horses and people. Their survival depends on sensing any disturbances in their environment. If you approach a horse while you are angry, it will react, becoming irritated and stubborn. If you are emotionally distraught, a horse will sense that and feel distraught. You can’t hide your feelings around them.

Increased Empathy

Because of their size, many people are afraid of working with horses. Caring for these animals takes work in many ways. Physically, caring for horses is an excellent way to build a solid work ethic. It can help give you a sense of purpose, improving your self-image. Emotionally, working with horses requires courage, patience, and understanding and gives you a sense of control. Seeing the connection deepen over time between you and a horse can increase your confidence and a different view of life from on top of the horse.

Increased Self Awareness

Riding a horse rhythmically moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to a human gait, so riders show improvement in flexibility, balance, muscle strength, and breathing.

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