Pet Articles

The Healing Power of Horses:
How horses can help us to heal our psyche, transform our lives and set ourselves free
by Josephine Sellers

In the last few years I have become involved with a powerful and moving therapeutic application that is beginning to take foothold in this country – Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.

I write here about the deep relationship that binds horse to human, a relationship which has been in existence since the year dot. Together with my husband I have owned and loved horses for the past 35 years and have always felt passionate about them. A couple of years ago I had a short term physical disability and because I could not ride or drive my horses at that time, I spent a lot of time just sitting with them, feeling them and talking to them. Gradually I could see that my horses were able to mirror my personality in its diversity and I was given 'food for thought'.

When I was feeling present and 'in the moment' my horses would draw in close to me and invite me to be a part of the resting herd. When my thoughts took me into the past or thinking about the future, the horses would move out of my space. If I owned my emotions in the moment and didn't try to disguise them, the horses would draw in close again giving the feeling that they were there for me, supporting me. If I tried to mask sadness or anger from them, the horses would move away – the incongruence in my subtle body language and energy obviously made them feel uncomfortable.

Going Deeper

These experiences moved me to seek out deeper knowledge of horses and their healing powers by researching in books and therein I found masses of anecdotal evidence to support my growing understanding of their depth of perception. I began to realise, from my perspective as a transpersonal counsellor, that I could invite my horses to work alongside me with clients in their therapy process. My horses could provide a magnificent living and honest mirror – the perfect creative therapeutic partners.

I went out in search of a way to train in this model of therapy and, via a string of interesting synchronicities, I was then given the opportunity to do so with an organisation that originates from the USA – The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association – EAGALA www.eagala.org. This organisation now has a European training branch www.eagala.org.uk.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy engages the ability of the horse to mirror unspoken human behaviour and emotions. This therapy, often worked in a therapeutic triad of client, therapist and horse professional and using these mirroring abilities of the horse, is considered to be short term, solution based, allowing the client to regain their faculty of personal choice over their reactions.

The Honesty of Horses

What is it about horses, that makes them so capable of this work and produce results so swiftly? For me the answer is found in their high sensitivity. Horses have to live very much in the moment for their daily survival – they have a powerful fight or flight mechanism and they are totally honest. Their senses are finely tuned to their environment and other herd members and they can pick up human thoughts and emotions and can interpret body language and mirror it back to us for us to see. They allow us to see our patterns of relating and give us the opportunity to experiment with changing behaviours and patterns that don't serve us.

For me they are just telepathic. You can't lie to a horse and so, ultimately, we can't continue to lie to ourselves. Horses can help us to become authentic and remember who we really are beyond our masks.

How are my horses now they are not just ridden and driven for pleasure but used as therapy partners with my husband and I? Happier and more bonded as a herd than I have ever known before – it's as though I have allowed them to become whole and live to their full potential. That is the gift they offer to us as well!

Josephine Sellers is an Integrative/Transpersonal Counsellor, Tutor & Author
www.wessexaquarian.co.uk
www.wessexaquarianhorses.co.uk