Healing with Horses: How Equine Therapy Supports Emotional Growth in Recovery

The idea of a holistic approach to treating mental health and addiction problems found its way into research and practice. A holistic approach implies caring for the body, mind, and spirit equally, ensuring both healing and growth. Caring for the spirit comes in many forms, some with long traditions in eastern cultures and some innovative, like the healing with horses approach, known as Equine Therapy. We at Tranquility Recovery Center employ this approach, and our luxury rehab Los Angeles locals often recommend, has helped many improve their emotional regulation through therapeutic work with horses. 

Keep reading if you want to know how can horses be healers and how working with horses supports your recovery. We will share what Equine Therapy implies and what a typical session looks like. We will ensure you understand the healing power of working with and around horses. 

What is Equine Therapy?

Equine Therapy, also called horse-assisted therapy, is a type of experiential therapy that involves working with horses in a structured, therapeutic environment. It can be a standalone practice but also part of a customized approach to treating various conditions, both mental health disorders and addiction issues. At Tranquility Recovery Center, it’s typically one of the elements of wider programs that our opiate addiction treatment center Los Angeles offers. 

Horse-assisted therapy focuses on doing rather than talking, and there are several different activities that can be done under the guidance of a licensed therapist. No horseback riding is required, so you need not worry about your physical fitness or skills. Actually, most of the therapy is focused on groundwork and building a relationship based on trust and respect.

Equine specialists can suggest that you engage in one of the following activities:

•  Grooming or feeding horses.
•  Leading horses through obstacles.
•  Observing herd behavior.
•  Reflecting on emotional responses by horses.

Equine Therapy is very different from talk therapy, as it uses actions to lead to reflections. Horses serve as a mirror, offering real-time feedback more related to your energy, body language, and emotional state than to your verbal communication. The focus it puts on a nonverbal aspect of healing serves as a powerful complementary method to the psychotherapeutic work.

Emotional Benefits of Working with Horses

First and foremost, you can count on emotional healing with horses. A close contact with horses and caring for them triggers emotional changes, helping you overcome barriers and develop empathy (for yourself and others). Enhancing self-awareness and self-esteem.

• Building trust and empathy: Horses take time to trust you, and you must trust yourself to care for them. Building a relationship with an animal will take time and require dedication, which parallels the dedication needed in your long-term recovery process. Empathy development is another important aspect of working with horses, and this skill will help you forgive yourself for your wrongdoings while using substances. 
• Developing emotional regulation: Caring for horses will require that you deal with frustration and manage anger related to it. It will also teach you patience, to be gentle, and to address the needs of others. Lastly, it will demonstrate the art of nonverbal communication and the reciprocal nature of giving and receiving in a relationship. 
• Boosting confidence: Once you see yourself succeeding in building a relationship with horses, caring for them, and contributing to their well-being, you will start getting a sense of self-efficacy. This is a powerful feeling contributing to confidence and conviction that you can overcome any challenge. Furthermore, it can empower you to face your problems and motivate you to stay on the sobriety path.

How Equine Therapy Supports Recovery

There are many benefits of Equine Therapy for addicition tretament, and emotional healing is but one of them. We would like to highlight a few more aspects of the recovery process where therapeutic work with horses truly makes an impact.

• Strengthening coping mechanisms: It takes time for coping mechanisms to become an automatic reaction to a stimulus or a trigger. After developing them, you will have to practice and strengthen them. Working with horses can help you with that because it allows you to practice deep breathing, patience, and healthy communication when faced with stress and frustration.
• Rebuilding healthy relationships: Rebuilding relationships damaged by addiction takes time and effort, as well as skills many lack. Through healing with horses, you get to learn to form safe, trusting, and respectful connections. Horses require clear communication, consistency, and mutual respect—the same traits needed to rebuild relationships with friends and family. This is one of the reasons why Equine Therapy is often recommended together with welcoming families into the recovery process. 
• Reducing negative feelings: Research clearly shows that healing with horses is effective. Research shows that Equine Therapy reduces symptoms of PTSD and anxiety. So, how do horses help with trauma? Horses offer a nonverbal, emotionally attuned presence, allowing trauma victims to feel safe without needing to explain or relive their past experiences. This is especially important for those who struggle to open up about their traumatic experiences. 
• Reduced substance abuse: Research also shows that Equine Therapy reduces alcohol use, making this approach an important element of alcohol rehab San Fernando Valley. It also contributes to the conviction that working with horses can develop or strengthen healthy coping mechanisms.

A Typical Equine Therapy Session

Here’s what a typical Equine Therapy session looks like. As previously mentioned, no riding is required. The focus is not on horsemanship but on relationship building and emotional connection. This makes horse-assisted therapy accessible to people of all physical abilities and comfort levels.

The session typically begins with a short check-in, followed by hands-on activities. There are several activities that can be part of the session.

•  Grooming or brushing horses.
•  Feeding horses.
•  Leading horses or walking through a small obstacle course.
•  Observing herd dynamics and interaction, and reflecting on the emotions you feel.

An equine specialist facilitating the session will facilitate a debrief. The idea is to help you connect your experience with personal behaviors, as well as emotional and thought patterns.

Equine Therapy might seem like an activity available only to people of a certain class and income. However, that is far from the truth. Healing with horses is accessible to anyone, and your insurance plan might even cover it. For instance, you can consult Aetna insurance coverage for rehab, as this coverage can cover all your treatments fully or partially.

Why Horses Are Ideal Therapeutic Partners

Engaging in different guided activities with a horse makes it your therapeutic partner in the process of healing. There are several reasons why we can consider horses ideal therapeutic partners.

Horses are sensitive to human emotions. One of the amazing characteristics of horses is their emotional intelligence. They are highly sensitive to body language, energy, and intention. They are even able to pick up on minute variations in posture, emotional tone, and breathing. Furthermore, they can respond accordingly. This trait makes them excellent feedback givers as they provide honest, nonverbal feedback. They will pick up on your emotions and behavior and act accordingly. For instance, if you’re calm and authentic, they are likely to mirror that. 

Unlike humans, horses can’t and won’t judge, criticize, or hold grudges. They will react instinctively in the moment, which creates a safe space for you to experiment with new ways of being without fearing rejection. In this way, horses invite you to become more attuned to yourself, more honest in your interactions, and show more compassion toward your own emotions. This aspect of healing with horses cannot be replicated with any other treatment approach.

Start Healing with Horses

Healing with horses involves engaging in a therapeutic process that leads to emotional breakthroughs and personal growth. It’s more than just petting animals or riding horses; it’s building a relationship and, with that, your skills and coping mechanisms. Equine Therapy offers something profoundly unique and can help you navigate trauma, rebuild self-worth, or look for a way out of addiction.

Contact Tranquility Recovery Center today to learn how Equine Therapy can be a part of your recovery journey. Healing with horses can be the next powerful step on your path of lifelong sobriety and well-being.