Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy In Clinical Practice

This paper will inform the parents, educators, and American society of the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding for people who have cognitive challenges or loss of limbs and other functions. Therapy can happen on the horse as well as off, depending on the condition of the rider. Not all therapy has to be done on a horse. It can be done on the ground as well, by padding the horse, brushing the horse, leading the horse. Knowing you can conquer being around and taking care of a big horse gives those with challenges a sense of satisfaction and self confidence. Therapeutic horseback riding is wonderful for young people as well as older people with disabilities. Even if they cannot sit up straight, therapy can make it so that any individual can

Riding horses can be used in many spectacular ways. Horses can be used for therapy with special needs children. Horses can help ease soldier’s minds. Riding horses helps with emotional issues, diminish post-traumatic stress disorders, and allow children with special needs to have fun.

Animal Assisted Therapy also known as animal-assisted therapy has been formally introduced to the world in the last ten years or so. Although animals have always been a place of comfort for a lot of people, scientists just began to realize the impact animals have on society. The world has begun to experiment with what animals can do to benefit human health. The most common type of animal-assisted therapy is equine-assisted therapy. Equines are horses. Equine-assisted therapy 's impact on minors who have mental health issues have led to a successful new type of therapy that includes multiple benefits. Equine-assisted therapy has worked well in is treating adolescents and children how to communicate and connect with others. Two big issues that animal-assisted therapy has been known to help is Autism and kids with attachment and social problems.

Winston Churchill once said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” Some might say Churchill was ahead of his time, with the way horse assisted therapy has just recently begun growing in popularity. All over the world therapists and psychologists have been exploring the effect horses have on troubled humans. In their explorations, perhaps with Churchill’s words in mind, they are attempting to find out just how useful an equine aid is in therapeutic treatment of physical and psychological impairments. There are passionate opinions from varying viewpoints, but they all come down to whether or not horse assisted therapy is effective and should be considered a regular practice. The answer to this

“The horse acts as the teacher and unlocks the client. The animal facilitates emotional breakthroughs, and the effect, therapists report, can be magical” (Hayley Sumner).

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

Hello class, as you may know by now my name is Peighton Davis and I have a passion for horses and I wanted to learn more of the ways horses can help you. For the past couple of weeks I have been looking into horse therapy also known as Equine Therapy. So, I decided my Genius Hour question would be, What is Equine Therapy and how does it help people ?

In source 1, an article written by the ASDF (Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation), from the website www.myasdf.org , assessed in 2012, with the title ‘How your child can Benefit from Equine Therapy), it states that Autistic children/people benefit immensely from Equine Therapy (horse encounters).

More than 20 years ago, an ordinary middle-aged man working in the insurance industry, getting ready to retire from his job, was shopping at his local grocery store. In the grocery store parking lot, an unlikely encounter with a girl named Stacy changed his life. Stacy had cerebral palsy, making her unable to talk or hear. That's when Swimmer got the idea, "what might happen if I put her on a horse?" Stacey soon later visited Swimmer at his farm in outside Charlotte, North Carolina, where Stacy was able to ride a pony for the first time. "She lit up like a candle," said Swimmer, and that's when I knew what I wanted to do. Today Swimmer has helped over 800 kids with disabilities through his equine-assisted therapy program from his organization

On June 2013 SPC Montes’ unfailing dedication to his community volunteered 5,000 hours at the Therapeutic Horsemanship of El Paso (THEP). This nonprofit organization provides therapeutic riding sessions, serving children and adults with a wide range of special needs. These therapeutic riding sessions work toward building independence, self-confidence, strength, relaxation and social skills in children and adults. His involvement was prominent to the overall mission of the organization.

There is a big number of special needs population in the US that don’t get much help with therapy or can’t find any therapy that works. A new therapy that works to help these people is equine therapy. Equine therapy helps the special needs population by helping the special needs, the horses, and the money that goes to equine therapy. Equine therapy has been around since 1946 and was introduced as horseback riding from the Ancient Greek (“What is Equestrian therapy?”). Equine therapy “has become a recreation and a motivational activity for the disabled while at the same time a therapy for them” (“What is Equestrian therapy?”).

In addition to being around horses I have been babysitting for a family of seven, two of the younger boys being autistic, has made me realize how stressed someone with

Therapeutic riding allows volunteers and horses to come together to benefit the lives of people living with disabilities. A little girl with cerebral palsy has had more progress with two weeks of therapeutic riding than she did with ten years of other treatments. Winston Churchill says, “There is just something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” By participating in therapeutic horseback riding, mentally challenged people are able to achieve things that may have seemed impossible before. Riding horses can actually help a person burn calories without their knowledge. Simply being outdoors can help reduce a person’s level of stress. Horses help children make connections, build relationships, and improve communication skills. They build confidence in a timid child and they have the power to ease the pain of depression that some people may have previously developed. Horses are easy to work with and they can connect with humans on so many levels. I remember when I was 7 years old my grandma bought me my first horse. As I ventured out to the field I heard a chorus of whinnies that always made me smile. Horses are creatures that always have a warm welcome. A horse does not see a child with disabilities. A horse simply sees a child. Horses have an extraordinary gift to accept and love all humans. For a rider to be successful they must develop a partnership with their

After conducting a web search to find pay data relevant to the claims in Ms. Kate’s letter, I was very surprised at norm salaries. This case study is very interesting to me. I currently serve as an animal assisted therapist for a growing psych-social therapy organization. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The median annual wage for mental health counselors with a Master’s degree was $40,080 in May 2012 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Whereas, the median annual wage for mental health counselors with a Doctorate’s degree was $72,673 in 2015 (PayScale Human Capital, 2015). Thus, there is a $32,593 difference between the two positions in relation to education. This would justify the difference in Ms. Kate’s salary verses the

Ever since I was a child I knew that I wanted to work with animals. Horses, in particular, have always fascinated me. After much begging, pleading, years of convincing, and always working hard to save up money, I convinced my parents to allow me to buy a horse. To me, Indie was the most beautiful quarter horse I could have ever dreamed of getting. Since our purchase of Indie, we have acquired another horse, Sherman, and a pony, Tucker. Although the horses have always been hard work, they were worth every sweaty hot summer evening of mucking out the stalls and frigid winter mornings of carrying water to the trough in order to avoid freezing our hoses. After all, I used to dream of being a veterinarian and helping all kinds of animals in some way.