When you hear the term 'equine therapy retreats', you might think of a hospital for horses, a place where animals are sent to recover from injuries or illnesses. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. At an ETR, the horses are just fine. It's the people who need help.
For a fairly recent mental health protocol, the concept of using horses to help people come to grips with problems in their lives has grown rapidly. Today North America has over 250 certified centers, and there are others overseas. The programs seem to draw from therapeutic riding, team building exercises, and stress relief methods to create a new kind of psychology.
The idea of a retreat involving horses grew out of the therapeutic riding programs begun in the 60s. While helping people with disabilities enjoy riding and being around horses and ponies, therapists saw more than physical improvement. A child confined to a wheelchair could experience free movement when partnered with a horse. In addition to gaining in balance, core strength, and motor skills, the child could see the world in a new way - not from knee-high to everyone else.
It didn't take therapists long to realize that the mental and emotional benefits were as profound, if not more so, than the physical. This truth existed before, of course. An old saying states that 'The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man'.
Abused children suspicious of everyone in their world found they could trust the horse. Women who felt powerless in domestic or professional situations found inner strength as they learned to direct a huge animal; they also could allow their inner child to fall in love with their horse. People with impenetrable social masks found that horses knew instinctively how they were really feeling.
Retreats are traditionally places where you go to escape stress and pressures of the 'real' world. The centers are located where beautiful scenery and great peace abound. Interacting with nature and with magnificent, huge, gentle horses seems to have a magic of its own. Some places also have other animals - chickens, sheep, dogs, cats - that enchant refugees from the city.
Business executives who are overwhelmed by the challenges they face can gain perspective to make a new push. People can get to know themselves better by working with a horse. Some retreats include meditation in their therapy, while others use the simple skills needed to care for animals in ways that reveal hidden issues that people have. Psychology employs the intuitive understanding that many horses have to help people find emotional balance, release, and refreshment.
This form of therapy is called 'hippotherapy'. It's getting rave reviews from people who have experienced it and found it immensely rewarding. Even those who go to watch may find themselves getting involved and renewed. It's all about surrendering personal goals and agendas and letting nature and horses instill peace and healing.
For a fairly recent mental health protocol, the concept of using horses to help people come to grips with problems in their lives has grown rapidly. Today North America has over 250 certified centers, and there are others overseas. The programs seem to draw from therapeutic riding, team building exercises, and stress relief methods to create a new kind of psychology.
The idea of a retreat involving horses grew out of the therapeutic riding programs begun in the 60s. While helping people with disabilities enjoy riding and being around horses and ponies, therapists saw more than physical improvement. A child confined to a wheelchair could experience free movement when partnered with a horse. In addition to gaining in balance, core strength, and motor skills, the child could see the world in a new way - not from knee-high to everyone else.
It didn't take therapists long to realize that the mental and emotional benefits were as profound, if not more so, than the physical. This truth existed before, of course. An old saying states that 'The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man'.
Abused children suspicious of everyone in their world found they could trust the horse. Women who felt powerless in domestic or professional situations found inner strength as they learned to direct a huge animal; they also could allow their inner child to fall in love with their horse. People with impenetrable social masks found that horses knew instinctively how they were really feeling.
Retreats are traditionally places where you go to escape stress and pressures of the 'real' world. The centers are located where beautiful scenery and great peace abound. Interacting with nature and with magnificent, huge, gentle horses seems to have a magic of its own. Some places also have other animals - chickens, sheep, dogs, cats - that enchant refugees from the city.
Business executives who are overwhelmed by the challenges they face can gain perspective to make a new push. People can get to know themselves better by working with a horse. Some retreats include meditation in their therapy, while others use the simple skills needed to care for animals in ways that reveal hidden issues that people have. Psychology employs the intuitive understanding that many horses have to help people find emotional balance, release, and refreshment.
This form of therapy is called 'hippotherapy'. It's getting rave reviews from people who have experienced it and found it immensely rewarding. Even those who go to watch may find themselves getting involved and renewed. It's all about surrendering personal goals and agendas and letting nature and horses instill peace and healing.
About the Author:
You can find details about the benefits of receiving equine therapy and more info about equine therapy retreats at http://www.horsesenseandthehumanheart.com right now.