What breed of horse do you have?
Apparently this really is a google question about equine-assisted therapy!
Rachel Cox
Last Update 2 years ago
The answer, on google, by the way is ok .... but I would disagree!
It's a bit like the comment every dog owner thinks their dog is the best dog in the world - and they are all correct!
So, every horse is a good therapy horse - on the condition that they are trained well to be one.
If you look through the list of horses to meet here, you'll see that I have a mixed herd - but, of course, the one in my photo here is Morse and he's the most adaptable and my "go to" horse, he's an Andalusian/PRE stallion and he's so gentle and kind - but also, he's quite old and seen it all - and absorbs people's emotions whatever they throw at him because we have a great bond that means that each of us know the other will keep us safe!
I enjoy working with ex-racehorses, partly because it gives them a new lease of life after their racing career - and picks up some of the ones that just didn't make it and might not have a place to go, but mostly because they are so used to being handled by so many different people and going to so many different places that there's little that they haven't seen and so they are brave. They do take a little while to "down time" and get used to the fact that they are here to stay and they can relax and enjoy the company of the herd and just chill and be horses, but when that's happened, they love the people coming in and out and I can trust them with the most terrified of person who comes.
So is there a "breed" of horse that's best for equine-assisted therapy?
No, it's whatever breed you put in the time and energy to train for this work - to be absorbant of the emotions of the client, even when they are angry and shout - and accept them where they are and who they are - and help me to see what's going on - and then stand there being the safe loving kind and generous beings that they are - whilst changing the physiology of the human to slow down the heart rate and breathing and let the brain go into a state where working with flashbacks is fully safe and fully understood.