Being Herd

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Personal Development provide unique environments in which individuals, families, or groups can address a variety of life's difficulties and challenges, both personal and interpersonal. Sessions include experiential exercises utilizing horses in their natural state. A licensed mental health therapist... and an equine specialist, both certified in EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning), are present throughout the sessions. No prior experience with horses is necessary; no riding or horsemanship is taught. These professional guided experiences encourage and empower participants to experiment, discover, and develop unique solutions for themselves. Horses are large, powerful social animals. Being prey animals, they are acutely aware of their surroundings. Being herd animals, they have highly developed sensitivities to mood, intent, posture, and movement. They provide immediate, honest responses to human behavior. They are excellent at mirroring the energy that surrounds them, enabling humans to gain insight into their own private experiences. Experiential Learning occurs when loosely structured, facilitated activities are followed by reflection and discussion promoting synthesis. Working with the horses, participants plan, take initiative, make decisions, and then experience the outcomes of their decisions. Participants often find their interactions with the horses parallel their personal and interpersonal experiences in their family, school, and work lives.Read More