Horse Well-Being in Therapies Integrating Horses
Authors: Rankins Ellen M., Malinowski Karyn
Journal: Guide to Equine Assisted Therapy
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Horse Well-Being in Therapies Integrating Horses Rankins & Malinowski explored why experienced psychotherapists actively incorporate horses into their clinical practice, conducting in-depth interviews with ten clinicians across varied therapeutic orientations and analysing the data through reflexive thematic analysis. Four dominant themes emerged: horses provided a grounding presence that accelerated therapeutic progress, the human-equine relationship itself became the therapeutic vehicle, the equine partnership facilitated deeper psychological exploration, and crucially, horses functioned as active therapeutic agents offering support and directional dynamics within sessions. Participants consistently described horses as enabling a unique form of somatic and relational work—functioning as what they termed an "attachment laboratory"—where nonverbal communication, embodied awareness, and symbolic processing could unfold within an authentically safe space. Beyond client outcomes, therapists reported significant personal and professional gains, including enhanced clinical presence, deepened therapeutic effectiveness, and notably, a protective effect against practitioner burnout. For equine professionals involved in these settings, this research underscores that horse well-being intersects directly with therapeutic efficacy; the horse's psychological and physical state fundamentally shapes its capacity to function as an effective therapeutic partner, making equine health management and behavioural monitoring integral to safe and ethical integrated therapy programmes.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Equine-assisted therapy may accelerate emotional processing and build trust through the nonverbal, embodied nature of horse-human interaction—consider this when designing interventions for trauma or relational issues
- •The therapeutic benefit extends bidirectionally: therapist wellbeing and presence improve when working with horses, potentially making you more effective and sustainable in your practice
- •The horse functions as a co-therapist and symbolic agent in the therapeutic relationship, not merely as an activity—focus on the quality of the human-horse bond rather than task completion
Key Findings
- •Therapists reported horses create a nonverbal therapeutic presence that fosters safe, authentic relationships described as an 'attachment laboratory'
- •Working with horses enhanced therapists' own clinical presence and professional satisfaction while potentially buffering against burnout
- •Four primary themes emerged: supporting presence and rapid therapeutic progress, horse-human relationship as central factor, deeper exploration opportunities, and horses as therapeutic partners