Equine-Assisted Trauma Recovery: Healing Through Connection with Horses
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Humans are wired for connection, but trauma can disrupt our ability to trust and feel safe in relationships. Healing from trauma requires more than just understanding—it involves relearning how to connect, feel secure, and experience trust again.
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With their instincts for co-regulation and attachment, horses are powerful partners in this process. As highly sensitive animals, they serve as compassionate witnesses to our emotional states, responding authentically without judgment. Their attunement to human emotions offers real-time feedback, helping individuals better understand their internal experiences and regulate their emotions in a safe and non-verbal way.
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By engaging in this co-regulation with horses, clients experience what healthy attachment feels like, allowing them to recalibrate their nervous systems and reconnect with their sense of safety. In the presence of these wise animals, clients discover the healing power of being seen, accepted, and understood, even in their most vulnerable moments.
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Horses model the trust and connection essential for relational healing. Clients embark on a transformative journey with the horse, where resilience is rediscovered, and emotional healing unfolds one step at a time.
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And that is a truly beautiful thing.
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We are proud to offer:
Trauma-Informed, Attachment-Based Care:
Our approach emphasizes trauma recovery and attachment principles, aiding individuals in rebuilding trust, processing emotions, and fostering authentic relationships.
Somatic Experiencing with Horses:
This practice recognizes the connection between body and mind. By tuning into our bodily sensations, emotions, and physical presence, we enhance our awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. Integrating somatic experiencing with equine therapy addresses trauma in both realms, facilitating profound healing and personal growth.
Mindfulness Based Practice:
Being fully present in each moment allows us to observe our internal and external experiences without judgment. Horses exemplify mindfulness, and working with them helps us remain present, attend to our emotions and nervous system, and cultivate deeper connections.
Equine-Assisted Trauma Recovery Benefits​
Research has shown that interacting with horses can have significant physiological and emotional benefits, including increased production of beta-endorphins (pain suppressors), decreased stress levels, reduced negative emotions, and lower blood pressure and heart rate.
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In addition to these emotional and physiological benefits, working with horses offers sensory and environmental healing advantages. This work's sensory engagement, movement, pace, and natural environment can aid in trauma processing and promote relaxation and emotional balance.
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Interacting with horses can provide individuals with invaluable benefits for trauma recovery, including:
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Feeling "felt" and understood without the need for verbal explanations.
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A non-judgmental, safe space where they can explore their emotions.
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A reparative experience that reduces shame, isolation, and loneliness.
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Our sessions take place on the equine campus, which provides clients with a refreshing change of scenery and the therapeutic benefits of nature, such as fresh air, sunshine, wildlife, and the company of horses. This expansive setting is perfect for engaging in rich sensory-motor activities, which enable participants to integrate movement, mindful awareness, and a connection with nature—all powerful stress relievers and essential resources.​
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We believe that healing is not just about people and horses—it’s about creating a sustainable, thriving ecosystem. We care for the land through permaculture principles, ensuring the environment is a source of healing, growth, and renewal for all. The interconnectedness of humans, animals, and nature is vital to the therapeutic process.