Six Common Misconceptions About Equine Therapy

Although equine therapy has been around since the 1950s, many people still don’t really understand what it is. Is it horse-back riding, or merely spending time around a horse? Are therapists involved and, if so, what is their role?

The equine specialists at Aspen Ranch, a licensed residential treatment center for troubled teens in Utah, help clear up a number of misconceptions about this unique form of therapy and the way it is used with adolescents struggling with emotional and behavioral issues.

1. Participants never get to ride the horses.

It takes a great deal of preparation, practice and education to safely work around and ride horses. And though it may take time to achieve a basic level of understanding and comfort around horses, the most intensive equine therapy programs will encourage teens to get up on the horse and ride, whether in an indoor arena or on a trail ride outdoors.

From day one, the teens at Aspen Ranch begin learning about horse behavior and herd dynamics as well as how to work safely around horses. Every student starts out riding bareback (without a saddle) to help them understand how to communicate with the horse using body movements rather than a bridle.

Once they demonstrate the necessary knowledge and skill, the students earn their saddle, which makes them eligible to go on off-campus trail rides and learn more difficult riding skills, such as jumping, barrel racing, training a young horse or penning the steers at the ranch. 2. Equine therapy is about riding horses around in a circle. Equine therapy is about much more than riding horses around an arena. Although some of the early lessons and skills may be taught in an arena, the best equine therapy programs build upon those skills through trail rides and more advanced activities.

Whether in an arena or on a trail ride, equine therapy is about taking the lessons learned with the horses — including positive communication, trust, leadership and anger management — and applying them to the teens’ own lives. While they are working with the horses, students aren’t merely leading the horse in a circle or barking a set of commands. They are learning how to communicate verbally and nonverbally, exploring the ways the horse’s behavior mirrors their own, and speaking with therapists, staff and their peers about how the lessons apply to them.

At Aspen Ranch, horsemanship skills are just one component of equine therapy. Students’ work with the horses is also integrated with experiential learning, individual and group therapy, discussion groups and team-building activities. 3. Teens need previous training with horses to benefit from equine therapy. No prior experience with horses is required at most equine therapy programs. Most students have never been around horses, and some even claim to “hate” horses at the outset.

In many cases, the teens who have the least amount of experience make the most progress in an equine therapy program because they approach the experience with an open mind, says Kevin Knutson, LPC, NCC, ECP-B, the executive director at Aspen Ranch.

“Teens with a lot of experience around horses sometimes have developed a few bad habits, approach therapy with a ‘know-it-all’ attitude or have misconceptions about what equine therapy will be about,” he says. “One of our most effective therapeutic tools is helping students work through their fears and experience honest achievement.”

By the time teens leave Aspen Ranch, the vast majority have grown to love horses and will seek out opportunities to be around horses at home.

Even teens with significant prior experience with horses have a lot to gain from an equine therapy program. The staff at Aspen Ranch finds new ways to challenge more advanced students, such as having them participate in young horse training, vaulting, jumping or trail rides on rough terrain.

4. Working with horses will be too scary for most teens. Horses are large, powerful animals. Many teenagers have never been around horses and are likely to feel intimidated at first. According to Knutson, this initial fear is both a healthy reaction and a necessary part of what makes equine therapy such an effective intervention.

Because working with horses is a challenge, teens are forced to face their fears, pay attention to how their negative emotions and behaviors impact the horse, and find more effective ways to communicate. When they begin to experience small successes, teens feel a real sense of accomplishment and become more confident in their abilities both inside and outside the arena.

In a controlled therapeutic environment such as Aspen Ranch, there are numerous safety precautions in place, so even though teens may feel apprehensive, they are actually quite safe. 5. Equine therapy is only for kids with physical disabilities. Equine therapy had its beginnings in the 1950s, when Liz Hartel of Denmark rehabilitated herself from a wheelchair to the back of a horse. Shortly thereafter, therapeutic riding became popular in North America to treat people with physical disabilities.

Although equine therapy can help improve strength, muscle control and hand-eye coordination among people suffering from physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida, it is also an effective treatment for autism, depression, Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), and a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues. 6. All equine therapy programs are generally the same. Although interaction with horses can be beneficial regardless of the program used, all equine therapy programs are not created equal.

Some programs feature equine therapy as one small component of their therapeutic milieu, which often means the program hires an outside service to bring one horse on campus once a week. In many of these horse therapy programs, teens are never permitted to ride the horse.

While this type of equine program can be beneficial, one important piece is lacking: the teen’s ability to develop a relationship with the horse. So many of the benefits of equine therapy, including the ability to trust, show patience and empathy, and care for another living creature, are missing when teens only occasionally work with a horse.

Another feature that distinguishes quality equine therapy programs is the level of training and experience of the staff. For example, some equine certification programs only require one weekend of classes and training, while others take years. The more skilled the staff members, the more teens will learn about horse behavior and gain important life skills.

The equine therapy program at Aspen Ranch is among the best in the country, and is integrated into every aspect of student life. The students work one-on-one with a herd of 35 horses, not only during horsemanship classes but also in therapy sessions, group activities and on trail rides. Highly trained and certified therapists and equine staff help teens learn how to work with horses and apply the lessons they learned to improve their lives and rebuild their family relationships.