Horse Therapy

At least a year ago, I read an article on equine therapy in an Oprah magazine.  It was so fascinating, I decided I wanted to try it someday.  I did some looking around but I didn’t find anything in Sacramento so I just put my desire out to the universe and figured I’d find it when it was time.  Interestingly enough, it was the migraines that forced me onto psychology.com to look for a therapist.  I was doing anything and everything I could think of to ease the pain.  In my search, I found a provider that offered equine therapy!  I couldn’t believe it!  So I sent an inquiry and soon began to experience my dream come true, working with horses on an emotional and spiritual level, not just riding them (although that’s fun too).    I have been going about once a week for about a month now, and it is everything I had hoped for.  

I meet with two therapists who work as a team, out in an arena with (I think) eight horses.  They are smaller than the trail horses I have ridden, although not ponies.  The first day I walked into the arena most of the horses immediately came over to check me out.  Just standing there and petting them and seeing all their different personalities was so cool!  I burst into tears of gratitude.  In the weeks that have followed, the therapists usually have an exercise for me like setting up barrels in a certain configuration and walking the horses in patterns.  It’s kind of like a live biofeedback program.  Horses sense energy, and they are too big for me to move by force, so I have to learn how to communicate with them to convince them to do what I am asking for.  To do that, I have to reach down inside and pay attention to what I am feeling.  And they all respond differently.  I was doing really well with one horse who is pretty easygoing and seems to like verbal praise.  Then the therapists upped the ante and put me with a stubborn horse.  This horse wasn’t interested in sweet talk, he wanted a leader.  So we didn’t budge until I figured out how to exude leadership with my energy, not my words.  Through all this, the therapists are asking me questions and learning about my background and zeroing in on my emotional issues.  They are quite good at their job and observe and point out things that I would never have thought of.  I am going to get in as many sessions as I can before I leave for Bali.  

For those of you who don’t know, I am a big advocate for therapy.  We get physical checkups all the time but rarely do we go inside our heads to see what’s ticking.  I have found that many of my health issues are psychosomatic, or caused by stress, and once I resolve whatever is going on in my head, my health improves dramatically.  Of course eating right and exercising and all that are vitally important, but I think mental health is as well.  So I am very open about the fact that when I don’t feel right, I get help from someone who is objective and can point out my mental blind spots.  And in case you were wondering, therapy is covered by most major medical insurance programs, so it’s not even expensive.  You can pay a co-pay just like you would if you were going to the doctor.  If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear them!