We all make resolutions, and sadly, many of us will never realize these often lofty goals. And what do we do then? We wonder why. First, why did we make the resolution in the first place, and if we are the introspective type, what is it about us that prevented us from reaching our target? But to answer these questions, we’d probably have to have a window into our unconscious. And really, we may just not have the time or patience for psychoanalysis. But, maybe, just maybe, we can learn something about ourselves through time spent with a horse.
So, in honor of resolutions, here are ten reasons to try equine therapy.
- Horses are novel. For the majority of people, meeting a horse is an entirely new experience. While we may have some idea how self-exploration will go, we really have no idea how we will react, or more importantly, how the horse will react to us. This is the perfect environment to learn about the self.
- Horses are physiological. While people often miss nonverbal cues about others, and we even can be unaware of what we are presenting outwardly in a nonverbal way, horses miss nothing that is nonverbal. And without saying a word themselves, horses can us the truth about ourselves.
- Horses are powerful. Want to feel more powerful? Well try directing a 1200 pound animal. And then consider that this animal has a reaction time less than half of ours.
- Horses are non-threatening. For all their massive power, horses do not carry the same preconceived ideas about the way people should should look, act and feel. Instead, they just accept people as they are, because that is all they know.
- You might discover something new. For some people, equine therapy is an introduction into a lifelong love of horses. I fact, some clients go on to purchase their own horse!
Horse and woman photo available from Shutterstock.
Claire Dorotik, M.A. is a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in trauma, weight loss, eating disorders, addictions, and dual diagnosis. Claire utilizes equine facilitated psychotherapy from a psychoanalytic perspective to offer clients a unique method to understand themselves. Claire has written extensively on the topics of the psychology of weight loss, food and substance addictions, trauma, and equine therapy. Her first three books, ON THE BACK OF A HORSE: Harnessing the healing Power of the Human-Equine Bond, NO SECRET SO CLOSE: A True Story of a Father’s Murder, A Mother’s Betrayal, A Family Torn Apart, and The Horses That Turned It All Around, and ALL KIDS ARE BORN THIN: A Parent’s Guide To Understanding and Preventing Childhood Obesity, are now available on Amazon Kindle. Further information on Claire, or her upcoming books, can be found at
www.clairedorotik.com.
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Last reviewed: 30 Dec 2011
APA Reference
Dorotik, C. (2011). Thinking About A New Year’s Resolution? Five Reasons To Try Equine Therapy. Psych Central.
Retrieved on May 24, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/equine-therapy/2011/12/thinking-about-a-new-year%e2%80%99s-resolution-five-reasons-to-try-equine-therapy/
