Humans and horses have always had a healthy relationship but if once upon a time they were only used to pull logs or as transportation tools, nowadays horses play a significant role in the mental rehabilitation of many people around the world. They’re able to read or becoming cognizant of how someone is feeling before anyone else. Horses are huge and strong animals who have the potential of providing people to overcome anxiety and increase self-esteem that can be turned into real-life situations. They can also assist put people at peace because they’re honest and non-judgmental, reacting only to people’s intentions and behavior. What’s more important, horses are friendly animals with their own personalities and are most prepared to interact when people are interested and work to build a relationship with them.
Horses rely on us
Horses depend on us for so many things including food, shelter, and attention. If we work every day with horses, we learn what is required in their care and what are their daily needs. As we learn how horses rely on us, we can determine how to be reliable and achieve a feeling of perspective and focus, which can serve us to better understand our own opinions and feelings.
Horses get us fit
The connections between physical activity and good mental health are well placed, and horse riding is an excellent way to take care of our physical and emotional health at the same time. As well as working focuses on muscle groups, riding increases limbs and helps with position and balance. All these things are very important to keep our bodies fit and healthy. Plus mucking out also keeps us energetic!
Horses make us happy
Human communication with horses is generally known to boost up our humor. Different studies have confirmed that spending time with horses can overcome problems such as depression, tension, and anxiety, and enhance positive thinking and happiness levels. As a herd animal, horses, in particular, are adapted to the feelings of others and are a perfect calming influence.
You can’t hide your emotions from a horse.
Horses respond immediately to people’s emotions. They respond to hints and tend to mirror how we feel. Have you ever felt bad or you simply have lost patience with a young horse? If you have, it most likely didn’t end well, in fact, it probably made the situation worse. You just can’t hide your feelings from a horse; their response is a reflection of your emotions. This can give us an insight into self-awareness if we are careful enough to listen to it. Once we do, our bad day may change instantly.
Horse love you, no matter what.
We all communicate with our horses. They know our deepest darkest secrets that we wouldn’t try to tell another person. They understand our fears, our bright moments, and why we cry. We do all these things because we know that they won’t tell anyone but they still love us. They do not judge us and we believe them. Horses truly grow into our safe place.
Horses can help in dealing with Anxiety.
There are so many people who have anxiety; it’s estimated to be around 17 million Americans. Whether it is in the form of fear or a panic disorder, horses can be very helpful. That’s because when we are with our horses, we are 110% involved at all times, we have to be. If our mind is someplace else, things could go bad very quickly. They’re a 1500lb animal and, to be honest, they could do real damage to us if they wanted to. When we are involved like we are with our horses, all our worries and concerns about our daily struggles tend to fade.
Horses can help with PTSD.
PTSD is post-traumatic stress disorder; it typically affects people that have undergone trauma in their life that haunts them. PTSD usually is a combination of stress, flashbacks and feeling indifferent to emotion. It’s a dangerous disorder, but don’t worry because there is a method that incorporates horses. Horses develop confidence; when we can train them to learn a new skill, or they perform well, it makes us feel good about ourselves and makes us proud. We believe in them every time they take a step, and for people who suffer from PTSD, this is life-changing when they form a bond with a horse. Therapeutic horseback riding is now becoming very recommended for people suffering from PTSD because it truly works, there are also some researches who prove this fact.
