Horses and humans have had a long and useful connection. Anyone who has been around horses, which were once a vital form of transport and are now popular for sport and leisure, knows it can be soothing simply brushing or stroking one. So it is perhaps not surprising that they are increasingly being used as a tool by therapists with a growing number of anxiety, depression and emotional-trauma cases.
Taranaki mental-health nurse Sharon Robertson first became interested in equine therapy when she was living in the UK. “I grew up with horses and always knew I felt better around them,” says Robertson, who decided to become a certified Eagala (Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association) practitioner.
Equine therapy doesn’t involve riding the horses. Clients remain on the ground, where they interact with the…
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New Zealand Listener (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 3 2019