Jane Faulkner, founder and director of Equine Assisted Therapy Australia (Image courtesy Equine Assisted Therapy Australia).

Of healing and horses

Why is it that horses can help people who are anxious or depressed? Science may not yet have a clear answer, but the effects are profound, writes AMANDA MAC.

Speculation abounds when it comes to whether or not horses have a positive effect on the emotional and mental well-being of humans. The concept of equine assisted therapy (EAT) is embraced by some, while rejected as dubious, unscientific woo woo by others.

Nonetheless, a significant number of studies now point to this modality as having the potential to create a positive impact on people with a range of mental and emotional issues, not to mention the rapidly increasing interest in equine related interventions among those seeking an alternative to formal therapies.

Learning the ropes – Ben Maguire instructing a group of veterans (Image courtesy Remount).

While some of us might feel more comfortable with EAT as a concept if only its how, what, and why could be more clearly defined and scientifically documented, the fact that something quite astonishing appears to be happening can’t for one moment be ignored.

So while this might not be the most satisfying for those yearning for scientific validation, just for the purpose of keeping an open mind, let’s go with the ‘proof is in the pudding’ approach to see whether it might reveal anecdotal evidence that strongly suggests horses are extremely sensitive to their surroundings, have the ability to recognise nonverbal cues, and are also sensitive to human emotions in a way that has the potential to facilitate a variety of therapeutic modalities (follow this link to learn more).

Jane Faulkner is the founder and director of Equine Assisted Therapy Australia, a registered training organisation specialising in counselling and equine assisted mental health. A long-time horse lover, she has, among other qualifications, a Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy, a Bachelor of Nursing, and is certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.

Over the years, Jane had done a lot of work on herself and felt she’d pretty much sorted through her issues. But then, just after completing her Masters, a friend suggested they go and try out an equine therapy session, a relatively new modality at the time. “It just totally blew me away,” Jane says, “it got straight to my core issues and I knew I had to learn more.”

Learning more equated to training in EAT, which she first practised while working at a retreat catering for high-flying corporate CEOs. “They were really tough clients because they tested you to see if you knew what you were doing, and that helped me hone my skills. Also, I was working with a phenomenal herd of four horses who taught me a lot. Horses track and respond to state shifts in nervous systems, and they’d respond to shifts in clients before I’d even noticed or felt them, which helped me become a more present therapist.”

Horses are finely attuned to what’s around them (Image courtesy Equine Assisted Therapy Australia).

But how are horses able to ‘tune in’ to human nervous systems with such accuracy? Dr Stephen Porges, the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University, uses the term neuroception to refer to the way our nervous systems constantly scan our environment to ascertain whether we’re safe. Horses, Jane says, are no different. “They’re mammals like us, and their nervous system is wired like ours. They value feeling safe over anything else, and are finely attuned to what’s around them. But unlike humans, whose layers of social conditioning often override information from their nervous system, horses respond to a perceived threat in the moment.”

When approached by a human whose emotional state doesn’t match their outward behaviour, horses will react to the internal state rather than external cues. For example, Jane was working with the CEO of a very well-known Australian company. Although sceptical of EAT, he admitted to being concerned with the regularity his staff left his employ.

When Jane walked him into the paddock to meet the horses, all four turned their backs on him. “For someone who obviously wasn’t used to dealing with his emotional baggage, this sent such a clear message.” Jane says. “He realised the horses were reacting to him in much the same way his staff did. Then he told me he found it difficult to reach people, had a lot of self-hatred, and was very hard on himself.” Jane helped him to acknowledge his value as a person rather than simply as a CEO. As he recognised he had innate value and began softening towards himself, the horses turned back to face him, now prepared to be in relationship with him. “That was huge,” Jane adds, “to see so much change in him in one session.”

That’s the kind of shift Jane has witnessed many times over. And there’s something else she’s observed that’s just as astonishing. “Horses will specialise,” she says. “In a herd of horses, one might step forward when the client is grieving, and another when the issue is anxiety, and yet another when it’s about bullying and power.”

This was particularly evident when a horse who regularly responded to people experiencing grief, walked over to a client standing at the paddock gate. The woman was smiling and apparently happy, but realising the horse had sensed another emotion, Jane asked her whether she was grieving. The woman explained she’d recently lost her brother to suicide and began to sob. “The horse stepped forward and kind of held space for her. So, yeah, it’s quite phenomenal to see them working like that.”

In our February 2024 issue, we featured a story on Horse Aid, the charitable organisation offering ex-servicemen and women help in overcoming PTSD through participating in groundwork with horses. Meanwhile Remount, a similarly focussed charity located just outside Yass in south west NSW, provides horsemanship programs for veterans that include riding, leather work and mustering.

Remount horsemanship programs include riding, leather work and mustering (Image courtesy Remount).

Remount is operated by Ben Maguire AM and his wife Marina Maguire OAM. Back in 2012, the couple were managing The Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach, and ran a camp draft where they met John Mayer, a visiting US Marine Corps Colonel and the then Commanding Officer of the Wounded Warrior Regiment. John, who had long believed the best way to help people with PTSD was to put them on horseback, had attended the muster with a group of veterans – and it was a revelation to Ben. “I saw for the first time what being around horses can do for people who have mental stress or ill health in their life,” he says.

When Ben and Marina returned home to the Yass Valley, they bought a farm and inspired by what they had seen, decided to offer horsemanship programs to veterans. “We started in 2016, and in nine years we’ve hosted over 500 veterans from all over Australia,” Ben says. “They come and learn the language of the horse, and it has a profound impact on almost all of them.”

While the Remount team are not trained equine therapists, they have the deepest respect for formal therapists and clinicians. But as Ben explains, the service they offer lies somewhere in between the two. “We provide a space for veterans who want to explore options other than therapy,” he says.

Ben’s belief in the ability of horses to help people is based on his many years of working with veterans and horses. “I think it’s to do with the fact that horses are non-judgemental, and that as the oldest surviving grazing herd animal on the planet, they’ve developed very strong instincts. I have seen horses interact with people who are anxious or sad or stressed, and do incredible things in the protection of those individuals.”

Like Jane, there are dozens of stories Ben could share, about Remount participants who were no longer having suicidal thoughts, had improved marriages, had quit drinking, come off all medication, embarked on new careers, or who were just feeling happier – but there’s one standout. “A veteran came to us who literally could not talk. He was a nervous wreck and was living on the street. At the end of the first day, we turned the horses out into the paddock and all of them raced off. But the horse he’d ridden suddenly stopped, trotted back to him and put his head on his shoulder,” Ben tells me. “The next morning this fellow turned up for breakfast, after just about skipping down from his accommodation, and was patting people on the back.”

Obviously, something quite profound had occurred; a very special interaction with a horse that had helped to facilitate a more grounded state, creating space for the brain’s ‘happiness trio’ – dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin – to bring back forgotten feelings of calm and connectedness. “The bottom line is,” Ben says, “that if you hand somebody a lead rope and introduce them to one of these animals, they will have a better life because of it.”

To find out more, visit Equine Assisted Therapy Australia, and Remount – and if this article has raised issues for you, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (both services are 24/7).