Equine Facilitated Mental Health Programs

Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) Programs and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) offer a powerful and effective therapeutic approach that has proven to have an incredible impact on individuals, youth, families and groups with a variety of mental health and human development needs. EFL & EFP programs are designed to partner individuals with horses in order to enhance communication, trust, positive assertiveness and wellness while also building social skills, self-confidence and self-esteem.

EFL and EFP Programs offer a unique approach which:

• Re-patterns and structures new brainstem development
• Offers an effective way for individuals to move toward a path of emotional recovery
• Provides personal exploration, mindfulness, emotional fitness, relationship building and improved communication skills
• Complements medical and psychological treatment plans, education and family needs

The EFL programs and EFP offered at the Flying Horse Stable are provided in a physically and emotionally safe environment for clinically diagnosed individuals or for those just looking for a new challenge or personal growth. Regardless of why an individual comes to the stables, our interactive experiences are facilitated by a collaborative team which may include a combination of two or more of the following: a trained counselor, a psychotherapist, a certified therapeutic riding instructor, a horse professional or trained volunteers. Flying Horse Stable's trained staff and horses are flexible and ready to modify or enhance the session structure and activity choices to flow with changes that may occur in nature or with the individual on any given day.

The focus of EFL and EFP involves creating activities involving horses which will require the client or group to apply certain skills. Non-verbal communication, assertiveness, creative thinking, problem solving, leadership, taking responsibility, teamwork, confidence and attitude are several examples of the skills which can be developed.  These skills have far reaching applications linked to increased success in personal well-being.

Examples of various mental health issues that may be served in these programs are:

• Recovery: AODA, abuse, post traumatic stress syndrome, or loss
• Interpersonal: self help, stress management, or communication barriers
• Life coping skills: depression, anxiety, or eating disorders
• Educational areas: ADHD, communication, emotional/learning difficulties, or Asperger/Autism Syndrome
• Community needs: delinquency behaviors, volunteer training, or learning independent life skills

EFL and EFP promote change through action and interaction. Individuals show positive growth in:

• Self-Esteem and Confidence
• Social Interaction
• Trust Building
• Leadership
• Boundary Setting
• Mutual Respect
• Responsibility
• Relaxation and Stress Relief
• Anger and Anxiety Management

Equine Facilitated Learning Activities (EFL)

Equine Facilitated Learning Activities (EFL) activities at the Flying Horse Stable are meant to develop and practice daily life skills; generate well-being and self-awareness; create strategies for coping; and foster the ability to make healthy behavioral choices. Previous riding skills or knowledge of horses are not needed to participate in these activities.

The activities involved in EFL provide an individual with experiential learning in a here and now response.  The individual interacts with the environment, other people, horses and other animals.  This interaction creates a partnership and relationship that promotes the horse human bond. The immediate and honest feedback given by the horse reflects the individuals' feelings and behaviors. This offers the individual the opportunity to learn tools and apply what they have learned to real life situations.

EFL programs include personal growth and development workshops, thematic support groups, and/or individual sessions. Mutually respectful equine activities may include observation, handling, grooming, lunging, round pen work, general horse care and riding. Flying Horse Stable also offers a variety of reflective programs such as trail walks/rides, a hero's journey/adventure, the discovery of a horse's energy field, music, journaling and expressive arts.

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP)

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) is a collaborative effort between a licensed therapist, a horse professional, the horse and the participant which provides treatment intervention for children, adults, and families. Sessions are designed specifically to meet individual needs.

Activities with the horses are designed to generate an awareness of therapeutic issues and provide opportunities for insight and resolution. EFP relates the horse-human interactions to analogies of specific issues. The discussion and processing of these analogies often leads to a personal understanding and resolution of the issues. This provides the client with the opportunity to enhance self-awareness while gaining the skills to re-pattern maladaptive behaviors and attitudes.

As the horse human connection grows, an individual also learns to care about another being, to develop a sense of self-worth and feel empowered to make life changes. EFP offers an effective way for individuals to progress on a path to emotional growth and recovery.

Why Horses?

Horses are beautiful, graceful and powerful creatures.  They are symbols of freedom, mystery and spirituality.

The power of the horse-human connection is seen when:

• A young girl with social anxiety smiles as a horse greets her with unconditional acceptance.
• A man without employment feels needed when fixing horse paddock fences.
• A woman with depression gets out of bed to attend her scheduled horse session.
• A group of at risk youth work as a team to navigate a horse through an obstacle course.
• An adolescent with Asperger Syndrome learns non-verbal communication skills.
• A woman suffering from sexual abuse establishes healthy boundaries and trusts again.
• A young child with ADD sets a goal and follows through on a task.
• At-risk youth learn positive leadership when successfully leading a horse.
• A returning veteran overcomes feelings of detachment and emotional numbing as a relationship with a horse develops.

Horses survive and thrive by living in the present moment, keeping a wide view and staying aware of the big picture. As an animal that is preyed upon in nature, the horse has a highly developed ability to sense changes in the environment through the stance and arousal level of other herd members. They are large and powerful creatures yet can feel even the tiniest insect on their body. This gives a horse the perception to sense and respond to the slightest signal or emotional response from humans as well.

Observing how horses interact and communicate within the herd shows the nature of horses' social structure.  Horses model the strength of cooperation rather than single completion, relationship rather than isolation, emotion and instinct rather than logic, and how the process is stronger than the goal. Horses communicate in images and instinct.  They recognize immediately when a person is aggressive, passive, fearful, loving or honest.  They understand human intention - the difference between a honest feeling and 'putting on a face'. Their responses to human behavior and horse human interactions gives insight into human personal communication, emotions, actions and behavior.

Horses are very social animals.  Their language is based on mutual respect and trust.  You must be trustworthy to gain the trust of a horse.  You must give respect to be respected by the horse.  The size of the horse focuses our attention.  For many individuals, this offers the opportunity to overcome fear and develop self-confidence.  This in turn helps the individual gain skills to improve their response to challenging situations in everyday life.

Horses have no agenda. They don't care about our appearance, position, title, or personal background. Horses respond honestly to our human actions. This provides us a unique opportunity to notice the impact we have on the horses.  Horses teach us how effective our actions are, how consistent we are in communicating and how clearly we define our goals. This gives us the chance to learn more about ourselves than we can learn from our human relationships. It is from these interactions that we develop ourselves and our relationships.

When we interact with horses we are invited to see ourselves through their eyes. The horse reflects what human body language is telling them. When the horse feels safe, he will "join" with us as partners. The horse is willing to engage with us in a nonjudgmental manner. Horses can inspire you to live in a connected relationship with your whole being.

The healing capacity of the horse inspires emotional fitness, confidence, and personal strength. The horse is the true therapist.