Why horses?
As mentioned before, we believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ. We strive to point our clients to Christ throughout the entire time they’re with us. Our equine program helps clients heal by equipping them with coping skills, confidence, how to identify and manage their emotions, and so much more. Horses are emotionally sensitive, and will respond to our emotions even if we aren’t aware of what we are feeling, or our words don't match our emotions. Horses are great mirrors because they respond directly to their environment. They pick up on and respond to even the most subtle cues in human emotions and body language and respond directly to those cues. Horses are generally agreeable animals, however they respond best when being asked to do something in a calm manner. A lot of survivors of abuse and trafficking struggle with anger at the perpetrator and/or the trauma they’ve been through. Anger and frustration is common in clients struggling with mental health and self-harm, as well. While there’s a time and place for righteous anger – even Jesus got angry in the temple in the Bible, horses help them to process that in a healthy way.
Clients work through activities designed to help them grow in their faith, build confidence, identify and apply practical ways of overcoming the obstacles they face in their healing, their faith, and in everyday life. They will have the opportunity to partner with one horse or choose a different horse each time. While the majority of the exercises clients work through are ground activities, we do have a few mounted activities that we use at the discretion of the Holy Spirit.
Horses help our clients see and believe that they are worthy of friendship and love. There’s nothing quite like walking out in the field and a horse coming to meet them or leaving the other horses and following them back across the field. Sometimes it’s easier for a client to believe they’re worthy of love and friendship and acceptance from a horse than it is to believe that from another human in the beginning of their healing, and horses can help bridge that gap while we chip away at their layers of walls until they believe that they are wanted and worthy of love and friendship and acceptance.