Welcome to True Hope's horse library!
Enjoy these articles about how horses are therapeutic!
Also check out our Facebook page for continual tidbits of horse information!
Equine Assisted Occupational Therapy Helping 2-Year-Old Fight Rare Disease
Sometimes It Seems That The Biggest Lessons Horses Teach Us Have Nothing To Do with Riding
Horses Offer Emotional Healing To Recovering Addicts, Others Facing Mental Health Challenges
Magic Of Horse Therapy Brings Kids With Special Needs A Sense Of Peace
Also check out our Facebook page for continual tidbits of horse information!
Equine Assisted Occupational Therapy Helping 2-Year-Old Fight Rare Disease
Sometimes It Seems That The Biggest Lessons Horses Teach Us Have Nothing To Do with Riding
Horses Offer Emotional Healing To Recovering Addicts, Others Facing Mental Health Challenges
Magic Of Horse Therapy Brings Kids With Special Needs A Sense Of Peace
The World of Equine Assisted Therapy
By Ruth Goldstein, THTH Board of DIrectors
The world of equine assisted therapies is large and diverse. The terminology is not well defined and can be confusing. This article explores the terminology and activities that fall under the umbrella of equine assisted therapy and the broader term, equine assisted learning.
There are many organizations and associations that offer certifications, credentialing, and programs involving horses and humans in a therapeutic setting. Different organizations may use different definitions for similar terms. This article relies on the definitions adopted by the American Hippotherapy Association Inc (AHA). AHA offered the most clearly articulated, and also most narrowly written, definitions I found during my search. The list below starts with the most general/inclusive terms and moves towards the most specific/narrow terms.
EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING (EAL): Experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and/or personal goals through interaction with horses. There currently exists a wide range of applications of EAL including who provides it (e.g. life coaches, teachers) and what the focus is (e.g. self-esteem, relationship building, team work, academic skills).
EQUINE ASSISTED ACTIVITIES (EAA): Activities within an equine environment, mounted or unmounted, where the focus is skill attainment, education, recreation, sport, and/or leisure. The instructor or facilitator is specifically trained to adapt the experience based on participant needs, or to assist learning that involves the participant's lived experiences. Examples of activities may include: equine assisted learning (EAL), adaptive riding (AR), adaptive driving, interactive vaulting, horsemanship, stable management, equestrian competition, parades, or demonstrations.
EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPIES (EAT): An umbrella term used to describe a group of therapies provided by licensed healthcare professionals who include horses and/or equine interactions as a treatment tool/strategy. This term could include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, or mental health/psychotherapy.
HIPPOTHERAPY (HPOT): The term hippotherapy refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning in the purposeful manipulation of equine movement as a therapy tool to engage sensory, neuromotor and cognitive systems to promote functional outcomes.
EQUINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY (EAP): The term equine-assisted psychotherapy refers to how licensed/credentialed mental health professionals include horses and the equine environment to enhance clinical assessment and treatment related to the client’s treatment goals, and within the professional’s training and scope of practice.
THERAPEUTIC OR ADAPTIVE RIDING (AR): Horseback riding lessons for individuals with special needs. Taught by experienced instructors who have received specialized training and are often certified to work with students with disabilities. These instructors adapt their teaching style, the environment and/or equipment to facilitate acquisition of riding skills and participation in an enjoyable activity. Certification in teaching riding lessons for individuals with special needs may be obtained through organizations such as PATH Intl., Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA), the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CANTRA) or Riding for the Disabled (RDA).
True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship is a non profit organization that provides therapeutic riding lessons to kids and adults with emotional, cognitive, behavioral or physical challenges. We employ PATH International certified instructors, as well as leader and side-walker volunteers, to help ensure the safety of the horse and rider during the lessons.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief tour through the terminology of equine assisted activities and equine assisted therapies. Future articles will take a look at the benefits of therapeutic riding and equine assisted therapies. We will also look at what makes a good therapy horse, and the special benefits horses bring to the therapeutic setting.
Resources Cited
American Hippotherapy Association Inc. AHA Inc Terminology Guidelines. Accessed at https://americanhippotherapyassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AHA-Terminology-Final-12-2-18.pdf
By Ruth Goldstein, THTH Board of DIrectors
The world of equine assisted therapies is large and diverse. The terminology is not well defined and can be confusing. This article explores the terminology and activities that fall under the umbrella of equine assisted therapy and the broader term, equine assisted learning.
There are many organizations and associations that offer certifications, credentialing, and programs involving horses and humans in a therapeutic setting. Different organizations may use different definitions for similar terms. This article relies on the definitions adopted by the American Hippotherapy Association Inc (AHA). AHA offered the most clearly articulated, and also most narrowly written, definitions I found during my search. The list below starts with the most general/inclusive terms and moves towards the most specific/narrow terms.
EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING (EAL): Experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and/or personal goals through interaction with horses. There currently exists a wide range of applications of EAL including who provides it (e.g. life coaches, teachers) and what the focus is (e.g. self-esteem, relationship building, team work, academic skills).
EQUINE ASSISTED ACTIVITIES (EAA): Activities within an equine environment, mounted or unmounted, where the focus is skill attainment, education, recreation, sport, and/or leisure. The instructor or facilitator is specifically trained to adapt the experience based on participant needs, or to assist learning that involves the participant's lived experiences. Examples of activities may include: equine assisted learning (EAL), adaptive riding (AR), adaptive driving, interactive vaulting, horsemanship, stable management, equestrian competition, parades, or demonstrations.
EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPIES (EAT): An umbrella term used to describe a group of therapies provided by licensed healthcare professionals who include horses and/or equine interactions as a treatment tool/strategy. This term could include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, or mental health/psychotherapy.
HIPPOTHERAPY (HPOT): The term hippotherapy refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning in the purposeful manipulation of equine movement as a therapy tool to engage sensory, neuromotor and cognitive systems to promote functional outcomes.
EQUINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY (EAP): The term equine-assisted psychotherapy refers to how licensed/credentialed mental health professionals include horses and the equine environment to enhance clinical assessment and treatment related to the client’s treatment goals, and within the professional’s training and scope of practice.
THERAPEUTIC OR ADAPTIVE RIDING (AR): Horseback riding lessons for individuals with special needs. Taught by experienced instructors who have received specialized training and are often certified to work with students with disabilities. These instructors adapt their teaching style, the environment and/or equipment to facilitate acquisition of riding skills and participation in an enjoyable activity. Certification in teaching riding lessons for individuals with special needs may be obtained through organizations such as PATH Intl., Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA), the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CANTRA) or Riding for the Disabled (RDA).
True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship is a non profit organization that provides therapeutic riding lessons to kids and adults with emotional, cognitive, behavioral or physical challenges. We employ PATH International certified instructors, as well as leader and side-walker volunteers, to help ensure the safety of the horse and rider during the lessons.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief tour through the terminology of equine assisted activities and equine assisted therapies. Future articles will take a look at the benefits of therapeutic riding and equine assisted therapies. We will also look at what makes a good therapy horse, and the special benefits horses bring to the therapeutic setting.
Resources Cited
American Hippotherapy Association Inc. AHA Inc Terminology Guidelines. Accessed at https://americanhippotherapyassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AHA-Terminology-Final-12-2-18.pdf
New Partnership will Build Life Skills with Endangered Newfoundland Ponies
True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship is thrilled to announce the creation of a new, un-mounted, life-skills development program with the Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center (NPCC) in Jaffrey, NH. The NPCC is a breed specific organization dedicated to saving and preserving the critically endangered Newfoundland Pony individually and the breed as a whole.
We are still working out the details, but we plan to offer 6-week sessions to adults and kids using the endangered Newfoundland Ponies as co-teachers with Emily Aho as the facilitator.
Emily is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center and she is a Certified Facilitator through the Equine Connection Academy of Equine Assisted Learning. She offers a variety of un-mounted programs at the Center. Emily says, “Newfoundland ponies are wonderful teachers, kind, patient and gentle. Our life skills development programs do not involve riding which is terrific for people who may have a fear of horses, can’t or don’t wish to ride.” Over the next few months, True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship will be working with Emily to develop a program tailored specifically to our True Hope clientele.
This new program will be a type of EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING (EAL), an experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and/or personal goals through interaction with horses. Un-mounted interaction with horses can help children and adults build self-confidence, respect towards others, groundedness, quiet and calm assertiveness, gentleness, emotional connection, and embodiment. Horses are very sensitive to the energy and mindset of the people near them, and a skilled guide and teacher can use what the horses are telling her about the participants to facilitate learning and growth.
What can a horse teach you that a human can’t? The NPCC website helps to answer this question:
We can’t wait to begin working with the beautiful Newfoundland Ponies. For more information on the NPCC, go to https://www.newfoundlandponies.org or contact Emily at newfoundlandponyinfo@gmail.com . For more details on our new programs with NPCC, check in with our Facebook page and website, or contact us at information@truehopeth.org.
True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship is thrilled to announce the creation of a new, un-mounted, life-skills development program with the Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center (NPCC) in Jaffrey, NH. The NPCC is a breed specific organization dedicated to saving and preserving the critically endangered Newfoundland Pony individually and the breed as a whole.
We are still working out the details, but we plan to offer 6-week sessions to adults and kids using the endangered Newfoundland Ponies as co-teachers with Emily Aho as the facilitator.
Emily is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center and she is a Certified Facilitator through the Equine Connection Academy of Equine Assisted Learning. She offers a variety of un-mounted programs at the Center. Emily says, “Newfoundland ponies are wonderful teachers, kind, patient and gentle. Our life skills development programs do not involve riding which is terrific for people who may have a fear of horses, can’t or don’t wish to ride.” Over the next few months, True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship will be working with Emily to develop a program tailored specifically to our True Hope clientele.
This new program will be a type of EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING (EAL), an experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and/or personal goals through interaction with horses. Un-mounted interaction with horses can help children and adults build self-confidence, respect towards others, groundedness, quiet and calm assertiveness, gentleness, emotional connection, and embodiment. Horses are very sensitive to the energy and mindset of the people near them, and a skilled guide and teacher can use what the horses are telling her about the participants to facilitate learning and growth.
What can a horse teach you that a human can’t? The NPCC website helps to answer this question:
- Horses consistently model assertiveness and teach us how…
- Horses can't lie or over think a participants motive.
- Horse’s feedback is honest and instant.
- Nature provides them with instincts and senses that are very astute.
- Horses help to instill empathy and kindness in the participants.
- Horses have natural "herd behaviors" that require trust, respect, and teamwork from all members of the team.
- Horses automatically respond to confusion and frustration as these feelings can put the herd at risk.
- Horses lead through assuredness - not brute force.
- Horses have distinct personalities and therefore, they all have different methods of teaching.
We can’t wait to begin working with the beautiful Newfoundland Ponies. For more information on the NPCC, go to https://www.newfoundlandponies.org or contact Emily at newfoundlandponyinfo@gmail.com . For more details on our new programs with NPCC, check in with our Facebook page and website, or contact us at information@truehopeth.org.