RIDER HEALTH & WELFARE
Five minutes with...
ANDREAS LIEFOOGHE potentially, however you do need to select a horse that is secure in themselves, contained yet outgoing enough. I love working with Arabians and Thoroughbreds in therapy although Shire horses are equally amazing due to their enormous presence.” What type of human conditions do you find are best treated through horse therapy? “It’s not so much the condition as the person - people with trauma, shame, who find trust in relationships problematic. People who don’t like sitting in an office with a therapist looking at them. Operation Centaur now has clinics for most conditions including addiction, eating disorders, anxiety and depression, trauma.” Have you seen a rise in the above-mentioned conditions since the Pandemic?
“Eating disorders and addiction have certainly increased. People who were already struggling clearly found things very hard, for everyone else there has been an increased awareness that sound mental health is not something we can take for granted.”
strong. People can identify with them.”
We understand that you tend to use Shire horses for work such as antibullying in schools and work with offenders in prisons – can you tell us a little bit more about this and why you choose to use this breed? “It’s difficult to bully a horse that weighs a tonne. Shires are so impressive, noble - gentle yet
You are planning overseas horse therapy retreats, ‘Retreat and Conquer’ in 2023 – can you tell us a little bit more about these? “Our clinical work has taught us that a lot of working with horses and humans can be translated to situations out of the clinic post-pandemic there’s a real need for this. Many people feel a bit stuck, lacking purpose,
THERE ARE TIMES IN ALL OUR LIVES WHEN OUR EMOTIONS ARE OVERWHELMING BUT HORSES CAN PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN RECOVERY AND EQUINE-ASSISTED THERAPY CAN HELP US WORK THROUGH DIFFICULTIES. OPERATION CENTAUR, THE UK’S LEADING HORSE THERAPY CENTRE, HAS BEEN HELPING PEOPLE WITH ANXIETY, PTSD AND EATING DISORDERS THROUGH EQUINEASSISTED THERAPY FOR YEARS, AND WILL BE LAUNCHING A NEW OVERSEAS INITIATIVE IN 2023. PHOEBE OLIVER SPOKE WITH FOUNDER, ANDREAS LIEFOOGHE, TO FIND OUT MORE.
feeling there’s something is missing in life, as a result of this we have put together a list of retreats in some of the most awe-inspiring places in the world including Asia, Arabia, South Africa and Mustique in the Caribbean.” www.operationcentaur.com
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