HORSES AS HEALERS

Equine Therapy has Physical and Emotional Benefits

by Julie Peterson

Horses are being increasingly used to help people work through emotional and physical challenges, and for good reason: Numerous studies have shown that equine-assisted therapy helps with anger, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative or other emotional problems. It works whether the therapy involves riding or simply feeding and grooming. Building the relationship increases people’s self-confidence, social skills, trust, empathy and emotional regulation, and helps them establish routines, structure and a sense of responsibility—all skills that are transferable to daily life.

Equine Psychotherapists

Equine-assisted psychotherapy involves counseling with a mental health professional and time riding or caring for a horse. The horse is considered a co-therapist. Forming a relationship with an animal that weighs 1,000 pounds or more may be intimidating, but the required vulnerability and trust is part of the process.

“Horses show us how to live together in harmony. They teach us about acceptance of others and of ourselves,” says Marcy Tocker, clinical mental health counselor and founder and executive director of Grey Muzzle Manor Sanctuary, in Mohrsville, Pennsylvania.

“In some cases, I see results more quickly using equine therapy than solely with office therapy. I also see more motivation from typically resistant clients because this can actually be fun, too,” says Meagan Good, a counselor and owner of Take Heart Counseling & Equine Assisted Therapy, in Wernersville, Pennsylvania. “Horses are relationship-oriented and intuitively sense and honestly respond to the emotions of those around them, which makes the horse-human bond a powerful healing mechanism.”

“Horses have similar emotions to humans—they get stressed out, happy, impatient. That’s why equine-assisted services are so popular,” says Traci Leigh, equine manager and instructor at Dream Riders TLC, in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Beyond working as co-therapists for emotional issues, horses are excellent for occupational, speech and physical therapy. “Riding a horse rhythmically moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to a human gait. Their pelvic movement is the same as ours, so riders with physical needs often show improvement in flexibility, balance, muscle strength, circulation and breathing,” says Pamela J. Rogan, founder, executive director and certified therapeutic riding instructor at Harmony Farms, in Cocoa, Florida. “It will also enhance a rider’s quality of life, build confidence, independence and self-esteem. This is particularly true of riders with emotional or behavioral disabilities.”

Research shows that children and adults with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke and other conditions that affect motor control saw improvements in balance, gait, gross motor function and posture after several weeks of equine-assisted treatment.

Horses at Work

“I look for horses who are not afraid of new things, but curious about them … a horse that thinks through a new situation, that expresses himself freely and that enjoys interacting with humans,” says Good. “From there, my professional team works on building a relationship with that horse so that the horse feels safe to build relationships with clients who may or may not have any horse background.”

There are certifications and advanced courses that ensure appropriate training of the therapists and instructors, the safety of the people receiving services and the training and well-being of the horses. Reputable organizations include the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (eagala.org), the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (pathintl. org) and Natural Lifemanship (NaturalLifemanship.com).

“In addition to requiring that the horses are quiet, gentle animals and physically and mentally sound, they are trained to be desensitized to noise, wheelchairs, walkers and different types of therapeutic equipment that riders may need for safety or postural assistance,” says Leigh. Her horses get four weeks off every year and work a schedule that ensures ample time to rest and recharge during the day.

“The horse is a co-therapist. They are doing a job, and it’s a not an easy job,” says Tocker. “To ensure the well-being of our equine therapists, they get ample time off and massages. They’re taking on a lot, so we want to make sure they don’t burn out.”

“I have horses that seem to step in and ‘protect’ clients when they are feeling vulnerable. I have horses who try to help regulate the anxious client by breathing or yawning or nuzzling,” says Good. “For the most part, we trust the horses to just be themselves, and what they bring is always helpful for the client.”

“Horses are able to be present and focus solely on what is going on around them. They do not think about the future or the past or judge people based on what they look like or what experiences they may have had,” says Tocker. “I feel like I witness miracles every time I do a session at the barn.”

Julie Peterson writes about health and wellness from rural Wisconsin. Reach out at JuliePeterson2222@gmail.com.

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Become an Expert in Nothing

by Kalyn Wolf

“I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.” ~Albert Einstein

No one would ever call Albert Einstein or Steve Jobs lazy slouches, yet they both regularly took full advantage of doing “nothing” as a verb. Einstein accepted that many times the most valuable ideas occurred to him while doing nothing and enjoying his own “no time”. Jobs was a “famous bum”, known to build “doing nothing” into his days.

“The time Steve Jobs procrastinated and pondered the possibilities was time well spent letting more divergent ideas emerge,” Wharton professor Adam Grant told Business Insider when discussing Jobs’ long periods of aimless inactivity.

When we understand that the word “nothing” is a verb—as to “do nothing”—a whole world of possibilities opens up. A lot of writers, thinkers, artists and scientists consider the hours between 4 and 7:30 a.m. their “no” time. It’s the quietest time of day, when few people are communicating or asking for anything. A lot of people feel those early hours are “holy” time, hours of grace.

In the tech world, “no” time is a well-known thing. Whether it’s a moment, a minute, an hour or a camping weekend, spending time consciously away from tech, or “Tech No”, is taking a break dedicated to rebooting the brain.

These practices of doing nothing require temporary isolation, which is important for personal growth, socialization, creativity and problem solving.

So how do we isolate? Take a walk? Nope, this is doing something, and there is lots of sensory information coming at us. Camping is popular, but it’s hardly isolation. Some people feel recharged after a weekend of camping, but it’s not for everyone.

Is there an easy, effective way to regularly achieve temporary isolation? Try a float tank. Also known as sensory deprivation tanks, float tanks are perhaps the best environment for temporary isolation.

Maybe “no time” is the key to success that has been evading us. Many of us are overscheduled and overworked, unsure of when we last allowed ourselves to just “space out”. Be like Einstein and Jobs; add “doing nothing” to the week by visiting a float tank.

Kalyn Wolf is the owner of Cloud Nine Flotation & Relaxation Center, located at 2118 S. Avenida Planeta, in Tucson. Connect at 520-668-4017 or FloatTucson.com. See ad, page 19.

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Numerology in September of 2021

by Paula Bowman

September is a number nine. The actual date of this month of September, numerically of course, looks like this: 9/2021. Now, add them up sideways: 9+2+0+2+1=14, which equals 5. Five means surprises, healing jumps, fun stuff and the big word: changes. Things we never would expect. Small healthy surprises, but also big healthy surprises. Things happen to us; other things, we surprisingly initiate ourselves.

Now, all Septembers are a number nine, and in numerology they produce the quality of culmination and completion. Somehow, some way, “it is finished”. But the quality is spiritual, for number nine, so it is a healing and spiritual completion, in some way or other. Or, a finish of a project which is spiritual. Or, we might say, “It was a spiritual endeavor.”

This year, 2021, is also a five (2+0+2+1= 5), and so we have a double impact from our five: the year (2021) and the year-plus-month (9+2+0+2+1=14, 1+4=5). This presents us with two fives—quite different, say, from this past month of August or the coming October month. September is different: “The Healing Five Within the Healing Five”. This means surprises within surprises.

Let’s talk about the color blue. Normally, the color for number nine is “all pastel colors”. But, blue is for number five, and since we have that double five this September, blue, it is! Now, that is not every shade of blue, but more the aqua and light blue, rather than teal or indigo. If something comes up this month where a color must be chosen or identified, our best bet might be an aqua or a light blue. This could be in a design feature, socks, a tie, marketing, a scarf, a gift, a purchase, clothes from the closet, wall paint, curtains, napkins, a car, a painting, a piece of art—or blueberries.

Now, September of nearly 10 years ago, in 2012, was also a five—quite unusual. Just for the record, that was the month that Barack Obama accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party to run for president of the U.S. Whereas it did not seem to be a surprise at the time, we all knew it solidified a mighty change in U.S. history—like a surprise.

Of course, that’s only talking politics, and politics are only one aspect of our day-to-day lives. Our numbers in numerology, have aspects daily that can be fun, and healing, in that sense, to consider—especially when it’s five. Five is surprising and jumpy, which can be especially fun. So, take leaps. Remember, “He who hesitates is lost”.

The five within the five is like the egg with two yolks. It definitely is not expected, for one thing, but it also is like the arrival of twins when there’s only one baby expected. That second unexpected child is a double responsibility, a double life—but it also is a surprise-source of unexpected fun.

September is the last phase before a new cycle begins, and a culmination or completion, in that sense. Don’t resist the healing power in it. Remember to be ready in September of 2021 for the “next new beginning”. Even if we have to call on our own inner resources, or our own inner power, that’s “inward”, private thinking that brings healing.

Bowman, who refers to herself as "Mooncap", does not presume to predict, but likes rather to offer healthy and illuminating corroborations, "by number". Connect with her at PaulaBowman71@gmail.com.

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