At Horsepower at Misty Oaks we have three quarter horses we use in our equine assisted psychotherapy. While each horse has a different personality just as humans do, all of our horses are very gentle, kind, and intuitive.

Horses are both herd and prey animals. In the wild horses stay together as a unit and must focus on being in tune with one another to remain safe. One of the ways they do so is by synchronizing their heartbeats. If there is a change in one horses’ demeaner it is felt by them all. Research has shown that horses can hear a human’s heartbeat from 4 feet away and will synchronize their heartbeats with us in the same way they do in their herd. It is this innate ability to connect in the present moment and adapt their reactions that allow horses to be so powerful in therapy. All of our horses are very adept at reflecting what is creating internal conflict within a client. Not only will our horses mirror a client’s physical and emotional state, but they provide this feedback in an honest and unbiased way. Through feeling our emotions, horses act as a metaphor for our conflict and provide a concrete visual in a way that traditional psychotherapy does not. By coupling equine assisted therapy with traditional psychotherapy, we have found that clients have shift in perspective that allows for an expedited path to deep healing.