Equine therapy boosts mental health

Equine therapy boosts mental health

It’s Gumboot Friday today and a team using horses to improve youth mental health is celebrating it with their equine work colleagues.  

Herd by Horses has used equine-assisted psychotherapy to help youth navigate a diverse range of mental health challenges.

Horse specialist Kelly Boyens, registered counsellor Carolyn Brown and their team of horses have been operating for 11 years now.

Their horse courses cater for young people aged between 5 and 25, with school or private bookings, or referrals from the likes of police, Oranga Tamariki, Youth Justice, and Mana Whaikaha.

They currently have 225 registered clients and use a ground-based approach to gaining the trust of horses, using the animals as a metaphor to help clients grow and heal.

Many clients are neuro-diverse, and some are non-verbal. Kelly says horses help young people build confidence, emotional regulation, and trust.

Carolyn says clients project through the horses.

“They might look at the horse and are asked how they think the horse feels and what it is thinking, and it starts to open up those conversations,” she says.

“It helps with mindfulness, bringing them into the present and focusing on what they can hear, feel and see.”

Having the horse perform a set task or negotiate an obstacle often requires co-operation and a calm and soothing approach to have the horse respond. 

Kelly says clients each have their own name for their horse to form a connection, and they’ve come up with names like Chocolate, Pebbles – even Chicken Bone. 

“It helps them form that relationship.

“A completely different side can come out,” she says.

Kelly says the horse-based approach can have a positive effect on the whole family.

“We often get feedback that there has been a change in behaviour, or things are a lot calmer going back to class, for example,” she says.

Herd By Horses says they have been successful in receiving Gumboot Friday funding in the past and were supportive of the annual appeal.