Inspiration

Being around horses does more than improve riding skills—it can enhance emotional, physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, environmental, occupational, and nutritional well-being.

By Debbie Elliot

9 Minute Read

We all often feel that sense of calm and clarity when we get to the barn. Being around horses helps us relax, regulate our heart rate, ground ourselves, and focus on what really matters. While horses have benefited people for their physical strength, endurance, and athleticism for thousands of years, the holistic value of spending time with horses is a more recent discovery.

In 1780, Joseph Clément Tissot, a French physician and military surgeon, described horseback riding, especially at the walk, as a potentially beneficial form of treatment. The first recorded examples of animal-assisted therapy occurred in 1796 at the York Retreat in the U.K., when domesticated animals were incorporated into therapeutic treatment with the goal of creating social and benevolent feelings in patients and reducing isolation.

The modern form of hippotherapy, also known as equine-assisted services, was first developed in Europe in the early 1960s and then spread to the U.S. later in the decade. The benefits — including adaptive riding, mental health, trauma treatment, and veteran services — are vast, and the industry is growing. More than 71,300 participants are served each year through Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) member centers worldwide.

Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness relates to how we manage our emotions, cope with stress, and build emotional resilience.

“Interactions with horses stimulate things in people that no other sport or activity can,” said Dr. C. Mike Tomlinson, DVM, MBA, Director Emeritus at HHRF. Unlike playing basketball, golf, or tennis, you are building a partnership with a sentient being and working towards a common goal.

Horses can undoubtedly make us feel calmer, less anxious, and happier, but they can also improve self-esteem and build confidence, especially in young people.

“Confidence with horses is rarely given; it is built. Each small success, whether catching a difficult horse, improving a transition, or asking a horse to accept a rug for the first time becomes evidence of capability, and that is where genuine self-esteem begins,” said Dr. Helen Sharp, PhD, founder of Groundwork Equine Assisted Services.

Equestrian activities also teach us goal setting, and the patience and resilience to reach those goals, as nothing with horses comes quickly.

“The ears are always telling a story.”

Dr. Pebbles Turbeville

Emotional wellness relates to how we manage our emotions, cope with stress, and build emotional resilience.

“Interactions with horses stimulate things in people that no other sport or activity can,” said Dr. C. Mike Tomlinson, DVM, MBA, Director Emeritus at HHRF. Unlike playing basketball, golf, or tennis, you are building a partnership with a sentient being and working towards a common goal.

Horses can undoubtedly make us feel calmer, less anxious, and happier, but they can also improve self-esteem and build confidence, especially in young people.

“Confidence with horses is rarely given; it is built. Each small success, whether catching a difficult horse, improving a transition, or asking a horse to accept a rug for the first time becomes evidence of capability, and that is where genuine self-esteem begins,” said Dr. Helen Sharp, PhD, founder of Groundwork Equine Assisted Services.

Equestrian activities also teach us goal setting, and the patience and resilience to reach those goals, as nothing with horses comes quickly.

Physical Wellness

It is essential to stay physically active, especially as we age — and it is impossible not to be active as a horse owner. Riding strengthens your core and back muscles, while also improving balance and coordination. Then add on the workouts you get mucking stalls, grooming, carrying tack, hand walking, lifting feed bags, and all the other regular tasks that go into horse ownership.

“Riding is not simply a physical exercise,” said Dr. Sharp. “It is a continuous process of coordination, learning, application of learning, awareness, and adjustment in which the body and mind work together in real time.”

It also promotes enhanced sensory perception, which is especially beneficial to people with autism and sensory disorders, but can help any rider pick up on subtle changes in their horse’s movement, balance, tension, and responsiveness.

“Confidence with horses is rarely given; it is built."

Dr. Helen Sharp

Intellectual Wellness

Strong intellectual wellness can support healthy aging by keeping your brain sharp, challenging your mind, and continuing to think in new ways. We are constantly learning while with horses, whether that is learning new horsemanship skills, memorizing a dressage test, or improving our understanding of how your horse thinks and feels.

“It requires focus, attention, memory, and executive functioning to be around horses. They also teach you to be present because you can’t be looking at your phone around a horse without losing communication with them, or possibly getting hurt,” said Dr. Tomlinson.

Working with horses often teaches emotional regulation in a way that is felt rather than explained. “If you are unsettled, the horse reflects it — this can make interactions with your horse more time-consuming or tricky,” said Dr. Sharp. “Over time, you learn to steady yourself first, resulting in easier interactions more often than not, and that skill carries far beyond the barn.”

Equines also help with co-regulation, she continued. “Horses do not respond to what we say, they respond to how we are. In learning to influence the horse through how we show up, we learn to regulate ourselves, and that is a powerful form of embodied learning.”

People with ADHD often struggle with attention, impulse control, and organizational skills. However, “for some individuals with attention difficulties, horses can offer immediate and meaningful feedback. Focus is not an abstract idea in this context; it directly affects communication, safety, and success,” Dr. Sharp explained.

Riding helps sufferers focus, prevents overthinking, and improves concentration. For more information on how riding can ease ADHD symptoms, please visit https://horsesareeverything.com/story/riding-is-the-water-to-put-out-the-fire-of-our-adhd.

In addition, a 2014 study by the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that students (not diagnosed with ADHD) involved in equine-assisted learning often become more focused and engaged in school.

Social Wellness

Building healthy relationships and feeling connected to others is at the core of social wellness. Horses can act as social facilitators, encouraging both human and equine interaction.

“While riding horses can be an individual activity, typically you go to a barn where there are other people who you ride in an arena with,” said Dr. Tomlinson. “You are going to be social, even if you are depressed and don’t want to be. It’s a safe place where you have a common thing to discuss — horses. You can make friends more easily. You can learn to work with people. You can ease out of your head and into the horse.” The barn also creates a smorgasbord of ages, cultures, and backgrounds, resulting in you becoming friends with people who would not normally be in your social circle. “Differences disappear when you have horses in common,” Dr. Tomlinson added.

Group activities such as being on a Pony Club, Interscholastic Equestrian Association, or college team, or simply cheering your barn mates on at a show, stimulate empathy, cooperation, and a sense of teamwork.

Being with horses also encourages us to put another creature’s needs ahead of our own. “We are always taught to put our horse first in terms of care and attention, especially after a ride. For example, if you are thirsty, you give your horse water before you go get a drink,” said Dr. Turbeville. Establishing that pattern increases empathy as it makes you think about other people’s feelings more.

“We are always taught to put our horse first in terms of care and attention, especially after a ride."

Dr. Pebbles Turbeville

Spiritual Wellness

Spiritual wellness doesn’t need to involve religion, it can relate to anything that helps you find meaning and purpose in life. Spending time with horses in nature can not only deepen your spiritual wellness, it can also promote mindfulness and presence as horses live in the moment.

“Horses don’t mirror your emotions. They take them in, interpret them, and then they say back what they feel about your emotions,” Dr. Tomlinson explained. “It’s their interpretation of what you are saying to them that really helps your spiritual wellness because sometimes they just say, ‘Don’t do that,’ and we listen to them.”

The sheer size, strength, and honesty of horses sparks wonder and gratitude, while their presence encourages us to reflect on our values, purpose, and spiritual beliefs.

Environmental Wellness

We have all heard of the phrase “go hug a tree,” as it has been proven that spending time with trees and nature can promote calm, reduce stress, and help people feel more grounded. Nature deficit disorder can occur when people spend too little time in nature, leading to physical, emotional, and behavioral problems.

The majority of equine interactions occur outdoors, which automatically puts us in nature and helps us connect with its rhythms. That connection includes being more aware of weather patterns, as the weather often impacts riding, and being conscious of clouds, rain, or wind.

"You develop an appreciation for the cycle of nature, such as in the fall when it's becoming cooler and you're not sweating as much, or when there are no bugs because there was frost," Dr. Tomlinson explained.

Riding also gets you closer to other animals, like squirrels jumping into the arena, or encounters out on the trail.

I once had a hawk fly in front of me on a trail ride and lead me down the path, Dr. Turbeville recalled. "It was phenomenal to have that kind of experience."

Some barns are now adding relaxing sensory gardens to their grounds, or offering opportunities to compost and grow vegetables, to nurture the connection with nature.

"You develop an appreciation for the cycle of nature, such as in the fall when it's becoming cooler and you're not sweating as much, or when there are no bugs because there was frost."

Dr. Tomlinson

Occupational Wellness

Occupational wellness doesn't depend on what job you have, but on finding satisfaction and purpose in your profession. Working with horses from an early age can build job skills that other youth activities don't, such as taking responsibility to groom your horse or clean their stall out, along with conscientious time management.

For those who decide they want to work with horses, there are a multitude of vocational opportunities beyond being a trainer. There are horse-related jobs in the police force, Army, and even FedEx as they ship horses by air!

Beyond fulltime careers, people can volunteer or mentor at res cues or equine-assisted facilities. Those with learning disabilities can develop skills to work at a barn, while some prisons have programs where inmates can rehabilitate by training horses.

Nutritional Wellness

"Caring for horses can be a role model for taking care of our-selves, as it makes us think of nutritional values, supplements, and hydration," Dr. Tomlinson explained. "Such as, 'if my horse has to have this much water, then maybe I should drink more." A study by the Journal of Athletic Training found that care of horses can boost motivation to eat and stay strong, especially during recovery from anorexia or bulimia. For more information on rider nutrition, please read our article at usef.org/media/newsletter/equestrian-weekly/why-what-you-eat-impacts-how-you-ride.

Overall, riding combines attention, movement and emotional awareness in a single activity, said Dr. Sharp. It requires you to be present, organized, and responsive, and over time, those skills become more deeply embedded. "The benefits are often found in ordinary moments rather than dramatic change. It is in the daily interactions, the quiet adjustments, and the gradual building of confidence and many other skills over time."

Photos: Courtesy of Cloverleaf Equine Center, Becky Pearman, Leslie Potter/US Equestrian, Christine Rivet/US Equestrian, Isabelle Whiteside/US Equestrian

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