TL; DR
Equine therapy can enhance your connections with yourself and others by fostering compassion and trust. As our sense of connection shifts, it’s essential to nurture these relationships. Equine-assisted therapy focuses on building a bond with horses. In turn, this helps individuals reconnect with themselves, especially after trauma. This therapeutic approach emphasizes self-trust and observation rather than verbal explanation. It allows participants to experience personal growth in a non-judgmental environment. For riders, spending time with horses outside of riding can strengthen self-connection and enhance overall enjoyment of the sport. Embracing change through equine therapy can lead to deeper connections in all aspects of life.
“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.” —Abraham Lincoln
“That is what compassion does. It challenges our assumptions, our sense of self-limitation, worthlessness, not having a place in the world, and our feelings of loneliness and estrangement. These are narrow, constrictive states of mind. As we develop compassion, our hearts open.” —Sharon Salzberg
Compassion and Kindness Are Both Important Components of Connection
If you are not compassionate with yourself or kind to yourself, the chances are that connection is also lacking. Connection is common in the human experience. In modern society, we talk about our relations to each other and ourselves. You may be asking what it means to be connected to ourselves. This is an easy and complicated answer: If we are connected with ourselves, there is generally a little bit of security. Security comes with that feeling and a sense of trusting in ourselves to know what is good for us. We may be able to articulate that we feel connected to ourselves; however, it may not feel that way.
Since 2020 and the pandemic, our sense of connection has changed. As an equine therapist in Powhatan, VA, I believe that we have realized how important it is to connect with people. And that human touch or connection is vital to our mental health. Also, during the pandemic, we discovered other things about our society and ourselves. Some good and some not-so-good. I will save that discussion for a different post. Our sense of connection is something that needs to be nurtured and cared for.
One option to gain more connection with ourselves could be equine therapy, as the primary focus of the treatment is to connect with a horse. However, before you can connect with the horse, you must connect with yourself. This could be a bit of a circular problem. Equine therapy with Gray Horse Counseling allows us to reconnect with ourselves and thus improves our connections with others, and allows us to heal.
How Does Equine Therapy Help With Trauma?
In trauma cases, some events/ event have occurred, and a sense of safety and peace is generally lost. This can often leave you feeling disconnected and distrusting yourself or others. We often say, “Well, how did I let that happen?” or “Why me?” implying something is wrong with you when there is not. Not trusting ourselves can erode all our relationships and increase our isolation. It is easy for this to become a loop that we get stuck in, isolating and not relying on. This also leads to increasing anxiety and depression, which can feed the thought that we need to separate and not trust ourselves. It becomes increasingly hard to believe anything positive about ourselves. Talk therapy does just that: “talks,” changing, and feeling differently. Horses change this equation.
Equine therapy allows observing the horses interacting with one another and then interacting with them.
In these interactions, you build a connection with the horse and yourself. It takes trust in oneself to believe you can ask a 1,200 lb animal to follow you through a maze, step over obstacles, or let you paint pictures or words on its fur. Trust, respect, and doing are also occurring as you do each of these things. While it can take time to feel the confidence the horse may have in you or your trust in yourself, it will start with a connection with the horse and strengthen each interaction. Equine therapy does not require that you explain yourself to the therapist, only that you show up for the horse.
In doing this, your connection with yourself changes and can grow stronger. The horse does not judge or control. It does not laugh or mimic. They have no expectations, and they will respond in kind. The horse gives you a chance to see yourself differently and to react differently. They allow you to see that you can trust not only in yourself but also in others.
What Are the Benefits For Riders?
Connection is something that is so very important in riding and sometimes very elusive. We get the connection with reins and saddle, and we are often asked to have a connection with the horse. That is where things sometimes run amok. As riders and athletes, we often pressure ourselves to be correct and “just so.” It can sometimes cause us to lose sight of the point of the sport, to have fun and enjoy ourselves. So what would spending some time with the horse you are not riding do for you with the one you ride? You might be surprised at what happens. If you allow yourself to spend time with a horse you do not have to ride, what can happen might be surprising.
It is often the case that not being able to make a connection with a horse is related to not being able to make a connection with ourselves, so making the connection with ourselves is the sticking point and what needs to be addressed. So, taking away all the expectations of riding and just observing horses enjoy each other’s company can help you find a way to enjoy your own company. Being able to find a way to “speak” to them will allow us to find a way to “speak” to ourselves and change what we say to ourselves. Changing what we say to ourselves and what we believe about ourselves will ultimately allow us to have a deeper connection with ourselves and the people and animals in our lives.
Equine therapy is always about experiencing change
Change is scary and makes us step outside our comfort zone. The comfort zone is only comfortable because we know it, and if we allow ourselves to embrace something slightly different, we can create a new comfort zone. Change is often scary because we do not trust ourselves to look out for ourselves, and trusting ourselves is always about believing in ourselves and being connected to ourselves.
Ready to Connect on a Deeper Level? Begin Equine Therapy in Powhatan, VA
If you want to feel a different connection with yourself and have not found a way to do that, equine therapy may be the thing: no judgment, expectations, or criticism. When we are connected to ourselves, we can connect to others and share the joy of being who we are. As an equine therapist, I would be happy to offer support from my Powhatan, VA-based practice. To learn more or schedule an appointment, please follow these simple steps:
- Take the first step toward stronger connections. Contact us to schedule a free consultation
- Begin building confidence and compassion through equine therapy in Powhatan, VA
- Foster deeper connections with yourself and the people you care about most
Other Services Offered by Gray Horse Counseling in Powhatan, VA
Equine therapy meets you exactly where you are, no experience with horses required. Through the honest, intuitive feedback of working with horses, you can begin to uncover patterns, heal old wounds, and build the confidence to show up more fully in your relationships and your life. The connections you build in equine therapy have a way of rippling outward into every relationship and role in your life. Whether you’re working through long-held patterns, healing from past wounds, or simply ready to feel more at home in who you are, that growth doesn’t have to stop in the arena.
Gray Horse Counseling offers a full range of services to support you, including individual therapy, group counseling, trauma therapy, anxiety therapy, depression counseling, self-esteem therapy, life transitions support, EMDR therapy, and equine sport therapy in person in Richmond, VA, or statewide through online therapy. Explore my blog and FAQs, get to know me, and reach out today to begin your journey toward deeper healing and more meaningful connection.
About the Author
Courtenay Baber, MS, LPC, is an EAGALA Certified Equine-Assisted Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor. She has spent nearly two decades helping clients build deeper, more authentic connections with themselves and with others. She runs her own farm, where the grounding, ever-present nature of horses creates a uniquely powerful space for healing and self-discovery. Her lifelong love of animals and a fascination with human behavior laid the foundation for a career rooted in genuine compassion and lasting change. Holding a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Rehabilitative Counseling, Courtenay pairs her strong clinical background with Level I and II EMDR training and extensive experience as a clinical supervisor and educator. Whether she’s working alongside horses in the arena or guiding clients through evidence-based therapy, she is wholeheartedly invested in helping every person who walks through her door discover who they truly are.