“Press and release.” “Hands that close slowly and open quickly.” These are just of few of the sentiments uttered by the handful of natural horsemanship gurus that proliferate the equine world today. And as many of their techniques and theories have applications beyond simply training horses, they have easily filtered into the world the world of equine therapy.

Yet as they have those who focus exclusively on equine therapy have begun to wonder: just what is the difference between natural horse training and equine therapy?

The answer to this question is not as black and white as some of the popular tenets of natural horsemanship. Part of the reason for this is that leaders in the field of natural horsemanship have extrapolated their message to humans. Popular books, such as Horse Sense for People, by Monty Roberts, (www.montyroberts.com) or The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons From the Herd, by Joe Camp, (www.thesoulofahorse.com) have led readers to wonder if some of the horse training methods can improve their human relationships just as they might improve their relationship with their equine partners.

Yet, on the other side of the equation, psychotherapists who utilize equine therapy as a modality for conditions such as developmental disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, and even couples counseling, have questioned where the line between training horses and offering equine therapy really falls.

In theory, the interventions used for these psychological conditions stem from a treatment plan designed specifically for the clients’ particular disorder. In this case the therapist would individualize and structure the activities, and even the relationship that the client partakes in with the horse. Additionally, the therapist may even choose the horses that the client works with if he/she believes that that particular horse offers the client some specific benefit. For example, a very calm, quiet horse may be chosen for a client with PTSD or trauma history. Then as this client gains confidence, the therapist may increase the intensity of the therapy by asking the client to work with a slightly less calm horse. The hope would be that, in time, the containment that the horse provides the client would transfer from the horse to the client where he/she can then self contain, and even provide this back to another horse.

The object of the equine therapy interventions would hen clearly be the client’s progress, with questions like, “Is the client feeling more confident both in and outside of the sessions?” being asked.

On the other hand, in training horses, the object of focus would be on the progress of the horse. Questions such as, “Is the horse feeling more confident both in and outside of the training sessions?” would then become relevant. However, it should be mentioned that much of the draw to working with horses and training them is that they do cause us to question ourselves, our thoughts, feelings and behavior. And in this way, horses do teach us, in many ways as much as we teach them.

But the important part is that in equine therapy, the intention is for the client to improve, and although the horse should also be improved through the interactions, he/she is not the focus of the sessions. On the flipside, the intention of training horses is for the horse to be improved, and if the person is bettered in the process, he/she has experienced some of the magic that our hooved friends offer.

Photo by Buck, available under a Creative Commons attribution license.