Triple H Horses
Equine Facilitated Learning
Helen Watson- 0400 331 874
Triple H Farm, 1 Knotts Siding Road, Amor 3825
Why Horses?
Horses are pack animals. In the wild they thrive in groups and suffer from loneliness, just as humans do. Herds of horses have a family structure and stick close together.
Horses can pick up on and understand human emotions. Not only can horses understand various moods and facial expressions of humans, they also communicate their own emotions. They often talk with their ears and eyes, but also show feelings through snorts and whinnies. Spending time with horses has a calming effect, and scientific research suggests that it can physically change your heart rate. Horses command respect in many ways, especially with their stature. They are massive beings, with enough brain and brawn to intimidate people. However, they trust humans, and are able to form amazing bonds with us and are such willing participants in the horse human relationship.
How Horses Help
Horses can help humans improve physically. Horse-riding (for example) is a beneficial form of physical exercise. It is unlike most other types of physical movement for humans because it targets different areas of the body than many other sports or exercises. It can help core and trunk strength, coordination and balance, muscle flexibility and tone, cardiovascular health, and stable strength.
Horses also can help humans emotionally - Some of the most significant emotional benefits humans can gain from horses are learning to slow down and regulate our nervous systems, building confidence and trust, developing our non-verbal and verbal communication skills, and bonding. Creating a bond with a horse is a perfect way to learn how to slow down, open up emotionally, and understand the importance of patience, trust, and communication.
Horses are very communicative and expressive, much like people. They display different attitudes and emotions, making them relatable. In the company of people, horses can display happiness, stress, trust, worry and many other moods. With the ability to convey and read emotions, humans can understand horses’ sentiments and horses can understand humans.
Horses’ behaviour towards us can revel patterns of incongruency or patterns of behaviour that we are not even aware of. People learn through relationships, observation, and feedback - horses provide these in an authentic way and take us out of our familiar environment, make us vulnerable and encourage us to learn new skills we can take into everyday life.
Connection to Nature
Horses live in nature. When people come to the farm they get to experience the natural world. The biophilia hypothesis tells us that humans have a connection with nature that is in our DNA and therefore has a genetic basis. And research shows that spending time in natural environments is associated with improved mental and physical health, and for children, being out in nature improves play and physical activity. Our technological society has taken us away from being in nature and therefore been detrimental to our well-being and mental health. Working with a horse provides an outdoor activity where people can connect with nature and enjoy a positive experience.
