I’ve always grown up around horses and never realized how much they can help people. Ever since I was young I can remember horses helping me with my anxiety and confidence either when I was riding or simply taking care of them. Though there are many more issues horses have helped me with, horse therapy takes a deeper dive into it and is an active and engaging form of therapy. Equine therapy, or horse therapy, mainly focuses on mental health, disabilities, and behavioral issues. However, alongside those categories there is one more; physical exercise. The physical exercise part that comes from horse therapy is from riding and taking care of the horse. 

Equine therapy is for everyone, even people with disabilities. An article called “Wheelchair Users Find Reasons to Get Back into the Saddle '' on the website WHILL published on August 10, 2017, states that horse therapy for temporary wheelchair users can help improve using muscles they normally would use while walking. The reasoning behind this is that a horse's walking gait is similar to the way we humans walk. This kind of treatment is often used in rehabilitation programs. Though if paralysis is permanent it can still help wheelchair users improve and can give them more self-esteem and confidence. People with autism can also get some form of treatment in equine therapy which can help teach them social cues, nonverbal cues, and motor skills.

Another perk about equine therapy is that it helps with motor skills. Gracyn Gordon published an article called “Horse therapy benefiting children struggling to develop motor skills” on the website Local 3 News on September 29, 2023, which gathers that equine therapy helps motor skills kids still need to develop, such as coordination. When riding, trainers help kids work on coordination with their horses to help improve motor control and balance. When people ride they need balance to stay upright. While being in the saddle it also aids kids who need to learn how to walk, jump, or run because of how they move while in a saddle. Although equine therapy can help with motor skills and disabilities, it can also help people mentally.

Equine therapy is a place people can go to help them with their mental health. Caelan Beard, the author of the article titled “The Many Health Benefits of Working with Horses'' published on December 12, 2022, in the magazine Canadian Thoroughbred, presents how horses help with confidence and problem-solving. When riding the person has to make a lot of decisions and take on new challenges and skills. Doing this increases their confidence as they learn new things, take care of the horse, and communicate non-verbally with the horse. Also, non-verbal communication tends to help people release stress. Studies have shown that physical exercise also helps with mental health. When a person exercises, their brain releases dopamine and serotonin which improves their mood and they strengthen their muscles too. 

The people who take equine therapy don’t go there for the physical benefits but it is important. On October 21, 2021, the article “Horseback Riding for Cardiovascular Health and Well-being” by the website American Heart Association, explains that a person can burn up to two hundred calories at a walk, trot, or canter. It is good physical exercise and can use muscles people normally wouldn’t, giving them a good workout in those areas. Exercise isn’t always on the horse, sometimes it’s taking care of the horse, carrying the equipment, mucking out the stall,  and walking out to go get them if there in a pasture. The physical portion off the horse isn’t a big intense workout but rather it uses your muscles for a shorter time but more frequently. 

Equine therapy comes with a lot of benefits including physical activity by using muscles they normally don’t and using muscles for a shorter amount of time more frequently and it can affect a person mentally by calming their anxiety and reduce stress. Equine therapy also helps the disabled and kids who still need help with basic motor skills like balancing, coordination, and walking. Horses help the disabled by simulating walking and can help kids with autism learn social and nonverbal cues. Horses have helped me in so many ways ever since I was a kid and now people can experience the same with a professional equine assistant that helps patients as they continue to grow with equine therapy. This type of therapy has helped people get through struggles and in return they’ve got a lifelong friend.