How Do Horses Help Kids Heal?

You’ve read our stories.

How a hurting child may rebuff any human connection but a Hope Reins horse becomes their beacon of light, shining a path of healing for them.

What is it about a horse?

After years of study, Tim Hayes, a world-renowned Natural Horsemanship clinician, boils it down to two innate characteristics: Hypervigilance and Equine Herd Dynamics.

He explains that as prey animals, horses are hypervigilant; they need to stay alert for their survival. Often, kids with trauma are hypervigilant too, because they live in a constant state of fear, anxious about what will happen next.

When they meet a horse, there’s a non-verbal identification with what seems very familiar, says Hayes.

“This immediately reduces mutual stress, feels safe and comfortable, and most importantly produces a remarkable level of emotional healing.”

Horses also have a surprising ability to get along with one another through Herd Dynamics. It has enabled them to stay together and travel in the safety of large herds for centuries.

Amazingly, they live in harmony through the use of social skills like acceptance, tolerance, kindness, honesty, patience, understanding, forgiveness and compassion.

When a child or teen displays these harmonistic traits with a horse, there’s a great connection. The horse chooses to be with them.

Many times, it’s the first time a kid feels accepted for who they really are.

And, finally, at Hope Reins, we believe there’s a third and unique trait that our horses possess: the story of rescue.

Most of our horses are rescued, and when kids see how the horse triumphed over adversity, that’s the point where God opens hearts and real healing begins.

Thank you for supporting Hope Reins.