Equine Supported Wellness
Experience the Healing Power of Horses with the Horses of Halifax
Program Details
What is Equine Supported Wellness?
Equine Supported Wellness (ESW) is experiential learning with horses to promote self-discovery and improve mental well-being. Using a proven hands-on approach, facilitators guide participants through equine-based activities that help build self-confidence and improve self-esteem. While bonding with the Horses of Halifax, participants focus on self-awareness and self-regulation through mindfulness, communication, and trust-building activities - all effective tools for managing stress, anxiety, and depression.
The Power of Horses
Due to their highly perceptive and intuitive nature, horses are powerful teachers and healers. Like other therapy animals, horses have a calming effect due to their empathy but their magic is amplified by their size. Just being in their presence has emotional and physiological benefits. Studies have shown that positive interactions with a horse can lower a human’s heart rate. Horses offer participants a safe space to open up and process what they are experiencing. Horses mirror our emotion and body language without judgment and provide valuable and immediate feedback through non-verbal communication which helps build connection and understanding.
“Finally there is a program that uses science to help capture and articulate what people involved with horses have known all along; that there is something special about horses that can profoundly affect humans in beautiful, powerful, and healing ways.”
Program Formats
Five-Week ESW Program (Up to 6 participants)
Each weekly seventy-five-minute session involves grounding activities, mindfulness techniques, and hands-on experiences with the horses. Sessions include time for self-reflection, journaling, and voluntary sharing in a group setting.
Hourly Programs (Up to 4 participants)
These visits offer a condensed version of the ESW program tailored to meet the needs and goals of the group/participants. Groups may attend one session or a weekly or monthly time slot can be secured. Participants may consist of new or returning participants. Groups are asked to attend with a staff member.
Who Can Benefit?
Those over the age of 8 who have experienced:
Grief, loss, trauma, PTSD, interpersonal violence
sexual assault, addiction, displacement
anxiety, depression, stress
Those living with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Those who have experienced vicarious trauma or stress from supporting individuals who experience the above
Those who would like to improve their overall mental well-being
Those who want to develop or increase self-confidence, personal growth, leadership skills, teamwork skills, etc.
Those who want to experience the healing power of horses from the ground
Sample Topics and Activities
Welcome to the Herd
After learning about horse behaviour and body language, participants are invited to meet the horses through quiet observation. This self-reflective activity allows them to observe their own thoughts, sensations, emotions, and intuitions, while observing horse behaviour. Participants are shown mindfulness techniques that can be used throughout the program in their daily lives.
A Little Self-Compassion Goes a Long Way
Participants learn to groom a horse using mindfulness and observation. Participants explore how their thoughts, emotions, sensations, and intuition can show them how to listen (mindfulness and grounding exercises) to their bodies. This exercise enables participants to become more aware of their surroundings and tune into their emotions. This awareness also helps participants recognize their needs and make healthy decisions.
Journey with a Horse
Through leading a horse, participants learn to identify the resistance that comes from their “inner critic” and internal belief systems. Using anxiety self-assessment tools and grounding exercises, participants gain awareness of their communication style and body language and its role in their mental well-being. This activity enables participants to develop self-management responses by experimenting with their vulnerability through horses.
Setting Boundaries
Horses are extremely sensitive to human energy and can help participants examine their body language and the energy they project. With a horse off-lead participants explore and practice setting boundaries. Horses help participants recognise personal boundaries and the importance of establishing them. Participants learn how healthy boundaries make for healthier people and relationships.
Expressing Our Needs
Participants work in teams to groom a horse while exploring the power of clear verbal communication and body language. Participants learn to better express their needs and actively listen to and recognize the needs of others. This activity focuses on the importance of communication, trust, and mutual respect in relationships.