Why horses? 
– Horses are herd animals that naturally want to interact with each other. Because of this, they easily engage with participants.
– Horses are non-judgemental and do not have ulterior motives. This creates an emotionally safe learning and sharing environment for students. 
– Horses are very sensitive to both non-verbal communication and another’s energy. Because of that, it tends to allow emotional interactions, breakthroughs, and life-changing insights with students. 
– Horses can mirror humans and have the ability to read a person’s body language. They can sense emotions and can even hear a human’s heart beat from up to four feet away!
– When students develop communication skills with a horse it build self confidence, empathy and trust. Horses are large animals and can easily represent some of the bigger challenges and obstacles we all face in life. 
–  Horses create an effective hierarchy with clear ‘rules’ between themselves (in their herd). Learning about herd dynamics and observing the horses as they interact provides opportunities to explore social situations and how to successfully navigate them in our society.  
– Focused interactions with horses addresses trauma and other mental health needs (including depression, anxiety, abuse, etc).