Exploring the Bond Between Horses and Humans
60 OCTOBER 2021 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY LORI DRAZ
The spectacular sight of horses is a
familiar one around Monmouth
County. New Jersey’s romance with
the horse is so strong and long-lived that
New Jersey.
Anyone who has spent time with
horses can tell you that special bonds are
formed with these animals, despite their
imposing size and power. Now it seems
that what people have instinctively
known for years is backed up by science.
Horses play an important role as
therapy animals, helping people of all
ages with a broad variety of conditions
improved outlooks.
According to WebMD, “Caring for
-
ness and teamwork. Equine-assisted therapy
programs can help people improve
self-esteem, self-awareness and empa-
relationship issues, grief, anxiety, depres-
-
der, addiction and eating disorders.”
People who need physical therapy
or occupational therapy also work with
specially trained horses as they build strength, balance and improve
cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, neuromuscular diseases, paralysis, spinal
cord damage and traumatic brain injuries. There are even specialized
programs that help veterans, especially
those with PTSD, learn to reintegrate into
civilian life, build communication skills,
emotional regulation and trust.
Sally Nilsson is an ex-corporate lawyer
from London, who is now a professional
life coach and Equine Assisted Learning
facilitator in Costa Rica. She co-owns Tula
Vida, a sanctuary in the rainforest providing
transformational horse experiences
and retreats. Gretchen Morgan, LCSW
and owner of Lighthouse Counseling &
Sand Play Training Center in Eatontown,
has been working with Sally in Costa
Rica offering therapeutic workshops with
horses for the last six years.
Nilsson explained, “Horses have spent
the last 56 million years on Earth evolving
an incredible capacity to sense their
environment and the intention of other
beings, and to work together as a herd –
essential survival skills for prey animals.
Horses have partnered with humans
throughout our history, changing the
nature of hunting, travelling, farming,
war, sport and, most recently, healing
and emotional intelligence. Horses’ natural
sensing abilities, together with our
this therapeutic role.”
One such modality, known as Equine Assisted Learning, involves
exercises where horses interact with humans to help people learn about
themselves and their relationships. There is a
and data showing that not only do horses help
us with our emotions, interacting with them has
variability, blood pressure, overall cardiovascular
health and on the nervous system.
“In my 25 years of clinical work, I have never
seen such a powerful modality – I have seen clients
get regulated at warp-speed and leave feeling
restored, hopeful and ready to embrace daily
life,” Morgan said.
Nilsson added, “Horses have an incredible
capacity to sense what is going on inside us and
to react accordingly. They don’t judge us and so
until the connection feels good for both of us.
Experiencing this is a powerful way of improving
human connections too.”
continued on page 61
Photos courtesy of Donna Lombardi, Whispering Pines Farms
The two outside horses have been together for 12 years. The one in the middle has been with them since he was 4 months old.
He is now 5 years old and always stands in the middle of his two friends, acting as the balance between
the one horse who is a leader/healer and the other who works with boundaries.
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