Equine Therapy Research Paper

Daniel Rule is a veteran who fought in the Vietnam war and was left with a permanent mark from his journey. He was left with something that is unjust for the brutal work that he endured for us. He had no one to turn to and no place to heal. He was stuck in time with a mental illness that traumatized his life. He needed a way back into the real world and daily life. Daniel was taken to a local farm called Spring Reins of Life. The people escorting him told the therapists that Daniel was “on suicide watch” and immediately the team knew that they needed to take action.
Daniel was in the hands of expert therapists and in the hooves of the healing horses.
Equine therapists have used their experienced horses to help Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder veterans become aware of their surroundings and learn to cope with their mental illness. …show more content…
While it may be simple for many people to do daily chores such as going shopping, it may be an extremely difficult task for a victim of PTSD to do the same.
Equine therapy helps veterans with PTSD relax, and little by little they are slowly able to open up about their struggles and experiences.
“Through interactions with the horses, we were able to experience the “here and now” as my therapist would describe it.” says Kirk P. Schuetz.
Equine therapy is a different approach than regular therapy, it gives PTSD veterans a chance to experience something new and stress-free.
¨Many people connect more easily with animals, who can be more accepting of them, do not talk back, and enjoy being touched.¨ States therapist Barbara MacLean from an article she wrote on Equine-assisted therapy. Psychotherapy specialist’s understand that PTSD victims have a difficult time talking about their problems, which is why they never ask too many questions and leave most of the work to the victims themselves and their