Riding Toward Mental Health: The Secrets of Equine Assisted Therapy

What if your next breakthrough didn’t come on a couch... but in a pasture?

Let’s be honest: horses are better at reading your nervous system than your therapist, your best friend, your spouse, and your Starbucks barista combined!

Long before you can slap a label on what you're feeling—anxious, shut down, checked out, trying not to cry at a PTA meeting—your horse already knows. That flick of the ear. That subtle sidestep away from you. That’s not random. That’s attunement. It’s not just nice, it’s necessary. As prey animals, horses rely on attunement for safety - it is their lifeline. 

Good horsemanship is rooted in this deep, mutual awareness—what we clinicians like to call intersubjectivity. It's a fancy term for a not-so-fancy truth: healing happens when two beings truly feel each other; in mutual awareness, each influencing and being influenced by the other. 

In Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy/Learning (EAP/EAL), we don't just do things with horses—we enter into a relationship with them. One that requires presence, curiosity, and regulation. This is the heart of healing. Diana Fosha, Ph.D, emphasizes attunement as the core of healing trauma through co-regulation and emotional resonance.

So what exactly is Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy/ Learning?

It’s not about riding horses into the sunset (though that is incredibly dreamy and may even incorporate just that). It’s about connection—specifically, the unique, nonverbal, neurobiological bond that forms between a human and a horse. Horses don’t just sense your mood—they attune to it. Attunement is defined as the ability to feel another person’s emotional experience and to respond in a way that communicates understanding, empathy, and connection. According to legendary horseman Warwick Schiller, attunement is the conscious cultivation of deep awareness—of both your horse’s internal state and your own—and the intentional communication of that awareness in a nonjudgmental, embodied way. 

When a human comes into proximity with a horse and begins to regulate their breath, soften their tone, and become more embodied, the horse notices. And more importantly, they respond, not with words, but with their bodies, their rhythms, their stillness, and sometimes their movement. They mirror, invite, and challenge us. That’s intersubjectivity in action. That’s co-regulation at its most primal and profound.

Why does that matter? 

For many people—especially those recovering from trauma, navigating neurodivergence, or struggling with emotional dysregulation—this kind of attunement is something they’ve rarely, if ever, experienced. Horses feel us before we’ve even found the words. Unlike people, horses don’t fake it. They don’t pretend to be okay with our overwhelm. They’ll quietly move away if your nervous system is broadcasting “chaos.” But if you slow down, get congruent, and tune in, they’ll meet you in that space. And that meeting—that moment of shared presence—is where the healing begins.

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy / Learning (EAP/EAL) isn’t just about petting ponies (though we’re not anti-pony cuddles- those are the best). It’s about learning a new language—one that bypasses intellect and speaks straight to the nervous system. It’s where healing becomes tangible, embodied, and often, just a little dirty.

So if you’ve ever wondered how a 1,000-pound prey animal with no words can help you process your trauma, reclaim your voice, or learn to trust again—come spend some time in the pasture. 

EAP is grounded in neuroscience, psychology, and some very real, hooves-on-the-ground results. Rasik Counseling and Consulting, LLC, is proud to partner with Inspirational Life Training Co. to bring this powerful modality to the Toledo and surrounding communities.

The horse already knows what you need. We’re just here to help you learn how to hear it.

To learn more about EAP services with Genevieve Rasik, LISW-S, and Rachel Tincher, LPCC, please subscribe to our email list, and you will be the first to know about upcoming events, workshops, and group opportunities.

Clinical and Neuroscientific Sources:

Fosha, D. (2000). The transforming power of affect: A model for accelerated change. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Schore, A. N. (1994). Affect regulation and the origin of the self: The neurobiology of emotional development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Siegel, D. J. (2012). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Tronick, E. Z. (2007). The neurobehavioral and social-emotional development of infants and children. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Horsemanship and Equine Connection Sources:

Parelli, P. (1993). Natural horsemanship: The savvy system for safer, smarter, more fulfilling relationships with horses. Pagosa Springs, CO: Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc.

Schiller, W. (2019). The principles of training: Understanding the why behind the what. Warwick Schiller Performance Horsemanship. Retrieved from https://www.warwickschiller.com