C Horses

30/05/2026

Great to be profiled in the ACA Journal. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EK6L8rrXQ/

Equine assisted therapy australia is transforming mental health support. Discover its history, benefits, and how it is shaping the future of therapy today. (154 characters)

30/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17d2sMAQ4f/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Relational trauma, often discussed in the context of complex PTS(d), takes a relationship to fix it.

That sentence is often understood within a human frame: a wound that was made in relationship cannot be fully repaired in isolation. A person may reflect, understand, regulate, process, and work deeply alone, but ultimately it is the interaction with an “other” where this deep wound can repair itself.

Through contact, through connection.

What matters most is the feeling of being met, responded to, the lived experience that another being is actually there.

In equine assisted trauma work, this relational principle remains central, but I think it needs an important distinction.

The horse is not there to mirror the human’s inner world.

A horse does not respond to a person’s trauma story, self concept, psychological explanation, or hidden emotional narrative. Instead, a horse responds to what is actually organized in the shared moment: movement, timing, distance, pressure, release, contact, hesitation, clarity, collapse, overreach, withdrawal, boundary, and presence…. Hoe a person responds to the horse in the here and now.

This shifts everything.

The question is not, “What is the horse showing me about myself?”

The more precise question is, “What is happening between us, and how am I participating in it?”

That distinction matters. If the horse is treated as a mirror, a therapist, a reflection of the self, the encounter remains organized around the human self. The horse becomes a reflective surface for human meaning. An interpretation allegedly revealing something deep about the person.

But if the horse is recognized as an independent being, the human is asked to leave the closed loop of self reflection and enter actual relationship.

This is to me where the therapeutic potential lies.

Not in being mirrored by the horse, but in becoming responsive to the horse.

If a person notices what is actually happening in the encounter with the horse, the work moves out of self interpretation/reflection and into relationship and connection. The focus is no longer on what the horse might reveal about the person’s inner world, but on whether the person can remain available to another living being as he or she is. The horse is not reduced to a message, a symbol, or a reflection. He or she remains a separate presence, with a reality that has to be perceived, respected, and responded to.

Relational trauma may require relationship for repair, but relationship is not only the experience of finally being seen.

It is also the capacity to see.

In pEATT, the horse does not heal the person by reflecting the wound. The horse brings the person into contact with relational reality. What changes is not produced by the horse as therapist, mirror, or healer. This becomes possible when the human begins to respond to what is actually there.

22/05/2026

Equestrian NSW Coaching invites you to the 2026 Coach Development Day
Wednesday 17 June, Sydney International Equestrian Centre (SIEC)

Join us for an energising day of insight, inspiration, and practical learning designed to elevate your coaching and deepen your impact within the equestrian community.

Whether you’re a coach, rider, judge, official, or passionate participant in our sport, this annual Coach Development Day offers a fresh perspective on how coaching can drive performance, strengthen the horse-human partnership, and support professional growth.

Accredited coaches, judges, and officials enjoy complimentary entry with their current EA accreditation. For all other attendees, affordable admission is available. It’s the perfect opportunity to drop in, learn something new, and connect with the community while on site.
All coaches are welcome—across every discipline and accreditation level.
To register follow this link:
https://www.trybooking.com/DMGHE

COACH DEVELOPMENT DAY
SIEC, Indoor Arena and Conference Room
Wednesday June 17– 8:30am -4:30pm

22/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ay1pXfkcZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

28/04/2026

The equine-assisted therapy approach

In a world where many therapy, educational and social settings are sterile, digital and stressful, equine-assisted therapy offers an alternative approach that is primal and profoundly healing.
It works because it aligns naturally with the most important principles of trauma-informed care. This includes fostering safety, offering co-regulation, reintroducing choice and control and providing a relational context where clients can slowly rebuild trust - not just in others - but in themselves.

Equine-assisted therapy is a helpful treatment for a wide range of mental health and social-emotional challenges across the lifespan. This includes veterans and first responders experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It also includes domestic violence survivors, neurodivergent individuals, people suffering from grief, individuals with alcohol and drug dependency issues and those living with anxiety and depression.

An equine-assisted therapy session should be led by a qualified and accredited mental health professional such as a counsellor, psychologist, occupational therapist or social worker, who incorporates horses as part of a structured therapeutic support.

22/04/2026

🐴✨ Did you know?

Scientists have only recently uncovered the origins of modern domestic horses - and they did it using ancient DNA 🧬

In a landmark study published in 2021 in the scientific journal Nature, archaeogeneticist Ludovic Orlando and an international team of over 100 researchers analysed the genomes of 273 ancient horses from archaeological sites across Europe and Asia.

What they found was surprising…

👉 The horses we know today do not descend from the earliest horse populations humans interacted with.

Instead, modern domestic horses trace back to a single lineage (DOM2) that emerged in the Western Eurasian steppes (lower Volga–Don region in southwestern Russia) around 4200 years ago.

From there, this lineage spread rapidly across Eurasia, largely replacing other local horse populations within just a few centuries.

🧠 What made these horses different?

Researchers identified specific genetic changes in early domestic horses that were likely shaped through breeding:

GSDMC → linked to spinal structure and movement, potentially supporting physical adaptations related to carrying load
ZFPM1 → associated with behavioural regulation, including responses to stress and reactivity

👉 These findings show that early domestic horses were shaped by human-driven selection, that prioritised traits of strength and a more docile nature.

The domestication of horses is often considered a key point in the human–horse relationship.

22/04/2026

👨‍👧🐴As humans, we owe a lot to horses.

They have cooperated with us for over a millennia – to help build civilizations, fight battles, farm crops, travel long distances and inspire great art and creativity.

🧘‍♂️They also continue to help us learn about ourselves.

And for some people, horses provide a safer way to be in a relationship than people do.

🌿They don’t need individuals to talk or perform; they meet them exactly where they are.

Horses are highly intuitive animals who rely on their ability to quickly identify whether something feels safe and social or potentially threatening.

♥️They are incredibly sensitive to a person’s body language, physiology and emotional state, providing authentic feedback about an individual’s internal state without judgment.

Essentially, horses are curious about, and hyper-aware, of the humans in their presence, and they respond to the most minute shifts in our nervous system.

17/02/2026

🐴🌿 With our WA cohort settling into their new learning environment for the next 12–19 months, we’re looking ahead with excitement to welcoming our eastern state students very soon.

At Equine Assisted Therapy Australia, learning doesn’t stay in a traditional classroom.

Alongside dedicated indoor training spaces, students step straight out into the paddock where horses become part of the learning process during each workshop.

It’s in this onsite environment that an education in equine-assisted mental health really comes to life ✨

We look forward to opening the door on a new learning journey with our 2026 students

30/01/2026

“At the beginning, even just the idea of being around horses can attract people who find traditional concepts of therapy difficult to access – socially and emotionally.

Once engaged in equine-assisted therapy, new ways of being in a relationship (with the self and others), fresh ways of communicating and the powerful existential remedy of being truly seen and heard, all contribute to part of a process that is difficult – if not impossible – to replicate in a room.

Then there’s the physiological presence of the horse and the multilateral impacts on all our nervous systems ...”

✨There are many reasons why horses work so well in therapy sessions, but our NSW trainer Camilla Mowbray summed it up so well, with the above quote, in a recent story on her work with EATA.

Studying counselling with equine-assisted mental health offers a unique opportunity to learn alongside horses, deepen your self-awareness, and develop the skills needed to support others in meaningful, trauma-informed ways.

28/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1aXzNErLEs/

When humans spend time with horses - especially in a calm and non-pressured way - a range of physiological changes can occur 🧠🐴
Here’s what research and clinical observation show:

🧠 Nervous system regulation
Many people experience a shift out of fight/flight and into a calmer, more regulated state
Breathing often slows and deepens
Heart Rate Variability (a marker of nervous-system flexibility) can improve

💙 Hormonal & neurochemical responses
Beneficial neuroendocrine effects have been associated with reduced anxiety and improved mood
Reduced cortisol (the primary stress hormone) has been observed in some studies
Oxytocin may increase during positive, relational interactions, supporting feelings of safety, trust and connection

🫀 Cardiovascular effects
Lower heart rate and blood pressure has been reported
These effects are associated with relaxation and parasympathetic (rest-and-restore) activation

🧘 Body awareness & regulation
Horses often encourage slower movement, grounded posture and present-moment awareness
This can enhance interoception - the ability to notice internal bodily signals

🌿 Emotional and psychological flow-on effects
Reduced anxiety and tension
Increased sense of safety and connection
Improved mood and awareness

✨ Importantly, these effects are context-dependent.
Safety, consent, relationship and attunement matter. When interactions are rushed, pressured or stressful, the nervous system can respond very differently - for both the horse and human.

This is why Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT) should always place a strong emphasis on safety, relationship, nervous-system awareness and ethical, horse-centred practice