HorseAccord

25/05/2026

🎠

The feedback from participants in the ATL Animal-Assisted Mental Health Pathways Program continues to highlight the profound impact that safe human-animal connection can have on emotional wellbeing.

Participants described improvements in:

✔️ Emotional regulation
✔️ Confidence and self-esteem
✔️ Self-awareness
✔️ Anxiety management
✔️ Mindfulness and relaxation
✔️ Healthy boundaries
✔️ Trauma recovery and grounding

Many participants shared that interacting with animals created a safe and supportive environment where they felt calm, connected, and understood.

One parent shared that their child was supported through family separation, anxiety, and daily life challenges in a nurturing environment that encouraged emotional expression and resilience.

Others described the experience as “more beneficial than traditional therapy,” highlighting the grounding effect of working with horses and the sense of emotional safety they experienced throughout the program.

Participants also reflected on how animal-assisted practice contributed not only to their own wellbeing, but also to supporting others in the community, including veterans and people experiencing significant life challenges.

At ATL, we believe that connection matters — and that animals can play a powerful role in supporting healing, growth, emotional regulation, and wellbeing.

24/04/2026

Lest We Forget

On ANZAC Day, we pause to remember the courage, sacrifice, and enduring spirit of all who have served.

We honour not only the men and women of our defence forces, but also the animals who stood beside them—horses, dogs, pigeons and others—who played vital roles in service and sacrifice.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

Their loyalty, bravery, and service will never be forgotten.

Lest we forget.

21/04/2026

Parental alienation can have a profound impact on a child’s emotional wellbeing.

When a child is caught in the middle of conflict and begins to feel disconnected from one parent, it can lead to:
• anxiety and confusion
• loss of trust and security
• difficulty forming healthy relationships
• long-term impacts on identity and self-worth

Children in these situations often carry complex emotions they don’t yet have the words to express.

Animal-assisted services can offer a gentle and supportive pathway forward.

Through connection with animals, children can:
• experience safe, non-judgmental relationships
• rebuild trust at their own pace
• regulate emotions and reduce stress
• express feelings through interaction, play, and presence

Animals don’t take sides. They provide consistency, calm, and connection—something many children in high-conflict situations deeply need.

At Animal Therapies Ltd, we see the powerful role that animal-assisted approaches can play in supporting children navigating complex family dynamics.

If you’re a practitioner, parent, or organisation working in this space, we invite you to learn more about how these approaches can complement therapeutic support.

14/04/2026

Equine-assisted therapy offers an alternative pathway… 🎠

Box breathing is one of the most commonly taught techniques for managing stress and anxiety. It’s simple, structured, and for many people—it works.

But it’s important to recognise: not every tool works for every nervous system.

Box breathing is often used in high-performance environments, including military training, where soldiers are taught to regulate their breathing to maintain focus during high-pressure situations such as live fire or combat scenarios. While this can be incredibly effective in the moment, the body can also form strong associations between that breathing pattern and intense, life-threatening experiences.

For some veterans or individuals with lived trauma, returning to a structured breathing pattern like box breathing can unintentionally activate the nervous system rather than calm it. Instead of feeling grounded, they may feel heightened, triggered, or transported back to moments of danger.

This is why having a range of regulation tools matters.

Equine-assisted therapy offers an alternative pathway—one that doesn’t rely solely on internal techniques like breath control. Horses respond to what is happening in your body, not what you are trying to “make happen.” They invite you into regulation through presence, body awareness, and connection.

Rather than focusing on controlling the breath, individuals can:
• Notice their body in space
• Adjust posture and tension
• Slow down naturally through interaction
• Experience co-regulation with a calm, responsive animal

Horses provide immediate, honest feedback. When your nervous system settles, they settle. When you are dysregulated, they show you—without judgment.

For those who find traditional techniques confronting or ineffective, this kind of experiential, relational approach can feel safer, more accessible, and deeply impactful.

Because regulation isn’t one-size-fits-all—and sometimes, healing happens through connection, not control.

12/04/2026

With horses, learning emotional regulation goes beyond theory…

When stress rises or anxiety takes over, many of us are taught strategies like mindful breathing, grounding through observation, or tuning into the sounds around us. These tools are powerful—but what happens when we take them out of theory and into real, embodied experience?

This is where horses offer something truly unique.

Horses are highly sensitive, attuned animals. As prey animals, their survival depends on reading subtle changes in their environment—including human body language, energy, and emotional state. They don’t respond to words or intentions alone—they respond to what is actually happening within you.

If you approach a horse feeling anxious, distracted, or dysregulated, they will often mirror that back by becoming unsettled, disengaged, or simply choosing not to connect. Not because they are being difficult—but because they are responding honestly to incongruence.

However, when you slow your breathing, become present, and regulate your nervous system, something shifts. The horse begins to soften, engage, and connect. This immediate, non-judgmental feedback creates a powerful learning moment:

✨ You can feel the impact of regulation, not just think about it
✨ You learn that calmness is something you can actively create
✨ You build awareness of how your internal state affects the world around you

Experiential learning with horses bridges the gap between knowing and doing. It transforms coping strategies like breathing and grounding into lived experiences—helping people build emotional regulation skills that are authentic, embodied, and lasting.

Because with horses, you can’t fake calm—you have to become it.

02/04/2026

💙 World Autism Day 2026

Today on World Autism Day we join a global movement to move beyond awareness and towards understanding, acceptance and genuine inclusion.

World Autism Day highlights the importance of creating neuroinclusive environments across education, workplaces, healthcare and our wider communities.

Globally, 1 in 127 people are diagnosed with autism, a neurodevelopmental condition affecting social interaction, communication and behaviour.

🐴 Equine-assisted mental health offers a unique and evidence-informed approach to support many autistic individuals.

Research in this area continues to grow, with promising results.

📊 A 2024 study of 86 children found significant improvements in adaptive behaviour, including daily living skills, following an eight month equine-assisted therapy program.
📊 9 out of the 11 studies that assessed social communication outcomes, reported improvements in communication following equine interventions
📊 Across multiple reviews, equine-assisted therapy shows consistent gains in emotional regulation, engagement and social interaction.

🌿 It is often said that neurodivergent individuals respond well to horses - but why?

Horses communicate extensively through sensory awareness and heightened sensitivity. They rely on a sophisticated system of sensory input to interact with other horses.

Their communication is based on body language, attunement and subtle sensory cues.

For many neurodivergent individuals, this can create a more accessible, non-pressured way to connect, without the demands of language or complex social expectations.

Many autistic individuals can find a sense of connection in the horse’s natural sensitivity to its environment and feel seen and responded to in a different, often more comfortable, way.

🌿As mental health practitioners we continue to learn and evolve in how we support neurodivergent individuals.

We focus on neuro-affirming practice, supporting autonomy and choice and educating ourselves on how other people process the world around them.

At a very basic level it is helpful to view neurodiverse individuals as simply having a different brain type rather than a disorder.

Today is a reminder to keep learning and creating spaces where all individuals can feel seen, supported and included 💫

30/03/2026

Experience healing through our equine-assisted therapy sessions supporting you with professional care for trauma, life changes, mental health and unhelpful behavioral patterns. We offer a nature-based setting with horses and video or tele-health sessions.

And for those wondering…. yes, equine-assisted therapy is still an approved NDIS support when provided by an allied health professional as a ‘Therapeutic service.’ 🎠

29/03/2026

Horses have a unique ability to connect with people in ways that can support emotional, social, and physical wellbeing.

In animal-assisted services, horses alongside animal-assisted practitioners help individuals develop confidence, regulate emotions, improve communication, and build trust. Their sensitivity to human behaviour provides immediate, honest feedback—creating powerful opportunities for growth, healing, and self-awareness.

Whether supporting mental health, trauma recovery, skills or personal development, equine-assisted approaches offer a meaningful, evidence-informed pathway to positive outcomes.

Interested in learning more about the science behind this work? Join our virtual forum session in May to hear from Dr Janet Jones, who will explore how horses think, learn, and interact with humans. You can register to attend here:
https://animaltherapies.vfairs.com/

16/03/2026

Horses as supports in therapy offer non-judgmental companionship and consistent responses, which can make interactions feel safer and less stressful for some autistic people.

🌿Many autistic people are strongly drawn to animals

In a webinar presented to the US-based Autism Research Institute, Dr. Gray Atherton, PhD, suggests that autistic individuals often prefer interacting with animals rather than people.

For autistic individuals animals may feel easier to relate to because they communicate more directly through behaviour rather than complex social cues.

Studies have found that autistic individuals who own pets often report better mental health and emotional wellbeing, and strong attachment to their animals.

Research with children shows that having a pet or interacting with animals can increase social behaviours and engagement. For example, children with autism sometimes show more social interaction after playing with an animal compared with a toy.

Animals offer non-judgmental companionship and consistent responses, which can make interactions feel safer and less stressful for some autistic people.

The Biophilia Theory hypothesis humans have an innate, genetically based need to connect with nature and other forms of life.

This biological inclination suggests that affiliation with nature is essential for human psychological and physical well-being, fostering reduced stress and increased cognitive function.

16/03/2026

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