The Quick Answer
It depends on your approach and who you certify with, but approaches broadly fall into two categories. One is of the ‘horse/ animal as a tool’ who is used to bring insight, learning or healing to the client. The other (followed at Healing Hooves and by Pro-EFW) is of the ‘horse/ animal as a sentient being’ who you partner with in this work to jointly facilitate the potential for that insight, growth or healing in the client.
While we refer primarily to horses and Equine Facilitated Wellness (EFW) in this article, these considerations equally apply to other species and to the broader field of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT).
How you define and view the horse and his role in EFW is likely to impact many things, including:
- How you – and your clients – treat, interact and work with your horse/s;
- How you approach this work;
- How the work is likely to affect – positively or negatively – your horses’ well being;
- Your horses’ longevity as a therapy animal; and
- The extent to which you can draw upon the potential benefits of engaging in an animal assisted approach.
The Longer Answer
Note: If you are unsure of any of the terminology or acronyms we use here please refer to our earlier blog post where we define and review common Equine and Animal Assisted Therapy terms for you.
Ethics around the impact of this work upon the horse (and other therapy animal) have always been important, and over the past decade awareness of this factor has greatly increased. The ‘horse as tool’ approach still exists but is not usually defined this way and even then, awareness of the impact of this work upon the horse has increased. Increasingly programs are adopting the ‘Horse/ Animal as Sentient being’ philosophy advocated by The Professional Association for Equine Facilitated Wellness (Pro EFW) and several other professional organisations in the EFW and AAT fields. The aim of this post is to explore what this means, and how it impacts both how we treat our horses and how we work in the EFW and AAT fields.
‘Sentience’ is defined as being capable of experiencing and feeling emotion.
This usually partners a belief in the need and Right for animals to be allowed to safely express these emotions.
National certification body, Pro EFW has the following to say about this:
“Equines have their own perceptions and emotions, and can also attune themselves to the presence and feelings of others. Through their remarkable sensitivity, perceptiveness, and intuition equines are able to offer valuable feedback and information to clients. It is crucial that they are able to express themselves spontaneously and freely through their actions and reactions when working with clients.
In order to support their equine partners in this field, it is incumbent upon human facilitators to be aware of the impact that this work may have on equines, and safeguard their physical, mental and emotional well-being at all times. They must ensure that their equine partners are treated respectfully and ethically, both within and outside of client sessions. Human partners need to understand that their equine partners are completely dependent upon their stewardship, and do their utmost to meet their psychological and physical needs.”
Similarly, Pet Partners states within their AAT Handbook: “As a handler, you have a significant responsibility to the other member of your team — your animal. A close and trusting relationship is crucial for successful therapy animal visits” and “Being your animal’s advocate also means you make decisions based on the preference of your animal, rather than your own preference. “
This area of discussion is one of the most critical to consider early on in your explorations of the Equine and Animal Assisted Therapy journey. Whether you are exploring Equine Therapy or AAT as a potential client, considering it as a new career, or adding horses or other animals into your existing practice, we highly recommend that you ask yourself what you believe about the emotional lives of animals, and how you would like to work with animals for your, your clients’ and your animals’ well being.
How we view the horse in equine therapy (or the animal in animal assisted therapy) is both impacted by and influences almost all aspects of the work and the human animal bond. It sets the tone both for how the horse is treated and cared for, and for how we are able to consciously draw upon and benefit from the horses’ wisdom and contribution to this work and relationship.
How Does the “Horse as Sentient Being” View Impact our Approach and the Potential Benefits of Equine and Animal Assisted Therapy?
While we explore this in much more depth in our series Why Horses, some key considerations include the following:
Simply being with horses in a healthy environment and relationship is good for us: An ever growing body of research indicates that animals are good for our physical and emotional health, well-being and development. For example, studies show that children who have positive contact with animals tend to have higher self-esteem, and are more empathetic and nurturing. Further research shows this bond is especially powerful when we are feeling vulnerable, stressed or are facing challenges, loss or major change. Animals can help us express emotions, seek social support and problem solve.
A key pre-requisite for many of these benefits is the existence of a positive attachment between the human and animal. I believe this is best achieved when we value the animal as a sentient being.
Integrating horses or other animals into a healing environment can help the human facilitator provide the conditions, as defined by Carl Rogers, required for therapeutic growth to arise: Genuineness, Empathy and Unconditional Regard. While this can greatly enhance the potential for effectiveness within an EFW program, it is important to note that it also creates an increased duty of care as clients may drop defenses and become more emotionally vulnerable.
I believe horses provide these conditions, whether or not we recognise and value this. However we are much more likely to facilitate, build upon and benefit from these conditions if we see and work with our animals as sentient beings.
The presence of the horses can motivate someone to attend a therapy or other support session and accept help. We have had many clients who have not, for a wide variety of reasons, been willing or able to attend or engage in counselling elsewhere; coming to a place where there are animals is often different. The presence of animals can simply make it safe to show up – both physically and emotionally.
The simple presence of the horses and other animals may well be enough to motivate a client to shown up physically; But I believe it takes an environment where the animals are valued and worked with as sentient beings to create the safety for a client to show up and engage emotionally.
Integrating horses into your approach allows you to work indirectly and one step removed. The advantages of this approach, particularly with our more vulnerable clients is discussed in the articles One (Horse Step Removed); The value of Sharing Stories and How When and To Whom to Read the Therapeutic Story, The Prodigal Pony
This approach requires us to see and reflect upon our animals as having emotions, thoughts and opinions; in other words, as sentient beings.
Horses offer us lots of experiential opportunities to learn about and develop improved relationship skills, including enhanced understanding of body language, non verbal communication and boundaries.
We can certainly engage in, learn and benefit from experiential work with horses and other animals while viewing the animal as a tool. In these case we are exploring our own behaviour, emotions and thought processes in relationship with ourselves, the other people involved in the exercises, or our perception of some problem, person or situation we see the animal as representing in that moment. All valuable opportunities to learn and grow.
Yet, if we view the animal as a sentient being, we open up so many more possibilities. Yes, the horse can provide us with a mirror, but he is also his own being, with his own emotions, thoughts, opinions and needs. Experiential work within this broader context provides the potential for richer, deeper and, I believe, more meaningful healing, learning and growth.
How does the “Horse as Sentient Being” view impact how we care for and treat our horses?
Again, this is a huge topic and we are only scraping the very tip of the surface in this article. Some things to consider, beyond caring for the animals’ physical needs and well-being, include:
- The right for the horse to (safely) express discomfort, including emotional discomfort, preference, needs and opinions during and in between therapy sessions, without repercussion.
- The right for the horse to safely say no to an activity, to working with a particular person or population, and even to this career.
- The horses’ need for relationships with other horses, adequate time off, and time with people they are not responsible for.
- The facilitators’ need to be able to read and respond to horses’ body language including signs of physical and emotional stress and calming signals.
- The importance of a healthy relationship between the therapy animals and the therapist.
- The need to emotionally support our animals during client sessions.
- The need to ‘debrief’ with our therapy animals after sessions, in ways which work for them personally.
- The need to screen, train and prepare our animals appropriately and adequately for this work.
- The right for the horse to retire or find a new job when this is needed.
Understanding, monitoring and managing the therapy animals’ well being is something we explore in great depth at all of our training workshops. Just as ‘self care’ can look different for different people, in many cases what we need to look out for and do depends on the the individual needs of each animal. For more information on this topic now please refer to our earlier article on equine therapy ethics where we explore this from a case study perspective.
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Next Question in this series: Who Should I Certify With?
What about you? If you have any questions you’d like us to answer in this series, or questions on any of the above material, please use the comments section below!
Interesting to watch horses ‘choose’ to interact with strangers in their space. Visiting the herd with people to ‘visit’, without carrying a halter, can get widely varying responses- time of day( are they waiting for food), weather,(storm coming, windy) , flies, ( are they desperate for scratching) how large a group… then add how the visitors are approaching- thoughts, feelings, preconceived ideas,
“ While this can greatly enhance the potential for effectiveness within an EFW program, it is important to note that it also creates an increased duty of care.” I can actually see that forgetting about the increased duty of care animals need in therapy, can be so easily forgotten or second in concern when workering with clients. Reminding ourselves that we work with sentient beings is just so important to making sure that the increased care animals require is on the same level of importance as our clients welfare.
I completely agree that horses (and other animals, such as dogs and cats) are sentient. I have experienced their emotional world first hand, I know it exists. And I also agree with the “increased duty of care”–if I use my own horse for EFW, I am thinking about what I need to do to look after the impact of this type of work on her. I am also considering using one of my cats, and she has experienced trauma herself, so I am wondering how having her work with me in therapy might affect her own emotional world. Very interesting ideas 🙂
This question definitely has me thinking about my start up and how I will balance the number of clients with the number of horses I have that are ready work in EFW programs.
Awareness is so important in this regard. Awareness of the impact of the animal in different situations with different clients, and how the needs and care of the animals physical and emotional health is just as important as the clients.
It’s not just “doing the work” but observing, being aware and learning from both the animal and the client.
Love this so much. Just last week I was out with the horses and started sharing what I was seeing with one of our mares and her new foal. As I spoke I realize that what I was seeing was not perfect but almost a perfect mirror to a piece of my relationship with my kids…but mostly with my oldest daughter. I don’t think it’s coincidence the horses that we choose or that choose us. What a gift they are. I hope that this work we ask them to do heals them also and is not only a drain.
Having owned horses for 20+ years I have a very personal understanding that horses (and all animals for that matter) are sentient beings. But it was actually a very traumatic life experience that gave me this unwavering understanding. When I was younger (probably around 13), I was in an accident with my now 27-year-old horse where we fell though some ice in a muskeg. I had only been riding for a couple years and did not know about the dangers of this area and pushed my horse against his better judgment to continue going forward. When we fell though the ice we were alone and quite far from home. When we fell though the ice, I slipped underneath him in the water but was able to grab hold of the saddle horn. When I got out of the water, I realized he was sinking and without intervention would not have made it. I was able to stabilize him long enough to run on foot to the nearest road and flag down numerous strangers and we were able to pull him out to safety. It took a long time and a lot of trust exercises for me to re-establish a trusting relationship with my horse after this incident. But today after this trauma and many many years together I can honestly say that I have partnership with my horse that I can’t even put into words other then to say he understands me (and I him) on level that does not compare to any human to human relationship I have. I whole heartedly believe that horses have so much more to offer then being a tool to “bring insight, learning and healing” but that they are truly “sentient beings who you partner with you to bring insight, growth and healing in the clients”.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us Kerie. It sounds terrifying, but a wonderful example of how good things can, if we allow them, grow out of difficult and challenging situations.
I totally agree that horses are sentient. I have experienced this as a child with my horse and experience this currently with our weanlings. Watching them play, assert dominance, look annoyed, etc. They are just a bunch of babies with their own emotions, preferences and personalities. The care needs for horses are the same as human beings and vary from individual to individual in relation to emotion and physical connection, safety, etc.
Frank
I think that this article reinforced how we naturally approach our horses. I think that people often fear anthropomorphizing their animals, and in the process tend to ignore their animals’ emotional states completely. Knowing that animals are sentient and have their own emotions and thoughts requires us to work harder at accurately interpreting their behaviours in any situation. Just like in our relationships with people, getting to know our animals’ quirks and needs takes work. Although this may be daunting, it ultimately leads to a richer more fulfilling relationship between people and their animal companions.
I agree that horses/animals are sentient beings. They need to feel safe and assurance from us while they are ‘working’. It is amazing the healing energy that we can get from animals if we just slow down and listen and watch what is happening around us. I just wish my horse was still around to experience this journey with me. In his older (settled down) years he would have been amazing as my partner.
I hear you Holly! When I started out Healing Hooves I still had my old guy who I’d had since (me) being a teenager. We lost him shortly after starting HH but all that he taught me is still part of me, and a big part of what I do in my work through other horses now. You may find it ends up being a little like this with you and your connection to your horse too.
Great article. I feel that the “horse/animal as sentient being” approach is much more holistic for everyone involved. Acknowledging our animals individual personalities and limits is protective for the animal as well as our clients. This article makes me think how ignoring these limits could inflict more harm than good and place therapists in a ethically compromised position.
The part of this article that I have spent the most time thinking about is that the animal (horse in my case) needs to have the same level of care as I need as a counsellor in terms of self-care. This is an extension of believing that the animal is a sentient being that I had not thought about. I guess that is similar to when I started counselling and I was unaware of the importance of self-care for me. Knowing of the importance of it for myself, and reading the information provided means I can start EFW work with an understanding of this for my horse and be mindful of my responsibility to provide that for him. Thank you.
Wow! What a great article Sue. In my heart, I have always felt and known that animals/horses are sentient beings that have so much wisdom to offer us if we just open our hearts to them. Reading this article, has provided me with a newer appreciation for the way an animals/horses physical needs and wellbeing should be considered and understood; in order to manage and provide a more holistic equine therapeutic approach to Counselling.
being your horses best advocate is fundamental as described here. Pet partners are saying YAYABA, you are your animal’s best advocate, my son is going over the pet partners program right now with his dog and I found lots of similarity with what I am trying to do with my horses.
This is such an amazing article, I absolutely agree that animals are sentient. We can learn so much from observing and interacting with all different species of animals. I love that this article highlighted the animal’s rights as in considering them sentient beings. A lot of my research for school has focused on animals in healing environments, and how they can create a therapeutic alliance in having someone attend counseling, or show up for appointments, especially within mental health and addictions. There is some fascinating work for animals being the reason people make changes in their lives and I feel like this article perfectly captures that. I am excited to expand and learn more on this topic in the training!
I loved this article as well! Each one of my horses has a different personality and you can tell by their actions that they have feelings. I always say my buckskin is the funny guy – he is the first to carry off your jacket – it seems he is always trying to get a laugh. Sometimes i see him doing things to the other horses to get them going as well. Just this week he reached over the fence and grabbed one of the ferriers files and tried to make off with it as my other horse was being worked on. My black horse is my healer, he is my Alpha horse, he takes care of the heard and makes you feel safe in his presence. My roan is my horse that brings out my fears. Each of these horses have been a huge part of my healing journey (I experienced the loss of my son in 2011) and i know they have felt my emotions right along with me. I want to make sure that they are well cared for as i most certainly feel as though we are in this together.
This is such an important article and I look forward to learning more. I so resonate with the part of the article that states…” if we view the animal as a sentient being, we open up so many more possibilities. Yes, the horse can provide us with a mirror, but he is also his own being, with his own emotions, thoughts, opinions and needs. Experiential work within this context provides the potential for richer, deeper and, I believe, more meaningful healing, learning and growth”. I grew up with horses as a teenager – and although I had a deep love and bond with my horse, I don’t think I fully appreciated this and the true honor I had to be in the presence of my horse. I don’t have my own horse yet, but every time I have the opportunity to be with horses I feel such a deep appreciation and sacredness in the experience.
The presence of horses as a motivator for clients to attend therapy is something I hadn’t previously considered. It makes perfect sense though. I was more focused on the potential difficulty in initially attracting clients to this type of therapy… Once a bond is established with a horse (or animal) I could see the client looking forward to coming back to therapy sessions! I also didn’t think much about the impact on the horses (or animals) as I was always focused on how the client would benefit from the healing nature of the horse! This post was very important and informative and I look forward to delving into this further as the training unfolds!
As Human “caregivers” of these (all) animals, it is our responsibility to safeguard their well being. What an honor that they have blessed us with!
Considering the needs and feelings of the therapy horse/animal is vital, in my opinion, if we are going to engage them in activities with people.
It will be interesting to me to see how you “debrief” each of your animals in ways that are specific to them at the workshop.
I agree! I’m curious to see what this can mean for different personalities and different animals!
I liked your line “It takes an environment where the animals are valued and worked with as sentient beings, I believe, to create the safety for a client to show up and engage emotionally.” I think that is very true, animals can perform tasks and be helpful “tools”, but if the help you’re seeking is emotional, it only makes sense to engage with the feelings and needs of the animals as well! It’s hard to relate to a tool, but so easy to relate to another personality!
From the readings I have done thus far, I see the role of the horse in equine therapy as willing co-facilitator, with my role being to interpret and guide the interactions towards the “potential for that insight, growth or healing in the client”. But that being said, there are some really important considerations/responsibilities on the part of the person to ensure emotional/physical safety of all involved in a respectful manner: prioritizing self care and honoring the spoken, as well as unspoken, wishes regarding involvement in the therapeutic relationship.
I love the approach at Healing Hooves and EFW where horses are treated as sentient beings, allowing a safe space to be created for growth, while acting as partners and co-facilitators in therapeutic interventions. Horses and animals in general easily facilitate connection which I believe is a foundation for growth.
It’s always important to know that animals have their own thoughts and experiences. They also have ‘on’ and ‘off’ days just like people do. Sometimes animals needs have to be met so they can perform to the best of their ability.
All animals as sentient beings is such a huge statement, love it! I wish people would stop referring to them as tools 🙁 I’m excited to see how the animals work with folks and how the folks will work with the animals. I have a horse that has experienced physical trauma two times over and has a visible scar from it. I wonder if that will draw trauma people? I wonder if my horse that has lots of “beans” will draw a like person or opposite? I firmly believe that all the animals will need their own type of care through this journey as well. Being open and attentive to their needs will help us all to be happier and much more helpful to each another all around. It’s important to remember this no matter what is going on. <3
I believe the horse as a sentient being adds to the ability for people to connect with horses. To me it’s like comparing a stuffed animal to a live animal – they are both soft and sometimes fun to cuddle but when you start to see the different personalities of the horses come through it is almost impossible to ignore it. Just like people, you won’t always connect with the same animals as someone else or enjoy certain qualities as much as someone else and watching how that develops is very interesting to watch. For people coming into the session it can be really powerful when they learn about that. For example- people often misinterpret my gelding as unfriendly but can often relate immediately once I suggest that he is just more introverted than my extremely friendly mare. I haven’t started using him in sessions because he is on my own property where my sessions don’t take place but I will be interested to see if this work is suitable to him because of that difference or if it will be too much for him.
I’m interested to see what debriefing for horses looks like. I also imagine we will learn about your screening / training techniques with program horses?
Great analogy Kenzie! Yes, we explore this more throughout the training. At the exploration level we touch on it during our safety and risk management section but we really jump into it more during the Foundation and Focus trainings – both within the specific horsemanship sessions and built into all of the other pieces. My hope is that you see it as a theme woven into all that we do here too!
We have a case study on the blog right now that explores what to do when a horse does not seem to be a fit – yet also how you can continue to build those themes into client sessions:
https://healinghooves.ca/bolt-a-case-study/
I think it’s so important to have rights for the horses since they can’t speak for themselves! It’s good to know our horses and know when they need a break as well.
I have always loved animals, but recently I have been more interested in learning about how they express themselves and in reading what they are trying to tell us. This course has really given me a deeper respect and appreciation for the needs of animals. It’s been great!
The definition of the role of a horse/animal as a sentient being makes complete sense to me as they truly are beings with consciousness that can feel and experience emotion. In realizing this and respecting this about animals, partnering with them will shed new light on humans in sometimes such unimaginable ways. Very healing and empowering.
I am definitely of the mind that horses / animals are our partners to work with, not tools to “use”; I also agree with their welfare being of the utmost importance. Horses are no different from humans in the sense that they are doing a job. All jobs require breaks – coffee breaks, lunch breaks, vacation time…. retirement. We also have to be cognizant of behaviours of our partners around the clients we are working with / the environment that we may be putting them in.
I think most of us have seen the effects that animals have on children in hospitals, elderly in care homes, and even ourselves when we’re having a bad day. The non-judgmental (well except for some cats, perhaps!?) response that animals give us can provide us with the love that we need when everything else may be going awry.
There is so much evidence of this – victim assistance sections of police services that provide court support dogs (my husband is a detective with the Child Abuse Unit and they have access to a few dogs even while they do interviews with victims/families), fish tanks in offices, etc – and study after study that animals can reduce stress, pain (emotional and physical), doctors visits and help our bodies heal quicker.
I definitely agree that horses are sentient beings. I have learned from owning horses most of my life that there are certain people and situations that they aren’t comfortable engaging with. I believe it is so important to respect their boundaries – they communicate in their own ways and we need to listen!
Such a great article with such a great description as to why the animal should be considered an equal partner in a relationship. Their ability and intuitiveness far surpasses what most expect and what most possess themselves. When you learn to work with your animal as partners, it can take a session to a whole new level of connection and empathy. Love this!
Taking the needs and care of the animal I am working with into consideration is one of the most important things to me. Not only their physical needs but also their general wellbeing. It is important to understand and recognize what is going on with your animal so that everyone can be safe and healthy. It is important to respect the boundaries of the animal and not push them, just like you wouldn’t push a client, to engage in activities that they aren’t ready for.
The blog makes me think about the delicate balance of ensuring the well being of both the client and the horse. I can imagine there are times when a client is making progress, but their horse partner says they have had enough for the day. Ensuring the right match between the client and the horse at the stage that both the client and horse are at will be important for effective outcomes.
I had not heard the term “sentient being” prior to starting this program. I love the focus on respect for the horses’ desires and needs as much as the client’s !
The respectful treatment of the horse as a sentient being, partner and co-facilitator is one of the most important terms of the Pro-EFW Code of Ethics for me personally and professionally. I loved this article.
I am of the belief that equines possess sage wisdom and an ancient sense of knowing that many of us humans have lost touch with. I absolutely uphold the stance that animals are sentient beings. Regarding some of my wonderings, I am intrigued to learn all about the process of selecting potential co-facilitating equines, how you debrief them after therapy sessions, and what kinds of experiments of play and exploration you have found helpful to support your horses in finding what self-care fits for them (what nourishes them and brings them back a regenerative place)!
This is a great question and actually quite a huge area, that we explore in more depth during Foundation and Focus training. I find each horse is different and thus needs something different, so part of the process is figuring that out! Some need to go for a run, others need a massage, others need to be turned out and allowed to be a horse. I do find I draw a lot on T-touch and similar approaches in debriefing – and we teach aspects of these at Foundation and Focus training
I was also curious about the debriefing after sessions, so the above question helped answer that. I am also wondering about selecting new equines; is there qualities that you are generally looking for? What attributes make a horse well suited? Or does it differ from horse to horse? I would imagine that a lot of thought goes into this process, as it would be important to mitigate the amount of movement of horses, to ensure that horses don’t end up in bad situations. I follow some rescues and know that this is something they’re navigating and are concerned about all the time.
These are important questions Chloe and ones which we explore in more depth within the trainings. It’s hard to give a simple answer as so much depends on individual situations – who you will be working with, your physical set up for the work, your own scope of practice and how many horses you will have. Usually having a range of horses is ideal and certainly having good relationships with each of the horses is important. I don’t believe they need one specific type of training but you do need to look at reliability, predictability and of course safety. The work has to be something that is good for the horse too and that is something that can be harder to predict
Really enjoyed this article! For me, I have had the privilege of so many opportunities to witness the poignant and transformative connections to be made with animals when we recognize their emotional worlds and individuality. I strongly believe in the animal as sentient being approach and hope that I can learn much from my animal therapists in the future.
I totally agree that animals are sentient. I have learned a lot from animals about life and relationships. Yesterday I watched our two six year old donkeys interacting. They chasing each other and rolling around on the grass enjoying life. Having a great time.
I agree 100% that animals are sentient beings….and they are our equals. I’m so happy to hear that people are moving away from viewing animals as tools, although I think there is a long way to go when looking at all the ways animals are exploited.
Thank you for the article and comments 🙂 I am grateful to have the experience of horses meeting each person exactly where they are and then walking alongside them to the next ‘edge’ of learning. In so doing, both the human and horse in partnership, grow. It is a delicate and precious relationship in each moment.
Animal are sentient beings and I see almost everyday how their presence positively impact both human and other animals.