The Approach
How the work works, and why the horse matters
Equine-facilitated therapy blends established clinical practice with experiential, ground-based work alongside horses. Here’s what that actually looks like, and why it reaches people talk therapy alone often can’t.
No riding. All of the work is on the ground
You won’t ride. You’ll observe the horses, groom them, halter and lead them, and, as you build confidence, work with them at liberty, with no halter or lead at all. Keeping the work on the ground makes it accessible whatever your history with horses, and keeps the focus where it belongs: on what happens between you and the animal.
The science, not the mystique
Why a horse, specifically
Horses are prey animals. Their survival has always depended on reading their surroundings honestly and reacting instantly to what’s real, not to intention, image, or explanation. Stand beside one and it responds to your actual state: your breathing, your tension, your attention. That feedback is immediate, direct, and impossible to argue with, which is exactly why it slips past the defences most of us have spent years building.
To be clear about what this is and isn’t: horses are sentient, with moods, preferences, and reactions, but this isn’t based on spirituality or magical thinking about horses. Our work is evidence-based and grounded in neuroscientific knowledge. It’s the documented behaviour of a remarkable species, used deliberately and safely in a therapeutic frame.
Who is with you
A collaborative team, built around you and the horse
Every session follows a collaborative model. It starts with a licensed mental-health professional guiding the therapeutic work, alongside the horse itself. That structure is what lets the work go somewhere real while staying safe. Someone is always attending to you, and someone is always attending to the horse. Dr. Day is also an experienced horseman who will be able to provide a safe space for you and the horse as we work. Sometimes we include more equine specialists on the team, especially when working in groups.
Inside a session
From arrival to debrief
An individual session runs about 90 minutes, sometimes longer. Group sessions are longer, up to three hours.
- 1
Intake & safety
We review consent and safety for you and the horse, and outline how the session will run.
- 2
Sensing in / attunement
A short grounding practice to settle your system before the horses: a silent walk, quiet reflection, or a few notes in a journal.
- 3
Meet the herd
We introduce the horses and agree on the focus for the day.
- 4
The work
In a safe space (outdoor arena until winter, then we head indoors) you will spend from 15 to 30 minutes working under supervision with a horse, in various activities such as grooming, leading, learning their body language and connecting. Over time this may include liberty work.
- 5
Debrief
We process and make sense of what surfaced, connect it to your goals, and set the next step.
The three yesses
Consent from all three
We proceed only with a yes from you, from the horse, and from the therapist/specialist on the ground. If any one of the three isn’t a yes, we adapt: a different activity, a different pace, a different day. Far from a setback, learning to read that and pivot is often where the most meaningful work happens.
You
Nothing proceeds past your comfort. Changing your mind is information, not failure.
The horse
A horse that declines today is telling us something worth paying attention to.
The therapist/specialist
The person watching the herd has an unconditional right to pause the work.
Over time
What a full course looks like
A typical course runs 8 sessions, moving in small, achievable steps, and more can be offered after that. Success is defined by the goals we set together, and early on, “success” might simply be a horse choosing to let you approach. We track how it’s going through your feedback and adjust as we go. Sessions are offered in packages of 8.
Curious whether this is the right fit?
A conversation first, always. No commitment.