Healing Trauma Through The Way of the Horse
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW
Abstract
The gift of the horse is to present the hidden pieces of our heart in order to reconnect on our
journey toward fulfillment of our soul. Horses have the instinctive gift of mirroring what is going
on in our lives. From the moment we step into their presence, horses can sense those feelings we
keep private. They remind us there is more to us than what we present to the outside world.
Using client description and experiences, this article will present the modality of equine
facilitated psychotherapy and how it opens an innovative space to work with trauma and
traumatic symptoms outside of the traditional office setting.
Keywords: Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy, Trauma
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Healing Trauma Through The Way of the Horse
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW
Horses have always been a part of my life. My grandfather put me on my first horse when I was
about 5 years old and I’m sure my parents started shaking their heads, because after that it was
all about horses for me! The horse who truly became my partner came into my life when I was
14. I found Pooh in the classified ads of the newspaper and I knew from reading the nondescript
ad, that I had just found The Horse, My Horse. Once Pooh and I were together, there was nothing
I could not do. He was my friend, confident, therapist and at times, a parent. He was always my
safe and peaceful place when things got rough. As a teenager, this was not the sort of thing I
could go around telling others about because they would think I was totally crazy. Therefore, for
most of my relationship with Pooh, this knowledge stayed internal and private.
In my early thirties, I was given a book by my father called The Tao of Equus, by Linda
Kohanov. In reading this book, words were put to all the experiences I had with Pooh that I was
never able to talk about. I also realized the perfect niche for me professionally. Through her
writing, Kohanov described the healing program she had created between horses and humans. It
was a huge “AH HA” moment for me in that finally I found my passion – combining my love of
helping people in their healing process with my passion for horses. Absolutely perfect! I
completed an apprenticeship program at The Epona Center, in 2003 and everything took off from
there. So in this article, I’d like to share what I have learned in working with the horses since
creating an equine facilitated psychotherapy practice (EFP), specifically as it relates to healing
after a trauma has occurred in a person’s life.
Why Horses?
“They say you can’t logic someone out of a position they didn’t
logic themselves into. Talk without experience is useless. The sun,
the grass, the fresh air, the enormous beast in front of you nibbling
on your fingers, looking for carrots…it’s safe and beautiful. It’s a
safe place. You can dredge the muck and bring whatever dark,
ugly thing you want out into the light and it’s just not so scary. In
the sunlight, anchored to a half-ton animal who is not unlikely to
startle at a bee and yet is perfectly calm while you relive the worst
moments of your life…it has no place. It’s incongruous. You take it
out of you and look at it, instead of talking about what it feels like
inside you.”
(Client describing working with horses in an EFP session)
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Healing Trauma Through The Way of the Horse
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW
Most of us can probably say that animals hold a special place in our lives. Dogs and most cats
are known for their soothing qualities and many studies have been done to show the
physiological effects they have on us. Many people are aware of the same abilities in horses.
The primary difference between the way of dogs, cats, and horses has to do with the predator and
prey animal instinct. Predators (which dogs and cats are…and humans to some extent as well)
are hunters. They are always looking for their target or next meal. The pattern of thinking is very
focused and linear. Horses are prey animals. They are the target of predators and therefore their
very survival depends on having to constantly read their environment to know who/what is
coming into their presence and whether or not that who/what is going to be a threat.
If you have ever come upon a pasture with horses in it, you will notice they are looking at you
already. This is due to this phenomenon of prey instinct. They have what I refer to as massive
“Fields of Awareness” where they can sense from very far distances, something that has come
into their space. In a way, it is similar to hypervigilence with people who have experienced
trauma. They are ALWAYS aware of anything and everything that is moving around them. From
a therapeutic perspective, it is considered a defense. What is interesting is to compare these
states. For horses, it is what I refer to as their “Original State of Being.” They feel and sense
everything. It is a way they take in information. For people who have experienced trauma, we
sometimes talk about the primitive brain functions that get kicked in, and with horses, this is the
norm and it is not pathology. It is a gift they possess and they use it as a life skill.
The Way of the Horse
“In a session, when I am speaking of the past, I sometimes feel very small,
apt to float off the face of the earth and be blown to the four corners of the
universe. In an office, there is nothing to anchor me to the world but my
own strength, and if I had that kind of strength I wouldn’t be in therapy in
the first place. I put up walls. I avoid the problem for as long as possible,
focusing on the myriad of other, smaller problems that revolve around the
true issue. Past events have an emotional gravity. There’s no achieving
escape velocity without some help.
So here’s the thing: a horse has gravity. You only have to see a horse up
close and know how much bigger they are than you. Touching one is
amazing, if you let yourself think about it. Hooves on turf, clipping teeth,
the faint, earthy smell of sweat and dust. Nothing is more solid than a
horse.”
(Client shares difference between traditional office setting and EFP
setting)
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Healing Trauma Through The Way of the Horse
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW
When a client comes for a session, we spend a bit of time talking about their presenting issue.
Shortly thereafter, we proceed to the pasture and clients are taught how to re-connect with their
bodies. Through a guided meditative exercise of body awareness, they learn to scan through their
body and to notice the sensations they are feeling all throughout. As humans, we typically have
to or are taught to operate solely from the mental aspect of our self. We forget about the
remaining body which is a sublime tuning fork to gather information about ourselves and our
world emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. Reminding clients that they have this
ability to work with their bodies is another way of understanding how horses take in information.
Horses use their bodies as the ultimate vessel for everything going on around them. As a prey
animal, it is this state of being that keeps them safe and in tune with their environment. For
people who have experienced trauma, this can be an uncomfortable invitation as there may be
fear that presents about the possibility of opening doors to flashbacks, body memories and
unexpected emotional expression. As horses exist from the place of it being natural to feel
everything, they invite us into their space to show us it is possible to be in this state in a balanced
and grounded manner. In other words, to incorporate this expanded sense of awareness that
comes after trauma as a gift that works with us versus over taking us.
Being in balance and awareness of our internal state is important when we are with horses. As
we walk into their space, they sense everything that is swirling around inside of us. When I am
working with children, I explain it to them as if the horses have x-ray vision and can see right
through us and all that we are walking around with. The horses want to know that we are aware
of our internal state of being. If we are not, they will show us through their interactions with us
that we are acting in an incongruent manner. It is not about the intensity, emotion, or physical
experience we may be having in their presence, but simply that we are aware that we are
experiencing it in that moment. When we attempt to ignore this information in our bodies, the
horses will remind us and again invite us to connect to what we are feeling, to be congruent, to
own it, and stay present in the moment of the experience.
Each horse has his or her own personality and own style as to how they communicate
incongruence with a client during the session. The elder pony in the herd, Jingles, will come
right up to the person who is in this state of internal disconnect and push them in the part of their
body where he is sensing the information that they are unaware of. Magno, the gentle giant in the
herd, will stand between me and the client until they connect with the information in their body.
Moonbeam, the mare (female) and herd leader, will wait until the client is connected before she
will approach and interact with them. Spirit, the tiny Shetland pony, will stand with the client
patiently until they make the connection, then lick and chew with his mouth and nudge the
person with approval. Additional ways horses show us a state of incongruence may include
moving away from a person who approaches them, refusing to participate in an activity, or
simply appearing to be in a dissociative state. What is most interesting is that the message the
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Healing Trauma Through The Way of the Horse
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW
horse shows is typically a manner of behavior that person currently employs for her/himself as
they relate to themselves and others in their world.
Once the participant has become aware of their basic internal experience, we approach the
horses. Each session I invite the client to spend a few minutes with each of the horses to see who
they want to work with that day. I have learned to trust this instinctual pairing as the current
internal focus will always be addressed in connection with the horse that person was drawn to.
This may be due to a resonance in common personalities, common histories, the horse may
represent someone or some interaction or behavior pattern in their life, or a particular horse may
have a way of sharing information that person will be able to take in.
When a person has experienced trauma, it is almost as if parts of the self have been shattered out,
above, and beyond their being. Traditional talk therapy can be helpful to cognitively name those
pieces and understand those pieces from an intellectual perspective. Equine Facilitated
Psychotherapy, however, helps the person find those pieces and bring them back to the self. The
horses help their client return to their body, connect with the cellular memories, heal and soothe
those woundings, and return them to a balanced state. The horses again remind us that our body
can process all of these incidents on an emotional, spiritual, physical and mental realm and bring
all these aspects back to a harmonious state.
A recent client the horses have been working with, “Darlene,” initiated EFP sessions due to the
suicide of her partner. When Darlene came out to the ranch, she was existing in a state of “fog”
and disconnect from her entire being. Each session, she was drawn to a different horse who
slowly and gently guided her in welcoming back the parts of her herself that had gone to a
dissociative state as a means of protection after this traumatic incident occurred. She began
working with the horses through ground based activities (connecting with them in the pasture,
allowing them to help her become reconnected to her body and her emotions, grooming
(brushing) them to integrate her sensory skills, and meditative exercises with a chosen horse
partner to deepen her awareness and connection with herself). During these first three sessions,
she was not only developing a relationship with her equine therapist, but also reminding her
entire being of the relationship she has with her Self. During her fourth session she decided to
do a mounted activity where she sat on the horse of her choosing bareback and was led around
the arena at a walk. This activity is focused on connecting with the horse wholly and completely
and inviting their movement to integrate the disconnected parts of herself on a deeper level.
Darlene wrote about her experience and has given permission for her words to be shared with
others.
“Magno was brought up to the rail where I had climbed up and was
waiting. He is enormous. He got close and I jumped on without being
given a go ahead. I scooted up towards his shoulders and I could feel his
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Healing Trauma Through The Way of the Horse
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW
body twitching and his muscles quivering. I could feel him – his energy
through my core. My heart was racing – beating out of my chest. My
stomach was full of butterflies, my body was shaking and my legs were
weak. I got control of my breathing and started to relax and so did Magno.
I could feel a spiritual and conscious connection – a bond. It was very
powerful. I trusted him. We walked the pen stopping many times for me to
address issues as they popped up. I was able to drop all the baggage I was
carrying onto him. He graciously accepted my burden. He walked me out
of the darkness and into the light. It was amazing. I know I could not have
done it without him and I am forever grateful. I’m finally at peace.”
Darlene returned for a follow up session the next week and reported that her “grief glasses” had
been removed. She noticed seeing, feeling, experiencing things for what felt like the first time.
She only then realized how numb her entire being had been. She said that when she returned
home from her session with Magno, even her dogs were acting differently toward her. She said
they came right up to her “with smiles on their faces” and wanted to be around her and hugged
and kissed by her. She became aware of all the colors and interactions around her and then
realized what a fog she had been existing in following the traumatic experience in her life.
In closing, one of the aspects I love the most about horses as healers, is their ability to gently and
easily assist us in our return to our self. They remind us there is more to us than what we present
to the outside world. Their unconditional acceptance and awareness of our experience is felt
from the moment we step into the pasture with them. Through this awareness they help us
reconnect with our heart and soul. Ultimately, this reunion inspires healing and growth, an
understanding of who we are, and how we will be able to integrate this knowledge into our lives.
Sara B. Willerson, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Texas who incorporates Equine
Facilitated Psychotherapy into her work with clients. Together with her equine partners, they
invite all ages to come and experience the healing power of the horse! For more information,
please visit their website: www.horsesheartandsoul.com
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