The study of emotions in horses involves understanding the behavioral, physiological, and psychological responses of horses to various stimuli. Emotions in horses can be inferred through observable behaviors, such as vocalizations, body language, and interactions with their environment and other animals. Physiological indicators, including heart rate, cortisol levels, and other stress-related biomarkers, are also used to assess emotional states. This research area explores how emotions affect horse welfare, training outcomes, and human-animal interactions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that examine the identification, measurement, and implications of emotional states in horses.
Orsini JA, Wrigley J, Riley P.Home care for horses with chronic laminitis has been discussed rarely in the veterinary literature even though, at any given time, most of us have at least 1 chronic laminitis case in our care that is being managed at home by the owner. Almost all of our knowledge on this aspect of laminitis treatment has been gleaned through experience, by individually working through the medical, ethical, financial, and emotional challenges these cases can present. Much has already been presented on the medical management of the laminitic horse and on strategies for trimming and shoeing the laminitic foot. T...
Hausberger M, Gautier E, Biquand V, Lunel C, Jégo P.Stress at work, as shown by a number of human studies, may lead to a variety of negative and durable effects, such as impaired psychological functioning (anxiety, depression...). Horses share with humans this characteristic of working on a daily basis and are submitted then to work stressors related to physical constraints and/or more "psychological" conflicts, such as potential controversial orders from the riders or the requirement to suppress emotions. On another hand, horses may perform abnormal repetitive behaviour ("stereotypies") in response to adverse life conditions. In the present st...
Farmer K, Krueger K, Byrne RW.Most horses have a side on which they are easier to handle and a direction they favour when working on a circle, and recent studies have suggested a correlation between emotion and visual laterality when horses observe inanimate objects. As such lateralisation could provide important clues regarding the horse's cognitive processes, we investigated whether horses also show laterality in association with people. We gave horses the choice of entering a chute to left or right, with and without the passive, non-interactive presence of a person unknown to them. The left eye was preferred for scannin...
Fureix C, Pagès M, Bon R, Lassalle JM, Kuntz P, Gonzalez G.Handling is a crucial component of the human-horse relationship. Here, we report data from an experiment conducted to assess and compare the effect of two training methods. Two groups of six Welsh mares were trained during four sessions of 50 min, one handled with traditional exercises (halter leading, grooming/brushing, lifting feet, lunging and pseudo-saddling (using only girth and saddle pad) and the second group with natural horsemanship exercises (desensitization, yielding to body pressure, lunging and free-lunging). Emotional reactivity (ER) and the human-horse relationship (HHR) were as...
Lemasson A, Boutin A, Boivin S, Blois-Heulin C, Hausberger M.Many animal species that rely mainly on calls to communicate produce individual acoustic structures, but we wondered whether individuals of species better known as visual communicants, with small vocal repertoires, would also exhibit individual distinctiveness in calls. Moreover, theoretical advances concerning the evolution of social intelligence are usually based on primate species data, but relatively little is known about the social cognitive capacities of non-primate mammals. However, some non-primate species demonstrate auditory recognition of social categories and possess mental represe...
Jansen F, Van der Krogt J, Van Loon K, Avezzù V, Guarino M, Quanten S, Berckmans D.The objective of this research was to develop a non-invasive method to detect an emotional response of a horse to novelty during physical activity. Two horses performed 20 trials each, in which the horse's heart rate (HR) and physical activity were continuously measured. The relationship between the horse's physical activity and HR was described by a mathematical model allowing online decomposition of the horse's HR into a physical component and a component containing information about its emotional state. Exposure to the novel object resulted in an increase in the emotional component of HR, w...
Meinersmann KM, Bradberry J, Roberts FB.This qualitative study examined the stories of 5 women who experienced abuse and participated in equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP) as part of their recovery. Anecdotal accounts support the effectiveness of EFP with women who have experienced abuse, but there is a lack of supporting research. This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of EFP in the treatment of women who have experienced abuse. Selection criteria included age, experience of abuse, participation in EFP, and ability to understand English. Data analysis identified four patterns in the participants' stories: I Can Ha...
Visser EK, Van Reenen CG, Blokhuis MZ, Morgan EK, Hassmén P, Rundgren TM, Blokhuis HJ.Cooperation between rider and horse is of major importance in equitation. A balanced team of horse and rider improves (sport) performances and welfare aspects by decreasing stress, frustration, risks of injuries, and accidents. Important features affecting the cooperation are the physical skills, knowledge, and personality of the rider on one hand and the temperament, experience, and physical abilities of the horse on the other. A study with 16 riders and 16 warm-blood riding horses tested the effect of personality of riders and temperament of horses on cooperation between riders and horses. M...
De Boyer Des Roches A, Richard-Yris MA, Henry S, Ezzaouïa M, Hausberger M.Lateralization of emotions has received great attention in the last decades, both in humans and animals, but little interest has been given to side bias in perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the influence of the emotional valence of stimuli on visual and olfactory explorations by horses, a large mammalian species with two large monocular visual fields and almost complete decussation of optic fibres. We confronted 38 Arab mares to three objects with either a positive, negative or neutral emotional valence (novel object). The results revealed a gradient of exploration of the 3 objects ...
Christensen JW, Malmkvist J, Nielsen BL, Keeling LJ.In fear-eliciting situations, horses tend to show flight reactions that can be dangerous for both horse and man. Finding appropriate methods for reducing fearfulness in horses has important practical implications. Objective: To investigate whether the presence of a calm companion horse influences fear reactions in naive subject horses. Objective: The presence of a habituated (calm) companion horse in a fear-eliciting situation can reduce fear reactions in naive subject horses, compared to subject horses with a nonhabituated companion (control). Methods: Minimally handled (n = 36), 2-year-old s...
Forkman B, Boissy A, Meunier-Salaün MC, Canali E, Jones RB.Fear is arguably the most commonly investigated emotion in domestic animals. In the current review we attempt to establish the level of repeatability and validity found for fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry and horses. We focus the review on the three most common types of fear tests: the arena test (open field), the novel object test, and the restraint test. For some tests, e.g. tonic immobility in poultry, there is a good and broad literature on factors that affect the outcome of the test, the validity of the test and its age dependency. However, there are comparativel...
Momozawa Y, Terada M, Sato F, Kikusui T, Takeuchi Y, Kusunose R, Mori Y.The aim of the study was to determine parameters reflecting equine anxiety trait by comparing results obtained in a behavior test and an anxiety score assessed by familiar caretakers in response to a questionnaire. In the behavior test, horses were individually led into a novel room by their caretakers and loosely tethered to decrease excessive movement using the common cross-tying technique with two leads and breakable plastic cords. The horses initially remained with their caretaker for 2 min; the caretaker then left and the subject animal was left alone for 2 min. The latency to break the p...
Explore (New York, N.Y.)June 20, 2006
Volume 2, Issue 3 264-268 doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2006.03.013
Haylock PJ, Cantril CA.Nearly 10 years ago, I looked at a poster exhibit for a nonprofit organization's camping experience for cancer survivors. One of the images in particular remains with me to this day. It was of an elderly man wearing a cowboy hat and the great grin on his wrinkled face as he stood next to a beautiful sorrel horse. The woman at the poster told me the story behind the picture: The man had advanced cancer and had already entered a hospice program, even though he was still physically active. He'd told many people that his biggest regret in life was that he'd never gotten to ride a horse. The photog...
Larose C, Richard-Yris MA, Hausberger M, Rogers LJ.We have established that lateral biases are characteristic of visual behaviour in 65 horses. Two breeds, Trotters and French Saddlebreds aged 2 to 3, were tested on a novel object test. The main finding was a significant correlation between emotionality index and the eye preferred to view the novel stimulus: the higher the emotionality, the more likely that the horse looked with its left eye. The less emotive French Saddlebreds, however, tended to glance at the object using the right eye, a tendency that was not found in the Trotters, although the emotive index was the same for both breeds. Th...
Kaiser L, Smith KA, Heleski CR, Spence LJ.To determine the effects of a therapeutic riding program on psychosocial measurements among children considered at risk for poor performance or failure in school or life and among children in special education programs. Methods: Observational study. Methods: 17 at-risk children (6 boys and 11 girls) and 14 special education children (7 boys and 7 girls). Methods: For the at-risk children, anger, anxiety, perceived self-competence, and physical coordination were assessed. For the special education children, anger and cheerfulness were measured, and the children's and their mothers' perceptions ...
Hedberg Y, Dalin AM, Ohagen P, Holm KR, Kindahl H.In various species, sex, hormonal treatments and oestrous-cycle stage have been shown to affect the animal's response in behavioural tests. Few such studies have been performed in the horse. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether oestrous-cycle stage affects mares' response to a novel object test and isolation test and, in part, to study whether mares, assumed to suffer from oestrous-related behavioural problems, respond differently in these tests when compared with controls. Twelve mares were tested twice, in oestrus and dioestrus, in a crossover design. Seven behavioura...
Tenenbaum G, Lloyd M, Pretty G, Hanin YL.A study was carried out to examine the ability of equestrians to accurately report precompetition emotions and thoughts across varying time delays (3,7, and 14 days) after competition. Forty male and female dressage riders were randomly divided into two equal groups: participants who watched their videotaped precompetition routine before responding to the items, and participants who visualized the precompetition routine without any external aid. Each rider completed several questionnaires which measured emotions, items related to horses, and an open-ended question on thoughts and emotions at t...
Visser EK, van Reenen CG, van der Werf JT, Schilder MB, Knaap JH, Barneveld A, Blokhuis HJ.Forty-one Dutch Warmblood immature horses were used in a study to quantify temperamental traits on the basis of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measures. Half of the horses received additional training from the age of 5 months onwards; the other half did not. Horses were tested at 9, 10, 21 and 22 months of age in a novel object and a handling test. During the tests, mean HR and two heart variability indices, e.g. standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR) and root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD), were calculated and expressed as response va...
Bates A.1. Horses, just by their large, gentle presence, put people therapeutically in touch with the vitality of being alive. 2. People who ordinarily shun physical and emotional closeness often can accept closeness from a horse and through therapy can transfer these skills to their daily lives. 3. The behavior of a sensitive horse display the rider's emotions to the therapist and provides a vehicle the therapist can use to teach the patient coping skills. 4. Therapists with an interest in horses can learn more about how to become involved in an equine-facilitated psychotherapy practice through the N...
Morton DB.Animals with relatively highly developed brains are likely to experience some degree of self-awareness and the ability to think. As well as being interesting in its own right, self-consciousness matters from an ethical point of view, since it can give rise to forms of suffering above and beyond the immediate physical sensations of pain or distress. This article surveys the evidence for animal self-consciousness and its implications for animal welfare.
Mills DS.The biological diversity of a species gives rise to individual differences in behavioural tendency. Traditionally, this variation has been considered to be of little scientific importance or value, but the description and quantification of the fundamental basis of this variability is relevant to many aspects of equine science. The reliable identification of these features may allow the development of more accurate diagnostic and prognostic indicators for a range of clinical diseases. Biologically based traits also provide a more rational basis for selective management and breeding programmes i...
Wolff A, Hausberger M, Le Scolan N.Different tests were used to assess different aspects of the emotionality of 1-3 year-old horses: arena test; a `novel object' test; and a handling test. In reaction to the test situations no important differences were observed according to age or sex in the behaviour patterns, but clear individual differences were observed within these classes. The arena test seemed to reveal the degree of gregariousness of the animals whereas the results in the two other tests were correlated and seemed to reflect an inherent degree of fearfulness in the horse. Indices were developed that enabled to rank the...
Clément F, Barrey E.The heart rate fluctuations at rest were studied in order to explore the emotionality of the horses by isolating the influence of the autonomic control. This paper presents a method of spectral analysis which was used to analyse the heart rate variability in the frequency domain. The heartbeat intervals were recorded during 1 h and a series of 1,024 heartbeats was extracted to compute a power spectrum of density. This was obtained by calculating the Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function of the series. This spectral analysis was applied to heart rate recordings in order to illustrat...
Barolin GS, Samborski R.Physiotherapy on the back of the moved horse has two important dimensions: 1) The somatotropic effect regards mainly spasticity, ataxia, the vertebral column, the basis of the pelvis and the skin. 2) A general psychotherapeutic and psychohygienic effect is created by joy, change and new impetus in rehabilitation and by the emotional contact with the "comrade animal". Or unit was the first to introduce hippotherapy with adults in Austria. There is specially good experience with the spastic atactic component in multiple sclerosis. However other diagnosis as well showed good profit, such as strok...
Visser EK, Jens AL, Nieuwe Weme LE, Spaapen AA, Maarleveld KN, Enzerink KH, Tromp PN, Haven-Pross SC.Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) offer significant benefits for individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. However, ensuring the welfare of the horses involved remains a key ethical concern. The objective of this study was to assess the affective states of horses involved in EAS while also establishing behavioural thresholds for indicators of positive or negative affective states. A total of 98 horses were observed over a two-month period, accumulating data about horse behaviour and session characteristics from 830 EAS sessions. Horses participating in coaching programs averaged...
Steklis NG, Peñaherrera-Aguirre M, Steklis HD.This paper challenges the prevalent characterization of domesticated horses as prey species that inherently view humans as predators. Drawing on evolutionary, ethological, and cognitive evidence, we propose the "mutualistic coevolution hypothesis", which posits that horses and humans have evolved a partnership marked by cooperation rather than fear. We critically assess the "prey hypothesis", emphasizing a predator-prey model, which dominates equine training and the literature, and we argue that it inadequately explains horses' morphology, behaviors, and cognitive capacities. Comparative studi...
Wells A, Hiney KM, Brady CM, Anderson KP.The horse industry's growing focus on improving horse welfare stems from stakeholders' desires, increasing public scrutiny, and potential threats to its Social License to Operate. Correctly assessing equine affective states is crucial for enhancing horse welfare. However, horse owners often struggle with this assessment, especially those with limited consistent access to horses. To address this gap, RAiSE (Recognizing Affective State in Equine) was developed as an educational tool aimed at improving horse industry participants' ability to recognize these states. After development of the educat...
da Fé VCS, Dos Santos VMO, de Lima ACB, Hernandes MSP, Caldara FR, Gomes MNB.This study aimed to evaluate the effect of auditory stimuli on mares and geldings during social isolation and movement restriction, and their ability to promote the reduction of stress responses. The research was conducted with eight Pantaneiro horses, divided into Experiment I (4 mares) and Experiment II (4 geldings), both experiments were executed equally using a 4x4 Latin square design with experimental (classical, country and new age) and control (no music) treatments. Physiological parameters (heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, ocular temperature by infrared thermograph...
Death studiesMay 28, 2025
1-11 doi: 10.1080/07481187.2025.2510477
Kaufman SVA, Nieforth LO.For practitioners involved in equine-assisted services (EAS), the death of a horse can be a significant life disruption. This study aims to understand the communicative resilience processes that equine-assisted service practitioners express following the death of an equine in their program. This study analyzed secondary qualitative data from a cross-sectional online survey completed by 84 participants. Analysis revealed practitioners engaged in all five communicative resilience processes following the death of an equine in their program. This research extends current resilience research by exa...
Janczarek I, Gazda I, Barłowska J, Kurnik J, Łuszczyński J.It is assumed that horses have a strong herd instinct that cannot be suppressed by any form of social support from humans. The aim of this study was to assess the behaviour and heart rate parameters of horses that received various forms of human support during short-term social isolation. The research material consisted of 12 clinically healthy recreational warmblood mares and geldings. The test was carried out four times. The research test consisted of two parts, which began in the presence of accompanying horses and under conditions of social isolation, with and without support provided by a...
Reddington E, Winter S.Elite sporting careers are made up of a succession of transitions and adjustments across multiple layers. Part of the microenvironment is an athlete's romantic partner who moves through the transitions alongside them, being impacted along the way. Though researchers are yet to explore jockeys and their partners experiences within the horse racing context. Framed through the transition environment working model (Henriksen et al., 2024) and supported by the family systems theory (Broderick, 1993), this study aimed to explore the career experiences and retirement transition of a retired Champion ...
Hiney K, Anderson K, Brady C.Accurate interpretation of affective state (AS) of animals is critical to assessment of their wellbeing. Although horse owners may appreciate the importance of this skill, many lack the ability to interpret AS accurately. Objective: To test if the online course Recognizing Affective States in Equine (RAiSE) improves participants' assessment of AS in horses and increases use of AS in management. Methods: Participants completed pre (PRE), post (POST), and 90 day post (90POST) course surveys to assess accuracy in identifying AS in 20 videos, as well as use of AS in their horse interactions. Pre/p...
d'Ingeo S, Siniscalchi M, Quaranta A, Cousillas H, Hausberger M.Current research on acoustic encoding of emotional content suggests that there are universal cues, allowing for decoding within and across taxa. This is particularly important for human-animal relationships, wherein domestic animals are supposed to be particularly efficient in decoding human emotions. Here we investigated whether the decoding of the emotional content in human voices shared universal acoustic properties, or whether it could be influenced by experience. Emotional human voices were presented to two populations of horses, in which behavioral, cardiac, and brain responses were meas...
White J, Thompson K, van den Berg D, O'Neill G, Mendez DH, Talwar J, Degeling C, Forsythe R, Durrheim DN.With more than 60% of emerging infectious diseases being zoonotic, we apply a One Health lens that connects human, animal, and environmental dimensions of the response to a Hendra virus (HeV) event. One Health promotes collaboration among health professionals, veterinarians, environmental scientists, and policymakers to strengthen health infrastructure and improve responses to complex health threats. HeV is an uncommon high-consequence and potentially fatal zoonotic disease endemic to parts of Australia. Previous research has largely focused on the uptake of preparedness measures by veterinari...
Rönnow E, Roth LSV.Compared to other companion animals, our understanding of the human-horse relationship is limited, particularly from the horse's perspective. This pilot study examined whether horses (N = 30) show a bias towards their owner in a reunion in the presence of both the owner and a stranger. Afterwards, the horses were also presented with the odor of the owner and a stranger. Both tests were video recorded for behavioral analyzation. No significant owner-directed bias was observed at the group level in either the reunion test or the odor test. Nonetheless, in the reunion test, owner bias in physical...
Briefer-Freymond S, Dalla Costa E, Jolivald A, Bruckmaier RM, Atallah E, Giorgia Riva M, Ijichi C.Personality affects both experience and expression of pain and the welfare impact of castration on horses is poorly understood. Therefore, the current study observed 19 horses to determine: the welfare impact of standard castration on horses; whether individuals consistently vary in their behavioural and emotional responses to pain; the influence of personality on behavioural and physiological responses to pain; whether Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) indicates how individuals feel about painful experiences. Eye temperature (IRT), salivary cortisol, HGS and a pain ethogram were measured at intervals...
Helmer A, Delore E, Bart O.This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Attention Skill Training (ASTride) protocol, an Equine-Assisted Occupational Therapy (EAOT) intervention, for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in enhancing and promoting cognitive and emotional aspects including executive functions, self-efficacy, anxiety and hope perception. Methods: A prospective cohort study with an Interrupted Time-Series design was conducted. Fifty participants (mean age = 9.51 years, SD = 1.52) were assessed at four time points: baseline, pre-test (following a 12-week waiting ...
Kogstad N, Christiansen SE, Ulberg R, Fiskum C.The integration of horses into psychotherapy has gained popularity over recent decades, offering unique therapeutic opportunities that may enhance emotional healing, empathy, and relational trust. This study investigates the perspectives of experienced psychotherapists on why they incorporate horses into their therapeutic practices. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten clinicians (eight female, two male) from diverse theoretical orientations. The data, which were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, revealed four key themes: "Supporting presence and getting to the heart of things...
Jardat P, Destrez A, Damon F, Tanguy-Guillo N, Lainé AL, Parias C, Reigner F, Ferreira VHB, Calandreau L, Lansade L.Olfaction is the most widespread sensory modality animals use to communicate, yet much remains to be discovered about its role. While most studies focused on intraspecific interactions and reproduction, new evidence suggests chemosignals may influence interspecific interactions and emotional communication. This study explores this possibility, investigating the potential role of olfactory signals in human-horse interactions. Cotton pads carrying human odours from fear and joy contexts, or unused pads (control odour) were applied to 43 horses' nostrils during fear tests (suddenness and novelty ...
Telhede EH, Bräutigam Ewe M, Jormfeldt H.Mental health, encompassing self-esteem, confidence, physical activity, and social interaction, is essential for the well-being of children and adolescents and supports executive functions crucial for school performance. Mental ill health among young people is increasing in Sweden, with rising rates of self-reported problems, psychiatric diagnoses, and prescriptions of psychotropic medication. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) among children and adolescents with anxiety-related mental ill health in southern Sweden. A qualitative design ...
Brumpton HL, Kargas N.Therapeutic horse riding (THR) is a non-traditional intervention that may support mental well-being in individuals with autism spectrum conditions. Despite growing interest, most research has focused on children and has tended to privilege practitioner or caregiver perspectives, leaving autistic adults underrepresented. This qualitative study explores the psychological benefits and systemic barriers associated with THR among Autistic adults, drawing on perspectives from both clients and practitioners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six Autistic clients and four practitioners, a...
Sivagurunathan R, Senathirajah ARBS, Sivagurunathan L, Arokiasamy L, Qazi S, Haque R, Su Y.This study explores how equine-assisted leadership development (EALD) interventions activate experiential processes that reshape leaders' self-concept, relational schemas, and behaviors. A conceptual model is proposed to explain how non-verbal interaction with horses catalyzes transformational learning. Unassigned: A qualitative exploratory design was employed to examine leaders' experiences over 12 months following reintegration into their workplaces. Eight leaders ( = 8) attended a 5-day EALD program, engaging in "join-up" exercises with horses. Data were analyzed through reflexive the...
Kawamura N, Sakamoto M, Hashimoto C, Ozeki Y, Machida K.Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience challenges in social communication, behavioral regulation, and daily life adaptation. Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) have been implemented as complementary approaches to support psychosocial development. However, little is known about the experiences of parents in Japan whose children participate in EAATs. Unassigned: The study aims to qualitatively explore how parents in Japan perceive the psychosocial outcomes of EAATs for their children with ASD. By focusing on parental perspectives, this study seeks to clarify ...
Lanning BA, Smith CM, Ugale C, Nazarenko E, Marchand WR.Equine-assisted services (EAS) are used for civilian and military trauma survivors to reduce depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms. While early scientific evidence supports the benefits of EAS, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these benefits are unknown. The specific aims of this exploratory study were to determine (1) whether functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging can be used to explore neural responses of EAS veteran participants and (2) the correlation between neural responses and psychological outcomes of the participants interacting with equines. Fif...
Badin L, Van Dendaele E, Bailly N.: Although equine-assisted interventions (EAI) are gaining growing attention, their scientific evaluation among individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) living in nursing homes remains limited. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of an EAI program from the perspectives of the participants living with AD as well as their families and professional caregivers. : Thirty non-directive interviews were conducted between June and July 2024 across several nursing homes in the Centre-Val de Loire region (France). The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analy...
Smith CM, Weimann K, Widick M, Merritt T, Christensen H, Siegel M, Pan Z, Gabriels RL.The purpose of this paper is to serve as a catalyst for the human-animal interaction research field to improve scientific rigor and accelerate the knowledge of field-based physiological responses during equine-assisted services in youth with autism spectrum disorder. This paper outlines the best practices for collecting and analyzing electrocardiogram and electrodermal activity in youth with autism spectrum disorder, utilized during a 10-week therapeutic horseback riding intervention.•Motivation strategies such as device choice, reward systems, and a visual schedule should be implemented to ...
Helmer A, Delore E, Bart O.Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, as children may present developmental and chronic impairments in cognitive-emotional and sensory-motor aspects. This study examined the changes in self-efficacy, muscle tone, and mood following a single session of Equine-Assisted Occupational Therapy (EAOT) within Attention Skills Therapy (ASTride) intervention, designed to improve emotional and cognitive functions. Notably, 31 children diagnosed with ADHD aged 6-12 (mean age 10.06) years. A preliminary study of pre- and post-single...
Military veterans exposed to stressful or traumatic events may experience adjustment difficulties in the post-deployment period, developing a high risk of mental health-related issues. Promising complementary practices such as Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT) are now widely used, although standardized protocols are missing. The present study aimed to develop an EAT standardized intervention. Methods: A total of 16 veterans were enrolled for the study (11 veterans for the EAT group and 5 veterans for the control group). The EAT lasted 9 months and both a quantitative (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory...
Naber A, Kreuzer L, Zink R, Millesi E, Palme R, Hediger K, Glenk LM.This exploratory study aimed to analyse physiological interaction processes in equine-assisted-therapy (EAT) between client, therapy horse and therapist. Methods: We measured heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol levels before, during and after a standardized therapy session and a control condition in one therapist, four therapy horses and ten female clients in emerging adulthood (Mn = 21.8 years, SD = 3.39). The clients were diagnosed with mild (N = 5) to moderate (N = 5) intellectual disability (ID). Results: There was no significant change in the client's HR, HR...
Coffin J, Vaz S, Kickett-Tucker C, Milroy H, Olsson C, Kirby M, Nelson L, McPhee R, Cross D.Australian Aboriginal people experience stressors from inequalities across crucial social determinants, including deep and entrenched disadvantage and exclusion. The impact of unaddressed historical issues is pervasive and intergenerational. The disproportionate rates of Aboriginal youth suicide, juvenile detention and imprisonment highlight the inadequacy of existing social and emotional wellbeing programs and services for Aboriginal children and young people. There is increasing recognition in Australia that aligning social and emotional wellbeing interventions with Western values and concep...
Merkies K, Trudel K.Horses employ a range of subtle to overt behaviours to communicate their current affective state. Humans who are more cognisant of their own bodily sensations may be more attuned to recognising affective states in horses () thereby promoting positive human-horse interactions. This study investigated human ability to categorise human-horse interactions depicted in media relative to equine behaviour experts and compared participant scores to their level of interoception. Using an online survey, participants (n = 534) categorised 31 photographs and videos as (overt) positive, likely (subtle) posi...
Lepy C, Letranchant A, Aniorte JL, Bedos J, Hotchkin R, Corcos M, Robin M, Piot MA.Anorexia nervosa is a complex psychiatric pathology with limited therapeutic tools to reduce morbidity and mortality. Equine-assisted therapy could provide additional therapeutic benefits. Objective: We aimed to explore the effects of equine-assisted therapy on the experience of adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Methods: Using a qualitative approach based on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, we conducted semi-structured interviews with nine participants who had taken part in equine-assisted therapy sessions. Results: Three superordinate themes were found. Participants initially descri...
Kovács BA, Topál J, Gergely A.The relationship between horses and humans is often described as cooperative and affective, yet empirical studies on horse-rider bond remain scarce. Previous findings on horse-human relationships yielded conflicting results on whether and how horses show bonding like behaviour toward their owners. Objective: We tested whether horses show partner-specific approach and proximity toward their primary rider compared with an unfamiliar experimenter in an adapted Strange Situation Test, and whether the rider's presence was associated with behavioural patterns indicative of safe haven and secure base...
Badin L, Bailly N.This study evaluated the psychological benefit of equine-assisted intervention (EAI) for older adults living with Alzheimer disease (AD). A non-randomized, controlled, multicenter study was conducted in 14 nursing homes. A total of 74 older adults were recruited and divided into three groups: a group benefiting from an EAI program, a group following an adapted physical activity program (APA), and a control group continuing their daily activities (CG). Psychological health was assessed. The results showed reduced psychobehavioral disorders by week six of EAI, improved quality of life, and sligh...
