An Initial Survey of Volunteer Perceptions of Horses in Equine-Assisted Services: Volunteer Experiences, Training, and Educational Needs.
Abstract: Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) gained a foothold in the healthcare industry as a unique modality addressing the physical, cognitive, and psychological health issues for people across the lifespan. These services require a team approach, with volunteer support playing a prominent role in service delivery. Volunteers are a precious resource for EAS programs and step into a variety of support roles, including preparation and handling. However, little is known about the horse-volunteer relationship or factors that influence their working relationships. Therefore, the purpose of this web-based survey was to characterize the volunteer experience and explore factors that may impact volunteers' ability to accurately identify equine behavior. A total of 240 volunteers from 25 Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship, International (PATH, Intl.) Premier Accredited Centers participated in this survey. The results of the correlational analyses and a general linear model suggested certain volunteer characteristics can be linked to accurate identification of horse behaviors. Horse leaders (P < .001) and volunteers who help with adaptive riding (P = .048) or therapeutic driving (P = .031) sessions more accurately recognized behaviors than those who held other roles. Volunteers who had any amount of horse experience prior to volunteering correctly identified more behaviors than those who came with none. A qualitative content analysis showed that volunteers felt most unprepared when a horse exhibited a behavior they were not trained to handle, and volunteers indicated their preparation to assist in EAS could be improved with more general training and education related to equine behavior.
Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date: 2022-07-29 PubMed ID: 35914658DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2022.104090Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research analyzes the role and experiences of volunteers in providing Equine-Assisted Services (EAS), focusing on their ability to understand and react to horse behaviors. Through an online survey, it was discovered that certain volunteer characteristics, such as their given roles and previous experience with horses, could influence their ability to accurately identify horse behaviors.
Survey Purpose and Format
- The objective of this web-based survey was to delve into the experiences of volunteers in EAS programs.
- The main focus was to determine the factors that could affect the volunteers’ capacity to correctly identify and respond to horse behaviors.
Survey Participants
- A total of 240 volunteers participated in the survey. They were from 25 Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship, International (PATH, Intl.) Premier Accredited Centers.
Survey Findings: Volunteer Characteristics and Horse Behavior Identification
- From the research, the roles that volunteers played in EAS played a significant role in their abilities to accurately identify horse behaviors.
- Those who acted as horse leaders or helped with adaptive riding or therapeutic driving sessions were better at recognizing behaviors compared to volunteers in other roles.
- Moreover, volunteers who had some level of horse handling experience prior to joining EAS programs were also more adept at correctly identifying horse behaviors.
Volunteer Training Needs
- The study also utilized qualitative content analysis to explore where volunteers felt the most inadequate in their roles.
- The results indicated volunteers were most ill-prepared when faced with horse behaviors they had not been trained to handle effectively.
- Consequently, the volunteers expressed a desire for broader training and education around equine behavior to better prepare them for their roles in EAS programs and increase their ability to correctly interpret horse behaviors.
Cite This Article
APA
Rudd C, Wheeler B, Pasiuk E, Schroeder K.
(2022).
An Initial Survey of Volunteer Perceptions of Horses in Equine-Assisted Services: Volunteer Experiences, Training, and Educational Needs.
J Equine Vet Sci, 117, 104090.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2022.104090 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.
- Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. Electronic address: kathryn-schroeder-1@uiowa.edu.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses
- Humans
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Volunteers / psychology
Citations
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