As Americans continue to live longer and maintain healthier lifestyles, researchers have discovered more unique forms of healing intervention like equine-assisted therapy. This experiential health remedy entails the use of horses in a therapeutic capacity, allowing individuals an opportunity to groom, feed, and lead a horse while being supervised by a mental health professional.
Beyond the typical pet-owner relationship that many of us have lovingly experienced, equine therapy takes it one step further by leveraging the healing quality of companionship from a horse as an effective form of therapeutic relief.
Among the innovative programs and activities at Ingleside’s Westminster at Lake Ridge community, residents partake in weekly sessions of equine therapy at a local farm in conjunction with Cloverleaf, a Clifton-based nonprofit with a mission to empower people by connecting with horses. This restorative act of intervention gives residents an opportunity to experience a change in scenery to interact with horses outside the comforts of their senior living community.
“For older adults specifically, equine therapy not only helps to improve physical coordination and strengthen cognitive abilities, but it can also significantly enhance their quality of life and get them out of their comfort zone,” Otmar Donald, the Life Enrichment manager at Westminster at Lake Ridge shared. “Each Thursday, residents are able to participate in unmounted sessions with Cloverleaf horses where they have the opportunity to learn about the best grooming techniques, engage sensory and cognitive skills through therapeutic horsemanship practices, and create social bonds with various breeds of horses.”
According to the American Horse Council, equine-assisted services have seen an uptick in popularity over the years and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the horse industry in the United States. Medical experts have proven the ways in which horse handling can offer a healthy balance of cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits for aging adults, specifically those impacted by cognitive diseases like Alzeimer’s, dementia or Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Horses share similar behaviors with humans, such as social and responsive behaviors that makes it easy for residents to create a connection with them. Horse handling can help seniors to improve physical coordination in areas such as reflexes and motor planning through the repeated movements required in controlling a horse. For those who may feel lonely or struggle with anxiety or depression, Cloverleaf offers Equine-assisted learning to help promote mental and personal growth through social emotional learning.
Whether you are adventurous and want to get up on a horse or content with just being able to pet one, there are many benefits horses can provide to residents for an overall better well being.
For more information about resident programming at Westminster at Lake Ridge visit https://inglesideonline.org/westminster-lake-ridge/ or call (703) 420-7105.