The question is, how does interacting with a horse help you heal? Science may have the answer— and it begins in your heart.
Balance, coordination, strength… it’s easy to understand how horseback riding can be an effective aid for physical disabilities. But therapeutic horseback riding isn’t just for physical issues. In Israel, the health funds subsidize therapeutic riding lessons for kids with ASD, ADHD, and many other social, emotional, or behavioral issues. Besides the empowerment of directing a creature that’s ten times your size, you immediately begin practicing frustration tolerance, delayed gratification, obeying rules, paying attention to social cues, and more.
In other parts of the world, equine-assisted therapy (or hippotherapy) generally takes place on the ground, not up on the horse. Studies have demonstrated that interacting with horses can reduce blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety, stress levels, and feelings of anger, while increasing feelings of trust, empowerment, and self-efficacy.
The question is, how does interacting with a horse help you heal? Science may have the answer — and it begins in your heart.
If your pulse is 60 beats per minute, that doesn’t mean your heart is beating exactly once every second. The interval between beats actually varies, hence the term heart rate variability, or HRV. When there’s more variability between beats (as can easily be seen on an electrocardiogram, or ECG) you have high HRV; when there’s less variability, you have low HRV. Sustained high HRV typically indicates greater physical resilience and emotional regulation.
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