11/18/2025
Why horses? Seems like kind of a silly question, coming from us, right? Well of course, there are so many "obvious" reasons (like because they're awesoooome). But what about "brain and body stuff" and the science of addressing trauma and stress?
When it comes to why horses in particular are such powerful companions in this work, it all starts with the way their brains are created.
A horse’s brain is naturally organized in a way that is similar to the patterns we see in a human brain affected by trauma. As prey animals by nature, they live attuned to safety, sensation, and energy. Because of this, the work we do in connected attachment - not 'compliance' - with them becomes a profound vehicle for our own healing, insight, and growth. Here are just a few reasons why:
✨ 1. We enter connected relationship.
Safe, attuned connection is one of the most powerful ways to support and reorganize a healing brain. Being with a horse in this way becomes a living experience of attachment, trust, and presence.
✨ 2. We practice regulation by noticing them, as well as what's happening in our own bodies in relationship.
Instead of diving straight into our own internal world (which can feel overwhelming and flooding), we begin by noticing how the horse can regulate and connect, inviting them to soften, think, and choose freely and safely.
This becomes a gentle “way in” to noticing our own state, without the intensity of focusing solely on ourselves.
✨ 3. We learn to co-regulate.
Connection with a horse teaches us how to come into rhythm with another being. There’s real science behind this: our nervous systems, heart rhythms, and energetic fields attune to the beings around us.
In simple terms, co-regulation is the experience of “lending each other our nervous systems.” It’s a skill we can carry into every relationship and interaction we have.
This is why equine-assisted work is more than an activity.
It’s a relational, physiological, energetic experience that helps us reconnect to the parts of ourselves that stress and trauma can disconnect, including our ability to cope with daily life, exist in relationship, and think.
Horses offer us a safe, embodied way to practice regulation, connection, and choice... and those skills ripple far beyond the arena. ❤️
