Healing and Growth with Horses

One way or another, everything we do at Hoef Your Feet revolves around equine-assisted coaching. Our group coaching, child coaching, educational support, and psychosocial therapy (EMDR/ACT, etc.)—every form of therapy/support we offer is assisted by horses. We’d love to tell you why.

Equine therapy: more than just talking.

Soms werkt alleen praten niet. Praten is goed, maar de praktijk leert dat je met praten vaak in je hoofd zit en daardoor minder goed bij je gevoel komt. En dat is nu precies waar het soms botst. Gelukkig kunnen paarden niet met ons praten door middel van onze taal en dus vindt de communicatie plaats op andere manieren. Paarden kunnen ons helpen om dichter bij ons gevoel te komen en maken het makkelijker om dingen te benoemen/te voelen of te beredeneren. Ze helpen ons het onzichtbare zichtbaar te maken. Dat maakt begeleiding met paarden niet alleen heel waardevol, maar ook erg concreet. Persoonlijk vinden wij het belangrijk dat er aan een aantal voorwaarden moeten worden voldaan voordat men paarden inzet in het werken met mensen. Meer hierover lees je bij het stukje “ethiek”.

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7 days a week, 9 AM – 5 PM

Onze paarden en wij zijn er om jou te helpen bij het onderzoeken van jouw thema’s en uitdagingen in jouw dagelijkse leven en het krijgen van (nieuwe) inzichten.

Wij zijn er niet om jou te “fixen”. Want jij bent wie je bent en daar mag je trots op zijn. Wij zijn er om samen met jou op avontuur en ontdekkingsreis te gaan en te kijken welke dingen we tegenkomen onderweg naar jouw droom/doel of wens. We werken samen aan jouw persoonlijke ontwikkeling en de doelen die we daarbij samen stellen.

Our Therapeutic Approaches in Equine Coaching

Equine therapy: more than just talking.

One of the techniques we use at Hoef Your Feet is motivational interviewing. Motivational interviewing originated in addiction treatment and was later applied to a wide variety of care settings. As a therapist, you are motivating and empathetic when using this technique, based on an equal and cooperative attitude. After all, we are in this together. Motivational interviewing (hereinafter abbreviated as MGV) is a technique used to help you move in various areas. It is important that you WANT to be guided. It’s about your intrinsic motivation to change. Before you can initiate change, we go through several phases, such as the first, willingness to change, the second, the belief that you can change, and the final phase, actually initiating change. MGV is a concrete and clear form of conversation, so we will be direct and share what we hear, see, and notice during a session.

Therapy forms in coaching with horses

At Hoef Your Feet, we offer different therapeutic methods tailored to your needs, including EMDR, RDI, hypnosis, systemic therapy, and ACT. EMDR helps process trauma by moving memories into long-term storage, reducing emotional triggers. RDI focuses on identifying and strengthening personal resources to better handle challenges like fear of failure. Hypnosis uses a light, meditative state to gently access the subconscious. ACT encourages acceptance, mindfulness, and psychological flexibility, helping you focus on what you can control—your own behavior.

The horse as a mirror

The horse as a mirror has already been explained in the section describing why coaching with horses is so wonderful and what a horse can add to a coaching session. It’s important to understand that a horse is a herd animal and a prey animal. Therefore, it always acts based on instinct, with the primary goal of survival. In contact with other horses, people, and animals, it responds to others by picking up on nonverbal communication and reacting. If a horse is afraid or perceives danger, it will always want to flee and therefore never seek out danger or attack it on its own. Horses have been domesticated and in the company of people for so long that they have recognized the added value of human-animal contact. Therefore, we can take horses by the hand, ride them, and truly engage in a partnership with the animal. The most important prerequisite for this, of course, is always trust. What you might see during a session with a horse, for example, is that if you are very tense or alert, the horse picks up on this because it senses it and immediately goes into alert mode as a survival mode. The moment you radiate calmness with your entire body, the horse will also adopt this position, because he/she sees you as part of the herd and feels confident with you.

Self-determination theory

Another starting point for equine coaching at Hoef Your Feet is self-determination theory. It states that we humans have an innate tendency to constantly grow and develop, and we do this by integrating different aspects of ourselves into a beautiful whole. A process we often engage in is resolving contradictions between, for example, our will, our thoughts, and our feelings. But also wanting to address a negative event you experience and use it as an opportunity to learn something. This can vary between complete independence from someone and complete autonomy, and of course, everything in between. The more autonomous your motivation for change is—the more this comes from within yourself—the greater your contribution will be and the greater the chance that you will be able to maintain and integrate a change into your life.

Are you looking for a horse coach in
Gelderland?

You’re in the right place at Hoef Your Feet. We offer individual therapy for children, adolescents, young adults, and adults.

The role of the horse

As previously explained, horses are prey animals, and they possess pure and instinctive wisdom. The horse is an unbiased co-coach/co-therapist with no hidden agenda or underlying thoughts. Because the horse is a prey animal, it is eager to keep itself and its herd alive and will therefore respond with that mindset. Horses are capable of warning each other with (to us) very small, visible signals. Horses read our nonverbal communication and therefore focus solely on those reactions. They can mirror us. By coaching in this way, you learn to better recognize, recognize and understand your nonverbal communication. You learn its effects and how to consciously use it.

A horse is naturally extremely sensitive and manages with its instincts. An example of this is rain and wind. If it’s raining heavily, the horse will turn its backside into the rain so it can continue eating in peace, or only its backside gets wet.

Horses help us humans connect our hearts and minds, our thoughts and feelings. They live in the here and now, and that helps us stay present and focused. Furthermore, horses are constantly in motion, which makes it easier to connect with our feelings.

So, the horse helps you pursue your goals, connects you with your feelings, provides peace and relaxation, and encourages a healthy dose of self-reflection. You don’t need any experience with horses for this.

Frequently asked questions

What is equine therapy (paardencoaching)?

Equine therapy is a form of coaching or therapy where interaction with horses is used to promote self-awareness, confidence, and emotional growth. Horses respond to non-verbal communication, making them excellent partners in personal development.

Do I need to have experience with horses?