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Why Equine Therapy Helps in Prescription Drug Treatment

What is Equine Therapy?

Equine Therapy is a form of psychotherapy which uses horses as tools to help a person with emotional problems that they are having a hard time overcoming; equine therapy will help a person rebuild trust in their life, which includes trust with their self and trust in others. The bond between a human and an animal has been found to be therapeutic to people in need of emotional healing.

Typically equine therapy does not involve horseback riding. Instead, equine therapy focuses on the human taking care of the horse and bonding with the horse. The person in therapy will take on the role as caregiver and work on gaining the horses trust to create a healthy relationship with the horse. The individual will take care of the horse by feeding the horse, grooming the horse, exercising the horse, and leading the horse when need be.

Working with horses is not the only part of equine therapy, it is just the tool. While working with the horse the individual receiving treatment will also work with a therapist talking about their feelings and trying to get to the root of the problem regarding their prescription drug addiction.

How Equine Therapy Helps

Equine therapy teaches responsibility and the importance of staying active to help keep people off of prescription drugs.

Prescription drug abuse and addiction has been increasing throughout the years and continues to be an epidemic that is spreading throughout America. Prescription drug addiction is harmful to a person’s body both physically and mentally and leads to numerous overdoses each year.

According to USA Today, prescription drugs now surpass heroin and cocaine as the leading drugs to cause overdoses and fatalities.

Many people who receive treatment for prescription drug addiction have a difficult time staying clean and fixing the original problems that led to their drug addiction. Equine therapy helps individuals to feel more peaceful while creating an environment for a person to enjoy and regain life skills that they may have lost due to their drug addiction.

Some life skills that equine theory helps a person to find again include trust, acceptance, responsibility, self-worth, respect and empathy. In addition, many people who stop using prescription drugs suffer from depression and anxiety. Working with a horse and taking care of a horse helps a person to naturally feel more at peace and can be a major help in decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety. All in all, equine therapy could be the answer for people who have been battling with prescription drug addiction and are trying to find a therapy that works well for them. Equine therapy is especially beneficial to people who love animals.

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