There is something about a horse.
Often admired for their beauty, athleticism and elegance, the four-legged creatures are now being admired for another quality: their ability to heal and counsel.
In nearby Cremona, these traits are being used to the fullest at Sue McIntosh’s Healing Hooves, a program that uses equine-facilitated counselling and animal assisted therapy to help children, adults and families that are struggling with personal problems that other forms of counselling haven’t been able to heal.
“When I was a child, I don’t think I understood what counselling was,” said McIntosh, a long-time horse lover and equestrian. “But my horse was my counsellor. He was the one I told everything to. He was the one I cried with and hugged. He was that safe place for me.”
Now, McIntosh creates that same safe place for dozens of clients on her farm northeast of Cochrane. The “office” boasts a small herd of horses; along with Jack the dog and an assortment of cuddly cats.
About 50 per cent of her clients come from social service referrals, she said, while the rest are private.
Together with the animals, McIntosh aims to counsel through a range of challenges and past history including abuse, body image and depression.
“More often than not, the children referred here aren’t ready to talk in a regular counselling session,” she said. “They may not say any direct things about themselves. Instead, they’ll talk about the horse.”
If the client has a history of grief and loss, for example, the client may talk about how a horse may feel if another horse was lost. Then, McIntosh said she and the client would talk about how the horse may feel about the loss.
“We can give a lot of space and permission for the emotion, without being judgmental,” she explained. “We can start looking at solutions that may and may not work. We can do all the discussion in the context of the horse.”
For the most part, McIntosh said she lets her herd of four-legged counsellors choose and connect with a client on their own.
“The genuineness of the animals makes the clients feel safe,” said McIntosh. “They’ll believe it from a horse. If the horse comes to them and wants to be with them — it’s only because they genuinely want to.
Human counsellors try to be as genuine as possible, but we can’t pull it off as well as animals do. And it’s not always accepted. Horses just aren’t interested in your past, only in the moment.”
While McIntosh has an extensive background in horses and her master’s degree in counselling, there are certification programs available to get people involved in equine-facilitated wellness.
Visit equinefacilitatedwellness.org for more details.
To learn more about Healing Hooves, check out healinghooves.ca.
