Could equine-assisted psychotherapy help you?

You know how you can walk into a room and feel something’s not quite right? Or perhaps your friend says they’re OK but you sense they’re not? Well, horses are REALLY skilled in this department.

They have had to learn to live tuned into everything and everyone around them. They can read and feel ‘energy’ really easily, especially that of us humans! The difference in working with horses is that they help us find the real truth of our situation. You may be thinking ... ‘how?’

Equine assisted psychotherapy is a holistic, experiential and specialised form of therapy (for humans) that involves collaboration between a horse, a trained therapist and an expert horse handler.

I’m Rubia, and I’m an equine psychotherapist

I’m also part of the Park Lane Stables team. I grew up in Minas Gerais in Brazil, surrounded by animals and nature. I always loved watching horses playing freely in the fields. They helped me to find peace, strength, joy, vulnerability, and many other feelings. They still help me to feel more and think less. They are magic. They are pure love. I still like watching them more than I like riding.

Having worked with vulnerable young people for the past 25 years, I have witnessed truly transformative experiences at different stables in London. Overtime I became more curious and fascinated about the small miracles I saw. In 2020 I decided to study equine psychotherapy. I also visited equine therapy centres in England and Brazil and found a very experienced supervisor to support me with my clients.

Let me explain how it works

During sessions, you don’t actually ride the horse. Instead, you experience ‘in the moment’ feelings and thoughts that may be linked to your past. My job is to be there with you, holding you and your experience, providing a safe and confidential space. The session is prepared for each individual and can involve feeding, grooming or leading the horse. Horses show us a different way to create connection and trust, and to develop safe relationships. They are naturally gentle and calm, they work with us in a patient and non-judgemental manner.

At the beginning, sessions focus on helping you overcome any initial uneasiness, empowering you to develop and nurture your connection with the horse. Horses can be stubborn one day and playful the next, so you need to be flexible, innovative and open around them. They have so much to teach us when we are!

Ultimately, the aim is to help you to discover more about yourself, and to develop new ways of thinking that support your self-esteem and wellbeing.

Park Lane Stables’ ethos of happy humans and happy horses, in a truly inclusive environment, is the perfect setting for what I do. And when I see that a session has really helped someone, that’s the best reward.

Email us to find out about equine psychotherapy sessions at Park Lane Stables.