Horse Therapy For Seniors, Patients At Staten Island Nursing Home To Rave Reviews By Participants

Horse Assisted Therapy is a relatively new type of therapy, however, it has been found to be very effective for a wide range of health conditions, particularly when it comes to mental health issues. 

 

 

Horses were brought to the ArchCare facility located at Carmel Richmond.  The benefits of equine assisted therapy are many and varied, and can help people to experience their own emotions, as horses are very sensitive to humans’ emotional states.   WebMD states: “Equine-assisted therapies are programs where professionals guide clients through activities with horses. There are different kinds of equine programs, and they have different goals for the people involved. Some programs are part of mental health treatment. In other cases, clients ride horses as part of a physical or occupational therapy regimen…

Caring for horses requires concentration, selflessness, and teamwork. Equine-assisted therapy programs can help people improve self-esteem, self-awareness, confidence, and empathy. Equine therapy programs can help treat:

• Behavioral problems
• Relationship issues
• Grief
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• Addiction
• Eating disorders

 

According to  Very Well Mind:

“Equine-assisted psychotherapy incorporates horses into the therapeutic process. People engage in activities such as grooming, feeding, and leading a horse while being supervised by a mental health professional.

“Goals of this form of therapy including helping people develop skills such as emotional regulation, self-confidence, and responsibility. With mature horses weighing anywhere in the range of 900 to 2,000 pounds or more, it might feel a bit intimidating to have such a large, majestic creature participating in your therapy sessions.”

From ArchCare:

ArchCare at Carmel Richmond hosted a miniature horse therapy session with Horseability at their facility on Thursday, June 27^th from 10:30a-12p. This is one of the favorite programs amongst our nursing home residents! Our participants love to pet the horses and learning about their care and upkeep. The last time we had the miniature horses was 5 years ago, so we are very excited to bring this back for them.

In May, they brought in the horse therapy program at another ArchCare Staten Island nursing home, Eger Healthcare. It’s a very popular program amongst the residents and they’re happy to start these events up again after COVID. I’m not sure on the frequency of the events, and when the next one will be.

The photographer, Sean Fitz, said of the event: “The woman wearing white especially loved [the horses]! She was saying in Spanish how those horses reminded her of the ones she grew up with in the DR so she got very emotional!”

Photos from the event are below.  All were captured by Sean Fitzpatrick:

Banner Image: Video cover. Image Credit – Staten Islander News