Equine Supported Wellness

Experience the Healing Power of Horses with the Horses of Halifax

Program Details

What is Equine Supported Wellness?

Equine Supported Wellness (ESW) is experiential learning with horses to promote self-discovery and improve mental well-being. Using a proven hands-on approach, facilitators guide participants through equine-based activities that help build self-confidence and improve self-esteem. While bonding with the Horses of Halifax, participants focus on self-awareness and self-regulation through mindfulness, communication, and trust-building activities - all effective tools for managing stress, anxiety, and depression.

The Power of Horses

Due to their highly perceptive and intuitive nature, horses are powerful teachers and healers. Like other therapy animals, horses have a calming effect due to their empathy but their magic is amplified by their size. Just being in their presence has emotional and physiological benefits. Studies have shown that positive interactions with a horse can lower a human’s heart rate. Horses offer participants a safe space to open up and process what they are experiencing. Horses mirror our emotion and body language without judgment and provide valuable and immediate feedback through non-verbal communication which helps build connection and understanding.

“Finally there is a program that uses science to help capture and articulate what people involved with horses have known all along; that there is something special about horses that can profoundly affect humans in beautiful, powerful, and healing ways.”

Program Formats

Five-Week ESW Program (Up to 6 participants)

Each weekly seventy-five-minute session involves grounding activities, mindfulness techniques, and hands-on experiences with the horses. Sessions include time for self-reflection, journaling, and voluntary sharing in a group setting.

Hourly Programs (Up to 4 participants)

These visits offer a condensed version of the ESW program tailored to meet the needs and goals of the group/participants. Groups may attend one session or a weekly or monthly time slot can be secured. Participants may consist of new or returning participants. Groups are asked to attend with a staff member.

Who Can Benefit?

  • Those over the age of 8 who have experienced:

    • Grief, loss, trauma, PTSD, interpersonal violence

    • sexual assault, addiction, displacement

    • anxiety, depression, stress

  • Those living with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Those who have experienced vicarious trauma or stress from supporting individuals who experience the above

  • Those who would like to improve their overall mental well-being

  • Those who want to develop or increase self-confidence, personal growth, leadership skills, teamwork skills, etc.

  • Those who want to experience the healing power of horses from the ground