The Journal of Animal Consciousness Vol 1, Issue 2 Vol 1 Issue 2 | Page 8

of the overall Animal Assisted Therapy/Activity (AAT/A)
field which is first credited to child psychologist, Boris
Levinson in 1962 in which he used his own dog in therapy
sessions (Levinson 1962). Animal assisted therapy gained
more popularity in the mid-late 1990s, primarily with dogs
first, then horses and other animals becoming popular
therapy tools shortly after. AAT/A actually has a longer,
undocumented history with the earliest reported use with
mentally ill patients being in the late 18th century at the
York Retreat in England, led by William Tuke (Wikipedia
2015a). According to one researcher, the Europeans began
equine assisted therapy in the 1960s, with it appearing in
Italy in the 1970s (Dimitrijević 2009, p. 237); however, the
main focus appears to have involved what the Americans
termed hippotherapy (i.e. riding therapy).
With the advent of more professionals adding animals to
their repertoire of psychotherapy skills, various
organizations began to form for the express purpose of
establishing safety standards, developing instructor
training, and offering certification and/or accreditation.
One of the first organizations was the Delta Society – now
Pet Partners, formed in 1977 in Portland, Oregon. Initially
they were known for canine assisted therapy although this
has changed and they take many different species under
their umbrella, including horses. In 1996, a branch of the
National American Riding for the Handicapped
Association (NARHA) called the Equine Facilitated
Mental Health Association (EFMHA) was formed.5 Their
purpose was to solely use horses in therapy. In 1999,
another organization, the Equine Growth and Learning
Association (EAGALA) was formed in response to
increasing interest in the field. PATH Int’l (part of which
was formerly the EFMHA) and EAGALA remain the two
most prominent organizations that have developed high
standards and professionalism in the field of EAP/L
(Frewin and Gardiner 2005). Their scope of membership
was initially in North America, primarily the United States,
but both organizations now have members worldwide.
According to the PATH website, participation of a licensed
therapist in sessions “usually” occurs; there is no mention
of a two-person team being required (as of this writing).6
The EAGALA model requires both a mental health
professional and an equine specialist be present during
equine assisted therapy sessions, and no ridden work is to
be involved.7
Pet Partners distinguishes between animal assisted
‘therapy’ and ‘activity’, with the latter being defined as a
more casual interaction between human and animal with
the ability to be provided to a broader range of people than
therapy [and not requiring facilitation by a licensed
individual]. However these two areas are often conflated,
© The Society for Animal Consciousness 2016.

with studies not providing sufficient information about the
way the animal was used, essentially creating a blur
between the two (Marino 2012). Therefore, perhaps this
distinction between ‘therapy’ and ‘activity’ is more
theoretical than empirical, and my own experience would
suggest that, particularly within EAP/L. Furthermore, my
experience also suggests that the model of a two member
therapy team is not always followed as required by
EAGALA, with either a licensed individual as the sole
facilitator, or – more commonly – a non-licensed person
(e.g. a horse owner) being in the business of conducting
equine assisted learning sessions on their own.
Many people have used the Cambridge Declaration to
affirm what they ‘had already known’ about their animal
companions.
The animal assisted therapy profession
seemed to display a ‘jump on the bandwagon’ approach to
the announcement, and given my years in practicing and
teaching holistic equine care, the EAP/L segment in
particular struck me as using the Declaration as a
confirmation for the healing power that horses seemingly
have upon humans. The notion is pervasive within EAP/L
that horses possess some kind of mystical power with
which they can absolve humans of their emotional ills and
perceived shortcomings.
Now that horses have been
declared to possess consciousness by science, this ability is
validated as a psychotherapy ‘tool’ almost as much as the
traditional counseling session, as is evidenced by ~481,000
hits on a web search for ‘equine assisted therapy’.
Historically, the horse/human relationship is rich with
healing metaphors (Frewin and Gardiner 2005). We find
words attributed to the human interaction with horses such
as – mystical, Zen-like, magical, spiritual, ethereal, and so
on. There is a persistent romantic idea that just being
around a horse can carry a human to a place of healing and
nirvana, that horses have this other-worldly ability to
‘cleanse’ us humans emotionally and spiritually. They
seem to have this ‘magical’ ability to help us overcome our
daily work-related challenges and relieve us of stresses. I
would have to say that is a huge responsibility for one
being – human or not!
The human species, never
seemingly satisfied with present conditions, appears to
always be striving toward a place of Pleroma – a place of
fulfillment. Horses, like all non-human animals, live in the
present tense and I think that is one characteristic that
gives them the seeming ability to relate to humans in this
almost magical way. They are indeed majestic creatures –
who can resist the soft muzzle and kind eye of a horse?
Who can resist that gentle nicker-greeting when you’ve
had a bad day?
And perhaps more than anything, their
present-ness simply grounds us humans. I, for one, cannot
imagine life without