Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff. Lauren bol Obam here ever, wonder how, of course,
Speaker 1: could help you pope with grief, trauma, and emotional pain.
Speaker 1: It turns out that horses may possess an evolutionary advantage
Speaker 1: that enables them to pick up on our most subtle
Speaker 1: emotions while at the same time not being judgmental and
Speaker 1: even uncovering emotional blind spots. That means that they may
Speaker 1: be an ideal tool for teaching people how to deal
Speaker 1: with everything from a life ending diagnosis and physical death
Speaker 1: of a loved one to miscarriage, divorce, and much more.
Speaker 1: For the article this episode is based on, Has to Work,
Speaker 1: spoke via email with Gail Carruthers, an equine guided learning
Speaker 1: teacher who founded and owns sky Blue Acres Farm in
Speaker 1: Pustl in Ontario, Canada, where she operates a non clinical
Speaker 1: equine learning center called the Equine Intelligence Agency that helps
Speaker 1: clients manage grief and major life losses. She said, as
Speaker 1: a prey animal, horses don't rely on vocalization to communicate
Speaker 1: because using sound would give away their position to a predator.
Speaker 1: Horses instead have developed a sophisticated silent method of communication
Speaker 1: that's built upon sensing energy by using their body language, stance,
Speaker 1: and position. A mere twitch of an ear, rise of
Speaker 1: a shoulder, or shift in the hips is enough to
Speaker 1: convey life sustaining information to the entire herd simply by
Speaker 1: being able to detect the ripple of energy. House to
Speaker 1: Works also spoke by email with Lissa Corcoran, founder and
Speaker 1: executive director of the Atlanta based Flying Change Equine Therapy,
Speaker 1: which also helps clients process grief and loss. She said,
Speaker 1: I think equine therapy is especially effective as it pertains
Speaker 1: to grief and loss because grief is a relational experience.
Speaker 1: We are missing a communication with someone we love, so
Speaker 1: a new relationship with a horse can soothe that ache.
Speaker 1: Equine learning or therapy offers people the chance to interact
Speaker 1: with horses via exercises such as coaxing them to come,
Speaker 1: picking up and cleaning their feet, or walking them through
Speaker 1: an obstacle. Course and equine therapist observes how a person
Speaker 1: interacts with the horse, then helps shed light on issues
Speaker 1: that might need to be worked through. The Caruther's adds
Speaker 1: that many unrecognized emotions that might have been ignored or
Speaker 1: even forgotten from past situations can become prominent when a
Speaker 1: person passes away. She said, While the loved one was alive, resentment, anger,
Speaker 1: and the inability to forgive could have been managed, but
Speaker 1: once a person passes away, the opportunity to find resolution
Speaker 1: is over, and people can feel profound guilt and or
Speaker 1: anger from past unresolved situations. Horses can feel this energy,
Speaker 1: mirror it back, and provide a safe container for the
Speaker 1: grieving individual to release the emotion. The release can be
Speaker 1: a simple acknowledgment of that anger or in a response
Speaker 1: of forgiveness as the anger is expressed and mourning can
Speaker 1: start to heal the emotional pain. Working with animals and
Speaker 1: getting fresh air and exercise are all generally considered to
Speaker 1: be good for us, but is equine therapy scientifically proven.
Speaker 1: Dr Hallie She'd, a licensed professional counselor and founder of
Speaker 1: Texas based Equine Connection Counseling, explains on her organization's website
Speaker 1: that a horse's mirror neurons might provide an answer as
Speaker 1: to how the animal can reflect a client's in our
Speaker 1: world back to them. Mirror neurons are type of brain
Speaker 1: cell that some researchers think help humans and other animals.
Speaker 1: Recognize and empathize with emotions in other living things. She
Speaker 1: wrote that some people believe that horses have substantially more
Speaker 1: mirror neurons than humans, which could make them experts at
Speaker 1: understanding nonverbal communication. Also, while horses have a similar limbic system,
Speaker 1: the region of the brain responsible for feelings and emotions
Speaker 1: as humans do, horses also have a smaller neo cortex,
Speaker 1: that's the area of the brain responsible for thinking and
Speaker 1: analytical thought. This limited analytical capacity, paired with refined nonverbal communication,
Speaker 1: maybe part of what endears horses to people. Horses react
Speaker 1: to us but render no judgment, and we have their
Speaker 1: undivided attention when we're in their presence. Corchoran said, we
Speaker 1: have seen clients of all ages and backgrounds motivated by
Speaker 1: the guidance, acceptance, and love of a horse to grow
Speaker 1: into happier, healthier, more peaceful, and more loving people. Of course,
Speaker 1: there are lots of different therapies and types of intervention
Speaker 1: out there, and every person who seeks treatment will have
Speaker 1: different needs, goals, and responses. But as an experiential psychotherapy,
Speaker 1: ecoined therapy has sometimes assisted in cases where traditional modes
Speaker 1: of therapy like talk therapy seemed to come up short.
Speaker 1: It offers a different experience by bringing people outdoors into
Speaker 1: a non threatening and inviting atmosphere and offering them a
Speaker 1: chance to use all their senses while learning and processing
Speaker 1: through emotional challenges. It can also be more expensive than
Speaker 1: traditional therapies and may not be covered by insurance benefits.
Speaker 1: If you have insurance, you should contact your insurance provider
Speaker 1: to discuss the details in advance. As with any therapy,
Speaker 1: today's episode is based on the article courses have an
Speaker 1: Extraordinary ability to help Humans on how stuff Works dot Com,
Speaker 1: written by Wendy Bowman. Brain Sufface production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com and
Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Klein. Four more podcasts from my
Speaker 1: heart Radio visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Two