Equine Therapy and Wellness Programs

 Behavioral Health & Wellness Programs

for Kids and Adults


 We custom-design group, and individual sessions to meet your needs. Our programs teach valuable life skills you can put into immediate use. The pillars of our programs are Mindfulness, Connection, Communication, and Leadership.


Horses have a unique ability to reflect back to us valuable information about how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world around us without having to talk about it.


Behavioral Health and Wellness activities with horses are effective because it is an experience. Horses do not judge, they want to trust and be trusted. Trust, boundaries and respect are at the core of getting a horse to cooperate with you.


Clients learn to recognize and adjust their physical, mental, and emotional state in the moment to gain the trust of the horse and then the horse rewards them by accepting them into the herd.


Our Behavioral Health and Wellness activities are thoughtfully planned to teach life skills, promote personal growth, provide leadership development, and team-building education. Some of the benefits participants have reported are feeling more confident, relaxed, and able to live in the moment. PATH and Eagala-certified Program Facilitators provide our Behavioral Health & Wellness programs. Our therapy sessions incorporating horses include a PATH-certified, licensed Mental Health professional.

                                                                              Contact Us

                                                        949.485.1505 or info@otra-mas.org

Programs

Groups, Families and Individuals

We provide programs for children aged 7 -17, and adults

individually and in groups.

 

We help enhance self-esteem, build self-confidence, learn to manage emotions, and move forward in life.

 

We work with families, sports teams, and co-workers to better understand themselves and others, improve cooperation, and enhance communication and leadership skills.

                                   Contact us

                 949.485.1505 or info@otra-mas.org

 



Who We Work With

 We have clients from all backgrounds. Below is a list of the various populations we are proud to serve:

 

  Foster Care Families

  Boys and Girls Club

  Cancer Warriors

  Recovery Homes

  Veterans

  Sport Teams

  Corporations

  Individuals who are looking to live happier, healthier lives

Why Use Horses

Horses reveal, react to, and mirror what is going on with the physical, emotional, and mental state of people in their environment. Because horses are herd animals, their survival depends on the safety and well being of the herd. They are very aware of nonverbal signals of other horses, animals and humans. Their reactions are lightning fast to any perceived danger.

 

Horses relax around and want to be with people who are present, grounded and authentic. They will test boundaries with people, as they do naturally with their own herd members when they determine and establish their “pecking order”. It’s as if they are saying “ Who are you? What are you about and What do you want? I/we have to be safe, so if you aren’t going to step up and be a good leader, then I will.”

 

In an equine therapy session, we start with teaching the language of a horse—how to be safe around a horse and how to emotionally connect with them using their communication rituals. In doing that, the horse and human both relax, and a resonances occurs ( it has been scientifically proven that heart rates of the horse and human synchronize). This allows the horse to become a partner ( or herd member) with the individual or group for the next phase of therapy—doing experiential exercises designed to address a specific issue—such as trust, self esteem, team building, past trauma, boundary setting or relationship issues.

Another part of an equine session is herd observation. Horses, look to assign a role for everyone in their herd. The social structure of a herd provides interesting metaphors for how us human individuals interact within a group. Who is the quiet one? Who is the leader? Who is the in-your-face one? Who is the loner? Which horse is most like you? These questions can lead to interesting discussions, new awareness, and new acceptance of oneself in relation to others. To horses, all ways of being are valuable.

 

Carol Caddes LMFT, SEP



Otra Mas Equine Therapy

OTRA MAS is making a difference in the lives of our youth

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