Welcome to your equine-assisted healing journey.

Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a hands-on experiential style of therapy that allows you to connect with the horses… and with yourself.

What is horse therapy?

Horse therapy (or equine-assisted psychotherapy) is an evidence-based model of experiential therapy. The therapist, horse, and client are in an equal partnership where the therapist and horse help to facilitate your growth, healing, and learning through hands-on experience. Each session might look a little bit unique…because you are unique, and we believe a cookie-cutter approach to therapy doesn’t serve your unique needs.

What I offer:

  • 50-minute equine-assisted psychotherapy session for an individual (children, teens, adults welcomed)

  • 50-minute equine-assisted psychotherapy session for couples or families

  • Sessions vary based on custom group experience. (Group sessions are often 50 minutes-80 minutes.) Group sessions are an excellent way of team-building, receiving therapy, or personal growth in a group setting.

    Some examples of group opportunities include corporate retreats, team-building, and problem solving as well as couple’s retreats, parenting groups, teen confidence, etc.

FAQs

  • Equine is a root word for horse. Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a fancy way of saying your therapist partners with the horse to provide you with the high-quality therapy that you would expect from talk therapy…except we’re outdoors playing with horses!

  • I get this question most often. My answer is that almost anyone who is open to the process can benefit from equine-assisted therapy. However, equine-assisted therapy is especially useful for those of us who prefer a more hands-on experience to traditional talk therapy. Horse therapy has been said to “cut through layers” that traditional talk therapy can take months to uncover.

  • It can be. This all depends on you, the unique client. Each session looks a little different depending on your needs. One of the cool things about horse therapy is that if you prefer not to talk about your feelings, you don’t have to for it to work. The horse doesn’t speak English anyways and doesn’t need words to help you heal and grow.

  • Yes. My first priority is always your safety. I have over twenty years of horse experience and I can “read” the horse for you. We go over horse behavior, body language, and safety practices at the beginning of our relationship so you are empowered to keep yourself safe, too! That said, we are working with live large animals who have their own ideas. For that reason, if you decide you’d like to participate in horse therapy it is your responsibility to sign our liability release waiver.

No horse experience is necessary.

You don’t need to have any previous horse experience to safely participate in equine-assisted psychotherapy. With over twenty years of horse experience, I’ve got your back. Plus, the horses are professionals…and love their jobs working with clients of all experience levels.

 

Conveniently located

Think horse therapy is out of reach in Orange County? Think again. We are conveniently located in the city of Orange.

Our services

  • Therapy

  • Coaching

  • Learning

Meet Your Therapist

  • Sophie Smith, MFT-Trainee

    I am a marriage and family therapist trainee. I am finishing my graduate program at Colorado Christian University, where I am studying both clinical mental health counseling and marriage and family therapy. I have over twenty years of experience working and playing with horses and am also an EAGALA-certified Equine Specialist. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about my credentials and I will be happy to share!

“The horses taught me that it’s ok to take my time healing.”

— Equine Learning Client, Age 17

Curious to learn more? Let’s connect.