The scientific benefits of working with horses: 

When working alongside horses (rather than ponies), the brain is very much aware of their size and the need to stay alert to the movements of the horse. This triggers a heightened state of awareness which in therapy can be used to create awareness of what is happening for the client. What are they feeling, how does that feeling show up for them, etc. With this heightened awareness, it allows the brain to give the feelings/emotions/thoughts a place.

Heart-to-Heart Synchronisation (phase coupling) between Horses and Humans:

This term describes a scientifically researched and reviewed benefit of being around horses in which a level of phase coupling between heartbeat dynamics of both humans and horses in three different conditions exists. This level of phase coupling is unique to the human / horse relationship. 

This happens in the following situations:

no interaction –  the human and horse are in proximity of each-other, but no interaction takes place.

visual/olfactory interaction – the human observes the horse and takes in the sights/smells and sounds of the environment.

grooming/leading – the human actively engages with the horse by means of grooming, touching, leading the horse.

In the research done, Magnitude Squared Coherence, Mean Phase Coherence, and Dynamic Time Warping were used to reliably determine/measure of the amount of coupling between human and horse through the analysis of their heart rate variability (HRV) in a group of human subjects, and horses. The rationale behind this research is that the interaction of two complex biological systems go towards a coupling process whose dynamical evolution is modulated by the kind and time duration of the interaction itself. What occurs is a congruent and consistent statistically significant difference for all of the three indices.

In plain terms, the heartbeat of a human slows down when in close proximity of horses. Horses have a heartbeat around 28 to 40bpm, whereas healthy humans have a resting heartbeat of around 80bpm. When around horses, the human heart rate slows down. This is often anecdotally experienced as a sense of calm around horses, but phase coupling puts a scientific, measurable reason behind this.

Working with a client with an elevated awareness but a calm heart rate produces a large window of tolerance within which the therapist can apply what is referred to as the pendulum effect.

This is where we can actively work with the client, within their window of tolerance to address the issues a client presents with. We work within the client’s level of tolerance, but since we are coming from a much calmer base level, a level which is maintained during this state of phase coupling, our scope/window within we can work is much greater.

Connecting Hearts: Heart-to-Heart Synchronisation between Horses and Humans
In  this video, we share just a few key research findings on the heart connections between people and horses as presented by the HeartMath Institute