Healing from Horses: Students Learn Skills in Equine Psychotherapy Course

By Drakko Harper ’26

Equine students are closing textbooks to head from the classroom to the barn. With alternative mental health approaches on the rise, Equine Science majors are doing hands-on work exploring how horses can help people process emotions, build trust, and gallop towards psychological wellness in EQSC 2400: Psychotherapy Incorporating Equines, taught by Instructor Erica Gaddie.

About the Course

Offered within the Equine-Assisted Services minor, this three-credit course introduces students to equine-assisted psychotherapy, a globally recognized treatment model for a variety of issues, and deeper understanding of human and equine behavior. The class, available in spring semesters of even-numbered years, combines lectures and practical work in Otterbein’s Knowlton Center for Equine Science. 

The course centers around the EAGALA model, created by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association. The model trains and certifies Mental Health and Equine Professionals, allowing them to be partners in a structured but open-ended process that fosters life-changing outcomes. 

Instructor Erica Gaddie, who has worked in equine-assisted psychotherapy for over 12 years, stated that the course challenges students to rethink traditional mental health approaches. 

“I hope they see that there are more opportunities for addressing mental health issues than simply talk therapy and medication,” she said. “Those are wonderful tools, but they aren’t the only things available.”

The Experience

Unlike conventional therapy, equine-assisted psychotherapy emphasizes nonverbal communication and experience-based skills. Horses are highly perceptive animals that respond to human body language and emotional expressions; this reflects behavior back to participants without personal introspection. 

“When people can learn to be creative and resilient in a space with horses, they carry those skills back into the world with them. It doesn’t just stay at the barn,” Gaddie said. “I have seen a lot of people get healing in a way that they weren’t previously able to reach without hands on learning of mental health skills.”

Students actively participate, taking turns as facilitators and clients guiding horses through tasks that mirror real-life challenges, encouraging teamwork, communication, and self-awareness.

The Impact

For Claire Fullerton-Burke, an Equine Business Management student who took the course in spring 2026, the experience has been transformative. 

“I first decided I wanted to take this class because I volunteered at a therapeutic riding center, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do,” she said.

Even within the short semester, students can experience the intense impact of EAGLA-modeled equine psychotherapy used to treat issues like depression, anxiety, and trauma.

“There was a time I was the client, I went through some pretty extreme emotions,” added Fullerton-Burke. “Once you actually experience it, it’s so much deeper and more helpful than I ever could have imagined.”

Why it Works

The course highlights what makes horses uniquely suited for therapeutic work. As prey animals, horses are sensitive to their environment and react to sudden changes, offering immediate feedback without judgment.

“Horses are particularly good at it because they’re prey animals,” Fullerton-Burke said. “They can read you no matter what.”

In addition to emotional insight, students develop applied skills such as observational techniques and the use of non-interpretive language which leads clients to explain things in their preferred way and draw their own conclusions. 

“These are completely new skills for all students,” Gaddie said, noting that even with prior horse experience students learn to approach interactions differently, unlearning some traditional horsemanship skills in favor of psychotherapy-focused techniques.

The course exposes students to broader applications as well as the differences and benefits of different models. While access to programs is limited, many argue they provide an alternative for individuals who may not benefit from traditional methods, particularly when incorporating a mental health professional, as the EAGALA model requires.

For Fullerton-Burke, the impact extends well beyond academics.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself, I can read horses better and people better,” she said. “I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into but it’s one of my favorite classes.” 

As universities incorporate experiential learning opportunities, courses like Psychotherapy Incorporating Equines offer students academic and practical skills they can take with them into any field.