Equine Therapy. Unique emotional support through horses

January 19, 2026

Find out how equine therapy has become increasingly popular for mental health.

Equine therapy, which involves working with horses to help individuals better understand and regulate their emotions, has seen a surge in popularity driven by growing interest in alternative forms of mental health support.

At Operation Centaur in London, bookings for equine therapy have more than doubled over the past five years. Meanwhile, the Counselling Directory, which lists therapists across the UK, reported a 34 per cent increase in searches for equine therapy between 2023 and last year.

“Horses are incredibly powerful therapy animals because they respond to people with complete honesty and without judgement,” said Rosie Bensley, co-founder of Strength & Learning Through Horses, where the number of sessions delivered to under-25s has doubled in the past year.

As social, herd-based prey animals, horses are highly sensitive to subtle shifts in body language and emotional state, and they reflect those changes through their behaviour, she explained.

“When someone feels anxious, defensive or uncertain, a horse doesn’t pretend everything is fine. They respond to it, offering people immediate, non-verbal insight into how their internal state affects the world around them — something that can be far more effective than talking therapy,” she added.

Mike Delaney, a Glasgow-based mental health counsellor, was an early advocate of equine therapy in the UK. In 2004, he introduced it into a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme after seeing its success in the United States.

He said: “Because horses are both large and highly sensitive, they can quickly form connections with people who may be frightened or vulnerable. While other animals can play valuable roles in therapy, horses are especially present in the moment and tend to mirror human behaviour back, making the experience deeply personal and often emotional. Clients frequently report gaining clearer understanding afterwards.”

Horses will only engage with individuals who can regulate their breathing and levels of arousal, effectively making the therapy a form of breathwork with benefits for the whole body.

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