Equestrian Psychology

Equine Sports Coaching and Equestrian Psychology

Equestrian psychology involves more than just sports coaching. It encompasses the fields of horse and human psychology and the various interactions and connections they share. From equine-assisted therapy to performance coaching, equestrian psychology has emerged as a new field in psychology. Fostering an understanding of both equine and human beahvior as well as the dynamics of the partnership, equestrian psychology explores the relationships between horse and human and the various reason they come together.

Many good trainers naturally have coaching skills and hence have been using these skills in their training of horses and people. Psychologists are entering the field from the sports and performance side seeing the benefit of how horses help people. Because the field of human-horse interaction has been the domain of horse trainers and instructors or just general “common knowlege”, there are little or no regulations or standards for programs. This has created a variety of names within the same field as individuals seek new ways to describe their own programs as unique. This has also lead to the developmene of a variety of associations as communities start to form around a common or shared vision.

The following outlines some of the various named programs emerging in the field of equestrian psychology:

Horse-Human Relationships

Equine Assisted Therapy

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy

Equine Assisted Growth & Learning Association (www.eagala.org)

Equine Assisted Leadership

Equine Assisted Learning

Association Equine Assisted Learning & Accredited Qualifications (www.equineassistedqualifications.com)

Equine Facilitated Learning

Equine Facilitated Leadership

Equine Facilitated Coaching

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy

Equine Guided Leadership

Equine Guided Learning

Equine Guided Education

Equine Guided Education Association ( www.equineguidededucation.org)

Equine Inspired Activitites

Equine Inspired Coaching

Horse-Human Interactions

Trans-Species Communication & Learning

Sports and Performance Psychology

Equine Sports Coaching

Equine Sports Science

Equestrian Coaching

Equestrian Performance Coaching

More Information and Directory Coming.