“I feel like they actually relate to me, and the same second chance that they’re given and I feel like I’m getting.” said inmate Joel Kuck on the benefits of working with former racehorses.
Joel is just another story of the medium security Wallkill Correctional Facility in New York, that the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation program brings together racehorses and prisoners.
The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses have released their third episode of the IFAR video magazine on the importance of retired racehorses in the realm of human therapy.
It demonstrates how former racehorses are having a positive and profound effect on humans in equine assisted therapies, whether they be aspiring Paralympians, military veterans or prisoners
It shows that retired racehorses are very well-suited to provide equine assisted services and equine assisted therapy, delivering life changing support for physical and/or mental health conditions.
In addition to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, therapists as BraveHearts, Equine Pathways, HorseBack UK, Racing Hearts and Racing to Relate are highlighted in this video magazine.
Research conducted by the University of Bristol, and other case studies, has identified that Thoroughbreds have the characteristics that makes them well-equipped to perform such roles.
Unveiled at a symposium entitled the ‘Universal Language of the Horse’ in Deauville, Claire Neveux said “we gathered very detailed information on 427 horses, including 57 Thoroughbreds.”
“In having 125 respondents from around the world, the study was at the University of Bristol for Racing to Relate that started in 2021 was the selection, education, welfare of the Thoroughbred.”
“In equine assisted services programmes, the thoroughbreds have very specific characteristics that make them interesting for equine assisted services, the first one is being reactivity.”
“Practitioners like horses to be reactive because when the horse reacts, he interacts with the person, and this is very helpful in the work to benefit people and experience is also very important.”
“According to all respondents, they said that some of their clients relate to the past experience of Thoroughbreds while another characteristic that was cited by correspondents is sensitivity.”
“We don’t yet know what is behind this yet, and that’s something we want to explore in phase two.”
In Australia, United Kingdom and the United States the Racing Hearts program have also found former racehorses to be an outstanding breed of horse in terms of equine assisted services.
Racing Hearts is an equine assisted psychology and counselling practice principally based in Melbourne, who has mental health practitioners that see between 200-300 clients per week.
In also running programmes in other Australian states, its mainly people in the local communities who are struggling with the challenges of mental health and stress,” said Lisa Coffey of Racing Hearts.
In being the founder of Racing Hearts and an equine assisted services practitioner, Lis Coffey stated “99% of our therapy team are retired racehorses, the best breed for equine assisted therapy.”
“We find that the retired racehorses are in comparison to the two small ponies we have, with our youngest clients are between 6 and 7 years of age, and our eldest are in their 70s.”
“So, we see people with a whole range of challenges, the Thoroughbreds are so sensitive and they’re so in-tune with humans because they’ve seen so much in their racing career.”
Jock Hutchison founded the Aberdeen-based HorseBack UK in 2009 with the aim of using American western horses in helping wounded military veterans by introducing them to horses.
“However, in forming of a bond with horses we saw the sensitivity and intelligence of former racehorses, and the level of interaction from a Thoroughbred is way higher than other horses.”
“Many of these horses share the same journey as the individuals that we are helping – in a yard, part of a team, with a routine and every so often they go and do something really intense – very similar to the life of the military people that we first engaged with.”
