Steve Engle is a retired acute hospital administrator. After he saw the Introduction to Equine Assisted Services & Therapies class in the Cal Poly Humboldt Extended Education bulletin, he wanted to see this different side of horsemanship.
His years of therapeutic experience included assisting in the implementation of dog therapy in the acute hospital setting. Because he had horses, he was interested in how a horse could be included in the therapeutic environment.
Observing and participating in the therapeutic environment opened his eyes to the behavioral health possibilities for equine therapy.
“It is not just limited to physical therapy,” he says. “When thinking about this course, enter with an open mind. Your experience’s with horses is valuable, but can be expanded into another potential therapeutic environment with clients or family members.
“Even if you don’t use the horse in your therapeutic practice, many of the activities taught in the class can be incorporated in the outpatient setting. Listen and learn how horses can be another modality towards person-to-person communication.”
