Science-Informed Therapy with Horses Nature, Ethics, and Right-Brain Attention in Equine-Assisted Therapy

Introduction  Part I: Sciences of Connection  1. What is EAT and who does it?  2. Nature Therapy  3. Animal Therapy  4. How is Research Conducted?  5. Research Trends in EAT  Part II: In the Hooves of the Horse  6. How Do We Regard the Horse?  7. How Do We Know the Horse?  8. How Do We Employ the Horse?  9. Practitioner Responsibilities  Part III: Story-Making and Right-Brain Attention  10. Hemispheres of the Brain  11. Creative Right-Brain Attention  12. Working with Story Making  13. Epilogue

Biography

Suzanne E. Court, PhD, is an experienced teacher and provider of equine assisted services whose career has included professional musician, professor and dean of humanities in Australian and New Zealand universities, counsellor, and equine-assisted therapist. She is also the author of Soul Connection with Horses: Healing the Mind and Awakening the Spirit through Equine Assisted Practices (2024). Currently based in New Zealand, she provides training and supervision in equine-assisted learning and therapy and works with clients individually to find inner solutions to personal challenges through honest connection with horses. She can be reached at www.earthhorse.co.nz.

"By privileging respect and care for the well-being of horses within therapeutic services, Suzanne Court makes the case that true collaboration with horses is a prerequisite for effective equine-assisted therapy. Drawing on current research, she shows that therapy with horses has become established alongside other mental health practices and is especially effective when provided within an environment of compassion and cooperation."

Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals

"This book delivers an authoritative and original approach to the application of science in equine-assisted therapy and learning. Suzanne Court ensures that readers gain deep insight into recent developments and future possibilities. Recognizing that therapy horses risk being viewed as objects to be utilized for specific purposes, she promotes valuing them as sentient creatures with their own needs, preferences and personalities. This book is a key resource for clinicians interested in animal use in therapy."

Natalie Waran, professor, equine specialist, and recipient of an Order of the British Empire (OBE)

 "Suzanne Court’s Science-Informed Therapy with Horses provides a well-researched and up-to-date review of therapy and learning practices that include equines. Her expansive work drops us deeply into the realm of Horse, including interconnection with all living beings, animal sentience, and our critical responsibilities as practitioners. I am so glad this new book is here to help guide us all into the next era of this work. Thank you, Suzanne, for your dedication and hard work crafting such a delightful and useful book."

Leif Hallberg, MA, LPC, LCPC, author of Walking the Way of the Horse, The Clinical Practice of Equine-Assisted Therapy, and The Equine-Assisted Therapy Handbook