What is EAGALA and how might it help?  
Watch the Youtube video above, and then read the Q and A below.

Q:  What is EAGALA?

A:  Eagala, a registered 501c3, non-profit organization, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, was one of the first to develop a concrete model with professional standards that incorporates horses into mental health treatment. Since 1999, Eagala has set the global standard for equine-assisted psychotherapy and personal development. Boasting over 800 regional programs, and more than 2,500 certified members in over 40 countries, it is the leading international nonprofit association forprofessionals incorporating horses to address mental health and personal development needs.  

Q:  What does an EAGALA session look like?

A:  The Eagala Model is a distinctive experience, designed to allow clients to discover, learn, and grow from the horse-human relationship. We incorporate horses into mental health treatment.  

As herd animals with prey instincts, horses are experts at reading nonverbal communication.  Their responses often remind clients of their goals, personal challenges, and/or relationships with themselves or others.  This provides a safe environment to work through these things, where the horse's behaviors change only when we do.  

The EAGALA Model is the only global standard for equine-assisted psychotherapy and personal development that incorporates horses' unique herd instincts to help clients heal. 

Q:  How is EAGALA different from therapeutic riding programs? 

A:  Humans have long recognized the unique instincts of horses and have been studying it for thousands of years.  However, it wasn’t until the last century that they began developing theories about equine-assisted therapies. Many people respond well to traditional talk therapy, but some, (veterans, trauma survivors, troubled children and teens, and more), gain insight by working with horses along with talking. Add to that the unique responses of the horse's ability to provide non-judgmental feedback.

Clients often report healing can happen much more quickly with equine-assisted psychotherapy than with traditional therapeutic modalities.