The horse sees through you

Janne Karin Brodin

It is a well known, although not yet completely documented fact that interacting with and mastering a horse has a positive effect on young people. In learning to communicate with the horse, one’s own body language must be very clear.

Hest Photo: Janne Brodin

This is important for the feeling of mastery, self-esteem and for social skills in young people, says PhD student Hilde Hauge.

In allowing a large number of youngsters in the stables, Hauge’s PhD study will investigate the effect of horses on the feeling of mastery, self-esteem and social skills in teenagers.

School children – boys and girls from 13 to 15 years of age – will be picked at random and offered to ride once a week for half an academic year. Pre- and post-studies will be used to look into the question of whether contact with the horse has an effect on the teenagers’ belief in themselves, their self-esteem, and whether this influences their everyday social life at school.

Hilde Hauge Photo: Janne Brodin

The horse takes your measure
‘If you are not clear about what you want, the horse will see right through you, and you will not be able to communicate with it. You have to have the guts to stand up for yourself’, says Hauge.

Her long experience as a riding school instructor has shown her that youngsters who at the beginning don’t communicate well with the horse can benefit vastly from guidance, and also change the way they interact with other young people.

‘I have seen so many times that youngsters who are at first a bit quiet and cautious gradually change and become quite daring in their interaction with the horse. This has to do with body language. The horse is a very open creature, and it never condemns. Interacting with horses is an avenue for people to learn something about themselves.

‘The youngsters grow through learning to master such a large animal. That’s where the idea for this project started’, says Hauge.

Mastery, security and responsibility
In her PhD study, Hauge will look into the question of whether the young participants experience this feeling of mastery.

The question of whether contact with horses generally leads to a feeling of mastery will also be measured by psychological parameters. Observations will be made of each participant’s meetings with the horse.

‘I believe that actually sitting on the horse is what induces a sense of mastery, while cuddling and caring for the horse gives security. Mucking out stables and feeding the horse can teach responsibility.’

During the experiment, observations will be made to record how much the participants do of each of those things, and they will be asked what they themselves feel is most important to them.

Not a riding school
This is not a riding school, in the sense that the focus here is not upon riding skills, but on the mastery of the horse and having a rapport with it, and according to Hauge, those are two very different things.

‘There are other arenas where skills may be learnt just as well as in a classroom’, says Hauge, who also has experience as a teacher in upper secondary school. She adds that this is not about troubled youth. This is for everybody – because we can all benefit from learning something about mastery and self-esteem.

Database of literature on horses and health
In addition to her PhD project, Hauge is embarking on the big job of creating a thematic database of literature on the effect of horses on our psychic and physical health. The database has been ordered by the organisation Hest og Helse (“Horse and Health”). So far, the information is stored a bit all over the place, and may be difficult to find. This field of study however, and the project itself, has attracted a lot of interest, and Hauge is pleased to see that the horse and its importance for us as human beings is getting attention that it truly deserves.

Published: 02.11.09
Updated: 05.11.09
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