The hyper-vigilant, emotion-reading, empathy-feeling horse...

There are three functions in an equine therapy team: a mental health professional who works with the client, an equine specialist who knows the ways of a horse, and a therapy horse who acts, well … like a horse. The secret ingredient is the hyper-vigilant, emotion-reading, empathy-feeling horse.

Oberg Stables invites mental health professionals and their clients who wish to break out of traditional talk therapy to join the team. Claudia Oberg is an Eagala-trained equine specialist, and Oberg Stables possesses several qualified therapy horses. We welcome your inquiries and especially your appointment for a therapy session.

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HOW HORSES ARE HEALERS How It Works

“I have had many ‘talk therapies’ in my life, but this was totally different and very powerful – I could step away from my usual intellectualizing and just be, and maybe it was this that enabled me to gain so much insight and to really ‘cut through’ stuff. This therapy has really changed things for me. I have noticed less fear and more inner stability.” (client with history of domestic violence and mental health diagnosis, after six one-hour EAGALA sessions).

Read the whole article.

Why Horses?

In two words: STRONG OUTCOMES. Equine-assisted work often helps clients change and grow more effectively and quickly because people typically learn best by doing. Working with horses is engaging, in real-time, and hands-on. The experience is immediate and fully felt.

Why not other animals?

Horses are large and powerful. This creates a natural opportunity for some to overcome fear. Working alongside a horse, in spite of those fears, creates confidence and provides wonderful insight when dealing with other intimidating and challenging situations in life.

It’s all on the ground

EAGALA sessions involve no horseback riding. Why? In this work, the horses are able to be themselves and not have to act a certain way, just like our clients can do. This is a space to explore, be ourselves, and build relationships on equal footing.

Solution-oriented for all ages

Life stories begin unfolding symbolically in a safe and supportive setting. Clients of all ages and needs truly have their own best solutions. As the horses play out scenarios, clients gain insights and begin to see and feel shifts in themselves as well.

Healing Emotional Wounds

Interacting with horses can produce profound healing for people with mental and emotional wounds. Two innate equine traits, hyper-vigilance and herd-based social skills, are the basis of the horse’s power to heal a past emotional trauma or damaged feelings of self-worth.

Discover who you are and what you present to the world.

Hyper-vigilance ~ This equine survival skill is often acquired by a person who has grown up in an alcoholic or abusive family. In equine therapy, a bond can grow between a hyper-vigilant horse and a fearful hyper-vigilant victim of emotional trauma. In the presence of a horse, an abuse victim can feel safety, acceptance, and compassion, perhaps for the first time.

Herd-Based Social Skills ~ To promote harmony in the herd, horses are accepting, respectful, honest, fair, and forgiving. Horses do not judge, but they accurately read and mirror our behavior, attitudes, and feelings, including our subtle intentions. This mirroring is seen by how the horse responds.

Equine therapy is the fastest, most accurate way to discover who you are and what you present to the world. It opens the door to change.

Certified by EAGALA: Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association

Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a team approach that includes a licensed mental health professional, a trained equine specialist, and therapy horses.

Therapy is done totally on the ground (no riding). The sessions are experiential and solution-focused.

To book a session, send a text to Claudia at 970-402-6894 or email claudiaaoberg@gmail.com.