Horses and Mental health.

Love this thread, nice to hear others stories.
I was sectioned and hospitalized for nine months in 2013 and horses were the thing that kept me on the road to recovery, a few months after I was discharged I bought my mare and having to look after her gave me a reason to get up everyday, even if I did end up going to the yard in my onesie and crying in her bed on more than one occasion lol
Still have so many ups and downs but I have a reason to get through it now. And anxiety at the yard is not a problem now a very difficult livery has left and everyone left is friendly and we all get on well.
I wouldn't be without my ponies :)
 
Shavings said:
I have my gelding on part livery so if i feel really low he is cared for (they dont groom, ride or tack clean)

but most of the night i find he keeps me going strong i often go to the yard later on like after 7 pm as it is quiet and i can just spend him with him and he enjoys my company (i think!)

2 weeks after i brought him i was having a very difficult time so i sat in the corner of the stable (amount the banked up bedding) and burst in to tears, my little (was 4 year old at time) gelding came right over and put his chin in my knees and didn't even look back at his hay

i think they must have a deeper understanding then we ever give them credit for!
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I can really identify with this - i am virtually well again now but when I was really ill I didn't have the energy to do anything with my boy - he was in part livery so his needs were met but sometimes I didn't even have it in ne to brush him. I'd also sit at the back of his stable crying and he would come and rest his muzzle on my shoulder and I would talk to him. He would bring such peace to my inner turmoil just by being there. It really was as though he totally understood and it felt as though he took away the sadness and replaced it with love. He is a great leveller - even now if I have had a bad day a short chat with my boy sorts me out!
 
pippixox said:
luckily I now am 90% OK, but I did have 6 months of not leaving the house except when I was with my mum, literally holding my hand, to go a few hundred meters to the local shop and i would be crying and hyperventilating from the anxiety (wow hard to believe really! this was 5 years ago). At this point my horse was out on loan as I was meant to go to university, so I had no reason to leave the house.

on a bad day I would only go to the yard when it was very quiet so I did not have to talk to anyone. leaving the house was hard, but I knew it would feel better once I got there. some days it still did not feel much better so I would do the minimum I needed to do for the horses to be ok, and then zoom home.
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I spent 2 years unable to leave home without either someone with me and/or having to galvanise myself for anything up to half a day before I could go out (sometimes I wouldn't go out for days on end).

Shavings said:
[...] i was having a very difficult time so i sat in the corner of the stable (amount the banked up bedding) and burst in to tears[...]
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Yep, been there done that. I sat in the corner that's not easily seen by someone walking past and sobbed as quietly as I could. I don't think I was ever 'found out' :)

I started having riding lessons and then a year later got my first share horse. I often dreaded going out and took ages to get myself together enough to do so but there was a horse relying on me for his feed and rug changes and exercise. There were times I just pulled some waterproofs over my pyjamas and stumbled to the yard to do him but mostly, managing to get out made it possible to manage to ride.

I've got myself a full time horse now as I know there'll be days when she's the only reason I'll leave the flat.

But it's more than that. As soon as I stroke a horse my anxiety starts to ease and when I hug her and smell that 'horsey-smell' I start to have a sense of well being. I think the physical hard work of the non-riding part of having a horse is also good for you. I certainly feel anxious and depressed if I haven't had my horse fix.
 
I've been having some counselling for PTSD recently and my counsellor was talking to me about how horses were being used very successfully in therapy for non-horsey people too. It seems that horses are particularly good for those with addictions.

I have a half share in a pony who we loaned to a local therapy centre for a year; he's a sensitive little soul and had a special bond with autistic children and PTSD sufferers. Unfortunately he is too sensitive to thrive in their busy yard and we had to take him back and place him with a one to one home. I'm pleased he positively touch the lives of troubled people while he could.
 
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