Mind Full or Mindful? A Cohort Study of Equine-Facilitated Therapy for Women Veterans

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore the assets and challenges of partnering with equines for female Veterans seeking to increase aspects of mindfulness that can be applied daily. Three measures (Toronto Mindfulness Scale, Mindfulness Survey, and Program Evaluation) were administered to participants to assess self-identified mindfulness pre- and post-equine intervention. The Mindfulness Survey responses pre-intervention ranged from 2.3 to 6.5 with a response range of 0 to 10 (M = 4.59, SD = 1.29). The post-intervention Survey responses ranged from 6.7 to 9.2 (M = 8.2, SD = 0.69). A paired sample t-test found a significant difference in the scores from pre-intervention to post-intervention conditions (t= −9.43, df = 13, p< .001). The evaluation responses included positive feedback specific to the activities of grooming and Breathe With. A participant noted, “The horses have taught me a lot about myself”; a common theme across respondents. The Veterans demonstrated a significant increase in self-identified Mindfulness throughout the duration of the equine intervention.

KEYWORDS:

• Veteran
• Mindfulness
• Equine Facilitated Therapy
• Veterinary Social Work
• Human-Animal Interaction
• creativity in counseling

List of acronyms

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

• Cognitive Processing Therapy Linked with Equine Therapy (CPT-ET)

• Civilian Health and Medical Program of The Department Of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA)

• Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT)

• Equine Facilitated Therapy (EFT)

• Equine Therapy (ET)

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

• Motivational Interviewing (MI)

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl)

• Veterans Affairs (VA)

Declarations

Ethics approval of consent to participate

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving therapy dog volunteers were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution at which the studies were conducted (University and Hospital) and with the national organization for the certification of the therapy dogs.

Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from all caregivers/parents of child participants, researchers, and dog-handler volunteers included in the study.

Informed Assent: Informed consent was obtained from all child participants, researchers, and dog-handler volunteers included in the study.

Consent for publication

All authors have read the manuscript as submitted and consent to publication.

Availability of supporting data

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center department for Women Veterans for their collaboration and partnership, Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center for their services provided including the wonderful horses: Dash, Romeo, Topeak, Butterscotch, and the rest of the herd.

Disclosure statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

There was no funding awarded for this research. All authors have approved the final version for submission.