USU Equine Experience

Equine Assisted Services

Utah State University's Equine Experience program provides equine-assisted services to enrich the lives of individuals with disabilities and train future professionals. The program leverages the powerful connection between humans and horses to support physical, emotional, and developmental well-being. It offers a space for therapists to administer treatments, students to gain hands-on experience, and researchers to advance scientific understanding. By emphasizing the therapeutic and societal value of horses, the program enhances both human and equine well-being. Through research and education, USU promotes evidence-based practices to improve equine-assisted services for individuals and communities.

Public Website

Programs Offered

Contact Karl Hoopes

Programs Offered

Therapeutic/Adaptive Horsemanship
Related to the broad area of horsemanship, equine professionals may offer four distinct non-therapy services that are adapted from traditional equine disciplines of horseback riding, driving, and vaulting. These include adaptive equestrian sport, adaptive riding or therapeutic riding, driving and interactive vaulting.
Learn More

Equine Assisted Learning
Related to the broad area of learning, specially trained or certified professionals may incorporate horses in three distinct non-therapy services: equine-assisted learning in education, equine-assisted learning in organizations and equine-assisted learning in personal development.
Learn More

Therapies Incorporating Equines
Related to the broad area of therapy, licensed therapy professionals may incorporate horses in five distinct therapies: counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychotherapy and speech-language pathology.

     
Learn More

Equine Assisted Services for Veterans/Active-Duty Military
Equine-assisted services of all types have proven effective for veterans and active service personnel. Some participate in therapeutic horsemanship including riding and driving, while others benefit from healing their trauma through psychotherapy or strengthening their bodies with physical therapy incorporating horses.
       
Learn More

Ride Utah!

Ride Utah! is an equine extension program that offers trail rides for military personnel and a guest. The rides take place across Utah from summer to fall and are designed to provide relaxation and enjoyment. Each event includes a two-hour trail ride, lunch, and a moderated discussion on military family issues. The program is hosted by county extension offices in collaboration with community and military support groups. Ride Utah! has successfully enhanced emotional well-being and strengthened community connections.
Learn More

Drive Utah!

Drive Utah! is an outdoor horse-driving experience where military families can enjoy time in our wagon and drive up a canyon with our harnessed team. Great for families with children too young to ride, or for those where riding is physically not possible. Currently only offered in Cache Valley.


   
Learn More

Whispers with Horses
Whispers with Horses is a program that can be provided as psychotherapy incorporating equines or equine-assisted learning. The aim of this intervention is to help individuals develop, or enhance an existing, mindfulness and self-compassion practice to facilitate long-term healing and wellbeing. This work is done in the context of participants developing a relationship with a horse, and a secondary aim of the intervention is to teach basic ground-based horsemanship skills. Serving veterans, postpartum moms, college students, first responders, and much more!
Serving Cache, Rich, Box Elder, Davis, Weber, and Salt Lake Counties.
Contact Makenna Pahlke

Adaptive Horsemanship
Related to the broad area of horsemanship, equine professionals may offer four distinct non-therapy services that are adapted from traditional equine disciplines of horseback riding, driving, and vaulting. These include adaptive equestrian sport, adaptive riding or therapeutic riding, driving and interactive vaulting.
This program thrives because of numerous (more than 50) community volunteers.
Serving Cache County.

                    
Contact Makenna Pahlke

The Valor Detachment
The Valor Detachment is a mounted equestrian drill team made up of Veterans and active-duty military members who do flag presentations at rodeos, horse shows, and other Western lifestyle events. All members receive QPR training and promote the "22 a Day" message at flag presentations to raise awareness for veteran suicide.
Serving Cache County.




             
Contact Makenna Pahlke

Horse-Powered Reading
Horse Powered Reading® integrates social-emotional learning with academics; thus allowing students to see and experience reading with their entire mind, body, and emotions by creating metaphors for the skills involved in reading. Students interact with horses from the ground, while using toys and props to identify obstacles and learn five critical reading skills: phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. See the online Horse-Powered Reading course here. 
Counties served Cache, Box Elder, Rich, Davis, Weber, Salt Lake, Piute, Wayne, Garfield, and Sevier.
Contact Makenna Pahlke

Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy
Ten week program with 1.5 hour sessions once per week. Interaction with horses during a counseling session provides clients a dynamic type of feedback accessed solely through this type of therapy. Horses are particularly sensitive to one’s emotional state and can react differently to varying states of emotions in the humans around them. Horses, due to their prey animal nature, will only build trusting relationships when they feel safe. Clients often work with horses as they are loose in the arena, exploring the effects of their body language on the horses. A partnership with Human-Equine Empowerment and Learning, United (HEEAL United). 
Serving Cache County.
Learn More

Social Media
  USU Equine Experience
  HEEAL United
  USU Equine Experience
  HEEAL United
  Equine-Assisted Activities





          

Opportunities Available

         

Partnerships
  • CHA
    Certified Horsemanship Association
  • PATH International
    Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International
  • HEEAL, United
    Human-Equine Empowerment and Learning, United

Program Leadership

           

Program Members

 

 

 

Trophy icon       Award icon      AWARDS    Trophy icon     Award icon  

 

 

 


 

If you have updates to this page, please contact Jocelin Gibson at jocelin.gibson@usu.edu.