Record Demand for Therapeutic Horsemanship Drives Chastain Horse Park $9 Million Expansion
"The horse's brain has a large limbic system. Size-wise, the horse cerebellum accounts for about a third of the horse's brain. And, because the horse is a motor/sensory animal, the horse is all but ruled by the cerebellum. Humans, on the other hand, are ruled by the frontal lobe. You could interpret this as humans being more of a "thinking" species, while horses are more of a sensory and feelings species. Horses have an amazing network of neurons governing emotionality that give them a remarkable ability to read human feeling and intention—and respond to it," says Kelcy Rainer, CHP Therapeutic Program Director. They are herd and prey animals – not predators -- which means that they have a strong emotional sense and use this sense as a survival tool; Additionally, the horse's gait mimics the movement of the human body and thus acts as a 3-dimensional form of modality when working with physical and cognitive disabilities.