The power of the horse: how ex-racers can help with therapy for those in need

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Have you heard of 'equine assisted therapy', or EAT? The basic idea that being around horses is a good thing, that's hardly new, people have known that for as long as they've known horses. And of course the old quote often attributed to Winston Churchill is very familiar: "There's something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."

But I hadn't twigged that using horses to help people had become quite a widespread and accepted form of therapy until a recent conversation with Nigel Payne of the Peter O'Sullevan Charitable Trust. He receives regular applications for help with funding from organisations describing their work in the field of EAT and points out that it may very well prove a growth area for the right kind of retired racehorse, giving them that second career and continued value which is so helpful in ensuring they get the kind of life they deserve.

"I've seen it myself," says Payne, who recently attended a demonstration at which the benefits of EAT were expounded by Monty Roberts, a longstanding enthusiast. Payne learned that EAT is being used to help veterans of the armed forces, some of whom have been left with post traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"I was talking to a soldier who said he had been to six sessions. Before that, he hadn't been out of his house or spoken to anybody for six months, and he was chatting to me as though it was absolutely normal.

"It brings back your confidence, brings back your trust. The horse becomes your friend. He trusts you and trust creates a relationship."

EAT, I gather, can take many different forms, not necessarily including riding. It can be based around taking care of the horse through grooming or feeding, or around various exercises in which the person receiving therapy may remain on the ground if preferred. The long established Riding for the Disabled Association has been pursuing its own form of EAT since 1969.

"It's a remarkable form of treatment," says Payne, "which is growing and growing across Europe and indeed the world. I'm delighted that I've got involved in it because I've seen it work. But I think it could become a fundamental part of aftercare [for racehorses]."

Payne visited one organisation which had applied for funding, where horses are used specifically to help children. A girl who had been receiving therapy there showed him around, speaking confidently and fluently about the work being done.

"She said, 'I'm 17 now. When I was 12, I'd left school because I couldn't face anybody. I stayed at home and I barely spoke. Then I came here and I met Toro,' who is obviously a horse.

"I said, 'Well, show me Toro.' This horse came over to see her just immediately. And they had a snuggle and they were so lovely.

"She said, 'All this time, Toro is just making me feel normal,' and she was talking to me just as you and I are talking now and this is somebody who, five or six years previously, couldn't speak.

"There are so many of these places around. This is where racing and the Horse Welfare Board could really play a big part, in my view. It's a marvellous opportunity."

Open days prove popular but could ex-racers help provide therapy?Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

That assertion chimes with a similar one I heard recently from Francesca Compostella, aftercare project manager at the HWB. She told me: "There are charities that are currently working on utilising horses to support the mental wellbeing of humans.

"Now, they cannot do that work unless they do it alongside a charity or a facility that has the horses. Asking a trainer to do that is impossible, because they haven't got the time to do it or the focus.

"Aftercare centres would be perfectly positioned to do that. We've got the science to show how versatile these animals are. We've got the science that shows the benefit to humans. What we don't know is why isn't that service being used more by GPs? What are the limiting factors?"

Clearly, the HWB aims to stimulate use of EAT in the hope that many an ex-racehorse will find work there. With the growth in that area comes the need for accreditation, addressed by the recent launch of the Human Equine Interaction Register (HEIR), also supported by the Peter O'Sullevan Trust.

"People who say they operate equine therapy have to complete various tests of suitability," Payne says. "Because obviously, if you use a bad horse, it isn't suitable, or you don't know what you're doing, you can do damage to the person and the horse.

"The whole purpose of the HEIR is to give all these operators a Kitemark, if you like, a seal of approval. And then when someone applies to me for funding, I can say, 'I will not consider this for funding unless you are registered with the HEIR,' because these people may not be very good at it or be just trying to use it to get funding."

The HEIR website shows 32 registered sites already in the UK. Hopefully, we'll see many more in the future, all busy with familiar old names, earning their corn while helping those in need.

Monday's picks

How interesting to see the market take such a strong view that Bashosh will turn around the form with Dutch Decoy when they line up in the Ripon Rowels. There was barely anything between the two when they hit the line at Newmarket just over a fortnight ago and Bashosh is 1lb better off, for what that's worth.

He's 0-5 in handicaps and was fractious at the start on that first run since being gelded, so I feel like it may be a mistake to take 13-8 or anything like it. Dutch Decoy(3.08 Ripon) can confirm the form at 7-2.

He's one of those unbelievably hardy Johnston-trained horses, having had 20 starts this year, winning seven of them. He sauntered to the front at Newmarket two furlongs from home and then seemed to my eyes to be doing little in front, with the result that it all got a bit panicky in the end. Hopefully, they can leave it a tad later this time.

Mark (left) and Charlie Johnston: joint-trainers of Dutch DecoyCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Gilt Edge (3.31 Chepstow) couldn't break her duck at Chepstow last week when stepped up to seven furlongs but she ran a fine race, being beaten only by a horse having a great year. I fancy her chance of going one better over the same course and distance, with 13-2 available.

She comes from the Christopher Mason yard which is on fire for the first time since last August.

Three things to look out for on Monday

1. It's Amateur Derby day at Epsom and last year's winner is due to line up again, something that never happens in the real thing in early June – not as far as we know, anyway. Captain Haddock is the horse in question, having swept four lengths clear of his field under trainer's nephew Henry Main 12 months ago. Since that day, the five-year-old is on a losing run of nine, though at least that means his rating has come back down. Can he bounce back from a 46-length defeat at Wolverhampton? The likely favourite is Saratoga Gold, a winner last time, whose jockey, Daniel Kyne, is 0-9 under rules so far.

2. Cartmel stages its final fixture of the year, which is something to think about for those of you who haven't got the Christmas presents sorted. Tonto's Spirit has another go at making history, since an eighth success at the track would be unprecedented for any horse. Dianne Sayer's veteran is likely to be around 5-1 for a 2m5f handicap chase in which he faces Dr Sanderson, a winner at this unique track in each of the last two months.

3.Greenland is a contender for that unwanted title, best maiden in training, but could take himself out of the running by winning the opener at Roscommon. A 300,000 guineas son of Saxon Warrior, Aidan O'Brien's juvenile was squeezed out when he might otherwise have been second in a Listed at Tipperary last month. He still holds entries in the National Stakes, the Dewhurst and the Derby. Up against him is Ma Belle Artiste, already a winner for Joseph O'Brien and entered in the Moyglare. Jessie Harrington's debutant Kings Time is a National Stakes entrant by Exceed And Excel.

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content