Equine-Assisted Services Research Report

05/29/2026

A series of stamps issued by the postal service in Israel in 2024 focused on animal-assisted therapy. One stamp featured human interaction with horses, another with dolphins, and the third with dogs.

05/28/2026

How special would it be to receive a letter with this stamp on it?

Boston is hosting the World Stamp Show this week and it inspired me to look back in my files for some of my favorites. This one is special!

04/02/2026

April showers? No problem. Subscribers to the Equine Assisted Research Report will have plenty to keep them occupied.

A new issue was sent to subscribers yesterday (April 1 -- no fooling!); please get in touch if you subscribe but did not receive the link or if you have any difficulty opening it.

What they received: A directory-like digest of 128 new EAS and human-horse interaction research documents from peer-reviewed journals and university thesis repositories, all neatly organized into 50 topics, including specific EAS research on 23 medical and mental health diagnoses. It fills 95 pages this quarter, and is the largest single edition in our history.

Additional sections cover equine assisted learning, specific EA therapies (psychotherapy, social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy) and on to the EAS horse, EAS organizational management, higher education, technology, veterinary social work, adaptive equestrian sports, horse behavior, and horse-human interaction.

Yes, I channeled my old desire to be an animal art curator, by sourcing this lovely cover image. “The Two Inseparables” was painted by British animal artist Emma Soyer in 1837. Meet a very young “beach boy” and his friend pausing from their donkey ride work on the sands of Margate in Kent, England in 1837, so they could pose formally. The tiny donkey had to be carried up the stairs to Soyer's studio every day until the portrait was complete.

The artist was struck by the bond between her two subjects in spite of – or perhaps because of – the hardships both faced in life. I'm so glad she went to all the trouble of completing this painting, and that EASR is able to share it with you.

New subscribers are always welcome; all you need is a phone, tablet, or computer and a connection to the Internet. Learn how EAS education, research, and technology are both shaping our profession and presenting it to the larger worlds of academia, science, and equestrianism, as it showcases, especially, the dedicated professionals at the heart of equine assisted services .

02/04/2026

When is your deadline? You know it's coming closer every day. You know you need to get on the internet, or head to the library, or start flipping through your journals to find the research you need for that PowerPoint, client briefing, or academic paper.

EAS Research Report subscribers have a built-in library on their phones, tablets, and computers, tucked away in Google Drive. They can search their back issues and see what was published a year ago, or five years ago, or what's new this year. Each EASR listing links directly to the original journal article, thesis, or proceedings abstract.

No late nights, no complicated database searches, no sticky notes, no panic.

EASR has you covered. Research when you need it. Where it belongs.

Subscribe today and receive access to the current issue, in time for your deadline: https://equineassistedresearch.com/subscribe

01/17/2026

Have you seen our latest issue? EASR shared descriptions and links to more than 100 new research studies with subscribers. Learn more about what we do and how you can benefit from easy access to research: https://equineassistedresearch.com

11/18/2025

Great news from Colorado State University Equine Science, where undergrad Cristal Morales Chavez has been involved with the ongoing EAS research at the Temple Grandin Equine Center . Her project? The effects of equine-assisted services on the horses involved. Read much more:

A first-time research project at the Temple Grandin Equine Center at CSU Spur examines the effects of equine-assisted services on the horses involved.

10/24/2025

The shutdown of the federal government affects us all, sooner or later. One of the most-used tools treasured by researchers and anyone looking for references and sources is "PubMed", the online searchable database of journal articles maintained by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine.

I use PubMed every day but only just noticed the message to users posted at the top of PubMed home page: "Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted."

Don't worry, EASR is sourced from more than 60 different databases and search engines, so it will be fine -- including the new issue going out to subscribers tomorrow, but I do wonder about the government employees working on the project, and the future of this great service to the researchers of the world.

Long live PubMed! We're thinking of you!

08/26/2025

BBC News World Service took their audience for a ride on Monday, August 25, 2025, via a globally broadcast interview with two international authorities on the topic of “Healing with Horses”.
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BBC World Service hosted the Czech Republic's Vera Lantelme-Faisan, president of HETI - Horses in Education and Therapy International Federation, and the UK's Claudia Nicholson, of The Downmere Farm Equine Assisted Learning Centre, located in England's spectacular South Downs National Park.
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BBC host Datshiane Navanayagam engaged the two women in a quickly-moving discussion of the impact that horses had had on their personal lives, and then on to working in mental health and 3-D movement of the horse in a number of examples of the way that horses act as the key elements in the growing appeal and availability of EAS.
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They covered a lot, but the entire 27-minute broadcast was upbeat, inviting, and hopefully inspiring to the no-doubt millions of listeners, since it was broadcast three different times during the day on Monday and continues to be click-and-play on the BBC website.
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The BBC has made a one-year link available; you can listen to it, share it, and even download it. Listen now at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct7092
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08/20/2025

Ears up! Here comes the latest from the science side of equine assisted services! A new issue of the research report will be going out to subscribers on Thursday so everyone can spend some time exploring 91 new peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of EAS from diagnosis-based studies to EAS horse care, behavior, and welfare, and on to EAS professional and educational studies.

Also in the mix: articles on equine assisted learning, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and equine assisted psychotherapy and counseling.

The biggest topic? Yes, it was autism once again, but there was a surge from the #2 topic: the welfare and wellbeing of EAS horses.

I’ll post more information once it is out, but right now, it’s back to the last rounds of proofreading and double checking every aspect.

I hope you like the cover. “Zen Horse” is a dry clay technique sculpture by artist Susie Benes of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. She’s one of my favorite artists and I’m honored to have one of her pieces on the cover. I love the gesture of the horse, and the glazed caparison-type blanket. I’ve felt like he was “assisting” me these past few weeks as another issue goes out into the world. Onward!

PS New subscribers are always welcome, just visit equineassistedresearch.com for more information or send an email to equineassistedresearch (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ll get right back to you!

08/15/2025

When I heard that today was the 75th birthday of Great Britain's Princess Anne, I knew I had to share this clever quote from her that I heard at the very end of the 2025 National Equine Forum in London this spring.

Princess Anne is no stranger to zingy and often humorous quotes, just as she is no stranger to the horse world.

While much is often made of Princess Anne's legacy as an Olympic competitor in eventing, her resume in the horse world would take pages to write. I also believe it would be unequalled in the world or in history.

Consider this: She is patron or president of more than 300 organizations. Many of them are related to horses and veterinary medicine.

Her involvement has included patronage roles with groups like the British Equine Veterinary Association, The Donkey Sanctuary, The Pony Club, the Royal Veterinary College, Edinburgh University's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, the Worshipful Company of Farriers (of which she was Master), and the British Horse Society. She is also past president of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) and the British Olympic Association. She is the current president of the National Equine Forum and World Horse Welfare . I'm sure I've missed some!

But most significantly, the field of equine assisted services was in its infancy in 1971, when Princess Anne first became the royal patron of Great Britain's pioneering Riding for the Disabled (RDA); she added the role of its President in 1985, a title she has held for 40 years -- and still holds.

Beyond horses, following Princess Anne taught me a new word: Pharologist. I am one, and so is she, apparently. Pharology is the study of of interest in lighthouses.

No doubt Princess Anne will celebrate her birthday privately, but her 40 years as RDA president is also a wonderful run, and her quip about EAS being "quirky and eccentric" in a good way, is priceless. Thank you!