Riding the Steed: An Existential-Phenomenological Analysis of Lived Encounters Between Women and Horses Described as Spiritual

The field of Equine Facilitated/Assisted Psychotherapy is currently in its infancy. The industry is just awaking to its potential and working to understand the elements of healing that are at work. Many scholars agree that much of this powerful experience is intangible and immeasurable, and researchers often cite case studies or anecdotal evidence in an effort to learn more. Horses have long been held as sacred in different cultures because of their divine spiritual connection to other realms of existence and holy balance between masculine and feminine energy, power and grace, and wildness and domestication. It is my belief that this spiritual aspect of the horse-human relationship is an unexplored and critical dimension of healing. This dissertation utilizes a phenomenological analysis of five women's descriptions of lived encounters with horses described as spiritual. My hope is that the implications of this research can contribute to the growing field of Equine Facilitated/Assisted Psychotherapy by more closely identifying elements of spiritual encounters that facilitate healing.