Therapies are an integral part of the 28-day residential program with New Life and are exclusively available to our clients during their stay.
Sessions are designed to support your recovery journey and are not offered as standalone or external services.
The listed technology can be included upon request.
Discover the Healing Power of Equine Therapy
What is Equine Therapy?
Equine-assisted therapy, also known as equestrian horse therapy, is a powerful, experiential form of psychotherapy that incorporates interaction with horses to promote emotional growth, behavioural transformation, and mental wellness. It is grounded in the understanding that horses, as highly sensitive and intuitive animals, can reflect human emotions and states of being, offering unique insights, connections, and healing opportunities.
At New Life, horses are an integral part of our holistic treatment model. Clients are guided through structured sessions with trained equine therapists and behaviour specialists, using horses as co-regulators and mirrors. There is no riding involved—this is not about horsemanship but about relationship, presence, and non-verbal emotional processing.
Horses offer feedback without judgment. They respond to energy, not words. For clients navigating trauma, addiction, emotional dysregulation, or interpersonal challenges, this honest feedback can be deeply healing, gently confronting, and transformative.
Animal-based therapy at New Life is offered only within a full therapeutic programme, ensuring that every insight is supported by trained psychologists, body-based therapists, and clinical professionals. This way, emotional breakthroughs don’t happen in isolation—they happen in safety, with support.
4. Increased Confidence and Empowerment
Working with a large, powerful animal can build self-esteem. As clients learn to lead, communicate with, and care for a horse, they often experience:
A sense of mastery
Greater confidence
Improved problem-solving
5. Mindfulness and Present Moment Awareness
Horses live fully in the present moment. Being around them naturally encourages mindfulness and emotional attunement—skills valuable for treating anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
6. Metaphoric Learning
Clients often project their feelings onto the horse or see metaphors in the horse's responses. This creates rich material for therapeutic insight, especially in guided sessions.
Why is Equine Horse Therapy Effective?
1. Non-Judgemental Emotional Feedback
Horses are highly sensitive animals that respond to human body language, tone, and emotional state. They act like mirrors, reflecting the client’s internal world. This immediate and honest feedback can help clients:
Increase self-awareness
Regulate their emotions
Recognise behavioural patterns
2. Building Trust and Boundaries
Clients often struggle with trust and interpersonal boundaries. Forming a relationship with a horse—earning its trust and respecting its space—can mirror and improve the way clients relate to others.
3. Somatic (Body-Based) Regulation
Equine therapy incorporates movement, presence, and sensory experience. For trauma survivors and those with anxiety, this helps:
Regulate the nervous system
Ground attention in the body
Promote calm and safety through co-regulation
7. Motivation and Engagement
For individuals who may resist traditional talk therapy, equine therapy offers a dynamic, engaging alternative. It’s particularly helpful for:
Adolescents
Individuals with autism
Those with ADHD or trauma
Who It’s For
Therapeutic riding near me is ideal for individuals who struggle with trust, self-awareness, emotional regulation, or relational patterns. It is particularly impactful for those who feel stuck in talk therapy or disconnected from their emotions.
Holistic Approach at New Life
At New Life, we view equestrian therapy as a journey of reconnection—to oneself, to others, and to the natural world. Our approach to Equine-Assisted Therapy reflects this philosophy. We use horses as therapeutic partners in a carefully designed setting where emotional healing, nervous system regulation, and personal insight unfold organically.
Our sessions take place at a tranquil equestrian facility nestled in the Andalusian hills, where clients interact with calm, trauma-informed horses and a team of trained facilitators. These horses are not performance animals—they are therapy horses carefully selected for their sensitivity, temperament, and ability to connect with people.
Each session is tailored to the individual client’s emotional capacity and therapeutic goals. Some sessions involve observing and interacting with horses through groundwork exercises; others may involve grooming, leading, boundary setting, or still presence. The experience is non-verbal, embodied, and deeply intuitive.
Horse therapy at New Life is integrated with our wider psychological programme, including trauma therapy, DBT, somatic work, and motivational interviewing. The insights gained through horses are carried into the therapy room, where they can be unpacked, understood, and embedded.
Here, horses help clients feel what is difficult to say—and say what has long been held in silence.
Why Connection Matters
In a world where most healing is achieved through words, animal-based therapy resonates with the parts of us that existed before language. The part that understands safety through presence. The part that yearns for connection but struggles to trust.
Horses are prey animals. They survive by being hyper-attuned to energy, body language, and intention. When you approach a horse, they respond authentically—without judgment, ego, or agenda. They reflect what they feel. If you’re anxious, they might step away. If you’re grounded, they’ll approach. If you’re disconnected from yourself, they won’t connect with you either. But if you show up as you are—honestly—they meet you.
This interaction allows clients to:
Recognise how they show up emotionally and relationally
Build trust and self-awareness through non-verbal feedback
Practice setting and respecting boundaries
Feel a sense of unconditional acceptance and calm
Rebuild confidence in their ability to connect and be seen
For trauma survivors, this is often life-changing. For those in addiction recovery, it’s a return to feeling. For those battling depression or anxiety, it’s a reminder of presence.
One client put it simply: “The horse saw me before I saw myself.”
The Equine Assisted Therapy Near Me In Process:
1. Preparation and Intention Setting
Before the session, your therapist helps identify emotional goals or blocks to explore.
You’ll be guided in breathwork or grounding to enter the session calmly and present.
2. Meeting the Horses
You’re introduced to the horse(s) in a quiet paddock or enclosed space.
Facilitators observe non-verbal communication and ensure safety.
3. Engagement Activities May Include:
Leading a horse and observing boundary responses
Grooming and touch-based interaction
Mirror exercises (observing horse behaviour in response to your emotional shifts)
Stillness and breath synchronisation
Observing herd dynamics and drawing parallels with human relationships
4. Integration
After each session, you debrief with your therapist to process emotions, insights, and patterns.
These themes are brought into your broader therapy journey.
5. Ongoing Support
Sessions are woven into your weekly treatment schedule.
Tools learned in the paddock are applied in daily interactions and therapeutic conversations.
Our team ensures that every session is emotionally safe, physically secure, and therapeutically effective. No pressure, no performance—just presence, reflection, and real connection.
Innovations That Support Equine Work:
Nervous system regulation tracking via HRV monitors pre- and post-session
Voice journaling tools to reflect on emotional shifts from equine experiences
Therapist-led behavioural tracking software for observing changes in client affect, posture, and confidence
Integration with CBT/DBT tech—using insights from equine sessions in digital therapy plans
Nature-based immersion tools like soundscapes and grounding sensors for those preparing for equine work
These tools aren’t used during sessions but help us quantify the emotional and neurological impact of equine-assisted therapy and ensure personalised, high-touch care.
We blend tradition with technology—because healing is both ancient and advanced.
You Might Benefit If:
You’ve experienced trauma, abandonment, or attachment wounding
You feel emotionally numb, frozen, or easily dysregulated
You’ve struggled with addiction, self-sabotage, or high-control behaviours
You feel disconnected from your body or nervous system
You have difficulty trusting people or building relationships
You want to explore healing in a non-verbal, experiential way
You’re open to learning from animals and nature
Our clients include:
Executives recovering from burnout or relational collapse
Trauma survivors seeking embodied healing
Individuals navigating grief, shame, or identity confusion
High-functioners with emotional suppression or control patterns
Young adults reconnecting with emotional presence and relational safety
You don’t have to love horses—you just have to be open to what they might teach you.
How Equine Therapy Is Delivered Across Our Locations
At New Life, no two recovery journeys are the same, and neither are our equine therapies. Every activity is selected based on the client’s physical abilities, therapeutic needs, emotional readiness, and personal preferences. Our programme is not about thrill-seeking for the sake of excitement. It is about purposeful, supportive exploration that aligns with deeper healing goals.
Marbella’s Mediterranean horse riding, beach yoga, mountain walks, and Andalusian cultural tours
In Dubai, desert wellness retreats, paddleboarding, dune walks, and mindfulness under open skies
In our tropical Seminyak setting, tropical serenity, beach walks, surfing, jungle hikes, and temple explorations
This Brazilian island offers ocean-based sports, forest hikes, wellness sailing, and wildlife exploration
With its dramatic landscapes, mountain trekking, coastal kayaking, nature reserves, and cultural immersion
Reykjavik’s cool climate and geothermal hot springs, snow walks, northern lights viewing, and glacier adventures
Here’s What Sets Us Apart:
Licensed Creative Therapists: Our team includes certified art therapists, music therapists, and expressive arts facilitators with deep clinical and creative experience.
Tailored, Luxury Setting: Sessions take place in tranquil, beautifully designed spaces—whether it’s our sound dome, our private studio, or the gardens.
Whole-Person Integration: Creative sessions are woven into a comprehensive plan that includes psychology, somatic therapies, nutrition, and spiritual care.
Confidential and Compassionate: Our clients are often high-profile individuals seeking deep work in a discreet environment. We deliver results with grace.
Real Results: We’ve witnessed incredible transformations—clients rediscovering their voices, healing long-held wounds, and reclaiming joy.
Community and Safety: Group experiences like drum circles, expressive workshops, and healing sound baths help clients reconnect with others in powerful, wordless ways.
TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CLIENTS
Expert Recovery Services Available. Contact Us Now!
Address: New Life (Dynamic Executive Recovery) Calle Lirios Los Num 2, Torreblanca Del Sol, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain.
Email: info@newlife.rehab
Spain: (+34) 900 752 011
Bali: (+62) 361 300 109
Brazil: (+55) 1151785894
Dubai: (+971) 8000 120377
Iceland: (+354) 5395185
South Africa: (+27) 212008424
