Seery Rita, Graham-Wisener Lisa, Wells Deborah L
Animal Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 30;15(15):2240. doi: 10.3390/ani15152240.
Equine-Assisted Services (EAS), which incorporate horses in a variety of ways in an effort to improve human wellbeing, have grown in popularity in recent years. Although much research has been conducted regarding the benefits that horses may provide for human health and wellbeing, little attention has been paid to practitioners' experiences and perspectives of the field, despite the fact they are uniquely positioned to advance our understanding of this area. This study aimed to explore practitioners' lived experiences of EAS, focusing on the benefits they observed, possible underlying mechanisms for any health benefits witnessed, and challenges faced in the area. Fifteen EAS practitioners from the UK/Ireland took part in qualitative semi-structured interviews, analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were identified, three of which related to the horse's influence on building connections, relationships, and enriching the process, whilst the remainder explored challenges within the field of EAS. These themes were explored through the practitioners' lens, where possible linking them to our current understanding of human-animal interactions and related fields in the literature. Findings showed that horses, through EAS, were considered invaluable for building relationships, relational skills, and motivation to engage in whichever service was being provided. However, EAS was also viewed as complex. Concerns regarding competencies to practice, training, and lack of governance were expressed. These areas need further exploration and progress if EAS is to grow in efficacy and attain professional status.
马辅助服务（EAS）近年来越来越受欢迎，它通过多种方式引入马匹以改善人类福祉。尽管已经开展了大量关于马匹可能为人类健康和福祉带来的益处的研究，但对于该领域从业者的经验和观点却很少有人关注，尽管他们在推动我们对这一领域的理解方面具有独特的地位。本研究旨在探索马辅助服务从业者的实际经历，重点关注他们所观察到的益处、所见证的任何健康益处的可能潜在机制以及该领域面临的挑战。来自英国/爱尔兰的15名马辅助服务从业者参与了定性半结构化访谈，并采用反思性主题分析法进行分析。确定了五个主题，其中三个与马匹对建立联系、关系以及丰富过程的影响有关，其余主题则探讨了马辅助服务领域内的挑战。这些主题是从从业者的角度进行探讨的，并尽可能将它们与我们目前对人兽互动及文献中相关领域的理解联系起来。研究结果表明，通过马辅助服务，马匹被认为对于建立关系、关系技能以及参与所提供的任何服务的动机都具有不可估量的价值。然而，马辅助服务也被视为复杂的。人们表达了对实践能力、培训以及缺乏管理的担忧。如果马辅助服务要提高效力并获得专业地位，这些领域需要进一步探索和取得进展。
