How Expectations Influence Equine-Assisted Therapy Session

How easily can expectations influence a therapy session? More than we might realise. Those expectations rarely come from bad intentions. They develop naturally long before the participant even mounts the equine.

The family has organised transport. The equine has been prepared. Volunteers have given up their time. The timetable has been planned, perhaps for a thirty-minute session. By the time the participant arrives, everyone already has an idea of how the session is supposed to unfold. The difficulty is that participants do not always arrive as we expected them to.

Sometimes I know within the first few minutes that the original plan needs to change. The participant may be tired, overwhelmed, uncomfortable or simply having a difficult day. Sometimes I realise that today’s goals are no longer appropriate. Occasionally, the best intervention is much shorter than I originally planned. Sometimes Equine Assisted Therapy is not the right intervention at all.

Changing that plan is not always easy. Therapists are human. We do not like disappointing families who have travelled a long distance. We appreciate the commitment of our colleagues. We know everyone has organised their day around the session. Without even noticing it, those expectations begin to influence our decisions.

Every minute of a session should have a purpose.

Instead of asking, “What does this participant need today?” we may find ourselves asking, “How can I avoid disappointing everyone?” That is a dangerous shift.

I have seen participants remain on the equine much longer than they needed simply because thirty minutes had been planned. I have also seen equines continue working when they should already have finished, because the participant was enjoying the interaction. Therapy should never be measured by the clock, nor guided by our emotions.

A participant does not benefit from remaining on the equine for another fifteen minutes. An equine does not benefit when we decide to continue after it has already given us everything we need from that session. Sometimes more is too much.

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is that every minute of a session should have a purpose. When that purpose has been achieved, I see no reason to continue, whether time remains in the schedule or everyone expected a longer session.

The same principle applies when the session needs to change completely. A carefully prepared plan should never take precedence over the well-being of the participant and the equine. Neither should the expectations of the family, the timetable or our own desire to make everyone happy.

These decisions are not always popular. Explaining why a thirty-minute session ended after fifteen minutes can be uncomfortable. Explaining why today’s intervention is different from last week’s can also be difficult. Yet those conversations are part of our responsibility as practitioners.

Participants deserve exactly the intervention they need on that particular day—no more and no less. Expectations, emotions and timetables should never determine the length or content of a therapy session. They may influence our emotions, but they must never guide our decisions.

Věra’s EAS Lens is a space where I share my professional reflections, clinical reasoning, and international experience in Equine Assisted Therapy and Services. Drawing on many years of practice, education, and collaboration across countries and disciplines, I look at EAS through an expert, critical, and ethical lens. This blog is written for professionals, students, and organisations who wish to understand EAS beyond trends and enthusiasm, and to anchor their work in quality, responsibility, and meaningful practice.

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