Cortisol, known as the stress hormone, is increased as our flight or fight response to stimuli. Designed for short bursts to help us out of jam, chronic stress occurs when those levels do not return to normal after stimulation. As our busy lives increase stress stimuli into our daily routines, the short bursts of cortisol become higher and prolonged. When they remain elevated, our mental and physical health suffers.
Higher and prolonged cortisol levels have been shown to have negative affects on your health such as impaired cognition, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances, decreased bone density, drecreased muscle tissue, high blood pressure, lowered immunity and inflammatory responses, and has been linked to increased abdominal fat which is associated with heart attacks and strokes. Several relaxation methods have been shown to lower the baseline cortisol levels and the most exciting of these is equine facilitated learning. A study conducted by Washington State University in Spokane found significantly lower daily averages and afternoon cortisol levels of students who participated in a weekly equine facilitated activity than their pretest levels and the post test of their peers who were on the waitlist.
Those of us who hang out with horses, know how much better we feel around horses. We know it only takes the touch of a muzzle to recover from an otherwise stressful day. We have witnessed over and over again the smiles on the faces of kids of all ages when they watch a herd of horses from the road or get an opportunity to offer a horse a treat through the fence. I've seen shy kids learn assertive skills leading a horse and scared kids gain confidence on their first ride.
Intuitively we have always know that horses are good for our health but thanks to the Washington State University at Spokane study, if by chance you needed scientific proof, now you have it!
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