Pilot Study on Impact on Balance of Autonomic Nervous System During Equine-Assisted Coaching: Simultaneous Heart Rate Variability in Horses, Coach, and Client

Abstract The rhythmic pattern of heart activity, heart rate variability (HRV), was used in this pilot study to evaluate quantitatively the autonomic nervous system of humans involved in an equine-assisted coaching session. HRV is responsive to states of human caring which include the experience of compassion, kindness, and empathy in humans and animals. Results indicated that emotions in humans impact their psycho-physiological state and resulted in healthy HRV patterns. This effect was enhanced in the presence of horses during triad-coaching sessions. The study signals that integrating coaching with horses can be a catalyst for healthful benefits associated with human caring.