The Eagala Model for Mental Health Providers
The Eagala Model
The Eagala Model is a structured, trauma-informed framework designed for licensed mental health professionals seeking experiential, client-led therapy. It emphasizes emotional safety, ethical standards, and clinical integrity—allowing clients to engage in meaningful growth through the horse–human relationship. Sessions are fully ground-based, with no riding involved, and require no prior horse experience from either the client or the clinician. This ensures accessibility and safety, as both horse and client are free to interact without pressure or performance. The horse simply responds as a present, intuitive partner, while the therapist facilitates insight through observation and reflection.By removing traditional hierarchies and focusing on experiential discovery, the Eagala Model empowers clients to uncover lasting solutions to life’s challenges—guided by their own internal wisdom and supported by a collaborative team.
Why horses?
Horses make excellent partners because they require engagement.
Horses offer a unique lens into emotional and behavioral patterns—often surfacing insights that traditional talk therapy may not reach. Their nonjudgmental presence allows clients to engage with difficult emotions without shame or stigma. In session, horses respond to subtle shifts in energy and behavior, offering real-time, unbiased feedback that helps clients recognize how they show up in relationships, conflict, and stress. This experiential clarity often leads to faster breakthroughs, reduced emotional resistance, and a deeper sense of self-awareness. When facilitated by a trauma-informed treatment team, equine-assisted therapy helps clients access new emotional resources, regulate more effectively, and build resilience with less overwhelm.
Safety
Structure creates physical and emotional safety. Safety invites transformation
Every session at Strength Through Horses is intentionally structured to support emotional and physical safety. The arena is thoughtfully prepared in advance, with clear boundaries, purposeful props, and well-cared-for horses—all contributing to a calm, focused environment. This level of preparation by the Eagala Certified Equine Specialist allows clients to engage deeply, reflect freely, and explore new perspectives with confidence. While working with horses can seem daunting, the environment is structured to foster a life-changing experience, encourage engagement with the horses while clients remain physically and emotionally safe
Empowerment
Insight unfolds when the client become self-aware enough to see.
Equine-assisted therapy offers clients a hands-on, emotionally resonant space to explore how they respond to others and life’s challenges. When clients are repeatedly triggered or struggling to regulate stress, the experiential nature of the Eagala Model allows them to project, reflect, and uncover patterns that may otherwise remain hidden. Breakthroughs often emerge organically—clients make connections, gain clarity, and begin to understand their emotional responses in the context of a broader narrative. As a mental health professional, you help hold space for this process, offering clinical support while the horses provide nonverbal, unbiased feedback. The result is deeper self-awareness, greater emotional resilience, and a renewed capacity to navigate life’s difficulties with strength and intention.
Bull Mountain Farm
At Bull Mountain Farm, transformation doesn’t feel clinical—it feels like coming home.
Bull Mountain Farm is more than a scenic retreat—it’s the home of Strength Through Horses. Nestled in the rolling hills of Beattyville, Kentucky, our 100-acre therapy setting is framed by white board fences, tall trees, and the quiet strength of horses galloping across open pastures. The natural beauty here isn’t just backdrop—it’s part of the therapy. Clients breathe easier, reflect deeper, and reconnect with themselves in a setting that feels safe, serene, and spiritually alive. "Be still, and know that I am God...
Ps. 46:10.
Every session is grounded in this landscape, where the rhythm of nature and the presence of horses gently invite emotional clarity, resilience, and renewal. At Bull Mountain Farm, transformation doesn’t feel clinical—it feels like coming home.
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Overlooking from barn area
Evidence-based practice and measurable outcomes
Healing is measurable - and meaningful.
At Strength Through Horses, we are committed to delivering trauma-informed, evidence-based care through the Eagala Model. Our program actively collects outcome data using validated assessments and client-reported measures to ensure clinical integrity and continuous improvement. We believe in transparency, measurable results, and therapeutic approaches that are grounded in research. For a comprehensive listing of peer-reviewed studies and clinical research on the Eagala Model, please visit www.eagala.org/research.
