Student Research Spotlight - Human-horse Interaction vs. Observation and Their Effects on Anxiety

Amy Van Leuven
Human-horse Interaction vs. Observation and Their Effects on Anxiety

Think of the last time you interacted positively with an animal. Perhaps it was when you affectionately cuddled with your pet dog or cat. Did you feel your level of stress decreasing? Did you feel your heart rate or blood pressure decrease as you became more relaxed? Or, think of the last time you looked at a picture or watched a video of an animal, such as a couple-week-old puppy. Do you recall what effect that had on your emotional state? Maybe most of us don’t have such keen insight into detecting decreased heart rate and blood pressure, but it’s not uncommon to hear others speak of positive effects from such interactions.

The idea that positive interaction with animals can be an effective way to relieve stress is not only common, but implemented in various forms of therapies. Even certain documented empirical cases have shown animal interaction to reduce stress or anxiety. Seeking to relieve stress through animal interaction was what first interested Amy Van Leuven when deciding her senior research topic. She noticed the literature on the subject seldom includes tests involving interaction with horses, specifically.

Because she is fond of them, she decided that using horses in her study would be the most interesting and rewarding course of action, despite potentially facing a “far more challenging” process than would choosing other projects, she said. Van Leuven also said being encouraged by her professor to follow a hypothesis that she cared about was “vital to her success.” Not only did she need to construct a methodological process to test her hypothesis the same as her peers, but she also needed to secure permission to use several live horses, which took more time and energy than the typical senior project. It was worth it, however, as the results would help inform an up-and-coming “Equine Therapy,” a cause Van Leuven “whole-heartedly wanted to pursue.”

Van Leuven recruited 16 subjects and had them participate in four separate sessions where they would either interact with a horse (i.e., ride, pet, or otherwise handle), or observe another person as they interacted with a horse—two sessions for the former, and two for the latter. She wanted to see if interaction would prove more effective than passive observation in relieving anxiety.

How did she check for, or measure stress? Van Leuven used three forms of measurement to analyze the anxiety levels of her participants in order to track possible change across conditions. The first is a questionnaire used for stress detection: the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The other two were physiological measurements: a heart rate (HR) monitor and blood pressure (BP) gauge. In order to make comparisons, Van Leuven had each participant take the STAI survey and record HR and BP before and after animal interaction or observation. Then all she needed to do was subtract the before-score from the after-score to obtain a “change score.” This was done in each of the four sessions.

Interestingly, this scenario did not reveal a statistically significant difference in stress reduction between interaction and observation. Both seemed to be about equal in how much stress they reduced (resulting in a failure to reject the null hypothesis). However, Van Leuven did find significant differences when she treated all sessions as one group, essentially removing the interaction versus observation condition. She found participants dropped in both STAI scores and HR, indicating that even though there was no difference between interaction with, and observation of, horses, the experience still led to a certain degree of stress reduction.

When asked how the process in general played out for her, Van Leuven stated her seminar classes were “vigorous, exciting, sometimes painful, and exhausting." "But," she continues, "they hold some of my favorite memories from my entire college experience.”

After graduating, Van Leuven continued her path in equine therapy. She said,

“My ‘fire’ for equine therapy is still very much alive. It is my senior research that convinced me that this is what I wanted to do. Shortly after graduation, I obtained my PATH (psychological association of therapeutic horsemanship) certification allowing me to teach therapy-based lessons. I began a lesson program at Gunstock Ranch on Oahu. When it came time to move off of the island, I left the program in some very capable hands and am now working at Ascend Recovery in American Fork, Utah. It is an alcohol and addiction recovery center. I am the Equine Specialist, and conduct sessions with the patients several times a week. Thus far, it has seemed that their sessions are a place of relief, peace, and discovery. I absolutely love what I do and I would not be here if it were not for my seminar classes and the undying support of the Psychology department.”

You can see Amy's study in more detail by viewing her project poster here.

Article by Kyle Evan Madsen