You love horses.
You want to help people.
If you’ve felt the pull to combine your love of horses with a calling to help others heal, you may be wondering how to actually make it happen. Becoming an equine-assisted therapist or coach isn’t just about passion—it requires clarity, preparation, and the right support.
I'm here to help you understand the process, consider your options, and strategize your next best step so that you can turn your vision into a reality
So lean in and learn from my mistakes as well as what I've been able to achieve in this amazing, topsy-turvy journey of becoming an equine-assisted therapist and building Stableminded.us.
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Get the 5-Step Plan
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Step 1: Understanding the Basics
Before becoming an equine-assisted therapist and launching your practice, it’s vital to know what you’re stepping into. The equine-assisted field is diverse, and clarity here will shape your direction:
Horse Professional vs. Helping Professional
Are you primarily a horse person seeking to do work with humans that involves horses? Are you primarily helping professionals, such as a therapist or coach, who would like to incorporate horses into your work? Having this question clearly answered is key in determining your next step. If you want to practice as a therapist, you’ll need a Master's degree in counseling, social work, or a related field, along with post-graduate requirements to complete licensure in your state. The coaching field is not currently regulated; however, you would want to complete a program that provides you with the skills of coaching. In addition to your training as a therapist or coach, you will also need to complete a training that specializes in equine-assisted therapy, coaching, or learning. More on that below!
Therapy vs. Coaching vs. Learning
Therapy requires clinical licensure and focuses on mental health treatment. Coaching is future-focused, guiding growth and development. Learning often emphasizes leadership, teams, or life skills. You will need to consider not only which path fits your vision but also your training thus far and/or any investment you are willing to make towards both licensure and certification as a therapist or coach, independent of specializing as an equine-assisted professional.
Therapeutic Riding vs. Mental Health Work
Riding programs build riding skills for individuals with physical, cognitive, or emotional challenges. Mental health-focused work is primarily unmounted and centers on processing, healing, and growth. Mixing the two without distinction can cause confusion for clients, thus impacting marketing and client acquisition. Equally so, the types of horses, facility, and staff will be greatly impacted because there are drastically different needs and inherent liabilities.
Horse Experience vs. Training Experience
The horse’s welfare, training, and safety are non-negotiable. Your horsemanship skills (or your horse partner’s experience) directly impact client safety and program effectiveness. Since the horse world is not regulated, investing time into horsemanship training that aligns with the therapeutic or coaching approach you would like to take is a critical step.
Getting these foundations right protects your clients, your horses, and your credibility.
Step 2: Identifying your Strengths & Weaknesses
Running an equine-assisted practice takes more than loving horses. Passion alone won’t sustain a practice. It’s important to be honest about who you are and what you’re signing up for. Ask yourself:
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Do I genuinely enjoy working with people, or do I prefer being with horses?
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Do I thrive on solving problems or on holding space for emotions and growth?
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Am I willing to carry the responsibility of running a business—from financial responsibilities to people management to communications and marketing?
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Am I secretly hoping that “If I build it, they will come”? (Spoiler: it rarely works that way.)
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How do I handle failure, rejection, setbacks, and disappointment? Do I have the resilience to keep going when it’s hard?
- Do I have other skills I can tap into to generate additional or supplemental income during the start-up period and/or to diversify the business to provide financial stability and avoid burnout?
By identifying your strengths and blind spots, you’ll know where to invest in support, training, or collaboration.
Step 3: Assessing Your Assets & Liabilities
The foundation of your practice depends on what resources you already have and where you need to invest. Take a brief inventory of what you already have—and what you’ll need to secure before launching:
Financial & Business Development
Finances
Do you have savings not only for your certification and training, but also for start-up costs of the business (setting up the business entity, insurance, facilities, equipment, staffing, software, website, etc)? Can you forgo income for a season while you build momentum? Working with a business consultant in the industry is critical to make sure you have considered all the possible needs and established an operating budget.
Market Competition
Take the time to do market research! Who else is providing services in your area? What makes them similar? Different? How much are clients paying for similar services? Will that be sufficient to cover your operating expenses and be profitable? What else can you offer to diversify income streams?
Professional Services
Have you lined up a lawyer, accountant, insurance providers, and liability coverage? How about the marketing and branding team? Website builder and graphic designer? Barn manager? Horse trainer? Volunteer staff?
Horses & Facility & Staff
Horses
If you are building a practice with your own horses, as opposed to partnering with a facility, you will need to assess your horse team and designate resources for their well-being, both physically and mentally. Take into consideration the 3 Fs: food, friends, and freedom as a starting point. Also consider their overall health and workload. An equine-assisted practice's most valuable asset is the horse partner. Care for them first and foremost. Be realistic about your situation by consulting with a professional in the same industry you hope to enter. Invite them to interact with your horses and visit the facility.
Property
Do you have your own space, or will you rent? If renting, is the barn environment stable, supportive, and emotionally safe for sensitive client work? This is a big factor to consider and worth seeking consultation to explore the questions you don't even know to ask.
Staff
Do you already have the clinical, coaching, and equine certifications and training you need to proceed, or is further education required? Do you intend to hire for these roles? How about for barn management, property management, and business management? Are you bringing on service providers or doing it all yourself?
Support & Time
Support Network
Do you have a team of encouragers, mentors, and colleagues who will walk this journey with you? Do you have a coach and/or business consultant to advise you through the process? Do you have a therapist who will support you through the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship?
Time
Do you realistically have the capacity to launch and grow a business that requires multiple hats? Can you dedicate the time and possibly sacrifice income in the short term to build for the long term?
Being clear about your assets helps you set realistic expectations and avoid preventable roadblocks. Answering these questions will determine how ready you are—or where to focus next.
Step 4: Choosing Your Training
The quality of your training will shape your credibility, your confidence, and your long-term success. Depending on your goals, here are key avenues to explore.
Graduate Programs
A Master’s in Clinical Counseling, Social Work, or Marriage & Family Therapy if you plan to practice as a licensed mental health professional. Take the time to explore the licensure requirements in your state. For example, in Pennsylvania, to achieve full licensure, you must: (1) be in supervision, (2) complete 3000 hours post-graduate, with at least 1500 hours of those hours as direct client work, and (4) pass the National Counselors Exam (NCE).
Equine-Assisted Training
While there are numerous training programs available, the following are the most well-known within the field and have very distinct approaches. It is important to thoroughly explore the philosophy, techniques, and requirements of each training program, especially noting the time and cost investments for not only training but retaining certification status.
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Natural Lifemanship Institute – trauma-focused, attachment and relationship-based
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Eagala – structured model with clear roles between mental health professional and equine specialist; requirement to work in a team of three (horse, mental health professional, and equine specialist)
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PATH Intl. – widely recognized, with emphasis on therapeutic riding, also known as adaptive riding, and therapeutic horsemanship; specializing in occupational and speech therapy services
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EQUUSOMA – integrates somatic experiencing and equine-assisted trauma work
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Each approach offers unique philosophies and methods. Choosing the right one means aligning your training with your professional identity and client goals.
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Lisa Pulliam, Your Guide
Lisa Pulliam, founder of Stableminded.us, is passionate about helping clients stabilize and thrive personally and professionally. As a licensed associate professional counselor, seasoned coach, life-long business woman, and avid recreational equestrian, Lisa provides her clients with holistically focused, trauma-informed programs designed to educate, equip, and empower healing and growth.
Lisa counts it a privilege to be married to her husband, Stephen, for nearly three decades. She is mama to four grown children, two son-in-laws, and a Gigi to her first grandson. Her life is made fuller by her beloved Golden Retriever and remarkable Kodiak Jack, her 2010 OTTB she adopted in 2022.
Day by day, she walks in faith, by grace, yearning for eternity with her Savior while savoring life on this side of Eden.