Experience with animals is not necessary for therapy with animals. In the course of the therapy, you will learn how to handle the animal in question, whether it is a dog, horse or domestic pig, so that neither riding nor walking a dog are prerequisites.

Therapy with animals can bring body, mind and soul back into balance if the person undergoing therapy takes enough time to get to know and understand their own inner self (again). The animal, whether horse, dog or other, helps to regain inner peace but also one's own authority, as animals, especially those that have been sensitized to it, react extremely strongly to even the smallest stimuli from their counterpart. This may be the hesitant muscle tension in the thighs of a patient sitting on a horse or the timid approach of a person undergoing dog therapy, which reveals uncertainty in their voice. Animals do not interpret, they do not think about why a person is reacting exactly the way they are reacting and what is driving them to do so. This is precisely the advantage of animal therapy. Animals react to stimuli, moods, actions, commands and impressions without evaluating them, but they react to them immediately. They are, so to speak, the mirror of our own emotions and feelings, expressions and actions. They react directly and truthfully. A person who gives a dog an order even though he himself is anxious and insecure will not be successful, nor will a manager in a company who does not put his heart and soul into what he says. Exercising with a trained animal is therefore an ideal form of therapy for recognizing weaknesses and disturbances to which a counter-reaction is promptly made in order to identify problems, work on them and bring about changes.

If you are interested in training as an animal trainer, it is usually possible to take one or more trial lessons to see if you like the environment, the people and the animals. This is not usually the case with therapy with animals, where you are taking advantage of the therapy. You can make an initial appointment to get to know the horse or other animal and the environment better without committing to booking further therapy sessions. In this way, you will gain an initial insight and take part in a first therapeutic session.

The areas of application or therapy with animals are very wide-ranging and can have a positive influence on a wide variety of problems. For example, animal therapy can be used very well for stress management, stress reduction and stress management, shock management, anxiety management or conflict management. Increasing self-esteem and self-awareness also plays a central role in this form of therapy, as does building relationships, improving leadership skills and setting individual goals.