PERHAPS the phrase ‘horse whisperer’ is a little too ‘out there’ when it comes to describing the work mental health counsellor Alice Tait undertakes at her Mt Alford property.
Perhaps she is better described as a ‘horse listener’. Not that her listening abilities begin and end with horses, as the 56-year-old is a mental health counsellor and understanding humans is the core of her business.
Ms Tait has a close bond with the horses that live on her sprawling property. She said she understands the subtle nuances of equine behaviour and that horses and humans have an unbroken bond that has existed for centuries.
She is not new to the world of horses and has ridden in various capacities from as far back as she can remember.
“I was in Pony Club as a little girl and later competed nationally in Cutting,” she said.
Cutting is a sport where horse and rider work together to demonstrate the horse’s athleticism and ability to’ cut’ cattle out from the herd.
“I used to breed cutting horses, I imported semen and had seven or eight foals on the ground [at a time],” she said
“I reached a level where life was all about the lineage, training and having a great mare everyone wants to have foals from.
“It was all about the prestige but suddenly there was a big pivot for me when I started looking at [the horses] as sentient beings rather than competition tools.
“I sold everything; my truck, all my foals and went from keeping only the best cutting lines to finding horses that worked best for therapy. Her role now is as an Equine Assisted Therapist (EAT). It is a profession that is uncompromising when it comes to a practitioner possessing two specific skill sets.
The person must be empathic towards human beings and intuitive when it comes to horse behaviour.
It is not a new form of therapy and was first explored in the early 1960s.
Ms Tait said she understood the way horses felt and was able to pick up on subtle nuances. Narrowed eyes, a flick of the tail or a step to the side all convey messages.
She is relatively new to the world of mental health counselling and has worked as a therapist for almost five years.
“I did a mental health degree later in life and thought that combining both would be a brilliant marriage,” she said.
“I’ve always known intuitively what horses have given me but now I can put words to those feelings and use them to help others.
“So that’s the brilliance of it, now I understand what I’ve been feeling all my life and I’m able to guide other people and show other people.”
She said feelings horses brought with them were of acceptance, unconditional love and non-judgement.
“I’m okay just the way I am, you don’t have to have lots of money or look a certain way, horses help you to find your essence, the special part of you that is hidden,” she said.
Understanding others who are struggling also comes from a place of experience.
Ms Tait decided to study mental health following the breakdown of a 25-year marriage.
“I have three children and I thought ‘gosh, I’ve got to earn money’ so I started my own food retail business,” she said.
“It was going well but I felt like it wasn’t enough, so I decided to do a Bachelor of Counselling and Coaching at the Australian College of Applied Psychology.
“It should have taken me three years, it took seven but I got there.
“Once I graduated, I decided I wanted to get further into trauma counselling, so I registered with the NDIS and things evolved organically from there.”
There is a science behind a horse’s ability to calm and connect with a human being.
EAT involves interacting with horses and then reflecting on the experience with a therapist.
Being around horses helps a therapist’s clients become more aware of their emotions and teaches them how to regulate their emotions.
“Horses don’t see a diagnosis, they don’t notice imperfections ... they see the core of a person,” she said.
“And that is what’s so empowering for the client.”