Getting the fear of horses is unfortunate. One of the most majestic animals to ever grace the earth, they get the respect they deserve because of their sheer size and usefulness to humans.
Because of their strength, though, it becomes understandable why some people may be afraid of riding one or simply being around one. One of them might be you. In the end, because of your fear of the animal, you end up missing a wonderful experience.
How the Fear of Horses Develops
Equinophobia comes from the Latin word “equine” and “phobia.” The fear may be caused by an earlier incident with the animal. Usually, this involves an accident involving the person with the fear or somebody else.
Though horses can be trained, you may have seen one throw a rider off their backs or even assault a person. It is also more likely that the event happened when you were young. These images of horses not being tame stay until you become old; thus, your experience has more time to develop fear.
Symptoms of the Phobia
The fear manifests whenever there is a horse in the vicinity or hearing equine sounds. Advanced fear may be in the form of being afraid of pictures or replicas of horses. Common phobia symptoms include rapid heartbeat, intense sweating, and heightened dread that will even result to your crying at the sight of the animal.
Getting Treatment
Your phobia can be treated even without medication. The process will involve you being subjected to different levels of the fear. This may mean starting with photos of horses, then horse sculptures. Next would be listening to audio of different horse noises, watching videos, and finally being in the presence of the animal. The method is called desensitizing, a gradual exposure until you do not feel afraid anymore. The treatment may take a period of time, but the guaranteed rate of success is very high.
