Suzanne MacPhail

Most equine-assisted learning research focuses on horses. But peer-reviewed literature is increasingly clear that donkeys offer something distinct — including, according to one published study, greater empathic sensitivity than horses. That changes who can be reached, and how. This post explores what donkeys bring to healing work that horses cannot, and why Poe at Hands for Healing Equine in Topsfield, MA is a full partner in our programs.

You don't usually walk into a place like ours and ask to see credentials But you should be able to know they exist. Equine-assisted learning is still unfamiliar territory for most people. You can't really tell, from the outside, whether what's happening in an arena is grounded in something rigorous or whether it's just kind people with horses and donkeys. So before we tell you about our programs or our partners — Autumn, Poe, Momma, and Sophie — we want to tell you what stands behind the...

The most common thing people say about donkeys is that they're stubborn. The science says otherwise. When a donkey stops and refuses to move, it's assessing, deciding, and applying what researchers call a problem-focused coping style. Meet Poe — and find out what peer-reviewed research actually says about donkey intelligence, memory, and what it means to work with an animal who will not be rushed.