A little horseplay might be just what the doctor ordered for today’s teens.
A new study from the University of California, Davis found that spending just three minutes in the company of a miniature horse or donkey can lift adolescents’ spirits.
Better yet: The feel-good effect appears to linger even after their four-legged friend trots away.
That small burst of joy could be exactly what young people need.
Nationwide, 40% of high school students report feeling persistently sad or hopeless, while nearly 20% of youth ages 12 to 17 have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
And it’s not just an American problem. Research by the World Health Organization shows that teens are the loneliest demographic around the globe.
In the study, researchers recruited 61 teens and analyzed their interactions with a small herd consisting of two miniature horses named Olivia and Randy and two miniature donkeys named Mary and Memphis.
Each teen spent three minutes with the furry crew. Half were asked to gently stroke the animals’ backs, while the others were instructed to vigorously scratch their necks — a move that mimics the way equines groom one another.
The teens were also taught how to spot two important signals: lip-wriggling, a sign of pleasure or enjoyment, and walking away, which means the animal wants a little space.
After just three minutes, all of the teens reported feeling calmer and less nervous, sad, lonely and excited.
And the animals appeared to enjoy the interaction, too. They wriggled their lips during 75% of the neck-scratching sessions and 48% of the gentle-petting sessions.
Interestingly, the teens who noticed the animals’ lip-wriggling had bigger drops in loneliness — suggesting that paying attention to their cues may be part of what makes the interaction so rewarding.
“Our work raises this beautiful possibility that making the interaction better for the animal may be part of what makes it better for us,” Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez, an associate professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior at UC Davis, said in a press release.
But even these pint-sized pals weren’t looking for nonstop attention. Like a moody teenager, they sometimes needed a little me-time, too.
The miniature horses and donkeys walked away during 89% of the petting interactions, compared with 42% of the neck-scratching sessions.
In an unexpected twist, the teens who noticed their companion walking away showed the biggest reductions in sadness.
The results suggest that when it comes to bonding with animals, quality may matter more than quantity.
“A meaningful interaction may not require an animal to engage with us continuously,” said Calisi Rodríguez, who also serves as director of the Green Care Lab at UC Davis.
“Seeing an animal exercise choice — being free to approach you, stay with you or walk away — may make the interaction feel more authentic.”
The findings build on a growing body of anecdotal evidence and clinical research suggesting that interacting with horses can provide measurable physical and psychological benefits.
Across the country, equine-assisted therapy is being used with everyone from veterans with PTSD and Alzheimer’s patients to children with special needs and even burnt out human therapists.
Research has found that interacting with horses can help regulate heart rate and lower levels of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, helping the nervous system shift into a more relaxed state.
One study found that simply being in the presence of a horse can have a soothing effect on people.
Equine-assisted therapy has also been used to help manage trauma, anxiety and depression, while boosting confidence and mindfulness.
Spending time with horses is also being explored as a way to distract from and reduce the perception of acute pain among people with chronic pain.
Now, the latest findings suggest there could be another piece to the puzzle when it comes to maximizing the benefits of spending time with horses: making sure they’re enjoying the ride, too.
“This has the potential to change how we think about designing animal-assisted interventions, from hospitals and schools to therapeutic riding centers and beyond,” Calisi Rodríguez said.
“Ultimately, what we want to know is whether we can predict the conditions under which an interaction is beneficial for both species,” she continued. “I would love to see animal-assisted programs become places where people don’t just receive care from animals but learn how to give care back.”
