Equine therapies are pretty fantastic. I worked at a therapeutic riding barn for a time and it was a great experience- equine and hippo therapies can both be beneficial in their own right, though riding and equine therapies can, in different ways benefit an individual socially, emotionally, psychologically and many different ways physiologically.

Just working with the animals- grooming and being around them- was a wonderful experience for me. Assisting sessions and caring for them helped me with anxiety, social confidence and coordination to a degree. It also helped with focus in some ways.

If anyone has access to such therapies or programs and considers they might be comfortable or possibly learn to be comfortable around horses I highly recommend exploring it.