Hestens rolle i det sosiale arbeidet : En kvalitativ studie i en Inn på tunet-kontekst og i andre velferdstjenester som gir aktiviteter med hest

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how the providers experience the horse-assisted interventions in the welfare services. The major question is: “What kind of meaning can horse-assisted interventions have in the welfare services?” In addition, I have prepared some research questions. They are as following: - In which way can activities with horses contribute to make network and social support for the users? - In which way can activities with horses contribute to the sense of achievement and empowerment for the users? - To what extent experience those who are accountable for the horses the differences between the genders of the users when it comes to the use of, and the interest for the horses? To explore these questions, I talked with eight informants; six who are responsible for “Inn på tunet-gårder” or green care farms in the Agder district, and two from “Sørlandets Travpark”. In this study I worked with qualitative method, including interviews. The interviews were held at the farmers farm or stable. In advance I had made an interviewguide which I used during the interviews. By using a qualitative method, I got the informants experiences by using horses in their services. In this way, I did some findings who was of interest itself, but which was especially exciting to take a look into when I saw the data material as a whole. The findings in this study shows that there are several circumstances with using horses in the welfare services which can give the users both mastery experience and social competence. That diversity of activities linked to the horses, such as grooming and horse riding, may customize the services to the individual user. This can lead to users experiencing coping. Simultaneously, the activities experience the users when it comes to the social life, in the way they must cooperate, and regulate their behavior around the horses. The findings show that interventions with horses can be expedient for both boys and girls. Keywords: anthrozoology, green care, horses, coping, empowerment, salutogenisis, social competence, social support, gender, social work.