“There’s no blueprint for this kind of loss”: Resilience following the death of an equine in an equine-assisted services program

For practitioners involved in equine-assisted services (EAS), the death of a horse can be a significant life disruption. This study aims to understand the communicative resilience processes that equine-assisted service practitioners express following the death of an equine in their program. This study analyzed secondary qualitative data from a cross-sectional online survey completed by 84 participants. Analysis revealed practitioners engaged in all five communicative resilience processes following the death of an equine in their program. This research extends current resilience research by examining how individuals engage in these processes in the context of equine death. Practical implications are offered for practitioners to use these processes as a framework following the death of an equine and utilize this in their program to foster resilience. Suggestions for future research examining resilience in the context of other animal assisted service organizations and companion animal death are offered.