Equine therapy can help Aboriginal university students, says researcher

A Sunshine Coast researcher wants to replicate a successful equine therapy program being used in America to improve the retention rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students in Australia.

Dr Bindi Bennett, from the University of the Sunshine Coast, will travel to the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver to see first-hand how contact with horses has significantly reduced drop-out rates.

The six-month placement came after Dr Bennett received an Australia Award and Endeavour Research Fellowship for Indigenous Australians.

Dr Bennett, a Gamilaraay woman, said horses can help change a person's mental health.