Peter Shaffer’s Equus and Equine-assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)

Abstract

Peter Shaffer’s Equus (1973) is a distinctive play in its representation of complex psychological/psychiatric issues on the theatre stage. As such, the play is one of the most notable theatrical works of psychological realism in English theatre. Peter Shaffer achieves this especially through his characterization of the mentally unstable Alan Strang. Since his childhood, Alan has developed an extraordinary attachment to and obsession with horses, and this eventually results in his blinding six horses and his entrustment to the treatment of the psychiatrist Martin Dysart. Accordingly, Equus has been, so far, studied through various – mainly psychological and psychiatric – perspectives. In this sense, the aim of this article is to shed a new light and contribute to these studies by examining the close relations between Peter Shaffer’s Equus and equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) – an acknowledged method of psychiatric treatment by means of horses that psychiatrist Dysart of the play neglects (or is unaware of ) while planning his therapies for Alan, who, due to his intimacy with horses, also as a stable-boy, might benefit from the methods of equine-assisted psychotherapy. For this purpose, this article analyses and reveals the ties between the play and equine-assisted psychotherapy mainly through related studies on the therapy, Shaffer’s characterization of Alan, and relevant incidents in the play.