Fingers crossed for Nina Bien, Prof. Pim Martens, and me. Nina proposed for research funding to study the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of equine-assisted interventions in human mental health care. This will involve heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, obtained from both human patients as well as therapy horses, during their interactions. But also by observational studies. I will play a role in the last in setting up the behavioural observation of the therapy horses during the EAT sessions. I will also be closely involved in guiding the subsequent equine-behavioural observational data processing and analysis and in the interpretation of the results. The study will be conducted at an Equine-assisted mental health facility that has been working with horses and clients for nearly 12 years. Hopefully this study gets a green light. Possible starting date then might be autumn 2020. Exciting and important, because this study will also reflect onto the highly relevant topic of therapy horse wellness, ethics, and sustainability.