Equine Facilitated Therapy
Why Horses?
Horses help us ground into this present moment and reconnect to the body in a safe way. They offer immediate feedback, physical and intuitive, to help us gain awareness of the unconscious dysfunctions that take us away from our authentic state of being. Because they are mystical and also animals of this earth, like we are, they help us to balance mind, body and soul. They teach us to be WILD again.
Horses invite you to drop into your heart, access your creative flow and inner wisdom. You can experience heart resonance, a state in which you feel regulated and in flow with nature. Horses interact with you when you are emotionally congruent, i.e. when you are authentically sharing your emotions with those around you.
Horses help women, in particular, to feel empowered by creating a different relationship to their bodies, in particular to Womb. They help us remember the PRIMAL WOMAN inside each of us. Horse Medicine helps you connect again to your womb, become the sovereign guardian of your womb space, and tend to areas that feel stuck emotionally, energetically or physically. In this way, living from a place of vitality and deep love.
What is Horse Medicine?
Medicine is something we receive when we are ready, completely open in heart, body and soul, and is guided by the instinctive templates of our body knowing what is needed to heal. Horse Medicine is a way that horses consciously offer their wisdom for our healing, if we choose to receive this.
Horses show us the mirror and are also a portal for transformation into vibrant whole states of being. They are a guide and also a companion to walk with us, side by side. They are all of these things. There is the medicine of individual horses and then there is the medicine of the equine collective. They are within and without. They offer medicine on conscious and subconscious levels, meeting us in times of being awake and also in the land of our dreams.
There are many lenses or ways to perceive/conceptualize what horses offer, all of which are diminished in my perspective because they are perceived with human eyes and through a human lens.
Horse Medicine is the relational healing that occurs when horses mirror your internal state with honesty, clarity, and presence. At Mindful Mare Wellness, we offer horse medicine through Equine Facilitated Therapy in groups and 1:1 sessions.
Horses naturally support:
- emotional regulation
- grounded nervous system states by building vagal tone and offering experiences of safety inside our bodies.
- truth-telling- they illuminate our limitations with the compassion and grace that only non-humans can extend
- somatic (body) awareness
- building secure attachment and helping us to reparent the inner child
- offer us a portal back to our Wild, i.e., the natural state of being and genuine self-expression.
Their ability to attune non-verbally creates a field where the body can reorganize, release, and settle.
Nervous System Healing with Horses
Sessions help shift your system from survival to safety through:
grounding + breath
somatic tracking
emotional release
co-regulation with the herd
nature-based mindfulness
relational attunement
What it is
We offer therapy to patients with known mental health diagnoses and our sessions are referral-based (referrals from family physicians and other mental health providers).
We have a limited number of therapy clients at any time. You may therefore be added to a waitlist if you are accepted into our 1:1 or group programs.
Our therapy approaches emphasize your connection to the horses, are about being not doing, and include mindfulness and somatic approaches. We do not offer riding in these sessions. Sessions include watching the herd, being with horses at liberty, grooming and occasional groundwork.
No horse experience is required for these sessions. We teach you horse safety and how to read their body language, and support you throughout the sessions.
How To Apply
- Clients interested in equine facilitated therapy must have a family physician or psychiatrist complete the referral provided through our website.
- Clients are contacted to arrange an interview with our team. If accepted into our program after your interview, you will receive further booking information.
- Sessions are covered by Alberta Health Services since they include therapy services provided by a psychiatrist (i.e. Dr. Brodhecker).
We are accepting new clients for Saturday spaces- total of 12 sessions.
Information on the Sacred Ambrosia Equine Facilitated Therapy Group is also found in our Womb and Fertility Support Page.
Experience the magic of Spirit Farm
Our in-person programs are held at our farm in Sherwood Park.
The Horses Within
We are all the same.
We feel the sun on our face
We hear the wind in the trees
We feel love, pain, loneliness and grief
We feel the magic of connection
We want to belong somewhere
What is freedom, really?
Do we know when we have it?
Breathing in and out, spaciousness in your heart.
feeling one with nature
These things soothe the horses within you
