Personal Development

T​here is NO riding in this workshop, and no horse experience required.

This workshop has helped Varsity athletes and competitive cheer teams.

Energy work will be combined with non-riding horse activities in a safe environment where your team will explore what it means to be a TEAM, and how to ENERGIZE your goals and performance.  You will quickly be able to process the classic stages of team building “form-storm-norm-perform” and still have FUN! Horses survived by becoming functional and effective members of their herds, using nonverbal communication to cooperate, protect themselves, and lead the herd.  Because more than 70% of human communication is nonverbal, working with horses quickly reveals a person's body language and intent. 

 TIME:  5 class hours + 1 hour light lunch (included)
COST: up to 6 people $500
$100 for each additional person (up to 12 total)
DATES: Call to schedule 

T​here is NO riding in this workshop, and no horse experience required.

To some teens (and adults!), words like "respect and responsibility" make them run the other way! However, these words are "power tools" for living a successful life. When horses teach these skills, teens are curious, open minded, and eager to learn. 

This program is based on the findings of cases from 26-years of a psychology practice. The cases were categorized into a particular group of emotional health constructs: Respect, Responsibility, Relationship skills, Boundaries, Empathy and Choices and Consequences.  The Power Tools for Living provides a program addressing each one of these constructs which leads to improved emotional and behavioral health.
 

The program has been conducted and researched with hundreds of children from schools and Boys and Girls Club, along with teachers and parents. This program teaches key skills in a building block sequence:

1. Respect

2. Responsibility

3. Relationship Skills

4. Boundaries

5. Empathy

6. Choices and Consequences

It is a multi-session (5) format.

COST:  Call for Pricing

 T​here is NO riding in this workshop, and no horse experience required. 

During this workshop, you will become aware of your own personal energy system and learn techniques to manage and control your energy and emotions. You will then participate in some uniquely structured, on the ground, interactive horse activities to provide powerful insight for tangible personal change (i.e. better communication, improved leadership, improved emotional control, etc.)

Workshop activities include:

1. A pre interview to ensure the workshop structure will provide the most benefit to the participants

2. Choosing a particular goal to focus on achieving

3. Basics of the human energy system

4. Experiencing your personal energy field

5. Grounding, breathing and meditation exercises

6. Specific, interactive, ground exercise with the horses

7. Discussion of insight outcomes

There is NO riding in this workshop, and no horse experience required.

TIME:  2 class hours
COST:  $250 minimum 2 people

$100 for each additional person
DATES: Join one of our scheduled classes or bring your own group

​NEXT CLASS: Call to Schedule

 T​here is NO riding in this workshop, and no horse experience required. 

Why Include Horses in Meditation Training?

Horses are prey animals and have evolved with keen intuitive abilities to keep them alive.  Horses have a natural sensitivity to their surroundings that helps them survive and thrive.  When we enter their realm, they challenge us to be aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions.  Interacting with horses is a great way to relieve stress by learning to be present, by joining them in their world. They live in the present. They are not anxious (thinking about the future) or depressed (thinking about the past).  Horses can reveal if a person is authentic, grounded and present.

The Activities

This class focuses on learning how to “be,” instead of always needing to “do.” It takes place out in nature, on a beautiful farm in Paint Rock Valley, AL.

1. In order to be mindful, we must learn to observe our thoughts.  Noting and just observing thoughts can be difficult in the beginning. We start training our minds and raising awareness through observing the horses, their environment, and noticing our dominant thoughts.
2. Breathing is a key focus of being present. We will learn and practice a breathing technique for immediate relaxation.
3. We will learn a grounding exercise, allowing the horses’ energy to aid us in staying grounded and present.
4. We will learn how to scan our own bodies for areas of tension, or areas needing release.
5. We will learn and practice a meditation sitting in a chair, while the horses circulate among us.
6. We will learn and practice a walking meditation, in an area with horses at liberty.

TIME:  2 class hours
COST: Up to 2 people $250
$100 for each additional person (12 total)
DATES: Call to schedule

Join one of our scheduled classes, or you can bring your own group.

 T​here is NO riding in this workshop, and no horse experience required.  

Why Include Horses in Stress Relief?

Have you ever wanted to be as “healthy as a horse?” Most horses do not suffer from stress induced disease, because they are grounded and live in the “present.” People are different than horses. The Stress Management Society believes that stress triggers 70% of visits to the doctors and 85% of serious illness.  Interacting with horses is a great way to relieve stress. If we want to connect with them, we must be able to be present, grounded, and relaxed.  They are not anxious (thinking about the future) or depressed (thinking about the past).  Horses give immediate feedback on a person’s emotional state, which is why they are so effective for teaching stress relief techniques.

Breathing with and touching the horses accelerates the experiential learning so it will be longer lasting and more impactful.  The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi cites medical studies showing the value of tai chi and qigong on long-term stress reduction and improvement in cognitive function. Horse-assisted somatic or "of the body" learning, in combination with stress reduction techniques offered in class, will help you establish a daily practice for integrating your physical movements and senses with your intellect, emotions, and intuition. 

During the workshop, the horses will be at liberty to interact with participants.

Workshop activities include:

1.  Experiencing mindfulness in order to be present.

2.  Learning a breathing technique for immediate relaxation.

3.  Learning a grounding exercise, allowing the horses’ energy to aid us in staying grounded and present.

4.  Learning how to scan our own bodies for areas of tension, and techniques for releasing those areas.

5.  Experiencing a meditation sitting in a chair.

6.  Experiencing a walking meditation.

7.  Learning three basic qigong movements to increase the flow of our energy.

8.  An equine assisted exercise focused on shrinking a specific life stress.

TIME:  5 class hours + 1 hour light lunch (included)

COST: Up to 3 people $500

$100 for each additional person (up to 12 total)

DATES: Call to schedule

 There is NO riding in this therapy, and no horse experience required.

We follow the EAGALA model, which is client focused. Each session includes a team of two facilitators: a licensed mental health professional, and an equine specialist. 

 Our mental health professional is Lynn Hazard Lynn M. Hazard, LICSW-PIP, CAMS-II (Alabama License #1208-3621C).

        Lynn is the owner of KIND Counseling & Community Services, LLC. She is a licensed clinical social worker and certified anger management specialist. Her MSW Degree is from the University of Alabama (2011) and BSW from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2005). Her anger management training is through High Impact Training & Counseling, Inc. and certified through the International Association of Certified Anger Management Specialists (#2105).  

        Lynn attended levels 1 & 2 of the EAGALA method in October, 2017. She has also completed the three day EAGALA course: "So, you want to work with the military?"  She is currently working toward trauma certification through the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. She makes presentations on trauma issues, with a suicide focus,  to local and national audiences.  She retired from many professions: 25+ years as an occupational therapist, 10 years as a licensed teacher, and 7+ years in rehabilitation services to the blind and visually impaired.