Petawawa Showcase!!!!

Come see us at Petawawa Showcase this weekend September 16,17&18, 2011!!! We are offering pony rides for all ages, with all proceeds going to our Hope Reins Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Programs. Pony Rides are $3, whether big or small!! Hopefully we will see you there.

Summer 2011

This summer has been a busy one for us here at the farm. We have had several horses come and go, and are preparing for a slow winter back in the hills.

The most exciting news I have to share is that we are going to be offering our Equine Assisted Pyschotherapy program from a private facility up in Pembroke. We are so pleased to finally be getting this program off the ground and will be looking for individuals/ families to take part in these sessions. We can't wait t begin and look forward to getting started in September. If you want additional information on this service please feel free to contact us.

We have also decided to add a 'New Arrivals' page to help each of you keep track of the horses we are bringing into the farm. I will try to update as often as we have newbies coming in. There are many people giving up their horses right now and we do our best to accomodate the ones we can. Feel free to ask for updates on specific horses.


We are also tossing around the idea of hosting a trail ride from here before the cold sets in. Anyone interested in coming out for that should contact us.

EAP/EAL Seminar May 12-14 2011

Ontario Equine and/or Mental Health Professionals: The O.K. Corral Series is presenting its Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)/Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAL) Certification Seminar "O.K., It's Family Time - DO Try This at Home!" May 12-14, 2011 in Pembroke, Ontario! The seminar is hosted by Alison Vandergragt, and will give you the basic philosophies for practicing equine-assisted learning and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, as well as techniques and exercises to work with the dynamics of groups and families. Class size is limited to 20 for optimal learning and individual attention. The seminar is instructed by Greg Kersten, Founder of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP), EAGALA, and now the O.K. Corral Series.

WHAT IS EAP? Equine Assisted Psychotherapy teams a mental health professional with an experienced horse professional to offer therapeutic and experiential sessions to clients. Natural horse and herd behavior is observed and honored as a model for healthful human behavior. Over 5,000 professionals worldwide have been certified by Greg Kersten in the practice of EAP and have been pleased with the both the efficacy and efficiency of this innovative modality.

WHAT IS EAL? Equine Assisted Learning offers experiential communication, team building, and personal growth activities to individuals, groups, families, and corporations. Skills may be used to offer corporate retreats, church group activities, and family growth seminars. Mr. Kersten's techniques have been featured in publications ranging from The Counselor to The Los Angeles Times to Western Horseman! The complete, three-day certification seminar costs only $625 (US) and includes all lunches, snacks, and materials, as well as a one-year membership subscription to the OK Corral Series.

Register by April 10, 2011, to receive the $50 early registration discount! Contact the OK Corral for more information at 1-775-463-6565, or log on to http://www.okcorralseries.com. Or contact Vanderbrook Farm & Natural Horsemanship Center, Pembroke,ON. 613-638-2005

March Break Re-Cap

WOW!! What a fantastic week!! The seven participants of our very first Equine Assisted Learning Program had an excellent fun filled week filled full of self discovery. This fine young group of 12 - 17 year olds showed an amazing ability to work together and learn new skills. If this, the kick off to our Equine Assisted Programs is any indication of the potential success of future programs, we definitely have something to look forward too!

EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING PROGRAM OUTLINE

EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING PROGRAM OUTLINE 
 A 5 Day Program
March Break (March 14-18, 2011)

Ages 12 and up

Program Cost $350 plus HST

Day 1  Initiate a Unique Experience and Build a Sense of Community

Activities include some “getting to know" you exercises.  Participants will learn about themselves and how they handle the unexpected.  Adventure based activities will introduce the client to the horse world, and how working together leads to goals accomplished.

Day 2  Building Self Esteem and Developing Leadership

This session gives the group opportunity to solve problems, communicate, and negotiate with each other to get the task done.  Clients will be required to think outside the box while becoming aware of their body language and how it influences others.

Day 3  Discovering Solutions and Gaining Insight of Self and Others

This session reminds clients that sometimes breaking patterns is required to achieve a goal.  Participants will need to gain insights of one another to create a win-win solution as not everyone has the same skills. 

Day 4  Being Responsible and the value of “The Journey”

Success of the team will depend on how they recognize the need to constantly adapt in order to facilitate change.  Clients will see how responsibility, and the lessons taught by the horse will help each them on their quest to discovering their place in the world.

Day 5  Personal Growth and Pride of Accomplishment

Activities on this final day will allow participants the ability to take inventory of their accomplishments of the past week.  The group will be allowed to create an ending to this week long session and have their parents come out to meet their new friends and equine partners.