Programs Overview
Why Horses?
Horses are sentient beings who have formed a connection with people that goes way back through the centuries. They are non-judgemental and have no expectations or hidden agendas. Horses never hide their emotions. A horse operates in the present moment, the here and now and responds immediately and honestly to what is happening in its environment and is an expert in reading non-verbal signals and body-language.
Horses are keenly intuitive and attuned to people’s slightest expressions and energetic or emotional shifts. A horse’s inherent gentle nature, curiosity, and desire to work within a herd or community will cause a horse to seek connection, even with people. Yet unlike most adults who have been socially trained to form judgments and think in terms of “right and wrong,” horses only reflect the truth of the present moment. Therefore, they will consistently mirror back to an individual, the truth of how they are showing up in that moment - this feedback enables a deepening in awareness of self, environment and other.
It is these qualities that make them so valuable in the therapy program. Horses and ponies can reflect and respond to human emotions, energy and body language. Horses can help individuals identify their inner feelings and can also expose incongruencies that may arise in a clients’ self-image and expression to provide vast opportunities for reflective learning.
Engaging in activities with horses provides an opportunity for people to explore and develop their strengths, therefore improving self-awareness and confidence.
Equine Assisted Therapy
Equine Assisted Therapy has been proven to be beneficial in helping people with anxiety, depression, trauma, addictive behaviours, eating disorders, ADHD, grief and loss, PTSD, ASD, conduct disorders, attachment disorders, domestic violence, and people with disabilities.
Clients and horses work together in a safe and therapeutic, non-threatening environment to build confidence, self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience and emotional regulation skills through a variety of activities or challenges.
At Miracle Park Stables, we have developed a range of Therapeutic and Coaching activities involving horses. Programs are designed for individuals, families, groups, schools and organisational team building.
We offer both Riding and Non-Riding programs, no horse experience necessary. Facilities include stables, arena, round yard, obstacle trail, safe yards and horse related safety equipment. Kitchen and disabled access toilet facilities are available on site.
Development of Skills
Communication including awareness of body language and non-verbal skills
Emotional regulation
Focus
Mindfulness
Self-esteem
Confidence
Creative problem solving
Social skills
Resilience
Assertiveness
Anger and Behaviour management
Core strength
Horse Time!
For those who don’t want any formal coaching or instruction, but just want to spend time with our horses and ponies, we have introduced Horse Time!
An unstructured space to just relax and have some fun! Includes mindfulness exercises and games with an equine partner. Opportunity to spend time brushing a pony, or just sitting in the yards and watching them play. Horsemanship demonstrations are available and one-on-one time with your favourite horse or pony is definitely a possibility!
Now including Pony Rides! A fun and relaxing chance to be led around on of our well trained therapy horses or ponies. Great for children who just want to experience being in the saddle but not wanting an actual lesson.
Individual or group sessions run for 1 hour. Discounts available for family groups.
School Holiday programs available.
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Individual Cost: $60 per person per hour. Groups of 3 or more: $50 per person per hour
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Horse Time with short Pony Ride Individual Cost: $70 per hour
We have also begun to offer PONY PARTIES. Bring the kids and have some fun! The children will get to spend time grooming the ponies before having an opportunity to play some games in the arena with Pony Races and other challenges. The children will also take turns to experience a ride on one of our larger therapy horses and a professional photographer will be on site to capture every moment of delight.
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Pony Party with Pony Ride $75 per child (minimum booking of 3 or more) up to 2 hours
Equine Assisted Learning
We have introduced a new program this year. An Equine Assisted Learning based curriculum from EquiScholars in the UK. Our introductory program is a mini module on BOUNDARIES & CONSENT - A glimpse into the social lives of horses. This program will be a valuable tool to help kids learn important communication skills including understanding non-verbal body-language. More info will be available soon. Mini Module course runs over 5 weeks. School groups welcome.
Cost; $65 per hour. Discounts available for school groups
NDIS Equine Assisted Therapy - Therapeutic Horse Connection
Our Therapeutic Horse Connection Program is available to participants who may wish to spend quality time with the horses, but for various reasons, choose not too, or are unable to ride the horses. These sessions are tailored to the individual client and can include activities such as mindful grooming, decorating a horse or pony's mane with seasonal themed ribbons and clips, simple art therapy involving the ponies, leading the horses or ponies through our sensory obstacle course or just simply hanging out with the horses and learning from them in their herd environment.
No horse experience is necessary, safety skills around horses will be included as part of the sessions.
NDIS Equine Assisted Therapy - Therapeutic Riding
The benefits of horse riding are well documented and it is no secret that horses can make people feel calmer and happier, but the therapeutic benefits of just being around horses are enormous!
Therapeutic Riding can be used to improve balance, coordination, muscle tone and posture as well as confidence, emotional regulation, communication and resilience. However, the unseen benefits are even greater. Horses have a coherent heart rhythm and a large electromagnetic field (HeartMath Institute) surrounding them which can help lower blood pressure, slow heart rates and reduce anxiety levels just by being near them!
Our program is designed to improve the lives of people living with a disability by assisting them to build a relationship with a specially prepared horse and gain valuable life skills as they progress through the program. We are in the process of building a sensory obstacle course for clients to interact with during therapy sessions. This program is particularly good for children with ADHD and ASD as the horse riding component engages the activity side of the brain allowing the cognitive functioning to develop with hand-eye coordination exercises and self-regulation techniques.
Therapeutic Horse Connection and Therapeutic Riding are covered under the Capacity Building support purpose of the NDIS and invoices can be sent directly to your (or your child’s) NDIS plan manager if requested.
Cost: $190 per hour.
Sessions run for 60 minutes
Equine Partnered Experiential Therapy
Supported work with horses creates positive physiological change in the body and offers the mind a safe, supportive, non-judgmental experience. It can lower stress levels and reduce feelings of tension, anxiety, depression and anger as well as contribute positively in areas such as esteem building, personal agency and expanding patience and emotional tolerance. Engaging in therapeutic partnering with horses can also support development in self-awareness and care, relational attunement, boundary setting and resilience building.
Therapy sessions can involve just spending facilitated time in the presence of the horses allowing them to reflect and mirror back the person’s inner emotion for deep healing and change, or by working with a client to specifically address a certain need or mental health issue / condition and perhaps creating an obstacle of meaning to the client, it might represent to a struggle in which the individual is facing either currently or in the past. Then the horses will be invited to interact with the creation which will also provide instant feedback to the individual.
No horse experience is necessary for this type of therapy and there is no specific structure as to how a therapy session will go. The horses are very good at providing biofeedback in the therapeutic space and there is much documentation on the success of these sessions.
Experiential Learning with horses provided at Miracle Park Stables is based on the Equine Partnered Therapeutic ProcessTM created by Willow Vetch.
Cost: $190 Adult per hour, $145 Concession per hour.
Sessions run for 60 minutes.
Responsive Horsemanship Coaching
There are three stepped programs within Responsive Horsemanship Coaching
Step 1: Introduction to Responsive Horsemanship (3 sessions)
Step 2: Responsive Horsemanship - Ground Skills Level 1 (min 4 sessions)
Step 3: Responsive Horsemanship - Riding Skills (unlimited sessions)
Each step in this program builds on the previous sessions to develop a well rounded understanding of caring for horses and learning to communicate with horses in a natural and holistic way.
Introduction to Responsive Horsemanship - Step 1 - a fun, interactive program run over 3 x 60 minute sessions, involving horses and designed to explore self-care and safety while learning about communication and living in community with others. Students will be introduced to basic care and management of horses and will develop a better understanding of themselves as they progress through the program.
Sessions cover Safety Around Horses, Watching the horses, Listening to the Horses, Self-awareness & Emotional Regulation; Horse health & Wellbeing, Feeding requirements, Grooming & Rugging, Health Requirements; Communication & Connection, Introduction to Horsemanship Tools, Interactive Experimentation.
Cost: Individuals $65 per session, Groups $50 per person, per session.
Responsive Horsemanship Coaching - Ground Skills Step 2 - takes the foundational learning from Introduction to Responsive Horsemanship and applies it to communication with the horses using Horsemanship Tools. Participants will learn 7 distinct communication games which will build connection and trust between equine and human. Opportunities for extended learning to include the Agility (obstacle) course, or liberty work will be available for interested participants.
Focus will be on communication and self-regulation with some basic personality profiling to allow students to better understand themselves, which in turn, will enhance their relationship with the horse and others. Sessions run for 60 minutes, or 90 minutes for group bookings of 3 or more.
Cost: Individual $95 per session. Groups $80 per person, per session.
Responsive Horsemanship Coaching - Riding Skills Step 3 - the next step up for students who are keen to learn how to ride in a responsive and wholistic way. The 7 games from ‘Ground Skills’ will be adapted to horseback and students will be able to experience riding bit-less and bareback (the student will initially learn to ride in a bareback pad and with a halter to guide the horse, under strict supervision to ensure safety) .
The program is designed to encourage connection and relationship by building a partnership with the horse before progressing to level 2 where we will introduce the saddle. Communication is the key to successful riding so the emphasis will always be on the partnership and connection with the horse first and foremost. Riding sessions run for 60 minutes.
Cost: $120 per session.
Equine Mindfulness Experience
Introducing a new program for individuals, families, groups and corporate team building.
Imagine being surrounded by nature on a nice quiet afternoon, relaxing in a comfortable chair, birds singing in the background, a soft breeze gently playing with your hair, and horses just chilling out with you in that space. Integrated with personality profiling for communication, mindfulness and self-reflection exercises, grounding techniques for emotional regulation, companionship, fun, music and laughter and you will be experiencing Equine Mindfulness.
The workshop consists of four hours of semi-structured activities involving horses for personal growth and self-development. Attendees will be invited to have a ‘taster’ of an Equine Partnered Experiential Therapy session if they choose, or learn some basic horsemanship skills to take a horse through our sensory challenge obstacle course!
At the completion of the workshop, attendees will be invited to share a meal together at either a local establishment (additional cost), or enjoy an home-cooked rustic BBQ at Miracle Park Stables.
Cost: From $275 pp.
Sessions runs for 4 hours and includes a shared meal.
All prices quoted above are GST inclusive. GST will not be added to NDIS clients for any programs.
Prices current as of 01/04/2024. All prices are subject to change and will be reviewed annually.
n.b. Our prices have increased this year in line with the NDIS Pricing Limits. Payment plans are available for all private sessions.
We would love to hear some feedback on this, or any other ideas of what you might like to be provided in our region.