Horse powered life skills.
Our Horse Powered Life Skills for Teens (14+) and Pre-Teens (10-14) are group sessions that provide a safe space for children and teenagers to work on social skills, emotional regulation, and coping skills with the guidance of our qualified team and contribution of horses.
Life skills your teens need.
Most teens and pre-teens today struggle with emotions, relationships with family and friends, managing anxiety, effective communication and problem solving.
Our Horse Powered Life Skills Groups offer a safe space where students can explore solutions to these problems while working with horses in an experiential process that empowers life-changing outcomes.
Why do we include horses? Horses help us learn about ourselves, and they are masters at picking up on the emotions we try to ignore or avoid. When we work with a horse, we develop the ability to tune in to our emotional experience and feel safe to become who we truly are.
Conducting these sessions in a group setting allows our team to observe the challenges your child might be facing the moment that they happen, and helps children and teenagers learn to apply new skills in real life situations.
Based on the skill we are working on, our team will create activities where the kids are handling and interacting with the horses on the ground.
We might ask them build an obstacle course that represents something meaningful to them, and then walk the horse through it.
The activities provide opportunities to work on perseverance, problem solving, emotional regulation, setting and respecting healthy boundaries, clarity in communication, etc.
Throughout the process, we talk about metaphors and similarities between their experiences and real life. For example, if they seem stuck and can’t get a horse to move, we might ask them if it reminds them of a time in their life where they feel stuck. And then what can you do about it? (Approach it a different way, ask for help, etc).
We will also talk about things like healthy coping skills they can use when facing difficulties.
In addition to this, the kids have a lot of fun working on things together, and they have an opportunity to bond with the horses and connect with each other.
children use the skills they’ve learned in real life situations.
Children explore breathing exercises and fun tools while learning how to manage their emotions, focus, relax, develop empathy and sleep better.
They will practice meditation in short intervals in a group setting where they are encouraged to use their imagination and express themselves creatively.
Children have plenty of time to interact with the horses while they learn about mindfulness and have lots of fun!